illumined horizon

The Congressman Foley instant messages have been posted by ABC News, they're very unbecoming of a Republican 'family values' politician.

Keith Olbermann refutes many accusations that the NY Post flung at him. Keith, of course, runs probably the most left of center news program on a large television news network (MSNBC). And not only has his show improved MSNBC's stock, but also some changes made in Scarborough country and the removal of Rita Cosby from the channel (she's not right-wing but I think at least leans that direction) have done the same.

I don't watch Scarborough too often, but he seems too have toned down his O'Reilly want-a-be act, and become somewhat less partisan. The odd thing though, is every time I flip to his program he seems to be talking about the biggest celebrity item of the day, rather than the hard politics he is known for. Hardball, of course, is anchored by one time Democrat now seemingly middle of the road Chris Matthews, and Tucker fills out MSNBC's current lineup of news/discussion shows. Tucker is basically an annoying conservative twit, but he seems to enjoy debating real flesh and blood liberals, and frequently invites people on to his show that are more progressive than the everyday run of the mill talking heads. MSNBC won't be mistaken for Pacifica, and is probably not 'fair and balanced' either; but it is balanced enough to be watchable, and shows enough truth to keep the attention of even the most ardent liberal/progressive.

This is a good follow-up to an article I posted last week. Some strategies for dealing with the conservative advantage in baby birthing.

Harold Meyerson argues, if you want a moderate Republican, vote for a Democrat.

This movie stars Eric Mabius and Charisma Carpenter, and centers around the battle between a brother/sister team and their allies against an evil demonic entity (Daniel). Eric Mabius's character, Cole, has clearly studied in many spiritual traditions, not the least of which is voodoo, and uses his metaphysical abilities to fight darkness. His sister (Heather) seems far less spiritually talented, but is able to draw events and foretell them before they occur. The siblings return to their childhood home, to face Daniel who murdered all of the town's residents save them in their youth. They return armed and ready to face Daniel with some random pals consisting of a biker, Cole's former girlfriend, a half-dead benevolent zombie, and a couple of vagabond/wanderer types.

This movie is plagued by having too much of convoluted plot to develop and explain, an effort which it invests a lot of time in, and yet ultimately doesn't succeed at (Cole's past as well as that of most of his friends remains unclear). The Cole character is probably the bright spot of the film, because of his advanced metaphysical powers his battles with demons and evil make for interesting footage. Yet his powers are so developed compared to his comrades one can't help but wonder why he brings them along at all. In one sequence he tells the biker, Dutch, not to even try to attack Daniel; which Dutch pursues nonetheless, and is easily brushed aside by the dark magician. The movie is basically an eternal battle between good and evil-type tale that will appeal to fans of this genre. If you've already seen one too many of these stories, don't put this on your list of essential viewing.

I had no idea, that ESPN was the right-wing sports outlet. Considering Fox also has a sports channel it pains me to even think of what kind of comparable activities they might be engaged in.

I knew something was amiss when Nancy Pelosi came out strong against Hugo Chavez, by calling him a thug (considering Chavez is probably more popular than George W. Bush in her district). It certainly appears she's to the right of most of the Democrats of her district. It also appears her comment was made to appeal to the center of her party, and downplay fears projected by the right that Americans don't want a San Francisco Democrat to become House Speaker.

Hugo Chavez's mention and recommendation of Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival shot the book up to number one on Amazon.com's list of bestsellers.

Larry Chin has roughly the same take on Chavez's remarks as I. He ends this article with a strange diatribe against Noam Chomsky, though. Let's face it Noam Chomsky's weakness is that he does not address conspiracy theories, he's very much an intellectual of the agreed upon establishment facts. Barring this limitation, however, he's one of the brightest analysts of world affairs we have; so I say he's not only useful, but a hero in more ways than one.

I actually read through this whole speech after hearing that Chavez called Bush the devil (it's a really good speech). It's probably a somewhat unfortunate choice of words for Hugo, but in my humble opinion Bush is a monster and not the devil. Call it six of one and a half dozen of the other, but I think the subtle difference is important. The devil comment will no doubt be considered over the top by many, but I think there's not too many folks left that doubt Bush is a monster (and a crazed one at that).

Anyway, I want to encourage folks again to read the speech, it really surprised me how inciteful it was. Meanwhile the MSM will focus on one remark; and ignore Chavez's excellent points about U.S. hypocracy in the war terror, lack of democracy at the U.N., autonomy for developing nations, and even recommends a Noam Chomsky title for all to read.

It doesn't seem surprising that the network that fired Dan Rather over a controversial story, also attempted to direct Bill Maher to speak about an 'approved topic'. The more I think about this situation the more it disturbs me. After all if the segment was entitled "Accepted Speech" or "Reserved Speech" there would be no controversy. To ostensibly support a right, then deny it, seems pretty antithetical to what this country is supposed to be about (not to mention what our troops are fighting for in Iraq). Constitutional rights are not to be given and then removed willy nilly; but to be supported when invoked, whatever the consequences for standing behind them will be.

I'm a strong believer in not needing more humans on the planet, but this article certainly brings that idea into doubt. Who will fight the Karl Rove Jrs. of the future, if progressives don't propagate?

Starting with FDR, presidential IQ's have been estimated by the Lovenstein Institute. Bush scored the lowest based upon scholarly achievements, writings produced without the aid of staff, and ability to speak with clarity.

Update 9/19: Apparently the comment below is correct, the Lovenstein IQ report is a hoax. In the spirit of being able to laugh at my own stupidity I'll leave this up. I didn't read the commenter below's sources, but the most reputable news articles I could find on this are here and here...

Mexico reevaluates its relations with Venezuela after Hugo Chavez declared he would not recognize the victory of Felipe Calderon.

Democracy Now hosted an excellent debate between the Loose Change filmmakers, and two of the editors of Popular Mechanics. For the first time I'm beginning to see some legitimacy to at least some of what the skeptics are advancing. I think I'm not so much a 9/11 conspiracist, as a doubter of the official 9/11 story (it should be called the official 9/11 conspiracy as it is just as much a conspiracy theory as the unofficial conspiracy theories are). The problem I have with most conspiracies is that there is simply not enough evidence to make the connections that are often made in said theories. In this sense the Loose Change folks make a lot of sense, in that many of their claims seem valid, while it's the larger connections that they draw which appear to be (at least on their face) more problematic.

Overall, I thought the biggest point Dylan Avery and his colleague failed to address was the idea, repeatedly advanced by Dunbar and Meigs; that they had talked to the experts, and they had received 'the expert opinion' on many of the claims purported in the Loose Change film. Avery and Bermas should have retorted with expert opinion of their own, but instead they seemed to retort with a new theory or testimonial which ostensibly discounted the expert opinion supported by either Dunbar or Meigs. The debate left me with the same conclusion I had prior to watching it, namely that if anyone wants to get to the bottom of a particular conspiracy, s/he must do the necessary research his/herself. The different sides of the debate, when it comes to conspiracies, both rapidly begin to sound as if they are making assertions that are far-fetched and difficult to believe. One can only resolve the cloudiness that arises from these kinds of debates by delving as deeply into the facts as the folks who have studied the events in question already have.

John Kerry's coming out with some strong rhetoric in preparation for a presidential run in 2008. As far as I'm concerned what came out after Ohio 2004 is just as damning as all the info that has come out about the Bushies and the Iraq war. Of course, we know so much more now than we did then; but I can remember pulling my hairs out in the days following election day, as it looked pretty obvious that Bush had stolen his second.

Christopher Buckley explains why Republicans deserve to lose power in the forthcoming election. He also recaps some of the misadventures of this administration over the last six years.

This film is about a former doctor turned bed and breakfast owner and writer (Lochlyn Munro) who (along with his ex and her daughter) is terrorized by a tooth fairy, who, instead of leaving money under the pillow, chops up her prey with a hatchet and causes their souls to exist in perpetuity between heaven and hell. This tooth fairy not only visits children in the night, but also anyone in and around the B and B (she doesn't seem to have the same effect on adult souls as children's). In addition to a thirst for teeth she seems to have a general bloodlust that compels her to prey upon nearly anyone who crosses her path.

When the B and B owner, Peter, is visited by "his girls", Darcy (Chandra West) and Pamela, in the run-up to the grand opening of Peter's establishment; they're vexed by one misfortune after another, leading up to the culmination of the film where the threesome (and remaining B and B occupants) must face a final confrontation with the malicious fairy head on. Prior to this climax, some of the sordid highlights that the three face, are the mutilation of the B and B's handyman, a neighbor who invades Pamela's bedroom to foretell the fairy's arrival, and the frequent agitation of a couple of red-neck brothers who squatted the B and B prior to Peter's takeover of the property.

The movie supplies plenty of blood and gore with the tooth fairy lopping off and otherwise mutilating a wide array of human body parts throughout the film. The overall story is hurt, though; by some unbelievable and far-fetched plot twists. Ultimately this movie is a trifle of a tale that entertains by being anything but mundane, and bloodily killing off more than a character or two.

I found this to be a truly stunning article. Perhaps the Republicans are doing nothing more than facing reality in Rhode Island, but for their whole establishment to get behind such a moderate as Chafee seems unreal.

This piece is really worthwhile to take the time and read, as it very succinctly ties together some important topics, ultimately for the purpose of looking ahead at what's to come in the American political arena. Just when we, on the left, think we are finally winning some victories, we may not want to celebrate too extensively until we give the neo-cons some time to roll out more nefarious plots and plans.

Polls such as this don't particularly mean a whole lot in my opinion. I happen to think it's a legitimate criticism that other nation's citizens have of Americans, that they like the American people and not American foreign policy. I have been strongly against American foreign policy ever since I came to understand it. These polls tend to over simplify issues, of course, American foreign policy is at least part of the motivation for Muslim extremism; while many other factors play a role, probably one of the least important is the oft-trumpeted "they hate our way of life". This line is a great camouflage for the real motivations to hate and kill Americans that have motivated Islamic terrorism. To face the real issues that inspire Al Qaeda and its allies is to question to much of an entrenched foreign policy worldview that has dominated the presidency for decades.

Nowhere do these articles mention Jesus was a liberal, but nonetheless they offer a little bit of press for a nascent Democratic campaign to wrestle the crucifix from the hands of the right.

One year ago today, Barbara Bush said things were working out 'very well' for the Katrina evacuees. It doesn't look as if foot in mouth disease skips a generation.

Al Gore says ads/television have usurped far to much power in American elections.