Jon Stewart is Edward R. Murrow

This is the smartest thing I've seen on television (*) in many months.  And to find it within the context of "comedy" is truly mind-bending.  An actual in-depth interview with John Yoo, the author of the legal documents which rationalized the use of torture as a means to an end in a "time of war".  It really makes one wonder why the only place where he could find a fair audience was a comedy news review show.  Either he's doing something really wrong (he is) or they are doing something really right (they are).

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-11-2010/john-yoo-pt--1


(*) Never mind that I didn't watch it on TV, since one can only find the eviscerating full-length interview online.

Great Moments in History

"There, there.. it's always darkest before the dawn..." President Nguyen Van Thieu (South Vietnam) and President Lyndon B. Johnson , 07/19/1968

"Smile, motherfucker, or we leave you here when we go..!" 8/22/2007

Oliver Stone's Iraq War Ad

Slate's take (MediaCurve.com 's actually) on Oliver Stone's anti-Iraq War ad is somewhat interesting (note that the Republican "total approval" curve never actually goes below 0%/neutral !) but all I'm left thinking afterwards is: "It took Oliver Stone to produce this ??"

Political Ouroboros, pt 2

In the end, indeed, it will be just George Bush and Osama Bin Laden who are for the continuation of the war in Iraq. Funny how things go 'round full circle.

Could we please hurry up and impeach? I'll take one for the team and blow him myself if I have to. (er.. maybe not. )

a fundraising letter i received yesterday

vive la différence

This guy's not gonna last

Gates calls for Guantanamo closure

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Congress and the administration of President George W. Bush should work together to allow the U.S. to permanently imprison some of the more dangerous Guantanamo Bay detainees elsewhere so the facility can be closed, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

What does it mean when the US Secretary of Defense has to "call" for this to happen? Just how much daylight is there between him and his boss? (link goes to AP story on CNN)

This Week's Photo

Our world today as seen from West 17th st, New York.

America's Concentration Camp

Excellent photo essay (with audio commentary) about the concentration camp in Guantanamo.

The day will soon come when saying "Bush is as bad as Hitler" won't result in an automatic Godwin Disqualification.

Iraq / U.S. Civil War Countdown Clock

The congressional vote on the surge may have come and gone (or did it?) but it's still worth linking to this. The deadline is coming soon....

follow me

The War on Error

(link goes to Slate article by William Saletan)

"If the most important thing to any of you is
choosing someone who did not cast that vote
or has said his vote was a mistake,
then there are others to choose from."

Ms. Clinton,

Your disingenuous, dishonest, calculated, transparent attitude towards whether voting for the war was or was not a mistake leaves a bad taste in the mouth of every New Yorker who voted for you on your bid for the Senate. We have just had six years (and "look forward" to two more) of this intellectual dishonesty at the very top of our government; now you are threatening us with the permanent acceptance of this low standard.

This is not what we are paying you for.

The dissolution of the integrity of one of New York's two Senate votes for the sake of a presidential campaign is a disservice to all those who voted for you, including myself.

Please do some soul-searching. Whether you win or lose the presidency is secondary (to everybody but yourself). A qualified person will be elected (or not; in either case your manipulations and evasions won't make any difference). What is at stake is whether you will continue to serve in your current capacity beyond '12.

If this continues I will personally support any opponent you may run against, for any office, at any point in the future.

Sincerely,

Juan M.
[address withheld from blog]

for new yorkers who want to play along and write to her

(full disclosure; I'm posting this on 4/13 but I wrote and sent it to her via the above contact link on Feb 20. i thought it belonged here since it was probably the main reason I started the blog. for the record, as you can see, I have been campaigning actively for Barack Obama since, fortunately something I'm very happy to do).