Bush to the UN at roughly 11:30 EST: We have seen the forces of freedom and moderation transform entire continents. …Asia has seen freedom progress and hundreds of millions of people lifted out of desperate poverty. Halfway around the word, at roughly the same time: BREAKING NEWS: Thailand In Chaos After Coup; Tanks Roll Into Bangkok; Thailand’s Constitution suspended; Thai … Read More
Then Again
The "Castro is dying/dead" rumors that I mentioned (and dismissed) here on July 11 might have a grain of truth to them: News that Fidel Castro had ceded presidential powers to his brother Raul after undergoing surgery to stop internal bleeding ushered in a period of uncertainty at home and celebrations by his enemies abroad, while fueling speculation on the … Read More
Citizen Diplomacy
On September 12, 2001, the French newspaper La Monde headlined "We Are All Americans Today", or something like that. That was certainly the global sentiment. Everybody was united with us, and we Americans were united. Incredible how five years of Bush policies have not only divided the country, but turned our longstanding friends and allies into rampant America-haters. It’s really … Read More
“Blame Clinton” Days At The White House
Facing increasing criticism from the right and left about Bush’s North Korea policy (or lack thereof) , White House Press Secretary Tony Snow (pictured uncomfortably here) lashed out at Clinton, accusing the Clinton Administration of going to North Korea with “flowers and chocolates.” He said the Clinton strategy “failed” and President Bush had “learned from that mistake.” (Watch the video) … Read More
The Birds Are Fueled
Breaking news everywhere informs us that North Korea has just completed fueling of a long-range ballistic nuclear missile (one capable of being launched and striking anywhere in the United States on a moment’s notice). Kind of takes you back to Castro and Cuba, don’t it? Susie Madrak: See how well it works out when Republicans are in charge?
Morons Can Use The Bible For Anything These Days
I recently had a discussion with a friend, a born again Christian, the other day. She tried to convince me that the Bible is THE TRUTH. You know, with a capital "T". She couldn’t say why it was THE TRUTH, because to question why is (apparently) some form of heresy. Anyway, I came across this article which demonstrates (per my … Read More
How To Pay For Border Guards
Buried deep in this Washington Post article (in fact, the last paragraph) is this tidbit of news: The White House said the new budget request by Bush would cover the $750 million-plus Guard deployment, new agents, fences and barriers, five helicopters and two new unmanned surveillance aircraft. The money would be offset by delaying other military purchases, according to the … Read More
The More You Know…
Interesting. A study done last year shows that the people more opposed to immigration are people who are least exposed to immigrants. Conversely, people who live in areas with lots of immigrants are more positively disposed to them: The simplest interpretation of this result is that people who rarely see an immigrant can easily scapegoat them for everything wrong in … Read More
Chertoff On Putting National Guard on The Borders
DHS head Michael Chertoff said that putting the National Guard on the U.S.-Mexico border would be "horribly over-expensive and very difficult". That was six months ago, on O’Reilly’s show. I wonder if he would say the same thing today.
Bush’s Immigration Speech
I didn’t see it (the Bosox were playing on ESPN), but I read the transcript. As Kevin Drum notes the main elements of the plan are to deploy the military to the border without calling it "militarizing the border," to launch a guest worker program without calling it a "guest worker program," and to offer amnesty to illegal immigrants without … Read More
“Impeach Bush!”
In case you haven’t been paying attention, that’s been the rally cry from the rightwing side of the blogosphere. Why? Because the Bush Administration reportedly has been shadowing the Minutemen (the group of private citizens monitoring the U.S.-Mexican border for illegal immigrants), and reporting information about Minutemen groups (including their locations) to the Mexican government. Michelle Malkin started the fire … Read More
Laura Bush Takes A Strong Principled Stand
Her views on the National Anthem in Spanish: Asked her opinion on Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s John King, Mrs. Bush said, "I don’t think there’s anything wrong with singing it in Spanish." She noted that "we are a nation of many, many languages" and that the country has already heard many versions of the anthem "like at the … Read More
A Day Without Immigrants
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) imagines a country without illegal immigrants: Youth gangs would see their membership drop by 50 percent in many states… Sure! That’s because there will be no Sharks — just Jets!!
Not So Fast, Senator Alexander
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) proposed a Senate Resolution yesterday to the effect that the Star Spangled Banner should only be sung in English. In his press release, Alexander stated: That flag and that song are a part of our history and our national identity. It declares some of our national ideals, in being the “land of the free and the … Read More