Vanity Fair has a lengthy profile of Sarah Palin. It is a great read. It outlines her volatile temper and dubious financing activities. It does rely extensively on anonymous sources, but the stories all hang together in a way that suggest more truth than exaggeration. Excerpt: Warm and effusive in public, indifferent or angry in private: [...]
Archive for the ‘politics’ Category
Vanity Fair on Sarah Palin
Posted: 3rd September 2010 by Brant in politicsTags: music, politics, republicans, Sarah Palin
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Google: Do not track me
Posted: 3rd September 2010 by Brant in biz, politics, techTags: Consumer Watchdog, Eric E. Schmidt, Google, Internet, privacy
From Consumer Watchdog: Related articles Consumer Watchdog Group Goes After Google (bits.blogs.nytimes.com) Consumer Watchdog: Times Square Animation On Google’s Privacy Abuses May Get A Sequel (blogs.forbes.com) CEO Eric Schmidt Creepily Portrayed in Consumer Watchdog’s New Anti-Google Ad (searchenginejournal.com)
BP threats
Posted: 3rd September 2010 by Brant in biz, politicsTags: BP, environment, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore drilling, oil spill
Image via Wikipedia BP is making threats about being unable to pay for damage they caused in the Gulf if they are prohibited to drill in the grill because of the the harm they have caused. The company has a horrible safety record stretching for years. BP is warning Congress that if lawmakers pass legislation [...]
William Gibson on Google
Posted: 2nd September 2010 by Brant in politicsTags: Google, Internet, media, privacy, William Gibson
Google is evil. I have said this many times. And I do mean it. But for a more thoughtful analysis of Google and its operation and meaning, you can turn to William Gibson [link to his Twitter account], one of my favorite writers. He penned such novels cyberpunk novels as the classic Neuromancer, Mona Lisa [...]
Restoring Honor: the video
Posted: 31st August 2010 by Brant in politicsTags: Glenn Beck, republicans, wackos
From the Glenn Beck‘s “America is a religion” rally this past weekend. I think it does speak for itself.
Inside Job: the movie
Posted: 31st August 2010 by Brant in biz, politicsTags: banks, economy, Wall Street
Image via Wikipedia I can’t wait to see this. My outrage is already building. Related articles Movie Trailer: Inside Job (slashfilm.com) Financial Meltdown Doc Inside Job Movie Trailer (screenhead.com)
The impact of islamaphobia
Posted: 31st August 2010 by Brant in culture, politicsTags: Arson, bigotry, civil liberties, justice, Religion and Spirituality
The disparaging and viscious claims about Islam are taking their toll. The free exercise of religion in this country is under real threat. Demagogues are actually inciting violence. And now actual violence is happening: After a suspected arson and reports of gunshots at an Islamic center in Tennessee over the weekend, nearby mosques have hired [...]
Billionaires and the Tea Party
Posted: 29th August 2010 by Brant in biz, politicsTags: Charles Koch, David Koch, John Birch Society, republicans, Rupert Murdoch, Tea Party, wackos
Image via Wikipedia In his op-ed in today’s New York Times, Frank Rich notes that three individuals, all mega-rich, provide the core funding for the ultra-right in this country, including the tea party. The three people: Rupert Murdoch and the brothers David Koch and Charles Koch. The Kochs combined are richer than all Americans except [...]
Ron Paul on the mosque “controversy”
Posted: 27th August 2010 by Brant in politicsTags: civil liberties, conservatism, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Islam, Property, republicans, Ron Paul, war
Image via Wikipedia Ron Paul has his quirks. But his focus on fundamental rights and continued questioning about the necessity of the two wars in which we are mired deserves respect. Now he weighs in on the mosque controversy with clarity. I full agree with all of this. The debate should have provided the conservative [...]
Taibbi on media support of Tea Party
Posted: 27th August 2010 by Brant in culture, politicsTags: Fox News Channel, Glenn Beck, racism, republicans, Rush Limbaugh
Matt Taibbi calls for a sponsor boycott of the networks and commentators who pour gasoline on the fire of economic troubles by trying to ignite racist attitudes among the public. I agree. Just look at his litany of the claims being made. In fact if you follow Fox News and the Limbaugh/Hannity afternoon radio crew, [...]
Finally
Posted: 25th August 2010 by Brant in culture, politicsTags: Bush, civil rights, Ken Mehlman, Marc Ambinder, republicans
Image by talkradionews via Flickr From Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic: Ken Mehlman, President Bush‘s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay. *** Mehlman acknowledges that if he had publicly declared his sexuality sooner, he might have played a role [...]
Political quote of the day
Posted: 25th August 2010 by Brant in culture, politicsTags: Charlie Pierce, religion, republicans, wackos
Cover via Amazon We’ve been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of the culture. – Ray Mummert, a pastor in Dover, Pennsylvania, quoted by Charles P. Pierce in the article Greetings from Idiot America. Pierce is the author of the book Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free. (Via [...]
Elizabeth Warren for sheriff
Posted: 21st August 2010 by Brant in politicsTags: banks, economy, Elizabeth Warren, Obama administration, Wall Street
More on Elizabeth Warrn from Joe Nocera in the New York Times. What struck me . . .was the bluntness of her language. She used words like “tricks,” “fleece,” and “bribe” to describe the actions of mortgage and credit card lenders. And I think a lot of her appeal stems from that simple fact: she [...]
Christianist quote of the day
Posted: 19th August 2010 by Brant in culture, politicsTags: civil liberties, justice, Ken Hutcherson, religion
Image via Wikipedia Legislators around the country are considering banning sugar and fatty foods in schools, removing salt and butter from restaurants and want to control what temperature you can have in your own homes, because they fear the potential of health problems. Perhaps they should consider banning the promotion of a lifestyle that the [...]