I don’t know what was in the air last week, but it was a banner week for jaw-dropping altercations, smackdowns and ruckuses (should that be ruckae?) caught on video. Here are the three that made a biggest impression on me. 1. Boxer vs. Inhofe vs. Gore. Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe is one of those guys […]
Entries Tagged as 'Politics'
Last Week’s Three Best Video Kerfuffles
March 26th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Climate Change, Culture, Film, Human Rights, Media, News, Politics, Torture, TV
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Puck Soup: Wolfgang Puck Gets a Shiny New Conscience
March 26th, 2007 · Comments Off on Puck Soup: Wolfgang Puck Gets a Shiny New Conscience · Activism, Business, Factory Farming, Food, Health, News, Politics
I haven’t exactly been a fan of Wolfgang Puck, to put it mildly, because in the past he’s been a major promoter of animal cruelty — he bears a lot of responsibility for the popularization of foie gras over the last few years. I give his restaurant in Evanston a wide berth, and have been […]
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The Big Pet Food Recall, Continued
March 23rd, 2007 · 10 Comments · Advertising, Business, Cats, Factory Farming, Food, Health, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food, Pets, Politics
In the comments to my post about the Big Pet Food Recall earlier this week, AmyC pointed out that the pet food industry isn’t regulated by the FDA; instead it’s self-regulated by an industry group called the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). And then Grendel posted this link: What’s Really in Pet Food, […]
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News: The Pleasure of the Preznit
March 21st, 2007 · 1 Comment · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Film, Food, Health, HIV/AIDS, LGBT, Music, News, Politics, Science
• Preznit Bush is stonewalling and hurling threats of a constitutional showdown over subpoenas. Ocelopotamus say: Call. His. Bluff. If he refuses to obey the rule of law, commence the impeachication. Meanwhile, over at Crooks and Liars, we read this: President Bush kept making the point over and over that allowing his staff members (i.e. […]
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300: A Reader’s Horrifying First-Hand Account
March 21st, 2007 · Comments Off on 300: A Reader’s Horrifying First-Hand Account · Culture, Film, LGBT, Politics
An update to my earlier post about 300: I noted that I haven’t seen the movie myself — and in fact would rather chew tinfoil than be subjected to it — but it turns out my friend Jason S. in San Francisco has actually undergone this harrowing ordeal and is a first-hand witness to its […]
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News: A Hive of Spam and Villainy
March 20th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: A Hive of Spam and Villainy · Activism, Food, Health, Heroes, Internet, LGBT, News, Peace, Politics, Science, Science Fiction, Tech, TV
• A pair of hackers are promising to expose a month’s worth of MySpace bugs to draw attention to security problems with the site. … two hackers going by the names of Mondo Armando and Müstaschio promise to begin disclosing security vulnerabilities in MySpace, News Corp.’s popular social networking site, every day next month. “The […]
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The Two Faces of the Tribune
March 20th, 2007 · Comments Off on The Two Faces of the Tribune · Chicago, Media, News, Politics
Media Matters calls out the Chicago Tribune on its Clinton/Bush double standard: We’ve previously detailed the bizarre Bush-era tendency of major newspaper editorial boards to disregard principles they held dear during the Clinton administration. The Chicago Tribune, for example, editorialized in 1998 that Clinton should resign because his statements about the Monica Lewinsky matter would […]
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News: Three Rings, No Waiting
March 19th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: Three Rings, No Waiting · Books, Culture, Food, LGBT, Lit, Media, News, Politics
• Karl Rove may be facing a subpoena this week if he doesn’t agree to appear before the Senate to testify in the fired prosecutors scandal. The chairman of the judiciary committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, wants White House officials on the record, under oath. The final decision on putting on the agenda subpoenas is mine,” […]
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The McCain Candidacy in a Nutshell
March 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · HIV/AIDS, Media, News, Politics
This particular incident just so perfectly captures the essence of John McCain, 2007. A reporter asked him for his opinion on using government funds for “contraceptives” (i.e., condoms) as a means of HIV prevention. McCain needed to dispatch an assistant to find out what his position was, and help him remember what positions he might […]
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News: Wear Sunscreen
March 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: Wear Sunscreen · Apple, Books, Climate Change, Culture, Internet, iTunes, Language, LGBT, Media, Music, News, Politics, Science, Tech, TV
Worldwide, the winter of 2006-2007 has been the warmest since record keeping began in 1880, according to a new government report. A variety of desperate schemes to save the planet from global warming are being considered by NASA and other organizations — including a man-made volcano that spews sulfur into the atmosphere; a “sun shade” […]
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Swine and Punishment
March 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Swine and Punishment · Factory Farming, Food, News, Politics
A cattle rancher named Nicolette Hahn Niman had an eloquent piece in Wednesday’s New York Times on the inhumane conditions on America’s hog farms: Of the 60 million pigs in the United States, over 95 percent are continuously confined in metal buildings, including the almost five million sows in crates. In such setups, feed is […]
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Alan Simpson on Peter Pace and Alan Turing
March 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Alan Simpson on Peter Pace and Alan Turing · LGBT, News, Politics
Surprisingly, in the furor over Gen. Peter Pace’s comment that homosexuality is “immoral,” the most effective rejoinder I’ve heard so far comes from a former Republican senator, Alan Simpson: As a lifelong Republican who served in the Army in Germany, I believe it is critical that we review — and overturn — the ban on […]
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Mistakes Were Made, 2007 Edition
March 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Mistakes Were Made, 2007 Edition · Comedy, Media, News, Politics
It’s starting to look like we won’t have Abu Gonzales to kick around much longer — even the Republicans are beginning to pile on. Now we’re being told that even Bush is “not happy with” Gonzales, which is a little like my foot being angry at my big toe, but there it is. This bit […]
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