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Does this seem like a good idea to anyone at all? Is it really smart to partner with the other superpower that occupied the country and helped create the backlash that inspired Al Qaeda and the Taliban? Really?
Russian military could be drawn back into Afghanistan
Nato officials explore joint initiatives ahead of landmark alliance summit, which is to include President Medvedev
You know, if we join up with the Japanese and invade China we might really be on to something. Why create new enemies when you can just pull the scabs off other country's old grievances and use them instead?
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"We are already seeing the engine of state power being used to exclude traditional religious believers, especially from posts of cultural power – in the U.S. for example, graduate schools are now kicking out counseling students who say they cannot help gay couples maintain their relationships. They are willing to refer politely such couples to others – but that's not good enough. 'Discriminators' cannot be marriage counselors. In England, courts are beginning to rule that Christians cannot foster or adopt children – because they might be gay and that might be bad for them. (Never mind the abundance of evidence that religion is in fact good for children)."The gay rights movement believe that 'sexual minorities' are the new minorities, that gay is like black and people, culture and government should respond to any distinctions or objection in exactly the same way we respond to racism. That's the model. They say it because they believe. Believe them!" - Mrs. Maggie Srivastav, speaking to the Australian Conservative, who failed to note Maggie's usage of her maiden name because she fears shocking Christianists with her still unseen Hindu husband.
SLAGGIE FACT CHECK: The British example cited is about the singular case of one English couple refused additional foster children in 2007 because of their rabid anti-gay activism.
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But what's making the news is the assessment that the good old U.S.A. has slipped outside the top 20 of least corrupt nations to No. 22.
Nancy Boswell, president of TI in the United States, said lending practices in the subprime crisis, the disclosure of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme and rows over political funding had all rattled public faith about prevailing ethics in America.
"We're not talking about corruption in the sense of breaking the law," she said. "We're talking about a sense that the system is corrupted by these practices. There's an integrity deficit."
Various financial scandals at state and city level had encouraged the impression that the regulatory oversight was weak and that influence could be bought, she added.
Just wait until next year, when the buying of the Tea Party by big corporate money and the current foreclosures scandal get added to the rankings.
Over at FDL, Jim White points out that the mainstream doesn't particularly want to talk about this bit of news today, with the NY Times ignoring the story completely and the Washinton Post burying the lede to talk about Russia instead. Gawker has a bit of snark urging us to celebrate.
It's party time, people. Responsible/lame people might say, "Party time? But we are all sad and worried." That didn't stop the rich people on the Titanic from drinking champagne and using poor people as lifeboats. Just sayin'.
Rich people are always the ones that benefit from corruption, never the poor.
Is she talking about the Tea Party movement, a movement that has no coherent focus other than being pissed that Democrats are temporarily, and to a limited extent, in charge of our political system, and that people of different faiths and skin tones might get some of their tax dollars?
Nah, she's talking about lefty bloggers.
Well, naturally. We have nothing in common except anger, other than [insert long list of goals that everyone from Kevin Drum to Jane Hamsher can agree on].
For one of the New Elites, she sure is dumb.
No wonder he doesn't want to talk about his past with the media.
If teabaggers are so interested in cleaning up government, they could start by not electing known liars to the Senate.
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Ken Buck doesn't understand the First Amendment either: http://wonkette.com/427967/ken-buck-doesnt-understand-the-first-amendment-either#more-427967
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"Hey, guys, mind if I lay these props down for a minute? My arm's really tired!"
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Principled conservatives react
NPR received a bomb threat Monday, five days after its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams sparked a hugely negative reaction.
Sources at the news organization said the threat was received via U.S. mail and was immediately turned over to local police and the FBI. The organization did not publicly disclose the threat or release details, on the advice of law enforcement officials.
The letter didn't reference the Williams firing specifically, but people at NPR, who spoke about it on the condition of anonymity, said the timing and tone suggested it was sent after Williams's widely publicized termination.
Until recently, I'd been confident that teabaggers were mostly too old to engage in any serious terrorist activity. I still hope that's true, but I'm starting to wonder.
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The campaign you aren't watching but should be. Last year, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously to allow same sex marriage in Iowa. This year, Iowans will vote on whether to keep or boot three of the seven justices who decided that case -- and the campaign has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars from national anti-gay groups. ... In Iowa, judges are appointed, not elected. But at the end of every judge's term, he or she goes up for "retention," meaning the populace votes whether to keep them around or throw them out. ... The National Organization for Marriage, the American Family Association and the Family Research Council have seized on the chance to "fire" three of the justices, including Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, and are spending money -- more than $700,000 so far -- asking people to vote against retention. The campaign has also drawn cash from those who support gay marriage, and the justices themselves; the overwhelming majority of independent expenditures in the state, in fact, have been directed at the judicial retention race."
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This is insane. "US House and Senate candidates have surpassed fundraising records for the mid-term elections and are now nearing the $2bn (£1.2bn) spending mark, with elections just one week away. The projection by Public Campaign Action Fund, a watchdog group, breaks down to $4m for each seat at stake. Meanwhile, ex-President Bill Clinton is visiting Illinois in the hope of preventing Republican gains there. President Barack Obama will join him on Saturday to rally Democratic voters."
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The New York Times reports that opponents of ObamaCare have spent $108 million since March to advertise against it, more than six times the amount that supporters have spent.
