NN08 My Dinner with a Dittohead

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Saturday July 19, 2008 · 11:02 PM PDT

2008/07/19 · 23:02

Friday evening, I took a break from the Netroots Nation 2008 conference to go out to dinner with a friend of mine from high school and his girlfriend; I'll call them Joe and Mary. Joe isn't exactly what you'd call a liberal, by most measures, but he's genuinely open to the possibility that the liberal position on a specific issue may be right. He's also not at all a religious sort, but neither an ardent atheist. Mary, on the other hand, is a Southern Baptist who listens to Rush Limbaugh and watches Fox News. Yes, a real live conservative, although she insists that she's somewhere near the center. She's not really a full-blown Dittohead, but hey, she does listen to Rush and watch Hannity & Colmes. It was quite an interesting chat.

Poll

32 votes Show Results

Best Keynote at Netroots Nation 2008

32 votes Vote Now!

Best Keynote at Netroots Nation 2008

Howard Dean (Thursday night)

9 votes

Kos & Harold Ford (Friday lunch)

1 vote

Nancy Pelosi & Al Gore (Saturday morning)

5 votes

Lawrence Lessig (Saturday lunch)

9 votes

Donna Edwards (Saturday night)

6 votes

Van Jones (Sunday morning)

2 votes

Military Service as an Issue in Presidential Politics

LincMad

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Monday June 30, 2008 · 9:58 PM PDT

2008/06/30 · 21:58

General Wesley Clark inadvertently touched off our indignation-du-jour yesterday by commenting that Senator John McCain's lack of "executive responsibility" — commanding at the broad strategic level rather than at the immediate tactical level — means that McCain's military experience, as much as it proves his courage, dedication, patriotism, and character, does not by itself qualify him for the ultimate "executive responsibility" of being President of the United States with two full-blown shooting wars. General Clark made the point awkwardly and undiplomatically, and in particular sounded somewhat self-serving in pointing out that he, too, had been wounded in battle, but that he had also held a position of strategic command responsibility. I've written my own remarks to more clearly make the point I believe General Clark ought to be making.

LincMad

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Friday June 20, 2008 · 12:00 AM PDT

2008/06/20 · 00:00

BonzoDogBand and CityLightsLover have written about the exchange this evening between Keith Olbermann and Prof. Jonathan Turley on MSNBC's Countdown, discussing the "compromise" reached between Republicans and some Democrats on the "telecom immunity" provisions of the new FISA amendments. Bottom line: the Democrats are rolling over and playing dead for Bush on the issue of eviscerating the Fourth Amendment and setting the precedent that the President can act with no "checks and balances" from the Courts. I was inspired to write a letter to my Representative in Congress, who just happens to be the Speaker of the House.

(MSNBC's video clip of Olbermann and Turley)

Poll

67 votes Show Results

Do you support telecom immunity?

67 votes Vote Now!

Do you support telecom immunity?

No.

5 votes

Hell no!

41 votes

N-O spells NO

2 votes

Are you nuts? NO!

17 votes

Dude, what are you talking about?

2 votes

Serious stuff on Daily Show and Colbert

LincMad

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Wednesday June 18, 2008 · 3:32 AM PDT

2008/06/18 · 03:32

Both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had unjustifiedly obscure but majorly important serious guests tonight. First, Jon Stewart interviewed Lara Logan, the chief foreign correspondent for CBS News, who said of the "mainstream media" news coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan, "If I were to watch the news that you're hearing here in the United States, I'd just blow my brains out, because it would just drive me nuts." I've posted a full transcript on my personal blog.

Stephen Colbert had interviews with the lawyer for one of the Gitmo detainees, and with the author of The Future of the Internet, and How to Stop It. [amazon.com]

LincMad

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Thursday May 15, 2008 · 11:51 PM PDT

2008/05/15 · 23:51

About twelve hours ago, the California Supreme Court ruled that I have a legal right to marry the spouse of my choice, without the requirement that such a spouse be female. That in and of itself is major, and will cause profound political reverberations throughout the nation, since 12% of the U.S. population lives in California. Up till now, with only Massachusetts granting full marriage rights, most other states could bury their heads in the sand, with their leaders hoping that the issue wouldn't hit home on their watch; now, every corner of the country will have to face the question of how to deal with legally married homos. The issue takes a particular resonance for me right now, since I'm writing this entry in the living room of my friend Howard, who moved from San Francisco to Toronto to legally marry the man he loves.

LincMad

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Saturday March 22, 2008 · 12:00 AM PDT

2008/03/22 · 00:00

I just happened to be channel-surfing on my TiVo, which was still on Fox News after recording Billo earlier in the evening. I saw a little exchange between Sean Hannity and Republican former V.P. candidate Jack Kemp, talking about distinguishing between Barack Obama's views on race and those expressed by Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The folks at News Hounds noticed it, and I posted a transcript on my own blog, "The Third Path"; both have embeds of the YouTube video of part of the segment.

Poll

382 votes Show Results

The situation with Rev. Wright will

382 votes Vote Now!

The situation with Rev. Wright will

fade quickly into obscurity

46 votes

percolate a while, but fade before the conventions

217 votes

be an issue in November, if Obama is the nominee

107 votes

doom Obama's candidacy

12 votes

Happy Presidents Day to Me!

LincMad

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Monday February 18, 2008 · 1:36 AM PST

2008/02/18 · 01:36

Well, hey — my name is Lincoln Madison, so I've always felt a certain personal affinity for this particular holiday, ever since Madison Avenue invented it. True, this holiday generally commemorates Lincoln and Washington, and it's downright antipodal to my birthday, but I can still call it my own.

Poll

20 votes Show Results

In Michigan and Florida, the Democrats should

20 votes Vote Now!

In Michigan and Florida, the Democrats should

seat the delegates elected in January

2 votes

not seat any delegates at all

3 votes

seat the delegates, but not let them vote

6 votes

reapportion the delegates by fiat

1 vote

force the states to run new elections, whether they like it or not

8 votes

935 lies + yet another today

LincMad

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Friday January 25, 2008 · 12:24 AM PST

2008/01/25 · 00:24

Keith Olbermann today, in the "Bushed!" segment of Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, quoted White House Press Secretary Dana Perino's reaction to the report of the 935 lies that the administration told between 9/11 and 2003 in selling, to the American people and to the world, the Iraq invasion and the continuing occupation.

[The "935" study] is so flawed, because, as you'll remember, we were part of a broad coalition of countries that deposed a dictator based on a collective understanding of the intelligence. — Dana Perino, 2008-01-24 press briefing

Keith focused on the point that she was referring to the "intelligence you felons made up!," but there's another level on which her comment was itself yet another lie.

Poll

16 votes Show Results

Which is your favorite coalition (MNFI) country?

16 votes Vote Now!

Which is your favorite coalition (MNFI) country?

Kazakhstan

2 votes

Lithuania

5 votes

El Salvador

1 vote

Philippines

0 votes

Albania

5 votes

(other)

3 votes

Colbert is BACK! (link to Huckabee transcript)

LincMad

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Thursday January 10, 2008 · 4:52 AM PST

2008/01/10 · 04:52

Stephen Colbert's guest on Wednesday's Réport was Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, and the first thing I have to say is, it's good to have Colbert back on the air. In the interview, Huckabee not only reiterated his pledge to nominate Colbert as his V.P., he promised to go beyond the gates of Hell to pursue Osama bin Laden: "I will charge Hell with a water pistol, if necessary." He criticized the environmental record of the Bush Administration, was noncommittal about evolution, endorsed RKBA, and opposed gay marriage. But the one bit of satire that might really bite him in the ass was his faux "admission" that he financed his campaign through the illegal interstate sale of firearms.

Poll

57 votes Show Results

How do you feel about Mike Huckabee?

57 votes Vote Now!

How do you feel about Mike Huckabee?

Thank God he'll never be President!

12 votes

If he *does* get elected, I'm fleeing into exile.

8 votes

It could be worse: how about Romneyâ€"Tancredo....

10 votes

He's a flash in the pan who'll be forgotten as soon as the dust settles from Super Tuesday.

6 votes

What's up with Huckabee and Bill Clinton having the same home town?

21 votes

Two very different views of Deliverance

LincMad

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Thursday January 03, 2008 · 7:50 PM PST

2008/01/03 · 19:50

I'm watching MSNBC's coverage of the Iowa caucus, with Chris Matthews (whom I do not call "Tweety") giving a very good summation of the rut in which America finds itself, and comparing this rut to the beginning of the Great Depression.

[The choice of FDR over Hoover in 1932] wasn't an improvement, it wasn't finding somebody smarter than the guy we have in office, it was taking us out of the rut and taking us to a new place. The Biblical term for it, since we're in a Biblical era, is Deliverance. We're being picked up and moved to where we have to be. — Chris Matthews on MSNBC

As he also pointed out, there will be two prominent headlines on newspapers around the world tomorrow: "Obama Wins" and "Hillary Loses." I think Chris Matthews is right that Obama represents Deliverance on the Democratic side, and I think that Huckabee represents the Republican vision of Deliverance. Which vision can capture a clear and convincing majority of the American people?

LincMad

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Thursday October 18, 2007 · 7:41 PM PDT

2007/10/18 · 19:41

I am dumbfounded that this could ever in a million years be a controversial issue. I'm not prepared to tell you exactly where the legal line is between "legitimate aggressive interrogation" and "torture," but I can tell you that, wherever in the fog that line may lie, waterboarding — "the practice of putting somebody in a reclining position, strapping them down, putting cloth over their faces, and pouring water over the cloth to simulate the feeling of drowning" — is miles over the line.

Poll

184 votes Show Results

Should Mukasey be rejected over waterboarding?

184 votes Vote Now!

Should Mukasey be rejected over waterboarding?

Waterboarding is torture, and Mukasey should be rejected.

149 votes

Waterboarding is torture, but Bush will only nominate someone worse.

30 votes

There is some possible ambiguity as to whether it's torture.

2 votes

We should do whatever our President tells us.

2 votes

What does it matter? They're all damned fur'ners!

1 vote

Stephen Colbert is running for President

LincMad

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Wednesday October 17, 2007 · 2:03 AM PDT

2007/10/17 · 02:03

I can't believe no one has written about this yet! On tonight's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Jon Stewart asked Stephen Colbert if he is running for President. Colbert answered that he was considering it, apparently because "The people cry out for a hero." He promised to announce his decision soon, and he fulfilled that campaign promise before the ink was dry on that piece of videotape. On his own show, Colbert reported that he will run for President of the United States in both the Democratic and the Republican primaries in his native state of South Carolina. I don't see much wiggle room here: Colbert is officially running. He is an announced candidate for both parties' nominations.

A couple of pull quotes and some analysis below the fold....

Poll

134 votes Show Results

How will Stephen Colbert do in South Carolina's primaries?

134 votes Vote Now!

How will Stephen Colbert do in South Carolina's primaries?

All concede to Stephen Colbert; he has crushed them.

76 votes

Background noise beneath Gravel and Tancredo.

9 votes

Many Republican delegates; few if any Democratic.

4 votes

Many Democratic delegates; few if any Republican.

14 votes

Did somebody spike the campaign punch?

31 votes

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NN08 My Dinner with a Dittohead

Military Service as an Issue in Presidential Politics

Kill the Telecom Immunity part of FISA

Serious stuff on Daily Show and Colbert

Find me a husband

Jack Kemp rebukes Hannity on Obama-Wright issue

Happy Presidents Day to Me!

935 lies + yet another today

Colbert is BACK! (link to Huckabee transcript)

Two very different views of Deliverance

MSNBC discussion of Waterboarding

Stephen Colbert is running for President