Reactions to story from Crooks and Liars

Media & Politics (only one section today) 24-Jul-08 Permanent link to MTA daily media news Obama and German leader discuss war and economics (AP) BERLIN - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as climate and energy issues at Germany’s chancellery Thursday, part of a tour aimed at lifting the first-term senator’s international standing. Achtung! My.BarackObama.com Daily Presidential Tracking Poll Wednesday, July 23, 2008 The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Barack Obama attracting 45% of the vote while John McCain earns 42%. When “leaners” are included, it’s Obama 47% and McCain 45% (see recent daily results)… While Obama has been on an overseas tour, 45% of voters say the Democratic hopeful is too inexperienced to be President. That’s up four percentage points from a week ago. Didn’t I say this trip would only draw attention to his inexperience? Kass: You can’t deny that reporters generally favor Obama “When reporters weren’t arguing about getting access to [Barack Obama's] fact-finding-tour-campaign-commercial this week, they were tossing rose petals before him, so that his feet wouldn’t touch the ground,” writes John Kass [of the Chicago Tribune]. Obama Faking It (by Maggie Gallagher at Real Clear Politics) Obama has a problem: What do you do when you’re a lightly accomplished one-term senator, a former state legislator from Illinois, a Harvard law graduate who has no substantive record of accomplishments, and you are running against a war hero whom polls show that Americans overwhelmingly view as far more fit to be commander in chief? Pose, of course… The left imagines they learned this from Ronald Reagan and the rise of the right: big strong guy, genial, looks good on camera — bingo!… God help us when the people who think like that actually run all three branches of our government. President Obama, if that’s our future, and his team of symbolic analysts will find out soon enough there are realities out there which none of his contrivances are going to be able to help him handle. More important, so will we. Actually, Maggie, Obama’s campaign is patterned after that of George W. Bush, and we’ve just had eight years of the nightmare you foresee with Obama as president.  I fought against the Bush propaganda, and I fight, and will continue to fight, against the Obama propaganda.  At least I’m consistent. Obama visits Jerusalem’s Western Wall JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a surprise pre-dawn visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Thursday, at the end of a trip aimed at showing his strong support for Israel. Obama, wearing a Jewish skullcap, placed a prayer he had written in the wall and bowed his head while a rabbi read a psalm calling for peace in the holy city. One worshipper chanted “Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale” and “Jerusalem is our land” as the Illinois senator stood at the wall, a relic of the ancient Jewish temple destroyed during Roman rule nearly 2,000 years ago. [Emphasis added.] Gateway Pundit has the video.  Any Hebrew speakers out there? Obama Heckled in Israel; Clarifies More Statements; Tells Netenyahu He’s Sleepy (by catfish at Alegre’s Corner) From Jake Tapper, many posts from Obama’s visit. Looks like a grueling day and a half - he met with many leaders, bureaucrats, rabbis. Few, if any, rock star moments. And at his first stop he admitted he was tired! Click through for a hilarious blow by blow. David Gergen on the Maliki “Leak” (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter) “…Barack Obama made the first mistake of his trip, in my judgment, in releasing a statement in which he said exactly what Maliki had said in those conversations. We have a long tradition in this country that we only have one president at a time. He’s the commander in chief and the negotiator in chief. I cannot remember a campaign which a rival seeking the presidency has been in a position negotiating a war that’s under way with another party outside the country.” – David Gergen, CNN’s AC 360, July 21, 2008 But you see, it’s all about winning.  It’s all about managing perceptions.  Protocol be damned.  The security of Iraqis be damned.  And by the way, Gergen is wrong about previous candidates for president not negotiating with foreign leaders prior to being elected.  The ones who have done it before this, that we know of, were Republicans—Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Both of whom Gergen worked for.  Funny they should slip his mind. Richard Nixon appears to have, before he was president, negotiated with Thieu of Vietnam to keep Thieu from the bargaining table before the 1968 election. It kept Hubert Humphrey from being able to declare U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam prior to the election, which he would have then most likely won in a landslide. Christopher Hitchens, The Trial of Henry Kissinger (2001, Verso) Ronald Reagan is accused of having negotiated, before he was president, with Iranian terrorists holding U.S. embassy employees hostage.  Reagan promised to sell arms to Iran in exchange for the terrorists’ waiting until after Reagan’s inauguration to release the hostages.   It helped to make Jimmy Carter look even weaker than he already looked, and helped Reagan win the 1980 election. Robert Parry, Trick or Treason: The October Surprise Mystery (1993, Sheridan Square Press) Obama Backed By Many British Conservatives (Political Wire) The Telegraph has more good news for Sen. Barack Obama before he gets to London: “Almost a third of Tory MPs willing to publicly express their preferences in the US presidential election are prepared to jettison their party’s historic links with the Republicans and back Obama.” But is their support such good news for Obama SUPPORTERS?  You know, the ones who were fooled into thinking he’s some kind of liberal or something. Today’s gotchas: Obama on ‘my time and choosing’… (On Politics, USA Today) [I]n Israel, Obama was asked about whether he would still be willing to meet with leaders of Iran, North Korea and other such nations “without preconditions.” Obama first talked about whether he would be willing to meet with such leaders during the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate one year ago today in South Carolina… Here’s how Obama responded to [Wednesday’s] question about that subject, according to a transcript produced by CQ Transcriptions LLC: “…I think that what I said in response was that I would, at my time and choosing, be willing to meet with any leader if I thought it would promote the national security interests of the United States of America…. But what I also said was that there is a difference between meeting without pre-conditions and meeting without preparation.” The key difference between what Obama said today and what he said a year ago, the McCain campaign maintains, is that a year ago he did not add the clause “at my time and choosing.” That is a caveat Obama spoke about in later discussions. I don’t believe Obama mentioned anything about preparation, either, in the YouTube debate.  So I guess it depends on what the meaning of “pre-conditions” is. Both Ways Barack: He’s No Flip-Flopper (by Uppity Woman at No Quarter) Barack Obama is no flip-flopper. Flip-floppers only hold one position at a time. Obama holds both positions at the same time. Meet Barack and Barack [video]. This video is MTV’s first political ad.  A conservative group is trying to reach young people with its anti-Obama message. Noted… (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire) Yet another Obama lie: The signs of this man’s addiction to deceit are obvious and serious. Progressives are forgiving outright fabrications that they would have shamed George W. Bush. In Israel, Obama told his hosts to judge him by his “deeds,” which is a bit like judging a squid by its haircut. “‘Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don’t obtain a nuclear weapon,’ he said.” Barack Obama is not on the Banking Committee. Maybe he’s spent so little time in the Senate that he doesn’t know which committess he’s on. “I think that the definition of success depends on how you look at it.” – Barack Obama, quoted by the Associated Press on July 22, 2008 Move over, Bushspeak—make way for Obamaspeak. Obama on the Brink (by Robert Scheer at TruthDig) Barack Obama is betraying his promise of change and is in danger of becoming just another political hack. Yes, just like former maverick John McCain, who has refashioned himself as a mindless rubber stamp for the most inane policies of the miserably failed Bush administration. Both candidates are embracing, rather than challenging, the fundamental irrationality of Bush’s “war on terror,” which substitutes hysteria for rational analysis in appraising the dangers the country faces… At a time when we desperately need a president to remind us we have nothing to fear but fear itself, we are increasingly being treated to a presidential campaign driven by fear. THE NEXT NEW YORKER COVER (by Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services, via email but soon to appear at CommonWonders.com) I am forced to ask what’s going on at a magazine I have long admired: Staff writer [Hendrik] Hertzberg chastises angry liberals for indulging in principle-based Obama-bashing on the grounds that pragmatism rules in presidential politics; and at the same time, a Der Sturmer-style cover, which is meant to be a principled attack on the politics of fear, pulls up short of actually satirizing the perpetrators of that brand of politics… I picture a New Yorker cover that has come to its senses. On it, both John McCain and the newly hawkish Barack Obama — the guy who threatens to invade Pakistan — kneel in photo-op piety in the Church of Political Pragmatism as the TV cameras roll. Obama is still an unknown quantity (by Gene Lyons) As a young literary scholar of my acquaintance put it, “Satire can tell us things about the artist’s community that The New Yorker may not have intended. The cover lampoons the portrait of Obama as an Islamic militant, but it also illuminates some real misgivings about the many things we just don’t know about him behind his hope-y change-y façade. It gives us a glimpse of anxieties perhaps even felt by the over-eager media. Most people won’t believe the extremist portrait, but they’ll intuitively grasp the uneasiness behind it.” The real danger’s not that Obama is perceived as a secret agent, but that he is seen as an unknown quantity, too glib a shape-shifter to be trusted. Despite worshipful media coverage of his pilgrimage to the Middle East and Europe, that remains a strong possibility. Vanity Fair tried to parody the parody, and failed miserably.  Its rendition of the McCains doesn’t convey the same feeling of smug self-satisfaction, or the “I’m so smart to have put one over on you” on the candidate’s face.  Click here to compare and contrast the two covers. Obama’s legal team (by DCblogger at Corrente) Cass Sunstein cautions against prosecuting criminal conduct from the current Administration. He thinks that Alito and Roberts are “minimalists.” Robert Bauer advocated pardoning Scooter Libby. I have a very bad feeling about this. What “Egregious Crimes?” (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft) [L]ost in the shuffle of Obama advisor Cass Sunstein’s statement about [prosecuting Bush administration members only for] egregious crimes is the fact that Sunstein actually does not believe that Bush Administration did anything wrong. As I discussed in 2005, Sunstein supported the Bush Administration claims on military tribunals and illegal wiretapping. Indeed, Sunstein endorsed the Bush Administration’s argument regarding the inherent authority of the President to disregard laws when acting as Commander in Chief… Sunstein now wishes us all to forget that he fully supported the Bush Administration’s lawlessness. He clearly wants to play a role in a potential Obama Administration. Many economists see McCain better for stocks: poll WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. stock market would fare better in the first year after a victory by Republican presidential candidate John McCain than by his Democratic rival Barack Obama, according to a majority of economists at U.S. banks and research groups polled by Reuters. McCain’s, Obama’s tax plans would hike debt, study says WASHINGTON — John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s tax proposals would add trillions of dollars to the national debt, according to an authoritative analysis released Wednesday. On immigration, McCain and Obama very much alike (McClatchy) WASHINGTON — Like many voters who are concerned about immigration, Angelica Salis has warm feelings and nagging doubts about both John McCain and Barack Obama. AP, via Bag News Notes Obama’s Fundraising Comes Under Scrutiny (by Charles Lemos at No Quarter, from his blog, By The Fault Two articles in the US media point to what I have long been saying about Obama’s duplicitous statements on where his money is coming from and it is not from “ordinary Americans”. It is from corporate interests and Washington lobbyists and yes PAC money. The only difference is that backhanded manner in which Obama collects his millions… Of the $20.3 million Obama’s joint fundraising committees amassed in June, 86%, or $17.6 million, came in chunks of $5,000 or more; 64% came in increments of $28,500 or more, campaign finance reports filed over the weekend show. Frank Clark, head of Commonwealth Edison, which supplies electricity to Chicago, gave $2,300 to Obama early in the campaign and $28,500 last month to the Democratic White House Victory Fund. John Rogers, founder of the Chicago investment house Ariel Capital, also gave the maximum to Obama’s presidential account, and $13,000 to Democratic White House Victory. According to the campaign, Clark and Rogers are among Obama’s largest fundraisers, each having raised more than $200,000 from friends and associates. Employees at Exelon, the parent company of Commonwealth Edison, have given more than $180,000. Click through for much, much more. BAA BAA BLAH (Gendergappers) Today’s Democrats are yesterday’s Republicans: might makes right backed by money. The former staunch advocates of democracy in Liberal Talk always claimed that Democrats allowed free speech and allowed differences of opinion. [Now, we] are being removed from more and more so-called Democratic Blogs and Lists because any OPINION adverse to BO is forbidden… Nonetheless millions are speaking out against the Democratic leadership that purged the Party’s laws and values to assure BO of the nomination and freeze out Hillary and her 18 million from the nomination process. This man is beneath us (by John: south of Melrose at Liberal Rapture) Cannonfire is doing a masterful job of compiling all Obama Cultist Comments. Again I warn you if you click here - it is ghastly reading… Even after all this time I find it disorienting to think that these people are in the party I once called home… Obama is a poisonous figure in American life and his presence has unleashed rage and insanity on the Left. We must oppose this mob and and their dear leader… They are bigots dressed to look like liberals. The pungent whiff of totalitarianism surrounds them. Their way or the highway. The worst part: “their way” is malleable. “Their way” is whatever results in power. As I’ve said before, they are no different from the Bushbots of 2000. PUMAs stalking Obama (bBy Mark PrestonBy Mark Prestony Mark Preston, CNN) WASHINGTON (CNN) — Party Unity My A–! Not exactly the slogan you want heading into your presidential nominating convention, but one that is being repeated online and in neighborhood bars by a group of disenchanted Democrats, who have dubbed themselves PUMAs. Why are they angry? It all depends on whom you ask. Some of the PUMAs accuse Democratic leaders of rigging the primaries to favor Sen. Barack Obama, while others feel that he is not qualified to be the party nominee, let alone competent enough to lead the country… Should the Obama campaign be worried about the PUMAs? A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll showed that more than four in 10 Democrats still preferred Clinton as the nominee. [Emphasis added.] Not only that, Clinton still does better against McCain than Obama. If we’re PUMAs, then Obamaphiles are… (by sm77 at The Confluence) CHEATahs! (Insert British narrotor voice): “The Obama CHEATah is a malignant predator on Democracy. Like its predeccesor, the DITTOHEAD and Republicans 2000-2008, the CHEATah cheats and steals votes in order to win elections. They also are experts in creating false narratives to hide the flaws of their incompetent, inexperienced and ineligible candidate. CHEATahs roam the blogosphere, DNC and mainstream media… Why is everyone who has an opinion on PUMA thinking that it’s just a “girl thing” or because our feelings are “hurt that our candidate did not win?” Why aren’t journalists and opinion makers … talking about the DNC and RBC violation of fair reflection as the main reason why REAL Democrats won’t unite under the Precious’ mantle?  THEY CHEATED!!!! Thursday: Those Meddling Kids (by riverdaughter at The Confluence) Now, I like the publicity, but the DNC is going to want to squash us like a bug… My point is, they have done a lot already to get us to shut up, sit down and go away but we seem to be holding out.  So, they will have to send in the SWAT team to take a wrecking ball and split us into factions. Hmmm, how do we get around that one?   Think, think, think.  I know!  Let’s first keep the mission simple.  If there is no mission creep, there won’t be a lot to argue about.  So, as our goal, let’s get Hillary;s name nominated at the convention in Denver.  Let’s not look beyond Denver for the time being.  Simple goal, And let’s try to keep our egos in check… Now, Conflucians, the $%&@’s about to hit the fan.  Find a buddy, hold hands, stay together and look both ways before crossing the street.  We will be ok if we stick together. Welcome to “Brainwave Analysis”–Where Brainwaves are “Taken, Analyzed, Cleaned-up, Processed” and the Metrics are “Extracted” (Coming to a Future Political Campaign Near You?) (by GRL at InsightAnalytical) Tuesday (July 22) I was out early and happened to tune in to NPR’s “Morning Edition.”  I came in on the middle of an interview about something called “neurofocus”… The segment was actually about a company named NeuroFocus, Inc. (”Brainwave Analysis for Audience Engagement”) which is gathering data about how people respond to messaging in a new way which is problematical downright SCARY… NeuroFocus is hooking people up to electrodes to track their responses to advertising and telelvision programs… Now let’s jump … to political campaigns.  Can you imagine if a “perfected” version of this technology is adapted to political surveys or if it is eventually used by a political candidate like Obama, who already is being helped by an enabling media and large numbers of uniformed, fanatic supporters? Can you imagine “correct” responses being inserted into survey participants? Horrible thought, isn’t it?  As bad as things are with polling and manipulation, things could be getting a whole lot worse… Reflecting On Values Promotes Love, Acceptance ScienceDaily (July 23, 2008) — No one enjoys being told that their behavior is harmful to themselves or others. In fact, most people respond defensively when confronted with evidence that their behavior is irrational, irresponsible, or unhealthy. Fortunately, research has shown that just a few minutes of writing about an important value can reduce defensiveness. In a new experiment, [researchers] suggest that … writing about important values doesn’t reduce defensiveness by boosting the self [as was though previously]; instead, it enables people to transcend the self by focusing on people or things they care about beyond themselves. In two experiments, they found that writing about important values makes people feel loving and connected, and that these other-directed feelings account for reduced defensiveness. In other words, we don’t need to be tricked into acting in certain ways.  There is also scientific evidence that people can be persuaded to make political judgments rationally, rather than emotionally, simply by being reminded to think rather than emote. (The Ideological Animal: “Simply reminding us to use our heads, it turns out, can be enough to make us do it.”)  Which method of persuasion would YOU rather be associated with, this one, or the manipulative one described in the just prior excerpt, of which Obama chief strategist David Axelrod is a master practitioner? No Slime or Goo on Tap for DNC Protesters (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft) The City and County of Denver and the ACLU have reached a partial agreement with respect to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Colorado seeking details of security purchases made by police for the Democratic National Convention. Denver has now provided details of the $18.2 million spent to date and those planning on protesting can rest a little easier: The city also announced today that none of the equipment purchases include nonlethal weapons that discharge “slime” or “goo” to immobilize persons or vehicles or that use microwaves or sonic waves to induce pain or discomfort in targets. Olympic Deal Sealed: Obama Makes $5 Million Buy WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — It’s official. Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal’s Olympics coverage. In the first significant network-TV buy of any presidential candidate in at least 16 years, the Obama campaign has taken a $5 million package of Olympics spots that includes network TV as well as cable ads. McCain credits Bush for $10 drop in oil prices (On Politics, USA Today) President Bush’s decision to lift a federal embargo on offshore oil drilling is one reason oil prices have fallen $10 a barrel in the past couple weeks, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said [Wednesday]. It wasn’t Bush’s fault that the price went up, but he gets credit for the price coming down? CBS violates its own Standards and Practice by altering transcript and video of McCain interview (John Amato at Crooks and Liars) CBS news had a huge scoop Tuesday night on John McCain, because he falsely claimed that the surge was responsible for the “Sunni Awakening in Anbar.” That is FALSE. The Sunnis changed positions before the surge was ever discussed so—McCain once again makes a major mistake on the one issue his campaign is running on—The Iraq war. However, CBS probably violated its own rules (Standards and Practice) by altering the video of Katie Couric’s interview with McCain that left out his major blunder on this issue and then broadcast it on our airwaves. CBS should not paste together separate answers from different questions to make it appear like an answer was fluid. It was completely taken out of context. I understand that a fair amount of editing has to be done, but what they did failed to meet the legitimacy test. Fair enough, John, but neither should the New York Times have turned down John McCain’s oped answer to Obama’s Iraq War memo.  If they believed that some of the statements in McCain’s piece were false, they could have said so.  In fact, it would have been the perfect opportunity to rebut the editorial before it was published elsewhere without conditions (see below).  But I fail to see how they can blatantly demand that a candidate say what they want him to say.  Especially when you consider the part the NYT played in getting the Iraq War started. Washington Times joins conservative media in publishing McCain’s error-filled op-ed. (Think Progress) Following the lead of many other conservative outlets, the Washington Times today published Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) error-filled op-ed that the New York Times recently rejected. In an editor’s note, the Washington Times explains its decision: “EDITOR’S NOTE: The New York Times declined to run this op-ed. The New York Post ran a shorter version. We are running the op-ed in its entirety, as has the Drudge Report and some other media.” Indeed, many of the “other media” who have published the op-ed are conservative outlets, including foxnews.com and Rupert Murdoch’s The New York Post. Joe Scarborough: Olbermann “too stupid to be on TV” for running McCain’s Anbar gaffe (by SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars) While reporting on McCain’s Anbar gaffe, the “Morning Joe” squad not only fails to acknowledge how serious and unprofessional it was for CBS to selectively edit the gaffe out of the interview, they completely buy into the McCain campaign’s damage control spin. And as if it that weren’t bad enough, Joe Scarborough makes it a point to go out of his way and call the arm-waving host that ran with the story (an obvious allusion to his colleague Keith Olbermann) “ignorant” and “too stupid to be on TV.” Click through to watch the video. David Gregory: NBC’s Lame-Duck? Over the past seven years, David Gregory has become master of the dark art of theatrical confrontation, and the perfect whip-smart, self-important foil to President Bush’s aw-shucks anti-elitism. For a long time, when the president was hot, so too was “Stretch.” But lame-duck presidents create lame-duck White House correspondents. Novak cited after hitting pedestrian (Politico) Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., on Wednesday morning. “I didn’t know I hit him. … I feel terrible,” a shaken Novak told reporters from Politico and WJLA as he was returning to his car. “He’s not dead, that’s the main thing.” Stretch of NY highway named for Russert WASHINGTON - President Bush has signed a bill honoring the late NBC newsman Tim Russert by naming a stretch of highway in New York after him. A Tale of Two Headlines, 7/23/08: Bloomberg, “House Lawmakers to Vote on Fannie-Freddie Rescue Plan”; AP, “House to vote on foreclosure rescue measure” – The truth, from Dean Baker: Yes, Virginia, Henry Paulson is Bailing Out Fannie and Freddie Shareholders Media Matters for America headlines • Dobson may back McCain because “he seems to understand the Muslim threat” • MSNBC’s Witt did not note McCain falsehoods in Anbar statement or in later campaign statement purporting to defend it • Toobin: “[I]f there is one public figure in America who has gotten better press over the years than John McCain, I don’t know who it is” • If Savage was smearing only misdiagnoses of autism, why did he previously call autism itself a “phony disease”? • Hannity falsely suggested Obama set out plan for Afghanistan only after his visit — but he has called for more troops for years • Jonah Goldberg the latest to falsely claim McCain called for Rumsfeld’s resignation Dickerson: Twitter doesn’t threaten the traditions of our craft To some, the idea that any journalist would willingly embrace a smaller space is horrifying and dumb, says John Dickerson. But Twitter adds, rather than subtracts, from what we do. “As I spend nearly all of my time on the road these days reporting on the presidential campaigns, Twitter is the perfect place for all of those asides I’ve scribbled in the hundreds of notebooks I have in my garage from the campaigns and stories I’ve covered over the years.” || Amy Gahran: I use Twitter to turn my notetaking process into live coverage for interested people. New role models for journalism will come from lovers of journalism “Not lovers of profit, real estate or market share,” writes Robert Niles. “If a manager’s commitment is to profit, then that manager will gut journalism … to save the bottom line. But if the commitment is to journalism first, then the manager will chuck the business model to protect the reporting.” Scripps Profit Drops by Almost Half E.W. Scripps says profit fell 48 percent on a sharp revenue decline at its newspaper properties and costs related to splitting off its digital businesses. New York Times 2Q profit drops 82 percent NEW YORK (AP) - New York Times Co. says its second-quarter earnings fell 82 percent from the year-ago quarter boosted by a one-time gain. Meanwhile, print advertising revenue continued to shrink.  New York Times to raise newsstand price to $1.50 Jul 23rd, 2008 | NEW YORK — The New York Times Co. will increase the Monday-Saturday newsstand cost of its flagship paper by 25 cents to $1.50, the publisher said Wednesday. Times Chief Executive Janet Robinson said the price increase for The New York Times will take effect Aug. 18. The last increase came a year ago. The company recently announced a 4.5 percent increase in home delivery prices for the paper that takes effect this month, the second bump in a year. The increases helped overall circulation revenue rise 2.5 percent in the latest quarter. Cuts Needed, Tribune’s Zell Says, ‘So We Can Survive’ Real estate mogul Sam Zell, who took control of media giant Tribune Co. about six months ago, defended yesterday the staffing and page cuts under way at its newspapers as necessary in the worst advertising climate in decades. “I have a responsibility … to keep this business alive when cash flow has eroded at a prodigious level,” Zell said. Denver newsman feels like an exile a year after being sacked “I still want journalism,” writes former Denver Post columnist Jim Spencer. “Journalism just doesn’t seem to want me — at least not enough to pay me a livable wage with benefits and job security. That pretty much sums up the state of the industry.” Sony Opens Up E-Book Reader To Other Online Stores; Still Limited (Paid Content) Finally, a competitive move from Sony worth writing about, though it has its own caveats: it is opening up Sony Reader, its e-book reading device which is a competitor to Amazon Kindle, to other third party book stores. A new software update to the Reader will enable it to display books encoded in a format being adopted by several large publishers, meaning users can buy these ebooks from other stores, besides Sony’s own… Reader is retailed for $300 device, while Kindle is for $359. Amazon’s bookstore has about 140,000 ebooks, while Sony only has about 45,000. Clear Channel Settles Tribune Suits Clear Channel Communications said on Wednesday it settled lawsuits against Tribune Co and several former Clear Channel employees lured away by the newspaper publisher and broadcaster. Clear Channel said Tribune agreed not to further solicit or hire Clear Channel employees under contract. Merger of XM and Sirius Appears Close to Approval The FCC was on the verge of approving a merger between XM and Sirius on Wednesday, a move that would end a nearly 18-month government review of a deal that would essentially create a monopoly in satellite radio. Deborah Taylor Tate, a Republican member of the FCC, appeared ready to vote in favor of the deal, which would break a deadlock along party lines among the other four commissioners. Networks Lose Patience; Sue RedLasso Over Online Clips (Paid Content) The TV networks have finally lost patience and have filed a lawsuit against the controversial online video clipping service RedLasso, accusing it of copyright infringement. The suit, filed by NBC Universal, Fox News Network and Fox Television Stations in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleges RedLasso hasn’t been licensed or authorized by the networks to reproduce copies of their news and entertainment programming, reports WSJ. In May, CBS, NBC and Fox demanded that the company stop making their content embeddable without their permission. RedLasso’s response then: It would continue to make its site available for use by bloggers, even as was working toward a mutual agreement with the networks..its defense: fair use. UK’s Biggest ISPs Agree To Warn Illegal Music, Movie Downloaders (Paid Content) Threatened with legislation by April if they fail to halt piracy, the UK’s six largest ISPs will today announce a plan to tackle illegal music and movie downloading by sending warning letters to thousands of customers. Google Throws Open Rival for Wikipedia — Anonymous Authors Discouraged Experts in a given subject log into a Google account and use the company’s Knol software to post an item, also known as a knol to the site. In some senses, the process is like producing a blog post — but in this case it’s not something written off the cuff but carefully crafted to coherently explain a single subject. One key attribute: Knols are meant to be signed with the author’s actual name. This is the way to garner credibility, but will it inhibit spontaneity? Good-bye, Google Bomb Bloggers, take note: the old-school Google bomb is no more. That’s right, the online behemoth best known for its search engine says that it has rejiggered its legendary and proprietary technology so that online efforts by bloggers to manipulate its top-secret search algorithm to create cheeky, offensive and decidedly off-message answers to searches will no longer work. How long before some hacker cracks the code again? Fighting Negative Online Items On You Daniel Sieberg points out that there are companies that help people and businesses combat such postings, by helping to push them way down on search results pages.

Poll: Blacks, whites don’t see eye-to-eye on race relations via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 7/23/08 CNN - A new national poll suggests that black and white Americans don’t see eye-to eye-on race relations and racial discrimination. In a CNN/Essence Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Tuesday morning, 43 percent of African-Americans questioned say that racial discrimination against blacks is a very serious problem, with only 11 percent of whites agreeing. On the flip side, 42 percent of whites surveyed say that racial discrimination against blacks is not a serious problem, with only 12 percent of blacks agreeing. More than half of blacks questioned say they’ve been the victim of racial discrimination. But only 32 percent of white respondents said they’ve been a victim of discrimination because of their race, a difference of 24 points. There’s also a difference of opinion when it comes to the future. Fifty-one percent of blacks polled say that race relations will always be a problem in the U.S. Only 41 percent of white respondents agreed. When it comes to their children, a slight majority, 55 percent, of black respondents with kids under the age of 18 say they feel financially secure to provide for their children. That number rises to 72 percent for whites questioned in the survey. The survey was conducted from March 26 to April 2, with 2,184 adult Americans, equally split between black and white respondents, questioned by telephone. The survey has a sampling error of plus or minus two percentage points. ShareThis New Obama Spanish-Language Radio Ad Emphasizes His Fatherless Upbringing via TPM Election Central by Greg Sargent on 7/23/08 Is the Obama campaign selectively referring to his long-absent father in some ads and not in others, depending on the target audience? The question — which was answered by the Obama campaign with a resounding No — was posed to the Obama campaign on a conference call with reporters today where Obama aides unveiled a new Spanish language radio ad that emphasizes his fatherless upbringing to appeal to struggling immigrants. “Some people have power and connections,” says the ad, which will run in Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Nevada. “But most of us have to make our own way through life.” “This is true even for the man who could become the next President … Barack Obama,” the ad continues. “He grew up without a father — raised by his mother with the support of his grandparents.” On the conference call, Politico reporter Ben Smith asked whether the decision to include his father in some ads but not others was a strategic one. The Obama campaign flatly rejected the premise of the question. “There’s no strategy going on to eliminate him by any stretch,” senior Obama adviser Steve Hildebrand said. The campaign also cited Obama’s books and speeches mentioning his dad. Full script of the ad after the jump. “Nuestro Propio Camino”[BO:] I´m Barack Obama and I approve this message. [VO:] Some people have power and connections. But most of us have to make our own way through life. This is true even for the man who could become the next President … Barack Obama. He grew up without a father — raised by his mother with the support of his grandparents. Through student loans and hard work, he graduated from college. Obama never forgot his roots… He worked with churches to help families get job training and after-school care for their children. In the State Senate, he passed a law that helped reduce the welfare roles by over 80% by helping families to secure jobs. And despite the political pressure, Obama has stood with us for immigration reform and spoke out for our veterans. It’s time we had a President who understands we all deserve a chance to make our own way. Larry Craig wants to continue ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ via Think Progress by Matt on 7/23/08 Today, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel is holding the first congressional hearings on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 15 years. To mark the occasion, the conservative news outlet CNSNews.com asked some members of Congress if they still support the discriminatory program. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), who was busted last year for allegedly trying to pick up another male in an airport bathroom, said that he believes “we ought to sustain it“: Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) told CNSNews.com, “Current policy has served us well. I think we ought to sustain it. I see no evidence that it should be repealed.” 60 percent of Americans want a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. via Think Progress by Matt on 7/23/08 Teasing the release of the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll tonight, First Read reports that on the heels of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s embrace of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, “60% of registered voters believe it’s a good idea for the US to set such a timetable, while 30% say it’s a bad idea.” (HT: Atrios) Scarborough Defends McCain, Criticizes Bloggers ‘Eating Cheetos’ In Their ‘Underwear’ via Think Progress by Amanda on 7/23/08 Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) inaccurately claimed that the surge was responsible for beginning the Sunni revolt against al Qaeda in Iraq’s Anbar province: “Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening.” This morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough attempted to defend McCain’s comment: Anybody that would argue the Sunni Awakening would have survived in Al Anbar province without the surge…is so ignorant of the facts on the ground in Western Iraq, in Al Anbar province and what the Sunni sheiks were doing throughout 2007 — they’re too stupid to be on television. […] The Anbar Awakening started in the fall of 2006. World War II started in December of 1941. That battled continued. The invasion of Normandy happened three years later. Good things happened. The surge happened six months later, and that’s when things started getting better in Anbar province. Also during this segment, Scarborough attacked liberal bloggers for correcting McCain’s error, saying they were probably “just sitting there, eating their Cheetos” and saying, “Let me google Anbar Awakening!” He added, “Dust flying — Cheeto dust flying all over. They’re wiping it on their bare chest while their underwear — you know, their Hanes.” Watch it: First of all, McCain did not simply tie the surge to the Anbar Awakening. He said that the Anbar Awakening began with the surge. As several bloggers pointed out, this claim is completely false. The Awakening began in September 2006; President Bush didn’t even announce the surge until January 2007. Things were getting better in Anbar long before the surge. Additionally, as Colin Kahl writes in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, the Awakening was driven not by sheiks’ confidence in the surge, but by their belief that the United States would soon be withdrawing from Iraq. “U.S. forces had to convince the Sunnis that they were not occupiers — that is, that they did not intend to stay forever,” writes Kahl. And for the record, ThinkProgress does not regularly eat Cheetos, nor do we blog in our underwear. But we do use a Google now and then. Digg It! Transcript: (more…) Joe Scarborough: Olbermann “too stupid to be on TV” for running McCain’s Anbar gaffe via Crooks and Liars by SilentPatriot on 7/23/08 Wow. There is so much hackery in this short clip that it’s hard to know where to begin. While reporting on McCain’s Anbar gaffe, the “Morning Joe” squad not only fails to acknowledge how serious and unprofessional it was for CBS to selectively edit the gaffe out of the interview, they completely buy into the McCain campaign’s damage control spin. And as if it that weren’t bad enough, Joe Scarborough makes it a point to go out of his way and call the arm-waving host that ran with the story (an obvious allusion to his colleague Keith Olbermann) “ignorant” and “too stupid to be on TV.” Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Heather for vids and transcript) “Look let me tell you….and I know a couple of hosts ran this last night and made a huge deal because some liberal blogger picked it up. I will guarantee you the host that ran it, were waving their arms, had no idea whether the Sunni Awakening, or, or or, the surge began at the same time. They also, anybody that would argue that the Sunni Awakening would have survived in Al Anbar Province, without the surge, anybody that would make that argument is so ignorant of the facts on the ground in Western Iraq, in Al Anbar Province, and what the Sunni sheiks were doing throughout 2007, that they are too stupid to be on TV. And I hope they don’t carry that argument much longer because it is laughable.” Let me try and break this down for the slow among us. This is what McCain said: “Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history.” Actually, no, it’s not a “matter of history.” Whether or not the surge helped strengthen the al-qaeda-routing awakening is not the issue; the issue is McCain crediting the surge with creating the awakening in the first place. That is, as a matter of fact, UNTRUE. Now, if McCain had said the surge “strengthened the awakening,” it would be different. But by saying it “began the awakening,” he is deliberately distorting the time line in order to give the surge more credit than it’s due, and thus give himself more credit than he’s due. It’s that simple. When confronted by Senator Obama with the prospect that the surge isn’t entirely responsible for the security improvements, McCain is forced to play the only card he has left in his deck and attribute everything to the surge, even though the greatest gains began before it. It’s not hard to understand. I wonder if the McCain campaign realizes how foolish they look right now. While Barack Obama is overseas looking presidential and having his foreign policy ratified by the Iraqi government, John McCain is home undermining his own foreign policy “expertise,” undercutting his main argument for the surge, and looking childish as he stomps his feet and blames the press. All I can say is…keep it up! McCain Debunks His Own Anbar Gaffe via Crooks and Liars by SilentPatriot on 7/23/08 As we reported earlier today, Senator McCain was caught reinventing the Anbar awakening time line during an interview with Katie Couric Tuesday — an interview CBS inexplicably edited to cover up for McCain. Well, today HuffPo’s Seth Colter Walls has dug up even more proof that the awakening’s most important progress occurred before the surge plan was publicly announced — let alone implemented — including remarks from John McCain and Joe Lieberman from an American Enterprise Institute speech in January 2007. McCain: “Too often the light at the tunnel has turned out to be a train, but I really believe — I really believe that there’s a strong possibility that you may see a very substantial change in Anbar province due to this new changes in our relationships with the sheiks in the region. … But it’s important, as I said in my opening remarks, that this troop surge be significant and sustained. Otherwise, don’t do it.” Lieberman: “I wrote last week of a conversation I had after John and I and our delegation met with our military leadership in Anbar province — a tough, brilliant, committed group of soldiers making progress there, turning the Sunni sheiks in that province to our side against Al Qaeda.” The McCain campaign released a statement last night in which they claim that the surge helped consolidate earlier gains in Anbar, but that’s not what McCain said in his original remarks: “Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history.” So either McCain is lying about the Anbar timeline, or he’s simply confused about what happened and when. Either way, this has to be problematic for a candidate who is running on the sole platform of being better equipped to handle the war. If I could venture a guess, I would say that McCain deliberately distorted the effects of the surge in order to argue that it alone is responsible for the the reduction in violence. As I said earlier, McCain’s only hope for winning in November is to convince enough voters that the surge is the only reason we’re “winning” in Iraq, and the he is primarily responsible for it. Once Barack Obama challenged that narrative by pointing out the Anbar awakening was already taking shape and fighting back against al Qaeda before the troop increase, McCain was left with no choice but to re-write history to comport with the version he’s trying to tell. UPDATE: Here’s what McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said yesterday about Obama: “If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda.” Well as it turns out, the sheik cited by McCain and Bounds was tragically murdered last year. Rove denies any involvement in Siegelman scandal. via Think Progress by Satyam on 7/23/08 Today, TPMmuckraker obtained the written answers from Karl Rove to questions posed to him by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) about former Alabama governor Don Siegelman’s allegedly politically-motivated prosecution. In the letter, Rove denies involvement in Siegelman’s prosecution, contradicting an affidavit and the sworn testimony of GOP lawyer Dana Jill Simpson: I have never communicated, either directly or indirectly, with Justice Department or Alabama officials about the investigation, indictment, potential prosecution, prosecution, conviction, or sentencing of Governor Siegelman, or about any other matter related to his case, nor have I asked any other individual to communicate about these matters on my behalf. I have never attempted, either directly or indirectly, to influence these matters. Earlier this month, Rove — despite being subpoenaed — skipped a House hearing on the Siegelman case by fleeing the country to Yalta, the historic Black Sea resort in Ukraine. Video: Moscow can’t be ignored via MSNBC.com: Politics/Elections on 7/23/08 July 23: Author David Silva tells Race for the White House’s David Gregory why the next president cannot ignore Vladimir Putin and Russia, especially if the phone rings at 3 a.m. (Other) Army tells Lions draft pick to put NFL on hold via CNN.com on 7/23/08 Read full story for latest details. Stolen baby tied to Guatemala adoption system via CNN.com on 7/23/08 Read full story for latest details. Campaign war chests near $200 million via CNN.com on 7/23/08 Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama and the major political parties supporting their presidential bids have amassed campaign war chests totaling almost $200 million, according to campaign finance documents filed this week with the Federal Election Commission. Obama heads to Europe after visit to holy site via CNN.com on 7/23/08 Sen. Barack Obama is on his way to Europe, the next leg in an international trip intended to bolster his foreign-policy credentials. What Jesus (pbuh) said about Muhammed (pbuh) via IslamicTube.net - [Newest videos] on 7/24/08 http://www.islamic-invitation.com<br />Sheikh Khalid Yasien : What Jesus ( pbuh ) said about Muhammed ( pbuh ).<br />http://www.islamic-invitation.com Watch HERE Added by: islamicinvitation Date: 2008-07-22 Video: Obama projecting presidential image? via MSNBC.com: Politics/Elections on 7/23/08 July 23: The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart discusses the image factor of Obama’s trip to the Middle East, and why both candidates are racing to surround themselves with an impression of youth. (Other) Video: Wesley Clark: It’s not too late via MSNBC.com: Politics/Elections on 7/23/08 July 23: With the possibility of the U.S. fighting four fronts in the Middle East, retired Gen. Wesley Clark weighs in on which nation is the biggest threat, and how we can turn around our relationships with Iran and Afghanistan. (Other) GOP Senator’s Ad Hits Al Franken’s “Tasteless” Jokes And “Juicy Porn” via TPM Election Central by Eric Kleefeld on 7/23/08 Check out this new attack ad from Minnesota GOP Senator Norm Coleman, who’s locked in a tough race with comedian Al Franken — it’s Coleman’s first TV spot directly attacking Franken for his history of dirty jokes: “Foul-mouthed attacks on anyone he disagrees with,” says the actor playing a blue-collar everyman. “Tasteless, sexist jokes. Writing all that juicy porn.” The “juicy porn” line is in reference to a comedy essay Franken wrote years ago for Playboy, featuring graphic sexual humor. And make no mistake: the Coleman campaign will be spending the next three and a half months mining all those jokes from Franken’s career for attack material. After 60 years, black military officers rare via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 7/23/08 Associated Press - Sixty years after President Truman desegregated the military, senior black officers are still rare, particularly among the highest ranks. Blacks make up about 17 percent of the total force, yet just 9 percent of all officers. That fraction falls to less than 6 percent for general officers with one to four stars, according to data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press. The rarity of blacks in the top ranks is apparent in one startling statistic: Only one of the 38 four-star generals or admirals serving as of May was black. And just 10 black men have ever gained four-star rank — five in the Army, four in the Air Force and one in the Navy, according to the Pentagon. The dearth of blacks in high-ranking positions gives younger African-American soldiers few mentors of their own race. And as the overall percentage of blacks in the service falls, particularly in combat careers that lead to top posts, the situation seems unlikely to change. Still, officials this week can point to some historic gains by blacks in the services as the Pentagon commemorates Truman’s signing of an executive order on July 26, 1948, mandating the end of segregation in the military. Best known among the four-stars is retired Gen. Colin Powell, who later became the country’s first black secretary of state, under President Bush. Another is retired Gen. Johnnie E. Wilson, who in 1961, at age 17, spied an “Uncle Sam Wants You” poster and joined the Army. The second of 12 children, Wilson grew up in a housing project outside Cleveland. Enlisting in the Army, he said, was the only way he’d get a college education. As a young recruit, he found that the older, black noncommissioned officers were eager to guide him, and they urged him to try for Officer Candidate School. Over the next 38 years, he rose through the ranks to become a four-star general. Why haven’t more done the same? For one thing, Wilson said, “it’s hard to tell young people the sky’s the limit when they look up and don’t see anyone” who looks like them. According to Pentagon data, as of May: _ 5.6 percent of the 923 general officers or admirals were black. _ Eight blacks were three-star lieutenant generals or vice admirals. _ Seventeen were two-star major generals or rear admirals. _ Twenty-six were one-star brigadier generals or rear admirals. _ Three of the black one-stars were women. The Army has led the way with black officers, with nearly double the percentage at times over the past three decades as the other services. Blacks represented 11 percent to 12 percent of all Army officers during that time, compared with 4 percent to 8 percent in the Navy, Air Force and Marines. The reasons for the lack of blacks in the higher ranks are many and complex, ranging from simple career choices to Congress and family recommendations. Most often mentioned is that black recruits are showing less interest in pursuing combat jobs, which are more likely to propel them through the officer ranks. “Kids I’ve spoken to, who choose to do supply, who choose to do lawyer, who choose to do admin, have the impression that ‘If I go to Army and become an infantry person, that is not a skill that I can carry to the civilian work force,’” said Clarence Johnson, director of the Pentagon’s Office of Diversity Management. Wilson — who specialized in logistics and did not take the combat route — said he does not believe ROTC programs or the military steer black recruits to the non-combat jobs — although that may have been a problem many years ago. Instead, he said young black officers choose other fields because “they want to prepare for a future outside of the military, and they believe that being in communications, being in logistics will provide them a better opportunity to succeed.” In 1998, nearly a quarter of all active duty black officers were in various combat fields. As of this month, that had fallen to 20 percent, compared with nearly 40 percent for non-blacks, according to Pentagon data. This year, roughly half of all black active duty officers gravitated toward supply, maintenance, engineering and administrative jobs — almost double the rate of non-black officers. “That tells me, honestly, over the years the pipeline for those blacks going to general officer is not going to be markedly improved above what it is now,” Johnson said. He said he hears recruits say, “I’m joining this ROTC thing, so that when I get out in four years or eight years, whatever time frame it is, I want a skill I can use.” Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, echoes those pipeline concerns. “It’s all about how many people you put in the front end of the pipe,” Austin said in an interview from Baghdad. “It’s very difficult for anybody to get to be a colonel or general in any branch of the service if you don’t have enough young officers coming in.” Austin took the combat path to his three-star rank, starting as an infantryman and tactical officer. Later — as a general officer — he commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The forces he sees now, he said, are far more diverse than when he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1975. Then, he said, blacks made up only about 2.5 percent of the Army’s officer corps. “We treasure diversity because it brings in a lot of different viewpoints and blends in a lot of cultures,” he said. “It makes us better.” To achieve that diversity, he said, the military must encourage more blacks to join, highlight the successes of those who have done well and “talk about the opportunities that are offered and how those opportunities can help them in their quest to be successful people.” Another stumbling block is getting more members of minority groups into the military academies. While white cadets often come from families steeped in military history, black students may not have that long line of ancestral officers. A review of congressional nominations to the military academies shows that black and Hispanic lawmakers often recommend fewer students. The fewest appointments to the academies came from Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., who forwarded just three names for the classes of 2009-2012. Two other members of Congress — Massachusetts Democrat Michael Capuano and New York Democrat Jose Serrano_ sent up five names. According to Pentagon data, the number of lawmakers who failed to nominate at least one candidate to each academy increased from 24 in 2005 to 38 this year. Of the 75 lawmakers overall who did not nominate someone to each academy in all four years, 40 were either black or Hispanic. Senior black officers say they work hard to mentor younger troops, and they can all recall the people who helped shape their careers. And not all of them were black. Navy Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris vividly remembers his white commander on the frigate USS Jarrett — a tough, Pittsburgh Steelers fan from western Pennsylvania. “Tough love,” said Harris, who was a lieutenant at the time. “He insisted I take my command qualifications test, and when I didn’t do good, he had me take it again.” Harris, deputy director for expeditionary warfare for the Navy chief, said networking and relationships are critical. But he cautions that mentoring is a two-way street that hinges on what the recruits do with the help they get. “You can’t get lazy in this man and this woman’s Navy,” he said. “You have to keep learning to stay ahead.” Nonetheless, blacks have come a long way since Truman, with the stroke of a pen, ordered the integration of the military. Before that, the Army had segregated black units and the Navy had minority members assigned to particular, lower-level jobs. His mandate was aided by the Korean War, when a shortage of soldiers forced American commanders to begin integrating their units. Defense officials say the Pentagon is now colorblind, offering the same opportunities, promotions and jobs to all races. Compared with the corporate world, the military appears to provide a bit more high-level opportunities. As of late 2007, just five of the Fortune 500 companies were headed by black chief executives — or just 1 percent. While the percentage of black recruits has grown during the past 60 years, it peaked at almost 26 percent in 1979. That year, they represented nearly four in 10 of all Army recruits and almost three in 10 for the Marines, both all-time highs for the services that see the most battlefield combat. The Air Force and Navy, meanwhile, peaked in later years, with blacks accounting for roughly 20 percent of enlistees. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, the percentage of blacks coming into the Army has plunged from 22 percent to 13 percent. Also, the percentage of blacks in military overall has dipped in the past 10 years, from more than 20 percent to 17 percent today. The decline has come in part because family members and other adults who influence young people have become less likely to recommend military service. Still, Johnson points to positive indicators. Over the past decade, the percentage of black officers has grown slightly, including the share of black women at higher grades. The military, Wilson said, has worked hard to create mentoring and outreach programs that identify and encourage minority officers. But, he said, the services have to do more marketing and recruiting. “We as a military just have to find a way to tell our story,” he said, adding, “If I had it to do all over again, I would still join the Army. It has paid off for thousands of us. If it had not been for the U.S. Army, I’m not be sure what our station in life would be.” ShareThis Lieberman ignores concerns, cozies up to radical evangelist via Crooks and Liars by Steve Benen on 7/23/08 When Joe Lieberman agreed to headline John Hagee’s Christians United For Israel Washington Summit, it was some months ago, before the political controversy over Hagee’s radical worldview, and before even John McCain decided Hagee is a little too nutty to be associated with. I thought it was at least possible that Lieberman, citing his loyalty to McCain, would back out of the event. No such luck. Mr. Lieberman was greeted by a boisterous standing ovation in a room decked out with United States and Israeli flags. “I am your brother Joseph,” he said. Asserting that Mr. Hagee had worked hard to fight anti-Semitism, Mr. Lieberman said: “I don’t agree with everything Pastor Hagee has said, and I can safely say that the pastor doesn’t agree with everything that I’ve said. But there’s so much more than that that we agree on.” Mr. Lieberman added, “I will tell you tonight the bond that I feel with Pastor Hagee and each and every one of you is much stronger than that and I am proud to stand with you tonight.” I argued a while back that Lieberman either a) has no idea what Hagee believes, but stands by him anyway; or b) knows what Hagee believes, but doesn’t care. Given Lieberman’s speech last night, it’s clearly the latter. Indeed, Lieberman acknowledged the controversy surrounding Hagee, and proceeded to compare the radical evangelical to Moses. Seriously. A friend of mine alerted me to this transcript of Lieberman’s remarks: “The political controversy that has swirled around Pastor Hagee reminds me of one of the unique lessons in the Bible about leadership. In Greek mythology, the leaders were flawless and virtual demi-gods. It was impossible for mere mortals to try to emulate them. The heroes of the Bible, however, are humans, great humans, but with human failings. “Even Moses fell short of God’s expectations. He made a mistake and hit the rock rather than speaking to it as God commanded. His sister, the prophetess Miriam, sinned too when she spoke badly about Moses. But this didn’t make Moses and Miriam bad people or failed leaders. Their shortcomings were only part of the larger fabric of their remarkable lives of faith and service. And that’s the way the Bible and those who read it view them. “And that’s why I would say Moses and Miriam were fortunate that they did not live in the merciless attack-counterattack political culture of our time which would undoubtedly have stressed their shortcomings and ignored their great deeds. I can only imagine what the bloggers of their day would have had to say about Moses and Miriam.” Keep in mind, Lieberman thinks liberal bloggers are foul-mouthed, and political leaders shouldn’t be associated with groups like MoveOn.org, but John Hagee is respectable because of his life work fighting anti-Semitism and building bridges between Christians and Jews. I see. So, Lieberman is fine with the fact that Hagee’s support for Israel is “rooted in the belief that the Jewish state will — soon — be the site of Armageddon,” and his “brand of Christian Zionism closely links support for Israel to the end of the world and the conversion of the Jews to Christianity.” And Lieberman is fine with the fact that Hagee believes Jews have been persecuted over the centuries, but it’s their own fault. And Lieberman is fine with the fact that Hagee’s “support” for Israel is rooted in the notion that Hagee welcomes Israel’s destruction. It’s not that Hagee loves Israel, so much as he foresees a blood-soaked war in the Middle East that leads to Jesus’ return, at which point the Jews who survive will become Christians. This is the man Lieberman wants to be associated with — and publicly compares to Moses. For that matter, I’m emphasizing Jewish concerns, but let’s not forget that Hagee has also levied jaw-dropping attacks against Catholics, African Americans, women, Muslims, and gays. The NYT reported, “Over 40,000 signatures were delivered to Mr. Lieberman’s office encouraging him not to speak at the event.” For the sake of what’s left of his reputation, he really should have listened. Video: McCain denies misstating surge timeline via MSNBC.com: Politics/Elections on 7/23/08 July 23: John McCain tried to explain his statements about the surge in Iraq beginning before the Sunni Awakening by insisting that the surge was actually a broader counter-insurgency strategy of which the surge in U.S. troop numbers was a part. The Nation’s Chris Hayes outlines the inaccuracies of what McCain said and what actually happened. (Countdown) Video: For McCain, media bias or media charity? via MSNBC.com: Politics/Elections on 7/23/08 July 23: After CBS favorably edited McCain’s interview with Katie Couric, can he still claim the media is against him? Radio talk show host Rachel Maddow talks about whether there is any basis for John McCain’s complaint. (Countdown) Analysis: AFRICOM mission prompts concern via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 7/23/08 STEVEN DAVY, United Press International - Several recent reports have raised concerns over the balance between military and civilian roles at U.S. Africa Command, highlighting fears about a potential militarization of American aid to the continent. A Refugees International report suggests the Pentagon could overstep its authority with AFRICOM, while the Center for American Progress argued U.S. national security strategy should reject the trend toward militarizing foreign policy. Critics of AFRICOM say the U.S. military should remain focused on training African security forces and peacekeeping operations, leaving the larger humanitarian role to the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development in concert with the United Nations and international aid organizations. AFRICOM was announced in 2006 by U.S. President George W. Bush and top military commanders in an effort to address Africa’s growing importance as a region of strategic interest in the global war on terror. Previously, operational responsibility on the African continent was divided between U.S. Central Command, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. European Command. Egypt and Yemen remain part of the U.S. Central Command’s so-called Area of Responsibility. Officials have sought to strike a balance between a military and civilian presence at AFRICOM. But they have failed, according to Refugees International. “What was supposed to be this well-balanced command (shows) a lack of capacity within the State Department and AID to provide the personnel and dispatch them to AFRICOM,” said Mark Malan, Refugees International peace-building program manager. His report, “U.S. Civil-Military Imbalance for Global Engagement: Lessons from the Operational Level in Africa,” was published last week. “Until the structural imbalance within the State Department to use instruments of international engagement can be addressed, then AFRICOM can never be a balanced civil/military command,” he concludes. Early drafts of AFRICOM’s mission included language taken directly from the aid community, including concepts like humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. Applied to what is viewed as a military mission, use of this style of language sparked concerns about the potential of using the military in a direct humanitarian capacity. Surveys taken by Malan in Africa of local leaders and journalists, among others, produced suspicions that U.S. intentions with AFRICOM are to protect oil interests and “re-assert American power and hegemony globally,” the report says. While the language has since changed, Malan’s report suggests the Pentagon refrain from using AFRICOM for “hunting terror suspects under a thin mantle of humanitarianism.” AFRICOM has been beleaguered by resistance from several African countries. It is scheduled to become fully operational in October in Stuttgart, Germany, because no African country granted permission for the construction of a permanent U.S. military base. U.S. defense officials say they are still planning to eventually locate AFRICOM in Africa but will operate out of Germany until circumstances change. One of the concerns about a permanent U.S. military base in Africa is that the United States is planning a heavy military presence in Africa and that AFRICOM is a U.S. foreign policy move to militarize the ongoing humanitarian mission across the continent. Army Gen. William Ward, AFRICOM commander, in March addressed the U.S.-African Defense Policy Dialogue meeting and said the new command is designed to address security concerns that have developed in Africa and to work with African nations to assist in dealing with potential threats. Ward added that AFRICOM will maintain a light footprint in Africa. Despite Ward’s assurances, criticism over what exactly AFRICOM’s mission will be has escalated recently. In recent testimony in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, seconded Ward, saying AFRICOM will work in partnership with African nations and aid organizations to further issues concerning stability and threats from terrorism. “(AFRICOM) represents an opportunity to strengthen and expand U.S. and African security relationships in such a way that our combined efforts can help generate more indigenous and therefore more sustainable peace and stability on the continent,” Whelan said in a statement. The recently published Center for American Progress report, “Humanity as a Weapon of War: Sustainable Security and the Role of the U.S. Military,” argues that American foreign policy would greatly benefit from increased attention to issues concerning poverty. The report, authored by Reuben Brigety, Center for American Progress Sustainable Security Program director, suggests the radicalization of groups in Africa suffering from poverty, environmental degradation and poor governance are greater threats to U.S. national security than what the current U.S. foreign policy objectives are attempting to address. Brigety says while the U.S. military is vitally important for enhancing American strategic objectives, it should not replace efforts to fight global poverty. He argues for a new approach to American foreign policy emphasizing humanitarian aid. “To keep our country safe, it is no longer enough for America to destroy its enemies,” Brigety writes. “We must also care for our friends, whether they be powerful states or impoverished people.” ShareThis National Urban League Congratulates the Congressional Black Caucus for Its Heroic Efforts to Expand Housing Counseling Services in the ‘American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008′ via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 7/23/08 - Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, today applauded Congress, and the Congressional Black Caucus in particular, for providing resources in legislation to address the severe housing crisis that disproportionately impacts the African-American community. This landmark legislation, the “American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008,” is currently under consideration by the full House of Representatives. “The National Urban League applauds the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Barney Frank; the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, Rep. Maxine Waters; the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick; Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Charles Rangel; and the entire Congressional Black Caucus for their extraordinary leadership in crafting landmark legislation addressing the national housing crisis,” Morial said. “These congressional leaders have ensured that the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention of Act 2008 not only addresses the larger problems of industry giants like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also specifically targets urban, low-income and minority communities and homeowners who have been affected by unscrupulous sub-prime and predatory loans.” According to the National Urban League 2008 State of Black America Report, blacks hold nearly five times more installment debt than whites, and the median net worth for African Americans is $11,800, versus $118,300 for whites. The National Urban League has been in the housing counseling business for over 40 years and currently serves over 40,000 homeowners per year. Because housing counseling plays a key role in increasing financial awareness and closing the wealth gap between minority and non-minority households, Mr. Morial has recommended an expansion of housing counseling and financial literacy services in an effort to improve the financial situation for minorities with respect to securing home ownership, maintaining good credit and attaining monetary savings. ShareThis How Scores of Black Men Were Tortured Into Giving False Confessions by Chicago Police via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 7/23/08 Jessica Pupovac, AlterNet - Michael Tillman was 20, with a 3-year-old daughter and an infant son, when he was brought into the Area 2 police station on Chicago’s South Side for questioning. His mother, Jean Tillman, says that although he had gotten into some trouble with the law as a youngster, he had been on the straight-and-narrow, working as a janitor and paying his bills, since he and his girlfriend had their first child. That was July 22, 1986. He hasn’t been home since. Tillman is one of at least 24 African-American men that the People’s Law Office in Chicago claims are still serving sentences for crimes they say they confessed to only after enduring hours of torture at the hands of Chicago police officers under Commander Jon Burge between 1972 and 1992. Although 10 of Burge’s victims have been pardoned or given new trials after their illegally obtained confessions were exposed, the vast majority of the 100-plus cases have yet to be reviewed by the state of Illinois. Those men have either served out their sentences, died in custody or, like Tillman, continue to live their lives behind bars, hoping that one day they will have a fair trial. Click here for more… ShareThis US Senate candidate Jones says opponent doesn’t want Obama as president via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 7/23/08 JIM THARPE, Atlanta Journal-Constitution - U.S. Senate candidate Vernon Jones has accused his Democratic opponent of failing to vote for Barack Obama in the February primary. Jones, the CEO of DeKalb County, raised the issue again Wednesday — he fired the first shot Monday — and Martin skirted the subject when asked about it directly at mid-day press conference. “That is the one thing that is kind of private,” Martin said at his press conference, called to announce two Fulton County officials were backing his candidacy. “A lot of things are private. It is public that I made a contribution to John Edwards.” Jones, who like Obama is African-American, immediately focused on Martin’s comments and called a 4 p.m. press conference to address the subject. Click here for more… ShareThis Kagan: ‘The only way’ to ‘force’ Iran to halt its nuclear program is an ‘attack.’ via Think Progress by Satyam on 7/23/08 Appearing on MSNBC this afternoon, Iraq surge architect Fred Kagan criticized direct talks with Iran and made his case for attacking Iran, claiming it is the only means to “force” the country to halt its nuclear program: Well, there’s nothing we can do short of an attack to force Iran to give up its nuclear program. … At the end of the day, the only way that you can make for sure that [a nuclear arm’s race] doesn’t happen is with an attack. There are a variety of things you can do short of an attack and hope that they will work, but hope is not a method here. Watch it: Vote Vets Ad: McCain Should Know Better Than To Occupy Iraq via TPM Election Central by Eric Kleefeld on 7/23/08 Check out this new ad from Vote Vets, set to air on national cable. It does what many anti-war voices have been hesitant to do: Declare that by refusing to formulate a plan for withdrawal from Iraq, John McCain’s dedication to the basic idea of freedom has been called into question. “But Senator McCain would occupy Iraq indefinitely, against their wishes,” declares Brandon Woods, an Iraq War veteran. “That’s not what freedom means. That’s not what we fought for. Senator, I thought you would know better.” Video: McCain’s low blow? via MSNBC.com: Politics/Elections on 7/23/08 July 22: John McCain takes a shot at Barack Obama after the Democrat visits the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Dan Abrams has the latest on the campaign trail with Huffington Post editor Roy Sekoff, former Mitt Romney press secretary Kevin Madden and Financial Times’ Chrystia Freeland. (Other) Video: Obama, global sensation via MSNBC.com: Politics/Elections on 7/23/08 July 22: Is Barack Obama’s rock-star status in Europe a positive or negative for him back home? Dan Abrams is joined by Huffington Post editor Roy Sekoff, former Mitt Romney press secretary Kevin Madden and Financial Times’ Chrystia Freeland. (Other) Md. Congressman Cummings Encourages FCC Chairman to Enact XM-Sirius Minority Programming Proposal via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 7/23/08 - Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, sent the following letter to Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in response to the recent proposal by FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein requiring Sirius-XM to lease 15 percent of their satellite capacity to diversity programming: July 23, 2008 The Honorable Kevin Martin Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street SW Washington, D.C. 20554 Dear Chairman Martin: This letter is to follow up on my correspondence dated May 15, 2008, regarding the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc., that is being considered by the Commission. I appreciate your time and consideration. I opposed the Sirius-XM merger due to my concerns that the newly formed company would control over 25 MHz – enough to transmit over 300 channels of radio and some video into every local market in the country. This would be an unprecedented amount of spectrum in the hands of a single company – more than the entire spectrum allocated to FM and AM radio combined. However, I also recognize that—should the merger be approved—it will provide a real opportunity for minority ownership and participation in the satellite marketplace. That is why I support the conditions that Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein recently proposed to you and the other Commissioners regarding dedicating 15 percent of the spectrum to diversity programming. While I believe the allocation of 20 percent of spectrum to diversity programming to be a stronger commitment, Commissioner Adelstein’s proposal of 15 percent is a giant step toward opening the doors of opportunity for minority-owned businesses that have historically struggled to compete in this industry. Further, I feel it is extremely important that this requirement be negotiated, ratified and approved by the Commission prior to approval of the merger. This percentage of channel capacity would clearly assure the public, and more specifically our minority population, of viable minority media ownership and diverse programming. I commend Commissioner Adelstein for his willingness to work with you and his fellow Commissioners to bring forth a plan that is clearly in the best interest of consumers. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or my Legislative Director, Ms. Nikki Jones at 202-225-4741. Sincerely, Elijah E. Cummings Member of Congress ShareThis When In Doubt, Invade via Talking Points Memo by Josh Marshall on 7/23/08 The whole thing is good. But this is my favorite graf from Fred Kaplan’s Slate article about McCain’s foreign policy ‘experience’ … It may be time to reassess this narrative’s premise–or to abandon it altogether and simply examine the evidence before us. Quite apart from the gaffes, in formal prepared speeches, McCain has proposed certain actions and policies that raise serious questions about his suitability for the highest office. As president, he has said, he would boot Russia out of the G-8 on the grounds that its leaders don’t share the West’s values. He would form an international “League of Democracy” as a united front against the forces of autocracy and terror. And though it’s not exactly a stated policy, he continues to employ as his foreign-policy adviser an outspoken, second-tier neoconservative named Randy Scheunemann, who coined the term “rogue-state rollback” and still prescribes it as sound policy. No Slime or Goo on Tap for DNC Protesters via TalkLeft by Jeralyn on 7/24/08 The City and County of Denver and the ACLU have reached a partial agreement with respect to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Colorado seeking details of security purchases made by police for the Democratic National Convention. Denver has now provided details of the $18.2 million spent to date and those planning on protesting can rest a little easier: The city also announced today that none of the equipment purchases include nonlethal weapons that discharge “slime” or “goo” to immobilize persons or vehicles or that use microwaves or sonic waves to induce pain or discomfort in targets. The ACLU was relieved — so much so that it agreed to wait until the convention is over to decide whether to return to court and seek more information. Denver also disclosed that the police have no “mandatory arrest” policy — meaning there is no list of offenses that will require arrest rather than the issuance of a citation.[More...] As to details of the extra training police are receiving for the Convention, DPD insists the focus is not on nabbing protesters but on moving crowds safely through the streets: “The emphasis is not on arresting people but on gaining voluntary compliance with requests that enable everyone to safely exercise their First Amendment rights.” A breakdown of the $18.2 million in security purchases is here (pdf.) Hopefully this means there will be no Guantanamo of the Rockies similar to the Guantanamo on the Hudson that sprang up at Pier 57 in New York City when more than 1,700 protesters were arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Nonetheless, I encourage the Denver Police Department and the officers on loan from outlying areas to to review the ACLU’s report, Rights and Wrongs at the RNC, Police and Protest at the RNC (pdf). Among their recommendations: Stop the indiscriminate use of mesh nets as an arrest tactic — Whatever the merit of using nets to restrict the movement of crowds or to stabilize a situation, it is inappropriate to surround crowds with nets and then arrest everyone. This sort of indiscriminate arrest tactic is assured of capturing large numbers of innocent people, as happened during the Convention. Assure that clear warnings to disperse are given — During the Convention, the NYPD made mass arrests without giving clear warnings to disperse. Despite Department claims that dispersal orders first were given, extensive videotape and eyewitness testimony reveal that warnings either were not given or were inaudible to most members of the crowd. There is no reason why the Department cannot give clear, audible warnings to disperse if it genuinely intends to give people the opportunity to disperse. Assure that the only people arrested are those who actually have been observed engaging in unlawful activity — When law enforcement officials seek to arrest large groups of people, it is essential that careful steps be taken to assure that the only people arrested are those who in fact are observed to have engaged in unlawful activity, as opposed to simply being in a public area near unlawful activity. That this is a problem is apparent from the large number of bystanders arrested during the Convention and evidence collected by the NYCLU that “arresting officers” during Convention mass arrests in fact did not observe any unlawful conduct by those they arrested. A few more suggestions: Give citations for minor offenses like parading without a permit or disorderly conduct rather than make an arrest. If an arrest is deemed necessary, policies should be in place to ensure the person is brought before a judge or released on a summons within 24 hours. Don’t fingerprint those taken in on minor offenses. Other than creating a political database on protesters, it serves no legitimate purpose. Have an appropriate site ready to hold arrestees. It should be clean with adequate seating and sanitation. Make sure the officers are attuned to medical needs of those arrested and respond appropriately and not with threats of longer detention. Have a written policy specifying the kinds of property of arrestees that may be held for evidence. Protesters’ property should be treated the same as the property of those arrested for other offenses. If bicycles and cameras aren’t held as evidence in other crimes, then they shouldn’t be held for protest offenses. That would be discriminatory. With the outcome of the Democratic nomination decided in advance, there will be a lot of reporters and bloggers, including videobloggers, looking for the off-beat story. That means covering the protesters. Any mishaps are sure to make the nightly news and blanket the blogosphere. With a lot of advance planning and extra police training, which the DPD says it says it’s been doing, and reviewing mistakes of other cities in the past, from Chicago in 1968 to New York in 2004, the Denver Police Department has the opportunity to shine. Let’s hope they do so. [to be cross-posted at 5280.com] Classier and Classier via Talking Points Memo by Josh Marshall on 7/23/08 McCain runs new ad pairing Obama with Castro. E*Trade Losses Mount on Credit Woes (Update) via TheStreet.com by twocents@thestreet.com (Lauren LaCapra) on 7/22/08 The online brokerage boosted its loan loss provisions as delinquencies mount. Apple Shares Lose Their Normal Shine via Top Read Stories by twocents@thestreet.com (Priya Ganapati) on 7/21/08 A weaker-than-normal forecast and lingering concerns about CEO Steve Jobs’ health take the stock lower. Frank Curzio reviews the day’s stock market in The Real Story (above). Microsoft Online Chief Jumps to Juniper via TheStreet.com by twocents@thestreet.com (Priya Ganapati) on 7/23/08 Kevin Johnson had led the bid for Yahoo!. Cramer’s ‘Mad Money’ Recap: Don’t Knock GE via Mad Money Recap by twocents@thestreet.com (Scott Rutt) on 7/23/08 GE’s deal with a Middle East sovereign wealth fund will lift the company’s shares, Cramer says. Bush administration opposes tobacco regulation via Law News on 7/23/08 The letter is the strongest indication yet that the administration will try to block the broadly popular legislation, which is supported by majorities in both chambers, and lists both presidential contenders … Third Circuit enjoins enforcement of age verification law for adult websites via JURIST - Paper Chase by Nick Fiske on 7/23/08 [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] on Tuesday affirmed [decision, PDF] a lower court’s decision [PDF; JURIST report] granting a permanent injunction against enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) [text], a federal law that imposes civil and criminal penalties on website operators for making sexually explicit materials available to minors over Fifth Circuit denies emergency stay of execution pending civil challenge via JURIST - Paper Chase by Nick Fiske on 7/23/08 [JURIST] A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] on Tuesday denied an emergency stay [opinion, PDF] for a Mississippi death row inmate challenging the state’s lethal injection procedure. The court found that Dale Leo Bishop failed to establish that he would suffer an irreparable injury if the stay of execution was not granted while he appealed a Bar Exam Open Thread: How To Conquer Procrastination via Above the Law on 7/23/08 Sigh. If only we could all be like Judge Richard Posner. His advice to procrastinators? Don’t procrastinate. Alas, many of us — and probably a high percentage of ATL readers — have a procrastination problem. It’s not a good one to have if you’re studying for the bar exam, less than a week away. What to do? That’s the subject of this advice column, by Cary Tennis of Salon. The advice seeker, using the nom de plume “Not a Lawyer… Yet,” wrote up a lengthy, detailed letter — perhaps another form of procrastination? — and sent it in to Salon: Last summer I was supposed to be taking the bar exam, but I’m not. I procrastinate and then I have [a] massive anxiety attack before the first day of the test. After a drawn-out discussion of her struggles with depression, an eating disorder, and the history of her academic performance from high school through law school, Not a Lawyer finally gets to the point: I can waste time like nobody’s business. I graduated from law school last May and signed up to take the bar exam in July [2007]. I took the five-week, three-hour-a-day prep course, paid for the computer software, booked a hotel room near the testing site and even stayed one night there. But, at 2 a.m. before the first day of the test, I decided that I wasn’t prepared enough to take it. So I didn’t. I was angry at myself, but I felt more relieved than anything else.Then I did the exact same thing all over again — in February [2008]. It’s now summer and, once again, I’m registered to take the exam. What can I do to help me get through it — or to at least help me get out the door and go to the testing site? Yikes. She’s 15 percent of the way towards becoming the next Paulina Bandy. Tennis’s advice, in a nutshell: Not a Lawyer should find herself a “bar exam buddy” — sort of like a workout buddy, but for the bar — and “make an agreement with that person that neither one of you will let the other back out.” Oh, and stock up on FranklinCovey products. A good day planner can work wonders! The tipster who brought the column to our attention viewed this advice as “kind of odd”: [I'd advise the person] to get some meds for panic attacks / anxiety. Even if this person takes the exam and passes, in her current state, I don’t think she would make a good attorney. There is some lack of self-discipline or self-motivation. Considering the advice-seeker’s penchant for procrastination, there’s a decent chance she will at some point read this post (since surfing the web and reading blogs are popular ways to procrastinate). Readers, what counsel would you offer to Not a Lawyer? I bailed on taking the bar exam at the last minute — twice [Salon] 11th Circuit Rejects Most of Fla. Pledge Challenge via Law.com - Newswire on 7/24/08 The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a First Amendment challenge to a Florida law that says students must get a parent’s permission to get out of a daily classroom recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. But the court ruled that a part of the law requiring all “civilians” to stand during the pledge in schools is unconstitutional. SEC Files Fraud Actions Against Fuel, Wireless Firms via Law.com - Newswire on 7/24/08 The Atlanta Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud actions against two Southeastern companies — Mobile Ready Entertainment and U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp. — alleging they engaged in “pump-and-dump” schemes in which companies distribute bogus information to pump up share prices, only to dump the stock and leave investors with huge losses. An SEC director says about 5 percent of the cases brought by the SEC’s national enforcement program involve pump-and-dump schemes. Nokia, Qualcomm Settle Long-Running Licensing Dispute via Law.com - Newswire on 7/24/08 Nokia and Qualcomm said Wednesday they agreed to settle a high-stakes licensing dispute and end a bitter legal battle that has lasted nearly three years and spanned several continents. The wireless industry heavyweights said the 15-year licensing deal gives Nokia rights to a wide portfolio of Qualcomm’s patents. The pact covers a host of technologies that didn’t exist or were in their infancies when the two companies signed, and later renewed, their initial agreement. Brokers’ Employment Suit Backfires, Defendant Awarded $1.6 Million via Law.com - Newswire on 7/24/08 A federal judge in Pennsylvania has upheld a $1.6 million arbitration award for a mortgage company that was being sued under RICO by two former brokers who sought damages of $20 million or more. The arbitrator ruled that the company owed the two brokers $317,364 for breaching the “protected territories” provision of their employment agreements, but found that the two brokers owed the company for unearned advances and for their breach of the employment contracts based on their contacts with a competitor. New Suits Over Recalled Drugs May Target China via Law.com - Newswire on 7/24/08 Plaintiffs attorneys say a recent surge in lawsuits involving two recalled drugs, generic blood thinner heparin and prescription medication Digitek, could signal a clean break from past actions that were far less successful against Vioxx and Paxil. The heparin suits are the first to be brought against a manufacturer with ties to China, which has been linked in litigation to dangerous products such as toys, pet food and toothpaste. But some say the recent drug lawsuits aren’t all easy to swallow. Garuda pilot charged with deliberately crashing his plane - Times Online via Google News - World on 7/24/08 Aljazeera.net Garuda pilot charged with deliberately crashing his plane Times Online - 47 minutes ago The pilot of an Indonesian jetliner that crashed last year killing 21 people appeared in court on Thursday charged with deliberately causing the disaster. Indonesian pilot charged with causing crash Reuters India Trial begins for pilot in Indonesian crash case Monsters and Critics.com Aljazeera.net - AFP - Bloomberg - BBC News all 209 news articles Thai says Cambodia using ‘guerrilla tactics’ in temple dispute - International Herald Tribune via Google News - World on 7/23/08 The Irrawaddy News Magazine Thai says Cambodia using ‘guerrilla tactics’ in temple dispute International Herald Tribune - 1 hour ago By Seth Mydans BANGKOK: The Thai ambassador to the United Nations accused Cambodia on Wednesday of employing diplomatic “guerrilla tactics” in a dispute over an ancient temple to try to redraw the countries’ 800-kilometer border. Thailand to host ASEAN ministers meeting on energy in August Xinhua Cambodia, Thailand dispute ramps up Radio Australia AFP - istockAnalyst.com - BBC News - Reuters all 586 news articles MySpace signs up to OpenID scheme via BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition on 7/23/08 Members of the social networking site could soon be using their login details access to lots of other sites. Israel: Palestinian Flag to Fly Over President’s House via Global Voices Online by Maya Norton on 7/23/08 The Palestinian flag will be flown over Israeli President Shimon Peres’ house in honor of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ upcoming visit, Carl in Jerusalem reports. He adds, “Peres is to give [Abbas] the full royal treatment including a red carpet.” Beijing announces ‘protest pens’ - Christian Science Monitor via Google News - World on 7/23/08 Canada.com Beijing announces ‘protest pens’ Christian Science Monitor - 2 hours ago One of the dilemmas the Chinese authorities have been wrestling with as they plan next month’s Olympics has been how to deal with protesters against Beijing’s policies on Tibet or on human rights - to pick two particularly contentious issues. China Sets Zones for Olympics Protests New York Times China plans Olympic protest zones Aljazeera.net The Standard - Voice of America - The Associated Press - RTT News all 471 news articles Angola: Media shut up? via Global Voices Online by Paula Góes on 7/23/08 Eugénio Costa Almeida [pt] wonders why Angonotícias [pt] website has not had any updates for a while and links display the message FORBIDDEN – erro 403. “Angonotícias may have many faults, and it is actually good because it means that you can not please absolutely every one, but shutting it up on the eve of the elections is at least strange, very strange!” Against the odds via BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition on 7/21/08 Lebanese Olympic shooter is no stranger to gunfire China Presses Grieving Parents to Take Hush Money on Quake - New York Times via Google News - World on 7/23/08 New York Times China Presses Grieving Parents to Take Hush Money on Quake New York Times - 1 hour ago By EDWARD WONG HANWANG, China - The official came for Yu Tingyun in his village one evening last week. He asked Mr. Yu to get into his car. Beijing to Set Up Protest Zones for Olympic Games Washington Post British activists face threat of jail at Olympics guardian.co.uk Times Online - The Associated Press - Christian Science Monitor - Financial Times all 567 news articles Obama set for warm German welcome via BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition on 7/23/08 US presidential hopeful Barack Obama heads to Berlin, where big crowds are expected to hear a key speech. Bomb kills three in Philippines via BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition on 7/23/08 A crudely-made bomb explodes on a bus in the southern Philippines, killing three people and injuring at least 10. Dr. Dre Gives Release Date & Guests For Detox Album via Rap Basement on 7/23/08 The first news on Dr. Dre’s long awaited album, Detox, has… GUEST STAR BLOG: Vanessa Simmons Takes Her Lead From Kimora Lee Simmons And Uncle Russell [Video] via SOHH.com Dailies by SOHH Editorial on 7/23/08 Along with kid sister Angela, Vanessa Simmons has created a glam line of sneakers, handbags, and clothing –Pastry. While the young fashionistas are making getting into the family business look easy, it’s nothing but. Today Vanessa talks about learning… [Visit SOHH.com for more information] LIL WAYNE - A MILLI [DIRTY VERSION] OFFICIAL VIDEO [UNCENSORED VIDEO] via YouTube :: Most Viewed Videos - This Week by rss@youtube.com (GUnitExclusive) on 7/16/08 LIL WAYNE - A MILLI LIL WAYNE - A MILLI LIL WAYNE - A MILLI LIL WAYNE - A MILLI Author: GUnitExclusive Keywords: Lil Wayne Milli millie Uncensored Official Music Video street reserrection resurrection hip-hop Tags: r&b rap NEW Weezy Tha Carter III Mr. Got Money Lollipop Baby Billi T-Pain young jeezy 50 cent kanye west lil wayne tha carter exclusive Added: July 16, 2008 Wendy Williams -VS- Omarosa 2 (Must See TV) via YouTube :: Most Discussed Videos - Today by rss@youtube.com (free124) on 7/22/08 Watch it while you can FOX will probaly remove it. Wendy Williams VS Omarosa. Please Leave Comments! Reality TV villain Omarosa sparred with talk show host Wendy Williams on Monday in a spat that at one point turned physical. She appeared on Fox’s “The Wendy Williams Show” to promote her upcoming book but instead spent more time trading insults with the radio personality-turned-talk show host. “I wanted to throw her off the set,” Williams later told The Associated Press. The altercation started when Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth first walked onto the daytime talk show and said she was displeased with Williams’ introduction of her and would not be disrespected. Things got uglier when Williams grabbed Omarosa’s book cover to hold it up to the camera, and Omarosa snatched it back out of Williams’ hand. “Omarosa wished her career was my career,” Williams told the AP. “Omarosa is a delusional, D-list, pathetic woman.” The yanking gave way to Omarosa attacking Williams’ appearance, asking the talk show host whether she had had a nose job and suggesting she shouldn’t wear wigs. But Williams didn’t stay silent throughout the heated interview. She called Omarosa “a typical angry black woman” and suggested cosmetic injections could fix her wrinkles. Will there be a rematch? “I have no reason to invite Omarosa back to the show,” said Williams. “That’s done. She had her moment.” Author: free124 Keywords: The Wendy Williams Show Omarosa FREE124 FOX Fight Bitch Reality TV Star Added: July 22, 2008 Iran Will Not Go To Olympic Games via TheSpoof.com - Spoof News on 7/24/08 The Iran government has said that it has forbidden the Iran Olympic team to travel to the Olympic Games event in China because of the unfair pressure America is giving it. [audio] Hewlett-Packard Introduces New Soup-Resistant Laptop via The Onion on 7/23/08 Onion Radio News - with Doyle Redland Well This One Slid Past Us: Pharrell’s & Fabolous’ New Babies via Young, Black, and Fabulous :: I Don’t Have To Make This Ish Up. by Natasha on 7/23/08 Apparently Fabolous has a newborn son in his life and didn’t tell anyone.  About a week ago, my sources informed me that there was a baby shower going down in Brooklyn and it was indeed for Fabolous and his baby mama.  But the baby was already here.  Of course I had to check into this ish since I just knew nobody would have gone and had a baby by my longtime crush Mr. John Jackson.  And what do I find but a new pic of Fabolous and said baby on his myspace page with the caption “Like Father, Like Son” and titled “That’s My Son! Daddy Loso”  *faints* Here’s some pics from the alleged baby shower a week or so ago: And the alleged mother of the child: *faints again* Whether or not that baby shower was for Fab and fam is still being checked on, but the baby he is seen with here is indeed his–no question. 7/Days/7 Nights, Myspace.com Moving on… Pharrell Williams is about to have a little bundle of joy.  Sources say the mother of the child is a model he met months ago who he’s been dating. *side eyeing this suspect surprise pregnancy* According to Page Six: “(The model) is very pregnant and travels with him.  She hangs out at the backstage area when he performs.  Pharrell is extremely private and won’t release any details.” Interesting.  Very interesting.  But congrats to both of the new daddies. Candid Fab: Chris Brown & Rihanna, Natalie Cole, Wayans Brothers, & Russell Simmons via Young, Black, and Fabulous :: I Don’t Have To Make This Ish Up. by Natasha on 7/23/08 A couple’s day out: Our fave “BFFs” Chris Brown and Rihanna hit up Kings Dominion amusement park a few days ago outside of Richmond, VA.  They were spotted walking around amongst screaming fans.  Here’s a video of them sharing a kiss kiss and getting mauled by kids: They were also spotted at Dic