Death By Lip Gloss

A new MSNBC piece details how the use of lip gloss increases the risk of skin cancer pretty significantly. You can find the article here.

30 April 2008

Obama & Wright: The End?

I spoke favorably of an interview that Rev. Jeremiah Wright gave to Bill Moyers last Friday, but Wright has had some strange things to say at various public appearances since. Today, Sen. Barack Obama gave a speech in which he responded to some of the latest Wright comments and further distanced himself from his former pastor. As noted on TPM, here is a passage from this speech.

The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church.

They certainly don't portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that's political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn't know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I might not know him as well as I thought, either.

You can see video of the entire speech here. Follow-up questions can be seen here.

I'll be interested to see how this plays out in the press. I think that the media will continue to harp on Obama regardless of what he does now, but time will tell.

29 April 2008

Jon Stewart: For Real?

MSNBC has an interesting commentary about Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, today. It details how it is Stewart who may actually be the real newsman, while the networks and -- especially -- the cable news channels are the jokesters today. My wife and I are long-time fans of Stewart and indeed, his show is more insightful than almost any other "news" source. The article is worth a read... and his show is most certainly worth watching.

29 April 2009

McCain: The Iraqi Century

Following up on my last post regarding McCain, Iraq, and his being able to frame the debate on his views with the press, I offer this short video on the nuts-and-bolts of the candidates claims... as they have actually been made. No matter his claims to the press, he has advocated a 100 year occupation of the country, something that anyone with knowledge of the Middle East should know is exactly the wrong way to go, if only on a cultural level.

Of course, others are also reporting that, just as on other issues, McCain used to have a very different take on post-war occupation. McCain is very strong in his convictions. It's just that his convictions shift quite often.

The press, with its razor-like ability to distill anything down to a sound bite, should be calling this flip-flopping. Of course, they are too busy wetting themselves over the Republican nominee to do so. Hopefully, this will change once the Democrats sack-up and pick a nominee of their own.

29 April 2008

McCain, The Media, & Iraq

TPM has a very interesting article on how the media are parroting the McCain campaign on Iraq. Check it out here.

28 April 2008

Rev. Jeremiah Wright

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright was interviewed by Bill Moyers last night for the Bill Moyers Journal. It was a very interesting hour. The transcript can be found here. The interview itself can be found here.

If you thought that you understood this man and his points of view on race, patriotism, politics, and other issues of our time from the sound-bite clips that you've been seeing in the mainstream press, think again. This, ladies and gentlemen, is an interview worth watching, especially before you decide to castigate another -- Senator Obama -- for the words from Wright.

This is all not to say that I agree with all that Wright had to say. Certainly, I wouldn't agree with everything preached in his church. On the other hand, that sums up every other human being and every other place of worship on this Earth. That said, this man doesn't seem to be the unpatriotic, racist demon that has recently been portrayed. The devil is in the details. We just need to have the wisdom -- and the strength -- to look. Hate is easy. Searching is not.

26 April 2008

Military Funeral? Mums the Word!

Dana Milbank of The Washington Post details the Pentagon's campaign to prevent media coverage of military funerals, even when the family of the slain service member requests that the media be present. The families, of course, want the world to learn of their father or mother or son or daughter and the ultimate sacrifice that was made. The military just wants the public to be in denial about the fact that wars kill soldiers.

24 April 2008

The General: State By State

TPM has a good story detailing exactly why the winner of any individual primary or caucus for either party during the nominating process has little to do with which party -- or candidate -- will actually win that state in the general election. You can read it here.

24 April 2008

Bill Clinton: La La Land

Former President Clinton has well and truly lost it. There have been many examples to prove this claim over the past year, but there was a wopper earlier today. First read this, then read this. Yikes!

It's just plain sad.

22 April 2007

Bisphenol A (BPA)

My sister-in-law sent me the following letter and I thought I'd share it with a wider audience. Thanks to her for her time and the information!

I don't know if you have been hearing about the chemical in plastics, Bisphenol A (BPA), but it seems it's not good. It's in both baby bottles and formula cans, and in regular drinking bottles and plastic containers. Below is information on both.

Bisphenol A is a developmental, neural, and reproductive toxicant that mimics estrogen and can interfere with healthy growth and body function. The levels sufficient to cause harm in animals are beneath the average levels reported in people living throughout the developed world.

Experiments with animals link exposure at very low doses to a range of serious health problems including:

• prostate and breast cancer

• early onset of puberty

• obesity

• hyperactivity

• lowered sperm count

• miscarriage

• diabetes

• altered immune system

In my reading on preparing to be a parent, this issue has come up in relation to baby bottles and formula. Apparently, BPA is the building block for the plastic used in 95% of baby bottles and as a coating in baby formula cans. As bottles are used over time, particularly with heating (dishwasher, hot liquids in them), the plastic starts to break down and the BPA leaches into the baby's milk/formula. Animal studies demonstrate that the chemical causes damage to reproductive, neurological and immune systems during critical stages of development, such as infancy and in the womb.

To learn more re: babies:

1) http://www.chej.org/BPA_Website.htm AND

http://www.chej.org/documents/BabysToxicBottleFinal.pdf

Report by a coalition of Canadian and US public health and environmental health NGOs. You’ll only need to read the first few pages; they reviewed over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles.

2) It is easy to find sites that sell bottles without BPA--just do a search for 'baby bottles bisphenol A'.

3) If you'd like to hear the other side of the story, I found this site (created by the chemical and plastics industry):

http://www.bisphenol-a.org/

This web site is sponsored by the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group, which is organized regionally at the American Chemistry Council, PlasticsEurope, and the Japan Chemical Industry Association

It's not just baby bottles!!! The Today Show ran a segment the recently concerning BPA, also found in some plastic drinking bottles, storage containers, and as a coating for tin cans. The chemical has the potential to negatively affect reproduction in men and women. On the bottom of your plastic bottles and containers is a recycle triangle, which has a number in the middle. The plastic bottles/containers that contain Bisphenol A and are potentially 'hazardous' for consumers are those that show a 3, 6, or 7. The guests of the Today Show recommend that consumers not use these '3', '6', or '7' bottles/containers, even for a one-time use.

If you would like to view the Today Show segment, please visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/

You can also visit the website www.iatp.org to learn more about this subject.

22 April 2008

Keating 5 to Diamond 1

Okay, my title isn't exactly spot-on, but McCain is the only member of the Arizona Congressional delegation running for president. From Paul Kiel in today's TPM:

The New York Times tests the limits of McCain's vigilance in a piece today about McCain's decades-old ties to a wealthy Arizonan developer named Donald Diamond.

The main thrust is this: on a number of key occasions, McCain played a key role in helping Diamond, a major campaign contributor, make deals that made him millions of dollars. The piece focuses on three deals in particular: two of those involved bills (in 1991 and 1994) co-sponsored by McCain that swapped public land for Diamond's land, and the other involved McCain doing a couple personal favors in order to help Diamond land an incredibly lucrative piece of land owned by the Army. In each of those cases, Diamond was able to secure the assistance of other members of the Arizona delegation, and it's crystal clear from the piece that Diamond knows how to work his lawmakers.

The most delicate of the three transactions for the McCain camp is undoubtedly the Army deal: an old base in Monterey County, California called Fort Ord. Helped along by a meeting with an Army official set up by a McCain aide, Diamond got the inside track on the land, which ultimately made him a $20 million profit. McCain had also written a letter to the city of Seaside, California, enthusiastically recommending Diamond, who was making a bid to buy Fort Ord's two golf courses that had been acquired by the city.

22 April 2008

Bush and Military TV Analysts

The New York Times is reporting that the Bush Administration, through the DoD, launched an orchestrated campaign to influence the coverage of both the war in Iraq and the greater "War on Terror" by coaching the analysts that many media outlets use as paid military experts. The DoD used access to information to influence the viewpoints of the analysts. Also, the analysts often had business ties to military contractors, ties that were generally not made known to the public... and often not to the media outlets themselves. From Reuters via MSNBC:

Many U.S. military analysts used as commentators on Iraq by television networks have been groomed by the Pentagon, leaving some feeling they were manipulated to report favorably on the Bush administration, The New York Times said in Sunday editions.

A Times report examining ties between the Bush administration and former senior officers who acted as paid TV analysts said they got private briefings, trips and access to classified intelligence meant to influence their comments.

"Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks," the newspaper said.

Many of the commentators also have ties to military contractors who are vested in U.S. war efforts, but those business links are seldom disclosed to viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks on which they appear, the newspaper said.

Now, as is often the case, the media is probably a willing participant in all of this, all too happy to look the other way in the pursuit of feeding the 24-hour news beast. That doesn't make this any less an assault on the public by our officials, however.

20 April 2008

McCain: The Tax Man Cometh

I can't do any better on this issue than did Josh Marshall over at TPM:

What if Hillary Clinton released her income tax records showing relatively unremarkable (by senate standards, where almost everyone is fairly wealthy) income and said that Bill files separately and he's a private person so he wouldn't be releasing his?

I do not think she'd get a very easy ride from the press since Bill now makes all the money and it's against his sources of income that any potential conflicts of interest or sources of embarrassment would likely arise.

So why does John McCain get to pull the same stunt with his wife? I was thinking of this when I saw McCain's tax return release today since I know McCain is actually an extremely wealthy man. His wife is reportedly worth more than $100 million because she is the heir to her father's beer distributorship, which played a key role in McCain's political rise. And if you note down on his disclosure page it states that "In the interest of protecting the privacy of her children, Mrs. McCain will not be releasing her personal tax returns."

18 April 2008

Colbert Report Coup

Last night, Stephen Colbert had Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards doing spoof appearances during his show from Philadelphia. I think that Clinton generally comes across as wooden when she does stuff like this, but last night was one of her better efforts. Obama is a little more comfortable on the whole and that proved the case again last night. It was Edwards, however, who stole the show. He was very funny and relaxed. You can watch the entire episode on the Comedy Central home page.

Also, Obama will be on The Daily Show next Monday.

18 April 2008

Iraq... Even Worse Than You Thought

A scathing review of the war in Iraq and the Bush Administration has been released this week. It was the report of the National Defense University. It was written by Joseph Collins, who was President Bush's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Stability and Operations in the Pentagon until 2004. The NDU is supported by the DoD, so it's hardly one of the "liberal think tanks" the Right loves to harp upon. Here is a snippet.

Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle. As of fall 2007, this conflict has cost the United States over 3,800 dead and over 28,000 wounded. Allied casualties accounted for another 300 dead. Iraqi civilian deaths--mostly at the hands of other Iraqis--may number as high as 82,000. Over 7,500 Iraqi soldiers and police officers have also been killed. Fifteen percent of the Iraqi population has become refugees or displaced persons. The Congressional Research Service estimates that the United States now spends over $10 billion per month on the war, and that the total, direct U.S. costs from March 2003 to July 2007 have exceeded $450 billion, all of which has been covered by deficit spending. No one as yet has calculated the costs of long-term veterans' benefits or the total impact on Service personnel and materiel.

The war's political impact also has been great. Globally, U.S. standing among friends and allies has fallen.2 Our status as a moral leader has been damaged by the war, the subsequent occupation of a Muslim nation, and various issues concerning the treatment of detainees. At the same time, operations in Iraq have had a negative impact on all other efforts in the war on terror, which must bow to the priority of Iraq when it comes to manpower, materiel, and the attention of decisionmakers. Our Armed Forces-- especially the Army and Marine Corps--have been severely strained by the war in Iraq. Compounding all of these problems, our efforts there were designed to enhance U.S. national security, but they have become, at least temporarily, an incubator for terrorism and have emboldened Iran to expand its influence throughout the Middle East.

As this case study is being written, despite impressive progress in security during the surge, the outcome of the war is in doubt. Strong majorities of both Iraqis and Americans favor some sort of U.S. withdrawal. Intelligence analysts, however, remind us that the only thing worse than an Iraq with an American army may be an Iraq after the rapid withdrawal of that army.... No one has calculated the psychopolitical impact of a perceived defeat on the U.S. reputation for power or the future of the overall war on terror. For many analysts (including this one), Iraq remains a "must win," but for many others, despite the obvious progress under General David Petraeus and the surge, it now looks like a "can't win."

18 April 2008

Nepal... no Tibet... no Nepal?

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley in action last Sunday. I would be laughing myself silly if it wasn't so scary!

18 April 2008

Ronald Reagan on W

My sister sent me a quote from one of Ronald Reagan's diaries kept during his years in the White House. The quote is about George W. Bush. Sadly, Reagan was spot on.

A moment I've been dreading. George brought his n'er-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida; the one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work.

14 April 2008

Edit: It now appears that this was a dummy quote. A sucker is born every minute! /wink

Democratic Credentials Committee

TPM takes a crack at explaining how the Democratic Party's Credentials Committee actually works here.

1 April 2008

April Impeachment Reminder

Last August, I called for the impeachment of both President Bush and Vice President Cheney. At that time, I asked you to join me in writing letters to several members of the House of Representatives. I noted that I would continue to send such letters until such time as my call was heeded or these men left office. I have made good on my claim by again sending my letters. This is simply a reminder in the hope that you will do the same. For information on the entire matter, as well as sample letters and recipient contact information, see my original blog post here.

Sadly, our April Fools remain in the White House!

1 April 2008