Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Bush emerged "dry as toast" from Cavuto's softball interview
Neil Cavuto's interview with President Bush featured softballs, false assertions, and a failure on Cavuto's part to ask any substantive questions regarding the Iraq war. In addition, Cavuto rarely challenged Bush's answers, including Bush's claim that "I think about Al Qaeda every day" -- even though he previously asserted that he was "not that concerned" about Osama bin Laden. Read more
Only on Fox: "Will this [Middle East] crisis bring back the 'Axis of Weasels?' "
During a discussion of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Fox News host Page Hopkins revived the term "Axis of Weasels," used by conservatives to describe countries such as France, Germany, and Russia, which did not support the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Hopkins stated that, although "[w]e thought they were gone ... the so-called 'Axis of Weasels' appears to be back." Read more
Evolution Opponents Lose in Kan. Primary ..... **NEWSFLASH : GOD NOT REPUBLICAN**
TOPEKA, Kan. - Conservative Republicans who pushed anti-evolution standards back into Kansas schools last year have lost control of the state Board of Education once again.
The most closely watched race was in western Kansas, where incumbent conservative Connie Morris lost her Republican primary Tuesday. The former teacher had described evolution as "an age-old fairy tale" and "a nice bedtime story" unsupported by science.
As a result of Tuesday's vote, board members and candidates who believe evolution is well-supported by evidence will have a 6-4 majority. Evolution skeptics had entered the election with a two-person majority.
Critics of Kansas' science standards worried that if conservatives retained the board's majority, it would lead to attempts in other states to copy the Kansas standards........
The most closely watched race was in western Kansas, where incumbent conservative Connie Morris lost her Republican primary Tuesday. The former teacher had described evolution as "an age-old fairy tale" and "a nice bedtime story" unsupported by science.
As a result of Tuesday's vote, board members and candidates who believe evolution is well-supported by evidence will have a 6-4 majority. Evolution skeptics had entered the election with a two-person majority.
Critics of Kansas' science standards worried that if conservatives retained the board's majority, it would lead to attempts in other states to copy the Kansas standards........
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
MAUREEN DOWD: Mel’s Tequila Sunrise
My mom always warned me to stay away from tequila.
She would have given the same advice to Mel. She loved Mel, and always thought he would have been perfect for the role of Michael Collins, the romantic fighter for Irish independence who came to a bloody end in a roadside ambush in 1922.
Michael Collins came a cropper in County Cork, not County Quirk, as Mel Gibson did, careering along the same Pacific Coast winding yellow brick road where Robert Downey Jr. and Nick Nolte were snagged by the Malibu police in other momentous events in American history.
Mr. Gibson appears to believe that the Jews control everything. It is an ancient anti-Semitic insult. But now that he has gotten into trouble for his bigoted views, he has thrown himself at the mercy of the object of his bigotry.
He said he wants to “meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.”
He added: “I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery.”
It’s not the first time he’s gotten in trouble for intolerance. When “Braveheart” came out in 1995, Mr. Gibson ranted and raved when Frank Bruni, then the movie critic for The Detroit Free Press, asked him about some reportedly homophobic remarks he had made three years earlier to a Spanish-language magazine. The magazine quoted him as saying that he became an actor “despite” the fear that it might lead people to assume he was gay. Ecce homo! He told Frank that the arbiters of political of correctness were “tantamount to Nazis.”
Now that the volatile Mr. Gibson has pleaded for guidance from leaders of the American Jewish community, I decided to consult the only one I know. I asked Leon Wieseltier, the author of “Kaddish ” and the literary editor of The New Republic, how he would help Mel heal.
“He has been a very bad goy,’’ Leon said.
“It is really rich to behold Gibson asking Jews to behave like Christians. Has he forgotten how bellicose and wrathful and unforgiving we are? Why would a people who start all the wars make a peace? Perhaps he’s feeling a little like Jesus, hoping that the Jews don’t do their worst and preparing himself for more evidence of their disappointing behavior.
“I have always wondered why people who believe that we control the world do not have more respect for us. Take that cop who arrested Gibson. Do you think it was a coincidence that he was a Jew? We have been following Gibson’s every move since he released that movie. The other night, when our uniformed brother spotted him bobbing and weaving in his star car, we saw an opportunity and we took it. Don’t blame us. It’s what Yahweh would do.
“When Officer Mee busted him, we all busted him.
“Moreover, it is the elders’ considered view that whereas alcoholism may require a process of recovery, anti-Semitism is a more intractable and less chic failing. This was not a moment of insanity, even if Gibson is insane. His hatred of Jews was plain in his movie and in his twisted defense of it, which was made when he was sober under the influence of his primitive world view. Perhaps he thinks that all he needs to do is spend a few months in AA — Anti-Semites Anonymous — and find some celebrity sponsor and run for absolution to Larry Zeiger, I mean Larry King, where he can say with perfect sincerity that the Holocaust was a terrible thing and gut yontif.
“But the elders have instructed Larry to be strict with the uncircumcised offender. He is to appear only opposite ‘American Idol’ and in the company of David Gest.
“We understand that Gibson cannot do it alone. But why do we have to do it with him? We would find it hard to be in a room with him unless, of course, he wants to count some money with us. Why doesn’t he turn to the vast number of his Christian brothers and sisters who show no trace of anything resembling his disgusting prejudice?
“Mad Max is making Max mad, and Murray, and Irving, and Mort, and Marty, and Abe. But we’re not completely heartless. If he wants to do Shylock at dinner theater, fine. If he agrees to fill his swimming pool with Kabbalah water, fine.”
Then Leon was just too aggravated to speak. He mumbled something in Aramaic and hung up.
She would have given the same advice to Mel. She loved Mel, and always thought he would have been perfect for the role of Michael Collins, the romantic fighter for Irish independence who came to a bloody end in a roadside ambush in 1922.
Michael Collins came a cropper in County Cork, not County Quirk, as Mel Gibson did, careering along the same Pacific Coast winding yellow brick road where Robert Downey Jr. and Nick Nolte were snagged by the Malibu police in other momentous events in American history.
Mr. Gibson appears to believe that the Jews control everything. It is an ancient anti-Semitic insult. But now that he has gotten into trouble for his bigoted views, he has thrown himself at the mercy of the object of his bigotry.
He said he wants to “meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.”
He added: “I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery.”
It’s not the first time he’s gotten in trouble for intolerance. When “Braveheart” came out in 1995, Mr. Gibson ranted and raved when Frank Bruni, then the movie critic for The Detroit Free Press, asked him about some reportedly homophobic remarks he had made three years earlier to a Spanish-language magazine. The magazine quoted him as saying that he became an actor “despite” the fear that it might lead people to assume he was gay. Ecce homo! He told Frank that the arbiters of political of correctness were “tantamount to Nazis.”
Now that the volatile Mr. Gibson has pleaded for guidance from leaders of the American Jewish community, I decided to consult the only one I know. I asked Leon Wieseltier, the author of “Kaddish ” and the literary editor of The New Republic, how he would help Mel heal.
“He has been a very bad goy,’’ Leon said.
“It is really rich to behold Gibson asking Jews to behave like Christians. Has he forgotten how bellicose and wrathful and unforgiving we are? Why would a people who start all the wars make a peace? Perhaps he’s feeling a little like Jesus, hoping that the Jews don’t do their worst and preparing himself for more evidence of their disappointing behavior.
“I have always wondered why people who believe that we control the world do not have more respect for us. Take that cop who arrested Gibson. Do you think it was a coincidence that he was a Jew? We have been following Gibson’s every move since he released that movie. The other night, when our uniformed brother spotted him bobbing and weaving in his star car, we saw an opportunity and we took it. Don’t blame us. It’s what Yahweh would do.
“When Officer Mee busted him, we all busted him.
“Moreover, it is the elders’ considered view that whereas alcoholism may require a process of recovery, anti-Semitism is a more intractable and less chic failing. This was not a moment of insanity, even if Gibson is insane. His hatred of Jews was plain in his movie and in his twisted defense of it, which was made when he was sober under the influence of his primitive world view. Perhaps he thinks that all he needs to do is spend a few months in AA — Anti-Semites Anonymous — and find some celebrity sponsor and run for absolution to Larry Zeiger, I mean Larry King, where he can say with perfect sincerity that the Holocaust was a terrible thing and gut yontif.
“But the elders have instructed Larry to be strict with the uncircumcised offender. He is to appear only opposite ‘American Idol’ and in the company of David Gest.
“We understand that Gibson cannot do it alone. But why do we have to do it with him? We would find it hard to be in a room with him unless, of course, he wants to count some money with us. Why doesn’t he turn to the vast number of his Christian brothers and sisters who show no trace of anything resembling his disgusting prejudice?
“Mad Max is making Max mad, and Murray, and Irving, and Mort, and Marty, and Abe. But we’re not completely heartless. If he wants to do Shylock at dinner theater, fine. If he agrees to fill his swimming pool with Kabbalah water, fine.”
Then Leon was just too aggravated to speak. He mumbled something in Aramaic and hung up.
'Anti-obesity vaccine' developed
BBC
US researchers have developed a vaccine which prevents weight gain in rats, offering clues about human treatments.
The vaccine prompts the body to produce antibodies against ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger and weight gain.
Vaccinated rats put on less weight while eating the same amount as those which did not have the jab.
A UK obesity expert said the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study was interesting, but it might not be safe for people.
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California developed three synthetic vaccines that recognise different parts of the ghrelin hormone.
When injected into rats, two of the vaccines were found to bind to the active form of ghrelin, inducing antibodies against the hormone and blocking its action. ...
US researchers have developed a vaccine which prevents weight gain in rats, offering clues about human treatments.
The vaccine prompts the body to produce antibodies against ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger and weight gain.
Vaccinated rats put on less weight while eating the same amount as those which did not have the jab.
A UK obesity expert said the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study was interesting, but it might not be safe for people.
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California developed three synthetic vaccines that recognise different parts of the ghrelin hormone.
When injected into rats, two of the vaccines were found to bind to the active form of ghrelin, inducing antibodies against the hormone and blocking its action. ...
Savage suggested Voting Rights Act reauthorization will "put voting machines in crack houses"
On the July 27 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Michael Savage suggested that the purpose of the recently passed 25-year extension of the Voting Rights Act is to "put voting machines in crack houses." Acknowledging that "I don't really know what they mean by reaffirming the Voting Rights Act," Savage nonetheless asked whether the extension would ensure that there is "a chad in every crack house" and voting machines in "prisons." Read more
Iraq bomb attacks kill 44 people
BBC
A series of bomb attacks in Iraq have killed at least 44 people - many of them soldiers.
A roadside bomb killed at least 20 soldiers travelling on a bus between Tikrit and Baiji, north of Baghdad.
In central Baghdad's Karrada district, at least 14 people died in a suicide car bombing outside a bank where security forces were collecting pay.
Another blast in Baghdad left one dead, while attacks on police patrols in the north and north-east killed nine.
On Monday, about 20 people were kidnapped from offices in Baghdad.
There is still no word on what happened to them. ....
A series of bomb attacks in Iraq have killed at least 44 people - many of them soldiers.
A roadside bomb killed at least 20 soldiers travelling on a bus between Tikrit and Baiji, north of Baghdad.
In central Baghdad's Karrada district, at least 14 people died in a suicide car bombing outside a bank where security forces were collecting pay.
Another blast in Baghdad left one dead, while attacks on police patrols in the north and north-east killed nine.
On Monday, about 20 people were kidnapped from offices in Baghdad.
There is still no word on what happened to them. ....
Cease-Fire Diplomacy in Lebanon
NYT Editorial
The 48-hour limited suspension of air raids that Washington pressed Israel into declaring was a modest step in the right direction, even though, as it became clear yesterday, it has far too many exceptions. Too bad that even this partial and temporary restraint came only after dozens of Lebanese civilians, many of them children, were killed by an Israeli air raid on the town of Qana.
It took the worldwide uproar over the Qana casualties to finally jolt the Bush administration into asking for something it should have sought many days earlier. Washington’s instant turnabout and Israel’s instant response has left the damaging impression that had America expressed similar concerns sooner, these and many other innocent Lebanese lives might have been saved.
But while the latest developments demonstrate that Israeli leaders can be persuaded to refine their strategy to take account of international opinion and human considerations, further adjustments are urgently needed. With the two-day bombing pause set to expire early Wednesday, Israel is already rolling out plans for an expanded ground offensive, which Washington has done nothing to discourage.
Before that happens, the temporary lull in Israeli attacks needs to be broadened into a full cease-fire and extended indefinitely while the United Nations Security Council works to create an international armed force to secure Lebanon’s border.
That promising long-term solution, which enjoys wide international support, will take time. No country has yet offered troops, nor has Hezbollah resigned itself to the idea that it will have to disarm, or at least remove its forces and weapons from the vicinity of the Israeli border. And once Lebanon’s airport and seaports are again fully operational and the road to Damascus cleared, there will have to be some way of making sure that Syria and Iran do not resupply Hezbollah with long-range rockets capable of hitting Israel.
But all alternative approaches pose even greater problems. Renewed Israeli airstrikes and intensified ground operations can offer no lasting solution unless Israel is prepared to undertake another lengthy occupation to prevent resupply and regrouping. The most optimistic Israeli commanders concede it would take at least 10 to 14 more days to locate and destroy Hezbollah’s rockets and command post. The mounting civilian casualty toll that would accompany an Israeli offensive of that length would multiply the huge propaganda gains that Hezbollah, Syria and Iran have already reaped and multiply the damage to Israel and the United States.
With the Security Council now preparing to act, Washington needs to call on Israel to accept an extended cease-fire while diplomacy proceeds.
The 48-hour limited suspension of air raids that Washington pressed Israel into declaring was a modest step in the right direction, even though, as it became clear yesterday, it has far too many exceptions. Too bad that even this partial and temporary restraint came only after dozens of Lebanese civilians, many of them children, were killed by an Israeli air raid on the town of Qana.
It took the worldwide uproar over the Qana casualties to finally jolt the Bush administration into asking for something it should have sought many days earlier. Washington’s instant turnabout and Israel’s instant response has left the damaging impression that had America expressed similar concerns sooner, these and many other innocent Lebanese lives might have been saved.
But while the latest developments demonstrate that Israeli leaders can be persuaded to refine their strategy to take account of international opinion and human considerations, further adjustments are urgently needed. With the two-day bombing pause set to expire early Wednesday, Israel is already rolling out plans for an expanded ground offensive, which Washington has done nothing to discourage.
Before that happens, the temporary lull in Israeli attacks needs to be broadened into a full cease-fire and extended indefinitely while the United Nations Security Council works to create an international armed force to secure Lebanon’s border.
That promising long-term solution, which enjoys wide international support, will take time. No country has yet offered troops, nor has Hezbollah resigned itself to the idea that it will have to disarm, or at least remove its forces and weapons from the vicinity of the Israeli border. And once Lebanon’s airport and seaports are again fully operational and the road to Damascus cleared, there will have to be some way of making sure that Syria and Iran do not resupply Hezbollah with long-range rockets capable of hitting Israel.
But all alternative approaches pose even greater problems. Renewed Israeli airstrikes and intensified ground operations can offer no lasting solution unless Israel is prepared to undertake another lengthy occupation to prevent resupply and regrouping. The most optimistic Israeli commanders concede it would take at least 10 to 14 more days to locate and destroy Hezbollah’s rockets and command post. The mounting civilian casualty toll that would accompany an Israeli offensive of that length would multiply the huge propaganda gains that Hezbollah, Syria and Iran have already reaped and multiply the damage to Israel and the United States.
With the Security Council now preparing to act, Washington needs to call on Israel to accept an extended cease-fire while diplomacy proceeds.
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