The Deets

I got an XM Radio specifically for Air America. Great stuff. My personal favorite personality on the show is Sam Seder because he takes a lot of right-wing callers who regurgitate FOX/GOP talking points only to get slapped down by Sam with a cold dose of reality.

From Daily Kos:Daily Kos: Cheers and Jeers: Rum and Coke FRIDAY!: “Today is the two-year anniversary of the liberal radio network that was supposed to go dark after 6 months. Today they’re heard on 85 stations plus XM Satellite Radio (or you can stream `em online, which tons of people do). To think that two years and one day ago it was almost impossible to hear liberal voices on the radio. People like Tom Oliphant, Paul Krugman, David Brock, Melanie Sloan, E.J. Dionne, David Sirota, Howard Dean, Joe Conason, a gaggle of Democratic Reps and Senators and ex-presidents and policy wonks, and yes, even Kos. It’s not just talk radio—it’s crack for the reality-based soul.”

Paul Mirengoff gets his ass handed to him from Christy Hardin Smith who uses FACTS to smack down Mirengoff’s attempts to dismiss the serious charges against Scooter Libby. Mr. Mirengoff, why is Libby being charged with perjury? Who is he trying to protect?

Now I understand why Powerline Blog doesn’t allow comments. Why would they want to deal with factual smackdowns like Freddhedd dealt them on a daily basis?

ReddHedd on the Washington Journal

Christy Hardin Smith (aka) Reddhedd from FireDogLake, was on the Washington Journal today with Paul Mirengoff from Powerline-discussing a variety of topics including Scooter Libby.

With a curfew in Iraq from 8pm until dawn, you’re better off suffering with your sickness than risking traveling to a hospital for help. If you happen to have heart disease like VP Dick Cheney, don’t set your alarm for before dawn. Standing up after waking up can be the most dangerous time of the day for heart attacks. You wouldn’t want to suffer from a heart attack only to be gunned down along with your spouse on the way to the hospital.

Worse yet, don’t plan on delivering your baby after 8pm. That could lead to the death of the woman and her soon to be born child.

Were there curfews under Saddam’s regime? I’m not saying life under Saddam was all good, but seriously, did you have to worry about your car being shot up on the way to the hospital?

More blood on George W Bush’s hands.

Thank you to St Cloud State for protesting the war in Iraq today. I was in New York City for a conference on the night George W Bush started this disastrous war back in 2003 and protested the war in a demonstration in Times Square. People rallied around the world against this unprovoked military action that has since led to the death of tens of thousands of people and the waste of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Sadly, we’re still almost three years away from moving beyond the disaster that is our current administration.

This seems consistent with the arguments used by conservatives to criticize John Kerry. They bashed him for being so ambiguous on issues. But in reality, he simply doesn’t see things in the black & white terms many conservatives apply to issues. Can the Iraq debacle be defined in black & white terms? Can changes to social security, medicare, taxes, or abortion be viewed in black & white terms? I don’t think so, since every change has consequences that need to be considered. And I’m fine with that. The ambiguity of issues is what makes them interesting.

I don’t gravitate toward authority that will make live simple for me. Instead, I prefer researching problems myself, reading the opinions of a variety of experts, and coming to my own conclusions about what’s best for me and my country. This is a common liberal trait, and partly what makes it so hard for liberals to organize. How do you organize people who thrive on having their own opinions?

TheStar.com - How to spot a baby conservative

A few decades later, Block followed up with more surveys, looking again at personality, and this time at politics, too. The whiny kids tended to grow up conservative, and turned into rigid young adults who hewed closely to traditional gender roles and were uncomfortable with ambiguity.

The confident kids turned out liberal and were still hanging loose, turning into bright, non-conforming adults with wide interests. The girls were still outgoing, but the young men tended to turn a little introspective.