Archive: 2008

Times are tough for Alberto Gonzales. Once he figured near the top of the legal profession; he was widely mentioned as a Supreme Court nominee for Bush. David Broder, with…

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We could hardly end 2008 without delivering a George Orwell Honorable Mention to the University of Alabama at Birmingham for its truly extraordinary “acceptable use” policy on employee Internet use.…

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In my previous post, I discussed Herman Rosenblat’s memoir An Angel at the Fence, which was revealed over the weekend as a deception. The discovery and exposure of that deceit…

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From: Jim Grobe Subject: “What Motivates the Torture Enablers?,” by Scott Horton, December 20, 2008 What got me, as a 30 year veteran of the US Navy, was when Rivkin…

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From Wired: Days after sending aircraft to strike Hamas militants in Gaza, the Israeli government is launching a campaign to dominate the blogosphere. Among other things, the Israeli military has…

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The heaviest military engagement in the Middle East since the 2006 proxy war in Lebanon is now being fought in and around Gaza. This operation has been very carefully planned…

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Israel bombed Hamas targets in Gaza for three days, killing at least 300 people, 50 of them civilians, and blowing up a mosque and a television station. Palestinians seeking to…

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“I wanted to bring happiness to people, to remind them not to hate, but to love and tolerate all people,” Herman Rosenblat is quoted as saying in yesterday’s New York…

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As noted here, Murray Waas published the essence of the FBI’s interview with Dick Cheney concerning the Valerie Plame matter just before Christmas. In light of what we have now…

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A gruesome murder by decapitation and the coming political storm it suggests: I take a look at the plight of Central Asian labor migrants in Moscow today in the Daily…

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In einem Bächlein helle, da schoß in froher Eil Die launische Forelle vorüber wie ein Pfeil. Ich stand an dem Gestade und sah in süßer Ruh Des muntern Fischleins Bade…

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Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition lives in conversation with the past, while remembering where we are and when…

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Brooklyn real estate mogul Isaac Robert Toussie “scammed hundreds of poor, minority homebuyers” and got caught. He copped a guilty plea to defrauding the Department of Housing and Urban Development…

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Here’s a recommendation for No Comment readers who got the ultimate gift for the holidays—that would, of course, be a gift certificate from a book store, or a new Sony…

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Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb, Now leaves His well-belov’d imprisonment, There He hath made Himself to His intent Weak enough, now into the world to come; But O, for…

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A few days ago, I noted a joint ProPublica/New York Times story about a massive international bribery scandal involving German engineering giant Siemens. The company reportedly had an “annual bribery…

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Pender de un leño, traspasado el pecho, y de espinas clavadas ambas sienes, dar tus mortales penas en rehenes de nuestra gloria, bien fue heroico hecho; pero más fue nacer…

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Why has Dick Cheney been on the press circuit for a week, bragging about his involvement in waterboarding suspect terrorists, snooping into the correspondence and phone calls of millions of…

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The Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section may well stand as a sort of icon for the Bush Administration. On the surface, it promises to uphold the integrity of the nation’s…

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An American cattleman. President George W. Bush announced a $13.4 billion bailout for General Motors and Chrysler. The bailout, which will make use of funds authorized by Congress in October…

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In 1997, I sent Guy Davenport a cassette of some cool recordings. Most of them he’d already heard. Pound, Eliot, Yeats and others, reading their poetry. One he’d not heard,…

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To what extent is the Wall Street meltdown that started in September 2008 really a consequence of the policies and actions of George W. Bush? Jo Becker, Gay Stolberg and…

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Michael Connell was well-known to those who follow the “black box” voting drama. A voting technology expert from Akron, Ohio, Connell faithfully served the Republican Party, and in particular its…

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Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata BWV 63, “Christen, ätzet diesen Tag,” was composed for an initial performance on Christmas Day 1714 or 1715. Here a 1995 performance by the New London…

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Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea, But sad mortality o’er-sways their power, How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, Whose action is no stronger than…

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It is instructive to watch Major Matthew Alexander and Federalist Society kingpin David Rivkin discuss the torture issue on the Riz Khan Show: We’ve seen this scenario played out several…

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