Must Reads
01 Dec 2006
“Through a Glass, Darkly”, By Jeff Sharlet (Harper’s Magazine
The December issue of Harper’s (out on newsstands but their website hasn’t been updated yet), Sharlet writes that the Christian Right is reimagining U.S. history to fulfill their Orwellian mantra, “He who controls the past, controls the future; and he who controls the present, controls the past.”
20 Nov 2006
“Annals of National Security: The Next Act”, By Seymour M. Hersh (The New Yorker
Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more?
19 Nov 2006
“It’s Not the Democrats Who Are Divided”, By Frank Rich (New York Times
“Right now the capital is entranced by a fictional story line about the Democrats.”
16 Nov 2006
“Putting Faith Before Politics”, By David Kuo (New York Times
David Kuo, the deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives from 2001 to 2003, and author of “Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction,” writes that the reported post-election chastening of Christian evangelicals is greatly exaggerated.
16 Nov 2006
“Pelosi’s early moves worry Democrats”, by Robert Novak (Chicago Sun-Times
So, wait, the Democrats (read: Nancy Pelosi) decide to gamble, and they decide to take a chance on two of the most ethically challenged members of the House? Can somebody please slap Nancy Pelosi with the Rahm Emanuel stick? (Mary’s Note: I have included this “Must Read” under protest. I contend that Robert Novack is a partisan hack and that the political machinations of the Democratic party and Nancy Pelosi are being unfairly criticized by a mainstream media using Right-wing Republican talking points. Harumph.)
Must Watch
16 Nov 2006
“Has Fox News Gone Too Far?”, Countdown with Keith Olbermann (MSNBC)
“Countdown” host Keith Olbermann highlighted an alleged internal Fox memo sent to staff they day after Democrats took control of the Congress that told them how to spin the news. Hey, FCC, Fox News calls themselves a “News Channel.” Isn’t that false advertising.
Must See
17 Nov 2006
“Shut Up & Sing”, Directed by Barbara Kopple (Regal Green Hills 16 or check your local listings)
Hello and welcome to Movie Phone! This documentary follows The Dixie Chicks through the fallout and fan backlash (death threats, anyone?) resulting from comments made by singer Natalie Maines about President Bush. Say it, Sisters!
01 Dec 2006
The Dixie Chicks’ “Accidents & Accusations Tour” with Pete Yorn, at the Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, TN. Fun with the First Amendment on a Friday night!
This post was written by Mary Mancini
This entry was posted on Sunday, November 19th, 2006 at 11:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
November 20th, 2006 at 1:09 am
In unprecedented editorial hubris, Ms. Mancini has included an inline “note” rather than a postscript comment in must-reads that have historically been compiled and submitted jointly with consensus by your humble hosts. Why this particular, relatively innocuous piece of criticism from Mr. Novak (not exactly an Ann Coulter even if a partisan hack; we’ve linked to material from plenty of folks who could be accused of being partisan hacks of the Democratic persuasion) so spurred Ms. Mancini to action is unknown to this host. While there is evidence of hackery in Mr. Novak’s piece (the leadership election will likely be forgotten weeks hence), his criticism along ethics lines is cogent and concise. If you read nothing else from the piece, read these lines:
“For a party that effectively emphasized a Republican climate of corruption in the recent campaign to consider placing Murtha and Hastings in its leadership astonishes a wide range of Democrats. They do not believe Murtha can defeat Hoyer, but the imminence of Hastings stuns them.”
A veteran earmarker and an impeached judge? No thank you, Speaker Pelosi.