June 24, 2017

U.S. won't back U.N.'s Violence Against Women resolution

due to single sentence about abortion.

"The paragraph calls on countries to ensure their health systems provide quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services, including 'safe abortion where such services are permitted by national law'”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/22/women-abortion-un-human-rights-resolution-us-refuses

June 16, 2017

Explain to me again how there's no double standard.

I just heard Pete Williams tell Chuck Todd on MTP that the media shouldn't refer to the the special counsel's "inquiries" about Trump's possible obstruction of justice as an "investigation" because that word implies that the counsel has already ascertained evidence of criminality.

Gee. MSNBC extended no such courtesies and cautions concerning "inquiries" into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for non-classified State Department communication. As a matter of fact, any attempts by the campaign to characterize the inquiry as anything other than an investigation were met with derision by both Comey and the media.

May 31, 2017

Rebecca Traister coming up on Chris Hayes

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/hillary-clinton-didnt-shatter-the-glass-ceiling.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/hillary-clinton-life-after-election.html

May 27, 2017

Rebecca Traister's profile in NY Magazine of post-election HRC

is honest and straightforward, alternately maddening and heartbreaking.

I find Traister to be an excellent journalist and a serious writer. Her presentation and analysis are both measured and nuanced. She is neither acolyte nor enemy. She is a feminist.

It's a long read, but worth it.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/hillary-clinton-life-after-election.html

For Traister's immediate post election analysis, you can click here. (Note that Traister used the title "Shattered" for her essay long before Allen and Parnes appropriated it for use in their superficial Clinton "expose".)

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/hillary-clinton-didnt-shatter-the-glass-ceiling.html

An archive of her recent work can be found here:
http://nymag.com/author/Rebecca%20Traister/

May 10, 2017

Chris Matthews just made a reference to Buffalo Bob

and Mr. Green Jeans.

It was Captain Kangaroo, Chris.

May 7, 2017

La Resistance en France : Aux armes et caetera

May 5, 2017

May the 4th

be with you....

April 23, 2017

Chuck Todd MTP 4/23: Genuine Ignorance or Alternative Facts?

“What is the Democratic Party doing getting involved in a mayoral race in Kansas?” a grinning Todd asked his panel on MTP this morning.

Did Todd know that the answer to his question was readily available to anyone truly interested in finding out? It was the news division of his own parent network that reported the facts in a news story just yesterday.

As per NBC News:

The tensions (between Sanders and Democrats over his non-endorsement of Ossoff) were further elevated by the fact that Sanders praised a mayoral candidate in Omaha, Nebraska, who was revealed to have a mixed record on abortion.

At Sanders' request, the DNC added a stop on the tour to promote Health Mello, prompting backlash from pro-choice groups and accusations that Sanders was applying a double standard — or perhaps a loyalty test — about what it means to be a progressive.

Perez, who skipped the Omaha stop in order to campaign for Ossoff, had to put out his own clarifying statement Friday.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/democrats-vs-trump/bernie-sanders-clarifies-support-jon-ossoff-after-dustup-n749491

Say what? The unscheduled stop was added to accommodate a specific request made by Sanders? Perez didn’t participate? Then why did Chuck blame Perez for a mess that Democrats didn’t make? That wasn’t very honest.

Was Chuck uniformed, misinformed, or deliberately dissembling? We deserve better from a man who touts himself as a fearless truth-teller.

Journalists have a duty not to put their thumbs on the scale through the deliberate omission of important facts and context. Are there any rules anymore, Chuck? And if so, will you actually play by them? These days, what passes as journalism could use a little refereeing. Democrats are not afraid to blow the whistle

April 22, 2017

Joy gets it #2.

A stoic Ms. Reid wasn't buying what they were selling.

In a shattering interview, Allen and Parnes dropped their grins and desperately tried to seem objective and measured while insisting that their book of anonymously sourced juicy tidbits is serious work of political analysis. "That's why everyone needs to buy it," a panicked, yet profit-driven Allen explained to a stone-faced Joy.

I'm not sure which I liked better, the full on stare or the skeptical side-eye.

April 22, 2017

In Celebration of Science!

"