NEW YORK TIMES: Had she refused John McCain, Palin would still be a popular female governor in a Republican Party starved for future stars. Her scandals would be the stuff of local politics, her daughter’s pregnancy a minor story in the Lower 48, her son Trig’s parentage a nonissue even for conspiracy theorists. There would still be plenty of time to ease into the national spotlight, to bone up on the issues, and to craft a persona more appealing than the Mrs. Spiro Agnew role the McCain campaign assigned to her. Most important, nobody would have realized yet how much […]
HOT DOC: We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America:When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are […]
MINNESOTA SUPREME COURT: Al Franken Won!
REUTERS: The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of a tight U.S. Senate race over Republican Norm Coleman, which should give Democrats the 60-seat majority they need to overcome procedural obstacles and push through their agenda. Coleman has said in published reports he is unlikely to appeal the state court’s decision to the federal courts. Under state law, the court’s decision gives Franken the right to occupy the seat, which has been up for grabs since last November’s election. Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will certify the election winner based on what […]
OFFICIAL: Mousavi Loses Rigged Election
CNN: Saying it had completed an investigation into alleged voter irregularities, Iran’s election authority on Monday stood by its findings that gave hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an overwhelming victory and sparked more than two weeks of chaos in the streets. There was “no tangible irregularity,” Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei told government-run Press TV after reporting that a recount of some 10 percent of the votes found no significant differences. “After this, the file will be closed and from today on in the presidential election, the file has been closed.” MORE
[via TALKING POINTS MEMO]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR According to the National Cancer Institute, the number of people who have developed melanoma has more than doubled over the past 30 years. Dermatologist Darrell Rigel joins Fresh Air to explain the sun’s effects on the skin, what “SPF” means and why skin cancer rates are going up. A clinical professor at New York University Medical Center, Rigel has tested sunscreen efficacy for Johnson & Johnson and the Procter & Gamble Company. He is the lead editor of Cancer of the Skin, the major textbook in his field. Rigel maintains a private practice in Manhattan. ALSO, journalist Bradley […]
GOODNIGHT MR. WELLS: PW Writer Extraordinaire Steven Wells Loses Long, Public Battle With Cancer
Damn. Steven Wells was THE funniest, ballsiest, take-no-prisoners writer to grace the pages of Philadelphia print media in recent memory. His long, tragic battle with cancer was no secret, he wrote about it with the same unflinching honesty, hair-on-fire rage, savage wit and gallows humor he wrote about everything. Sir, it was a privilege and an honor. You will be sorely missed. Good night Mr. Wells, wherever you are. PW: Steven Wells Farewell Column WIKIPEDIA: Steven Wells is was a British journalist and author currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Born in Swindon, England in 1960, Wells moved to the […]
MYSTERY SOLVED: Turns Out Missing South Carolina Governor Was In Argentina Cheating On His Wife
NEW YORK TIMES: Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina, apologized in a rambling news conference on Wednesday for having an extra-marital affair with a woman in Argentina, ending a mystery over his week-long disappearance that had infuriated lawmakers and seemed to put his rising political career in jeopardy. Governor Sanford admitted he had been in Buenos Aires, Argentina, since Thursday, not hiking on the Appalachian Trail as he told his staff. In revealing an affair that had gone on for about a year — and which he had disclosed to his wife, Jenny, five months ago, he said: “This […]
PRESIDENT ARCHIE BUNKER: Secret Tapes Reveal Nixon Was Pro-Abortion For Interracial Pregnancies
NEW YORK TIMES: On Jan. 23, 1973, when the Supreme Court struck down state criminal abortion laws in Roe v. Wade, President Richard M. Nixon made no public statement. But privately, newly released tapes reveal, he expressed ambivalence. Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases, such as interracial pregnancies. “There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding: “Or a rape.” Nine months […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Bloody protests in the streets of Iran following that nation’s June 12 presidential election have captivated the world’s attention, but what does it all mean? Political analyst Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace joins Fresh Air to discuss this unprecedented moment in the country’s political history. Before joining Carnegie, Sadjadpour was the chief Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, based in Tehran and Washington, D.C. A regular contributor to BBC World TV and radio, CNN, National Public Radio and PBS’ NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Sadjadpour has written for The Washington Post, The New York […]
Barney Frank Files Bill To Decriminalize Marijuana
WBZ: A controversial law in Massachusetts could go national if Congressman Barney Frank gets his way. Frank has filed a bill that would eliminate federal penalties for personal possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana. It would also make the penalty for using marijuana in public just $100. “I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s,” said Congressman Frank, “when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don’t hurt anyone else. It’s a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and […]
OUTRAGE: Families Of Dead Forced To Pay ‘Bullet Fee’
WALL STREET JOURNAL: When Mr. Alipour didn’t return home that night, his parents began to worry. All day, they had heard gunshots ringing in the distance. His father, Yousef, first called his fiancée and friends. No one had heard from him. At the crack of dawn, his father began searching at police stations, then hospitals and then the morgue. Upon learning of his son’s death, the elder Mr. Alipour was told the family had to pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a “bullet fee”—a fee for the bullet used by security forces—before taking the body back, relatives said. Mr. Alipour […]