Do the Feds Need the Power to Wiretap the Internet?
Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:28 am PDT
 The Atlantic Wire - In a move that's frightening privacy advocates, federal officials want to expand their authority to wiretap e-mails, Facebook accounts and other Internet services. Authorities argue that criminals are increasingly communicating online and merely monitoring their phone activity isn't sufficient. As the New York Times' Charlie Savage reports: Full Story | Top |
Is There No Good Choice for Califonia's Senate Seat?
Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:43 am PDT
 The Atlantic Wire - One of California's largest—and notably left-leaning—newspapers has given GOP candidate Carly Fiorina a significant boost in her bid to unseat entrenched incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. The San Francisco Chronicle issued an a rare non-endorsement in the increasingly tight California Senate race, saying that Boxer has "failed to distinguish herself during her 18 years in office," while hedging that Fiorina's conservative agenda "would undermine this nation's need to move forward on addressing serious issues such as climate change, health care and immigration." Though the paper's editorial board was hardly favorable to the Republican challenger, its ringing non-endorsement was more an indictment of Barbara Boxer's "failure" rather than an assessment of the former Hewlett-Packard CEO. Pundits, who were generally surprised by the editorial, parsed its electoral implications.'Narcissistic' Move by the SF Chronicle contends Tim Cavanaugh at Reason. "If you can't get behind either Republocrat you should just run a box saying 'NO ENDORSEMENT,' or -- dare we say it? -- endorse a third party candidate. To the degree endorsements provide any service to the reader, the service is advice about the options in an election. A non-endorsement endorsement is like a tour book that tells you there's nothing to do where you're going."This Will 'Cost' Boxer a Fourth Term in Senate sarcastically relays The Daily Mail's Don Surber. "I have been writing editorials for 20+ years. You don’t kick a three-term senator to the curb without great deliberation. This is better for Carly Fiorina than an endorsement would be. It is a liberal choking on 18 years of elitist liberalism of an insufferable, self-absorbed Queen of Mean."The Chronicle's Decision Is 'Absurd' writes Robert Cruickshank at San Francisco's alternative online daily BeyondChron.org. Cruickshank defends Boxer's Senate record stating that her time in office has "generally been spent under an extreme right-wing majority in Congress, an extreme right-wing President, or both. Of Boxer's 18 years in Congress, only 6 of them came with a Democratic Congressional majority, and only 4 have come with a Democratic president. From 1995 to 2007, Boxer had to contend with Republicans who absolutely refused to make any deals with Democrats unless Democrats sold out their constituents and agreed to support a far-right agenda." He found the Chronicle's rationale for their non-endorsement "contradictory and ignorant of key facts, producing an outcome that lacks basic intellectual credibility."Chronicle 'Goes As Far as It Can to Support Fiorina' ventures Red State's Moe Lane. It's important to remember, the blogger reminds us, that "an endorsement of the Republican candidate for Senate by the San Francisco Chronicle would be about as likely as my being able to get to the Moon by jumping up and down on the ground hard enough. What they did instead was to give as strong a statement about Carly’s technical campaign skills as possible…then helpfully noting Carly’s (actually mostly mainstream) conservative positions."The Paper 'Isn't as Liberal' as Many SF Residents, but a reigning incumbent Democrat like Boxer still should have been able to garner an endorsement, observes Kerry Picket at The Washington Times. The Chronicle makes the case that "she did not make herself available enough to her constituents and only won elections because her opponents were underfunded and not terribly talented candidates." Needless to say, this may hurt come election day: "If this is the amount of excitement coming from Ms. Boxer's own liberal base, one can hardly imagine what kind of turnout Senator Boxer can expect in November." Full Story | Top |
Are the Tables Tilted Against Women on Wall Street?
Fri, 24 Sep 2010 07:42 am PDT
 The Atlantic Wire - Why are there so few women in finance and other fields, and how should this best be addressed? The Goldman Sachs class-action gender discrimination lawsuit, filed by three former female employees, is raising these questions amid a larger debate. For many, the firm represents the ultimate in a Wall Street boys club mentality--a place where go-getter networking ability, stereotypically male aggression, and an appreciation of scotch, sports, and sheer stockings might pay off. At the same time, Goldman has been at the forefront of the effort to diversify Wall Street, particularly with regard to gender. Full Story | Top |
How Health Care Will Determine the Midterms
Thu, 23 Sep 2010 03:01 am PDT
 The Atlantic Wire - Six months to the day after President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats passed health care reform, the policy is returning to the political main stage. Obama and Democrats are seeking to campaign on the sweeping and popular legislation, Republicans are running against it as too costly and are attempting to channel Tea Party challenges to the law's legality. Republicans have long promised to repeal health care reform, several key provisions of which go into effect today. Here's the political battle and what it means the midterms as well as health care. Full Story | Top |
How Likely Is California to Legalize Pot?
Thu, 23 Sep 2010 05:40 am PDT
 The Atlantic Wire - Marijuana is up for legalization in California this November. Will the measure--Proposition 19--pass? New numbers from Public Policy Polling are favorable: 47% to 38%. But there are a couple of quirks and complicating factors in this vote. Full Story | Top |
Jim DeMint's Roadblock: an 'Undemocratic' Move?
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:43 pm PDT
The Atlantic Wire - In a message to Democratic and Republican aides, Sen. Jim DeMint has signaled that he may block any legislation that hasn't been "cleared" through his office. While the move may bring to mind a "government shutdown," many pundits view the senator's request as more procedural than overtly political. What the South Carolina Republican is specifically objecting to is a process called "hotlining," which is succinctly described by The Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid as when "the majority and minority leader agree to pass a non-controversial bill by unanimous consent." Still, DeMint's move, which could potentially stall legislation before the upcoming recess, has been viewed by skeptics as yet another example of Republicans flexing their "party of no" muscles. Full Story | Top |
Rothfus Pushes GOP Reform in Tough House Race
Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:00 pm PDT
RealClearPolitics.com - CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Keith Rothfus, the Republican challenging Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire, is a business-driven conservative who's lukewarm about some of his party's leadership. Full Story | Top |
At White House summit on community colleges, all hands on deck
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:44 am PDT
The Christian Science Monitor - America’s community colleges are in trouble, which is why the White House and Jill Biden will host a “summit†on the subject next week. The guest list is varied: educators and students, to be sure, but also philanthropists, businesspeople, and federal and state leaders. Full Story | Top |
The Fifty Most Influential Progressives of the Twentieth Century
Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:50 am PDT
The Nation - The Nation -- A hundred years ago, any soapbox orator who called for women's suffrage, laws protecting the environment, an end to lynching, workers' right to form unions, a progressive income tax, a federal minimum wage, old-age insurance, the eight-hour workday and government-subsidized healthcare would be considered an impractical utopian dreamer or a dangerous socialist. Full Story | Top |
CROSSING THE DANUBE TO THE NEW EUROPE
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:15 pm PDT
Georgie Anne Geyer - BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- You have to realize first that I have been writing for at least 20 years about the European Union -- the famous or infamous E.U., depending upon your view of geography and of life. Full Story | Top |
White House spokesman praises MSNBC hosts after Obama’s Fox swipe
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:07 pm PDT
The Upshot - Just hours after President Obama's swipe at Fox News made its way around the blogosphere, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton praised a couple of commentators on MSNBC -- the cable news rival presenting itself as a liberal alternative to Fox in prime time. Burton, holding a press gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One on [...] Full Story | Top |
Mexican Mayor Stoned to Death
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:49 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - In a gruesome display of drug-related violence, a small town mayor in western Mexico was found dead Monday, apparently "beaten to death with rocks." Mayaor Gustavo Sanchez Cervantes joins a list of four other Mexican mayors killed in the last six weeks. Reporters from around the web provide context to the tragic assassination: Full Story | Top |
Happy Hour Vid: Did CBS Use Bieber to Smear the Tea Party?
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:44 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Justin Bieber made his acting debut on the season premiere of CSI last Thursday as a "young domestic terrorist attending right-wing political events and planning a bombing." As stunt casting goes, this is a meaty role. How does one explain CBS tapping Bieber for this part instead of the more Bieber-esque guy-who-gives-Marg-Helgenberger-a-DNA-sample-and-is-ruled-out-as-a-suspect? Could the network be using the young Canadian's star power to advance an anti-Tea Party agenda? In the opinion of Fox News' American Newsroom panel, almost certainly yes. Full Story | Top |
Fallout of Israel Halting Gaza-Bound 'Jewish Boat'
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:11 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Israel has halted a small boat of Jewish activists, including a Holocaust survivor, attempting to run the blockade of Gaza. The uneventful interception comes four months after Israel's botched raid on a much larger Gaza-bound aid flotilla resulted in the deaths of nine activists, including one American. That incident led to a slight but politically significant easing of the controversial blockade of the Palestinian territory. Israel's treatment of Palestinians remains a central issue in the ongoing, U.S.-led peace talks. Here's what's significant about this incident. Full Story | Top |
Top Tweets: David Simon Wins MacArthur Edition
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:09 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Twitter is not known for relishing the accomplishments of others. The one exception to this rule, perhaps, is David Simon, creator of "The Wire," "Homicide," and "Treme," who is the social networking site's golden child. So when word arrived today that Simon was one of 22 recipients of a "Genius Award" from the John D. and Caroline T. MacArthur Foundation (an honor that also comes with a $500,000 cash allotment), users naturally lined up to pay their respects.Matthew Yglesias made sure nobody lost sight of Simon's fellow nominees .bbpBox25777822652 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1285174584/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #C0DEED;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block} MacArthur Grants to David Simon, Emmanuel Saez, people I've never heard of: http://is.gd/fxoumless than a minute ago via TweetDeckmattyglesiasmattyglesias Full Story | Top |
How Southwest-AirTran Merger Will Change Air Travel
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:56 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Southwest has agreed to buy AirTran for $1.4 billion, the latest of three airline mergers in the past two years. As the industry continues to battle a tough market, who gains and who loses from this deal? Here's the rundown of what Southwest is thinking, what competitors and customers should be worried about, and what the move might mean in the broader context of recent airline mergers. Full Story | Top |
Ken Burns's Return to Baseball Snags Mixed Reviews
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:54 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - At 8 p.m. tonight on PBS, Ken Burns returns to baseball with his much-anticipated documentary "The Tenth Inning." Picking up where his celebrated 1994 documentary "Baseball" left off, Burns explores the last 15 years of the sport, chronicling the labor strikes, steroids scandals and winning programs of the time. Like anything baseball-related, there's much that hometown fans will dispute. Here's what critics across the country are saying about Burns's latest work: Full Story | Top |
Shock and Revulsion at U.S. Sport Killings in Afghanistan
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:52 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - The U.S. Army is investigating members of a combat brigade in Afghanistan for killing unarmed Afghan civilians for sport. The accused troops are said to have dismembered the corpses of their victims and hoarded skulls and other body parts as trophies. The charges and ongoing investigation are some of the most disturbing and violent allegations of U.S. misbehavior in the nine years of fighting in Afghanistan. The story, first reported earlier this September, has developed slowly as details leak out. Here's what we know--including a chilling video below of U.S. Army investigators interrogating one of the accused soldiers, who freely discussed plans to "wax" civilians--and what people have to say about it. Full Story | Top |
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