Theories on the Religious Expertise of Atheists
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:13 am PDT
 The Atlantic Wire - On Tuesday, Pew released its bombshell survey showing that Americans have a shaky grasp of religious knowledge, with atheists outscoring Christians--including on questions about Christianity. Jews and Mormons also scored highly on the test. The Wire brought you the first round of debate yesterday. Full Story | Top |
Should Corporations Have the Same Privacy Rights as People?
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 03:20 am PDT
 The Atlantic Wire - The Supreme Court is taking up a case concerning whether corporations have the same privacy rights as people. The high court will review a federal court ruling that said a company can block the release of government documents that violate its privacy rights. The specific case involved the Federal Communications Commission publishing documents related to its investigation of AT&T's billing practices. The documents were requested by AT&T's competitors via a Freedom of Information Act request. AT&T claimed a personal privacy exception under the language of the Freedom of Information Act and won. Now the FCC is appealing the ruling, arguing that only actual people may claim such an exception. Full Story | Top |
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 |
Quote of the Day: Susan Orlean Explains How Gardening Is Like Math
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:52 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - "Planting is existential, boundless, aspirational. Closing the garden for the winter is like doing a math equation and getting it right, ending with something finite and absolute."- Susan Orlean in her New Yorker blog, commenting on the joys of pruning (with a comparison to editing) Full Story | Top |
Strickland Pushes Ohio's 2012 Firewall Strategy
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:00 pm PDT
RealClearPolitics.com - COLUMBUS, Ohio -The Democratic Party's electoral prospects in the Midwest may look increasingly grim this fall, but party strategists are regaining confidence in Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's chances for re-election. 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 |
Is Connecticut Ready to Elect Linda McMahon?
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:40 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Could wrestling executive Linda McMahon be the next United States Senator from Connecticut? What seemed impossible--or highly unlikely--just a few months ago is looking like a distinct possibility just five weeks before election day. A new Quinnipiac poll shows McMahon trailing Democratic attorney general Richard Blumenthal by just three points in the battle to succeed retiring Senator Chris Dodd. (By way of comparison: McMahon trailed Blumenthal by 32 points in January.) Is the indigo blue Nutmeg State really ready to vote Tea Party? A sampling of opinions: Full Story | Top |
Kids Say They Want Digital Books, Also Candy, Firetrucks
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:32 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - A new study by Scholastic, a children's book publisher, shows that kids would read more books if they had Kindles or iPads. That, at least, is how the study is being reported. Of course, what the study actually says is that children say they would read more in Kindle or other e-reader form. It is entirely possible, as more than a few folks have pointed out, that kids just dig gadgets. Taking the study at face value, though, there's still a lot of food for thought. Full Story | Top |
Boys Do Badly in School: Is Single-Sex Education the Solution?
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:47 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - From The Atlantic's own The End of Men by Hanna Rosin to ubiquitous blog posts and books about boys falling behind, the matter of males and education has been an intriguing counterpoint to debates about women in science or the gender pay-gap. The charge is that boys aren't doing as well as girls in school anymore, partly because schools reward the ability to sit still, discourage competition, and have an abundance of female teachers and a shortage of males. Unsurprisingly, this argument doesn't sit well in some quarters. Full Story | Top |
Video: Anderson Cooper and Homophobic State Official's Very Awkward Interview
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:42 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - This summer, we brought you a Fox Business debate that was among the most heated and bizarre in memory. Now we bring you a CNN segment, equally bizarre, that may well be the most awkward TV news interview we've ever seen. Anderson Cooper interviews Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell, who has dedicated a stand-alone, frequently updated blog to attacking Chris Armstrong, the openly gay student-body president of the University of Michigan. Full Story | Top |
Obama Struggles to Bring About Pakistan
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:39 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Pakistan's allegiance in the now nine-year effort in Afghanistan has never been certain, as the country stands repeatedly accused of sponsoring some of the same militant groups who fight the U.S., and even of sabotaging peace talks. Now President Barack Obama's already scant patience for the U.S.-Pakistani partnership looks to be running out. Bob Woodward's much-discussed new book on "Obama's Wars" includes a quote of the president saying, "We need to make clear to people that the cancer is in Pakistan." What is Obama doing to address this monumental foreign policy challenge, and what problems does he face? Full Story | Top |
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