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 |
What About Those Earning $250,001?
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:58 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - In recent days, many people who make slightly over $250,000 have argued that it's unfair to tax them at rates similar to those making over seven figures. These high earners (who are wealthier than 98 percent of the nation) contend that they aren't so different from the squeezed middle class. Since many of them live in expensive areas of the United States, $250,000 doesn't go as far as it may seem. Moreover, if additional tax burdens are levied by the Obama administration, they argue that it gives them less incentive to stay above this tax threshold. Full Story | Top |
NATO helicopter strike on Pakistan adds to tensions with US
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:54 pm PDT
The Christian Science Monitor - In the list of irritants between the United States and Pakistan, NATO’s helicopter incursions into Pakistan on Thursday rank above the much-criticized “drone†strikes in that country’s remote areas near the Afghan border. Full Story | Top |
Sex and the GOP
Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:06 pm PDT
The Nation - The Nation -- In the media spectacle that is the 2010 midterm elections, women of the GOP are playing starring roles. Full Story | Top |
Some congressional staffs avoid Colbert’s show
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:53 am PDT
The Upshot - Congressional aides and lawmakers still smarting from comedian Stephen Colbert's testimony last Friday on immigration and the conditions that farmworkers endure say that the satirical performance is just another example of why they're steering clear of his Comedy Central show. Politico reports that several congressional staffs are turning down requests for Colbert's "Better Know a [...] Full Story | Top |
Happy Hour Vid: Rachel Maddow Reads From the Tea Party Coloring Book
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:41 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Are you a small child? Are you also a fierce libertarian? If the answer is yes, you should probably check out this clip of Rachel Maddow reading from the Tea Party's new coloring book. We don't want to spoil Maddow pitch-perfect reading (sample passage: "Sometime the people will get upset because the federal government wastes money and will not keep good records of how the money is spent."), but two things are immediately clear: Full Story | Top |
Some Doubt as to Whether GOP Will Sweep U.S. Like Mongol Conquerors
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:19 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - Are Republicans sweeping "the vast interior," driving Democrats to "retreat" to a few coastal states and besieged university towns? So The Washington Examiner's Michael Barone would have it. The column in which he advanced this argument—that "for the moment, anyway, the vast expanse of America is hospitable to Republicans while Democrats seem appreciated only in their coastal and campus redoubts"—has met with some skepticism. And the numbers and maps Barone cites are also subject to debate. Here's the latest on just how sweeping this midterm election is likely to get. Full Story | Top |
Is AIG's Exit Deal a Boon to Taxpayers?
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:15 am PDT
The Atlantic Wire - This Exit Deal Is Worth a Try, writes Felix Salmon at Reuters: "I’m not convinced that the US will ultimately get paid back all the money it lent to AIG — and it certainly won’t be paid back with a level of interest commensurate with the amount of risk involved in the deal. It’s one thing to look at the value of the small number of AIG shares in free circulation; it’s something else entirely to assume that the government will be able to sell tens of billions of dollars’ worth of its own shares at anything like the same level. But it’s certainly worth a try. So long as the stock market continues to place a significant positive value on the company, it would be foolish of the government not to."Wrong—Taxpayers Are Not Getting Compensated, insists Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism: "Let’s not kid ourselves: all this fancy financial footwork is to divert public attention from the fact that AIG will deliver big losses to the taxpayer. The latest Congressional Oversight Panel report contained estimates of losses on the AIG financing, with estimates from separate government sources ranging form $36 to $50 billion. Do you see this acknowledged ANYWHERE in the New York Times, Bloomberg, or Wall Street Journal? (To its credit, the FT does pick this up). No, which means this propagandizing, sadly, is proving to be quite effective."This Could Work, contends Dan Indiviglio at The Atlantic: "It's conceivable that the Treasury could get its money back -- or even make a profit. It would depend a lot on AIG's performance between now and when the government begins to sell its stake. If the Treasury sells those shares for more than $29.67 per share (which is plausible as the stock is currently trading around $38), and if AIG is able to pay back the full $22 billion in preferred shares, then the Treasury will be made whole."No Reason to Celebrate Regardless, writes The Economist: "One insider suggested to the Wall Street Journal that the government could turn a profit if its shares can be sold for more than $30 each. That looks doable (assuming the calculation is correct). It does not, however, take account of the huge amounts of indirect support that AIG—and the rest of the financial system—has received since 2008. From the public’s perspective, the outcome will likely be much better than originally feared. But hardly cause for celebration." Full Story | Top |
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