http://www.agrandillusion.com Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:03:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3260 Fouad Ajami in the Wall Street Journal: The curtain has come down on what can best be described as a brief un-American moment in our history. That moment began in the fall of 2008, with the great financial panic, and gave rise to the Barack Obama phenomenon. The nation's faith in institutions ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3258 New York Times has a frightening story about a man, Omar Hammami, who grew up in Alabama and by all accounts was completely Americanized but still ended up fighting with the Islamist insurgency in Somalia. From the New York Times Magazine: Sometimes months would pass with no word from Hammami. When he ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3255 Nate Silver takes an interesting look: "Obama also used the term "business" or "businesses" unusually often during last night's speech. In about half of these cases, "business" was prefaced by the term "small" as in "small businesses" -- the term "small business" almost always polls well in focus groups. Obama also used ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3248 Memo on Health Care: "It is imperative for the country, the economy, the party, and the Obama presidency that Democrats resist the temptation to let this rare opportunity slip by. The most effective path forward is also the most obvious: the House should approve the legislation that has already passed the ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3245 George Packer in the New Yorker: "The other day, I was lighting a fire with a copy of the Times from June 27, 2009 when my eye fell on an article about Republican objections to the health-care reform bill. Back then, the public option troubled Susan Collins, who also “said she ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3243 A letter to Democrats: "With the loss of Edward Kennedy’s Senate seat, Democrats no longer enjoy a filibuster-proof Senate majority, though they still enjoy the largest Senate majority any party has achieved in the past generation. The loss of this one vote does not require Congress or the President to abandon Senator ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3239 http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3237 Talal Al-Zahrani: “They snatched my seventeen-year-old son for a bounty payment ... They took him to Guantánamo and held him prisoner for five years. They tortured him. Then they killed him and returned him to me in a box, cut up.” Read the full story at Harper's. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3235 NY Times: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three Guantanamo Bay detainees whose deaths were ruled a suicide in 2006 apparently had been transported from their cells hours before their deaths to a secret site on the island, an article in Harper's magazine asserts. The account released Monday raises serious questions about whether the three ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3232 Via The Daily Dish: It must be all that efficiency created by private enterprise... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3223 Easiest way to donate is to text the word "Haiti" to the number 90999. It will charge your phone bill a donation of $10 that will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts. For more info check the State Department. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3220 We've been gone for a while here at AGI and for that I apologize. The three A's have been somewhat busy but hopefully the blog will get back to form soon. This post on Haiti drew me back: "Tengo una deuda vieja con Haití. Todos la tenemos. Haití es la matriz primera, ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3218 Iranian Student leader Majid Tavakoli: "I have spent ten exhausting days on the road with more than 100 hours of driving and now I have to leave for Tehran. Looking at my mother’s tearful eyes and father’s anxious glances and despite all the difficulties only the true wish for freedom can ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3213 James Fallows takes the media to task (well mostly The Washington Post) on their aversion to taking a stance. This is good stuff that he has touched upon earlier. More people should be speaking out against the CNN-ization of journalism in general; give a platform to the right, give a platform ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3201 Kathleen Parker really really likes Rick Santorum: "Santorum also may be viewed as the nation's superego, reminding us of our moral charge at a time of swift cultural change." Well yes. Undoubtedly this is true but doesn't it go a little bit deeper than this Kathleen? Flesh it out more: "It is human ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3193 Sarah Palin has an op-ed in the Washington Times which is, not surprisingly, equal parts parts self-aggrandizement and nonsense about what she thinks is good policy. If you read it then you're going to have to sit through sentences like these: "This scandal obviously calls into question the proposals being pushed in ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3181 The Afpak channel worries about the victims of militant violence in Pakistan and what it could mean for United States foreign policy: "There are no candlelight vigils, no Facebook groups, and no Fareed Zakaria specials for Pakistani victims of militant violence. To some extent, this is the result of image problems. ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3169 He seems confident in some sort of victory, which makes me feel better. It also makes those on the right wing who criticized Obama for "not listening to his generals" look ridiculous. McChrystal: "My confidence derives first from the Afghan's resolve, since it is their actions that will ultimately matter most in ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3157 Dahlia Lithwick at Salon: "Evidently it was too much law that got us into the war on terror, and yet there's too little law to get us out of it. Apparently, one cannot operate within a legal framework in wartime because the laws are too constraining and vague. Yet using an ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3154 "Anti-Washington except that she thirsts for it, and close enough (and also far enough away to be "deniable") to the paranoid fringe element who darkly suggest that our president is a Kenyan communist." For the rest of the article you can click here. To read why Hitchens considers her populism to be ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3152 Only 11,000 jobs were lost in November. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3149 He's not too hot on him: "Having vowed to "finish the job," Obama revealed Tuesday that he thinks the job in Afghanistan is to get out of Afghanistan. This is an unserious policy". Not serious like, you know, counting pronouns. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3146 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Scientists Hide Global Warming Data www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis Jon Stewart's anger is palpable but it makes sense. The reasonable people who believe that man influences climate change were never able to put it into a context that made sense. I ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3141 I saw the speech last night but don't really know what to think. I agree with a lot of the things said on Andrew Sullivan's blog. I like the fact that we seem to have a very serious man for president. I like the fact that it seems that he ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3137 Check out Desde la Habana to hear about a young Kendry Morales becoming a baseball sensation on the island. Apparently, poster Iván García saw Morales play as a young phenom on the island: "Kendry sólo tenía 15 años. Ya era uno de los grandes talentos del béisbol en la isla. Cuando ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3132 David Brooks: "In 1997, Brooks wrote an influential article called “A Return to National Greatness,” for The Weekly Standard, the in-house newsletter for neo-con dicks. “National Greatness” is what results when unacknowledged feelings of sexual inadequacy manifest themselves as a theory of foreign policy. The ostensible theory is that the United ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3128 From lawyers that worked in the Bush administration: A trial in Manhattan will bring enormous media attention and require unprecedented security. But it is unlikely to make New York a bigger target than it has been since February 1993, when Mohammed's nephew Ramzi Yousef attacked the World Trade Center. If al-Qaeda ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3125 We were one cheating cop away from winning the Hunt. But you wouldn't find a cooler team. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3118 http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3114 ... This is probably as good as it gets. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3110 Who do you think knows best the reality of Cuba? Oscar Espinosa Chepe, arguing for the lifting of the travel ban to Cuba. It is the same rational argument many of us have made: isolationism only makes it easy for the tyranny to continue repressing the people. La política estadounidense, sin ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3108 ... and no communists in China. While class struggle and common ownership of property may have motivated the revolution, Mao's heirs are more interested in outcomes than process. At least a dozen times, officials and businesspeople have quoted Deng Xiaoping's line about not caring whether a cat is black and white, ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3105 ...have decided to extend us the same honor they extended to SFDB before: links from AGI to Babalu posts are being redirected to Shrub's presidential library's website. Puerile, laughable and ineffectual (it doesn't even work on every browser), but that's hardliners for you. Not secure enough in their convictions to test ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3094 Ah, Yoani. Not only she cofounds the regime in Havana, she's also becoming a thorn on the side of hardliners. The loudest voice from Havana refuses to conform to their script, first the original sin of returning to Cuba from Switzerland with her family (the horror, taking her son back, ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3089 She posed seven simple questions to both the president of the United States of America and to the leadership in Cuba. Obama has responded and that is the link above. So far the Castros have not responded and never will. This is what America really is: we open lines of communications, we ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3078 Watch Brit Hume at the end who hasn't found a single good argument supporting the trials in New York except for the Constitution which he isn't that sure about. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3076 Senator Robert Byrd: "I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3073 Despite a slow start, Ross Douthat's more recent columns and posts have been pretty reasonable. On the recent wave of populism: From Glenn Beck to the Tea Parties, much of the energy in the post-Bush G.O.P. is with people who have grasped, albeit sometimes in inchoate ways, that big government and big ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3064 Following up on this: "It also shows how money rules policy toward Cuba, not principles, ethics, justice and morality." You think? http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3061 From Daniel Luban: "Despite the Iran hawks’ over-the-top expressions of solidarity with the Green Movement, in actuality nothing would have been more disastrous for them than for Moussavi and the opposition to have triumphed. If Moussavi had taken power and announced that Iran would continue uranium enrichment - which seems extremely ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3057 Yes please. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3054 On the right's reaction to comments made (or not) in Japan: How dismaying that a loud subset of the right so consistently demands that President Obama privilege their childish desire for self-righteous rhetoric above the actual demands of statesmanship. What good would it possibly do to tell the Japanese, “Yes, I ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3050 Money influences the way people act. Some good news among the bad though: "When it comes to public sentiment toward the U.S.'s relationship with Cuba, the Public Campaign report insists that the hard-liners, in their opposition to repealing such things as the travel ban for Americans, are out of step with where ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3047 Yoani Sanchez and company are trying to start (ESP) a school for bloggers and would be free journalists in Cuba. They're even looking to hopefully get help from schools in the US or Europe. The bravery of these people never cease to amaze me. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3045 From Glenn Greenwald at Salon: "Let the jury consider their verdict," the King said, for about the twentieth time that day. "No, no!” said the Queen. "Sentence first -- verdict afterward." "Stuff and nonsense!" said Alice loudly. "The idea of having the sentence first!" "Hold your tongue!" said the Queen, turning purple. "I won’t!" said ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3042 Earlier this week jowl king Mitch Mcconnell wrote an article arguing that detainees at Guantanamo Bay should not be tried in civilian courts. His argument... Terrorists are scary. Boo! Best quote: "First, whether we can try terrorists here is not the issue; the issue is whether we should try terrorists here. Before ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3035 Terrorism suspects being tried in civilian courts--what a kooky concept. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3031 So the RNC health insurance has covered elective abortions since 1991. Michael Steele says it will be changed and claims it was some sort of oversight. Maybe that's true. Maybe no one noticed for 18 years. But when one of the core principles of your party is to stop others ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3028 Yet still won't respond to the accusations. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3015 “I think the evidence is quite strong that the torture program began almost immediately after 9-11,” said [Michael] Ratner of the CCR [Center for Constitutional Rights]. “So the memos don’t help them there.” In fact, if lawyers wrote the memos approving torture techniques at the request of officials who had already ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3009 Pictured: Science Photo Library picks an intriguing image from their collection each week. Here are some of the pictures they've recently selected. Proving that science can be fun, here's a thermogram of human flatulence. Intestinal gas (red, lower left) being expelled ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=3000 "Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf." That is all. Good night. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2989 Michelle Bachmann wearing a lei, some other Republican waving a baby, Blue Dogs populism (show me an insurance plan that covers abortions), Steve King trying to TP the Capitol, Tom Price's "I object" tantrum... it's a damn sitcom. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2987 Via Penultimos Dias, the news that Yoani Sanchez along with Claudia Cadelo, Orlando Luis Pardo, Ciro Diaz from Porno para Ricardo and the photographer Claudio Fuentes were arrested, beaten up and then thrown off police cars. They were on their way to a peaceful protest in Havana. Fear, plain and simple. ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2985 The Republicans so called health care plan is an absolute joke. It leaves 52 million people uninsured, only reduces premiums through reduced coverage (thanks, I can do that myself) and it does not ban the practice of denying or reducing coverage because of pre-existing conditions. As Andy pointed out, it ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2979 It looks like the geniuses at Babalu finally found a healthcare reform bill they like. Well, it's actually not a bill but Minority Leader Boehner's amendment to the Democratic bill, H.R. 3962, but, c'mon, what do they know. Brandishing this "bill" as the common sense approach, they cite to a story ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2971 I found this story through Andrew Sullivan's blog. It's incredible how similar the neocon position is between Cuba and Iran in three ways: 1) The correct way to deal with dictators is to act exactly like they do. “Whenever they [U.S. diplomats]  smile at the officials of the Islamic revolution, when we carefully ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2962 Via the Daily Dish: "I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2959 So Charlie Crist was apparently on CNN today to talk about the Democratic victory in NY-23. This is what he said, according to Naked Politics: "I don't know we if can really tell exactly what that race meant," said Crist, himself the party-annointed candidate for the Senate. "I mean that was kind ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2955 Well, I think we can call NY23 the first nail in the coffin of the teabagger movement. Can't wait to see what Beck & Palin have to say about it. Actually, nah. I'm sure they are going to blame it on the media or ACORN or call Scozzafava a turncoat. As ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2953 You have to love that on the night when the GOP was supposed to make its big comeback, they actually lost another Congressional seat. Or as Brad Woodhouse, who I worked with several years ago put it (yes, I just linked to a tweet 'cause I'm down with the youth): The only ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2951 Get it? http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2947 Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2944 If you take a test which is 99% accurate and it matches you for a terminal illness that afflicts one in 10,000 people, what is the probability that you have the disease? It's actually less than one percent. But this thought experiment is even more surprising: imagine you were sitting on ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2936 Simple step by step process: 1) A friend sends an article  saying Scalia said he would have dissented in Brown v. Board of Education. 2) I start thinking about posting something on this blog because that's outrageous. 3) I look where they got it from. 4) I see the video they're talking about where ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2931 http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2924 Opening November 3rd. Trailer here. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2921 "We are now ready to break ground on a building that is poised to be one of the greenest art museums ever built in the Americas. As such, this is the right moment for me to pursue other interests and for MAM to smoothly transition to a new leader who ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2916 "As an artist, are you really happy with this shallow and demonizing takeaway from a movie you have obviously put so much effort an passion into?" I wanted to ask Leon Ichaso the question, but honestly, I was so enraged by the Q&A session following a screening of "Paraíso" that ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2902 So I'm reading this El Nuevo Herald story today on the Miami mayoral race, when I run into this quote: "En mi opinión es una campaña que se ha hecho al estilo de Miami, es decir, muy tradicional'', comentó Alejandro Barrera, un experto en política local y activista comunitario del sur ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2900 And do you think that unto such as you; A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew: God gave the secret, and denied it me?-- Well, well, what matters it! Believe that, too. -Omar Khayyam http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2897 From the Onion: With random cries of "Enough is enough," "Do something now," and "Huh?" thousands of the nation's biggest morons descended on Washington State this week, some 3,000 miles from their intended destination of the nation's capital. Throughout the day, the number of protesters grew to include not just morons, but ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2880 http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2875 I finally got an invite this morning. So far, it has tons of potential, but I'm a little underwhelmed. For some reason, it seems to have less functionality than in the videos I saw before I started using. But maybe I'm just imagining that. By the way, it is freaking ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2871 "Let us consider that we are all partially insane." "That is a simple rule, and easy to remember. When I, a thoughtful and unblessed Presbyterian, examine the Koran, I know that beyond any question every Mohammedan is insane; not in all things, but in religious matters. When a thoughtful and unblessed ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2865 I've been wondering where Organizing for America's formidable grassroots machine was, in the wake of the town halls offensive. Here. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2862 http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2857 "Okay, you lazy bitch" and other Letters of Note. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2854 Yesterday we directed your attention to a poll saying that a significant majority of Americans supported the public option in healthcare reform. Today's poll, care of a couple of good friends of mine at Bendixen, Giancarlo and Fernand, has some more interesting findings. The poll asked Cuban Americans how they felt ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2844 Apparently an anti-gay bill has been proposed in Uganda. The bill states the dangers of homosexuality like this: Research indicates that the homosexuality has a variety of negative consequences including higher incidences of violence, sexually transmitted diseases, and use of drugs. The higher incidence of separation and break-up in homosexual relationships ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2840 Oh, I don't know, a majority of Americans. As Democratic congressional leaders and White House officials work to shape health care bills that will go to the House and Senate floors, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers has ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2837 One of Andrew Sullivan's readers directs his attention to Richard Hofstadter's "The Paranoid Style In American Politics". It's eye opening how relevant it is. "When [pseudo-conservatism] argues that we are governed largely by means of near-hypnotic manipulation (brainwashing), wholesale corruption, and betrayal, it is indulging in something more significant than the ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2833 Many moons ago, I worked as a copy editor for several local newspapers, which essentially means I spent my workdays writing headlines. I generally hated the work, but now and then a good headline still brings a smile to my face, like this one from yesterday's New York Times front ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2818 http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2820 For a few years, there has been a war going on between Marifeli Perez-Stable, an FIU professor and Herald columnist, and Antonio De La Cova, an Indiana University professor and sometime Babalu writer. Long story short, he accuses her of having been a Castro agent, based mainly on notes he ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2815 This accompanying blog post has all the citations for the claims made in the video. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2811 If you have been wondering what happened to reasoning in the political discourse, via TPM, a Democracy Corps study looks into the mind and motives of ultraconservatives. "They believe Obama is ruthlessly advancing a 'secret agenda' to bankrupt the United States and dramatically expand government control to an extent nothing short ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2805 Excellent piece on Raíces de Esperanza by PRI's The World. Two friends of mine are quoted, Felice Gorordo and Romi Ruiz-Goiriena. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2806 The following videos are from the latest BBC nature documentary, Life. If you loved, as I did, Blue Planet and Planet Earth you have to watch these videos. They're simply mesmerizing. I'll post the media notes that the BBC released below each video. The YouTube videos are in available in HD, ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2801 http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2798 The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2792 Please watch this great video of blogger Yoani Sanchez giving it to a Cuban government apparatchik. I'm sorry I couldn't find a version translated to English, and I don't have time to translate it. But you can tell she's not happy by the tone of her voice. Essentially, she keeps ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2788 That was the question the Herald's editorial board pondered today in a meandering, messy editorial of an intellectual lightness beyond belief. The editorial board starts by reaffirming its belief in the embargo on Cuba. The board says it supports the embargo because of Cuba's "dismal human rights record." Fair enough. I ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2784 The Babaluers have really outdone themselves. This might be the most incoherent post I have ever seen on their site. Which says a lot. It's called "The Limbaugh Lynching" so you know it's going to be good.  George Moneo (the poster) starts by telling us he's never heard Rush Limbaugh ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2780 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Barbara Ehrenreich www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview I used to like Barbara Ehrenreich. Her NYT guest pieces were great and "Nickel and Dimed" is a great eye opener for those who don't know what is like to live on minimum wage. ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2776 The whole bit on the bicycle is priceless. http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2767 So I took a gander at the new, slick page of the Republican party (big ripoff of the Obama look, but that's standard for political websites these days). Particularly interesting is the GOP Heroes section that Andy referenced previously, and not only because Richard Nixon, Trent Lott, Joe McCarthy or ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2765 One constant Republican refrain is that we have the best healthcare in the world. This is, of course, not the case because when you look at health indicators we lag far behind the industrialized world. The U.S., for example, has an alarming child mortality rate. The U.S. ranks 37th in ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2761 As I'm sure you've heard, the new GOP.com website was ridiculed all day yesterday. Michael Steele decided to call his blog "What Up"--which probably sent your average Republican looking for someone who speaks jive to translate. Steele's blog has since been renamed "Change the Game". I wonder why. The website includes ... http://www.agrandillusion.com/?p=2751