Dominionist Hoedown Links (update)

Here are some links for further reading:

From Google News:

Shame on Cheney
Salt Lake Tribune, United States – 6 hours ago
It was with dismay that I read that Dick Cheney will be in
Utah once again (Tribune, Sept. 26). His speech to the Council for National Policy, …

VP Cheney makes quick trip to Utah to address secretive …
Salt Lake Tribune, United States – Sep 28, 2007
By Nathan C. Gonzalez Updated: 12:11 PM-
Vice President Dick Cheney has departed Salt Lake
City today after making a quick speech before a super-secret …

Dominionist Hoedown in Salt Lake City and YOU ain’t Invited

[NOTE: Because it just might make you read it, longtime newsman Doug Krile lists this in today's Krile Files as "The Best Story of the Night: Oh, my. There's enough intrigue here to keep anybody interesting. Follow the twists and turns and be prepared to be surprised!" -- hw]

What’s a “dominionist”?

It’s important that you ask that question first, or else you’ll have no way of analyzing what’s going on. According to Wikipedia:

Dominionism is described by some contemporary scholars and journalists as a tendency among conservative politically-active Christians to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action — aiming

Ahmadinejad Handed A Propaganda Win

A followup to my post on Wednesday:

2007-09-26
What? Politeness Counts in Foreign Relations?

And just imagine how we look to the REST of the world with our clueless and crapulous performance. Not that we care a fig for what the world thinks of us, right?

Breaking News Or Wind Or Something

SMOKING GUN UPDATE 4:04 AM PDT: Paul Singer is one of the three richest libertarians, according to Ron Paul‘s ex-Congressional Senior Aide and District Representative, Eric Dondero [Rittberg]:

# Eric Dondero Says:
January 30th, 2007 at 3:22 pm

Just breaking…

The London Herald-Tribune is reporting that Libertarian Billionaire Paul Singer has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. Singer, is a NYC Hedge Fund Manager. He’s regarded as one of the Top Three Richest Libetarians in the Nation, right up there with David Koch, and Howie Rich. Singer also is a Board Member of the libertarian Manhattan Institute. [emphasis added]

Full story and link now up at http://www.mainstreamlibertarian.com

The link is dead, alas. Among his fellow travelers at the Manhattan Institute: William Kristol (The Weekly Standard), Peggy Noonan (ex-Reagan speechwriter) and founder of the Club for Growth, Richard Gilder. For you do-it-yourselfers, there’s a wealth of connections to track down on Singer’s Zoom Info page, including that he was on the Board of JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. More to come.

«•»

The LA Times‘ “scoop” on the DOA electoral college initiative kicked into high gear tonight (via one of their blogs h/t Pamela L):

BREAKING NEWS: Giuliani fundraiser was mystery initiative backer

A close friend and major fundraiser of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has identified himself as the mystery financer of the proposed California initiative to apportion the state’s 55 electoral votes by congressional district instead of winner-take-all.

Disneyland Democracy

[Note: Read the "prequel" to this post, "Private Legislatures" first and this will make a lot more sense to you. -- HW]

The California media are chasing their tails over the revelation that the “Electoral College” initiative that’s supposedly failing was given an $175,000 donation by a Missouri attorney named Charles Hurth III, who sent it from his “Take Initiative America” group, founded September 10, almost the same day.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is another elaborate shell game to create initiatives and hide the source of their funding behind “astroturf” groups. Why does this sound so familiar? (Well, it does to ME, because I covered it extensively).

Private Legislatures

Good news of a sort, today — unless you happen to be one of those who make their living gathering petition signatures, or running petition campaigns for money in those twenty-plus states that allow ballot measures and initiatives.

Another “stealth” petition drive has, seemingly, bit the dust in California, according to the Los Angeles Times:

BREAKING NEWS: Electoral initiative backers give up
Plagued by a lack of money, supporters of a statewide initiative drive to change the way California’s 55 electoral votes are apportioned, first revealed here by Top of the Ticket in July, are pulling the plug on that effort.

That Hitler Thing Again

There is some “law” of debates that states whenever “Hitler” or “Nazi” is used, the rational portion of the argument goes off the tracks, and reasonable debate concludes.*

[* Godwin's Law. See HERE for how to get around it.‡]

[‡This is NOT to be confused with Hart's Three Laws of Mechanics (circa 1989):

1. Every task will require ONE more hand than you've got.
2. You WILL invent a new yoga position, and
3. It's always ONE @#$%%& screw. §]

[§ This is not to be confused with Sturgeon's Law: "90% of everything is crud."†]

What? Politeness Counts in Foreign Relations?

As noted HERE, HERE and HERE, other writers seem to have noticed what rude, boorish slobs America has been to the visiting Iranian head of state.

It wasn’t about the Iranian President. The way that he was treated is seen in Iran as the way WE have decided to treat ALL Iranians. You disrespect the country’s leader, you disrespect the country. The USA has, collectively told Persia (Iran): Yo momma, fools!

Imagine for a moment if even Bush went to, say, Thailand, and he was treated by the Thais the way that we treated Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

A Nation Without Couth

I have tried for the past three days to say what Rick Perlstein says here brilliantly, and far better than I could have. If that doesn’t pique your interest, nothing else that I can say will.

Please read it.

Please?

Courage.

Dr. Evil Trolls For Retractions

This is about the fallacy that the entire Rightie attack on The New York Times
over the MoveOn ad is based on. The fallacy that, when revealed, drops their whole house of cards.

I have been chided privately for using the term “troll” as a characterization for perhaps too many posts. And I have privately noted that I will dramatically curtail said usage.

But when a troll’s a troll, you calls ‘em a troll.

Predictable Rudy’s Excuse

Yesterday, I wrote the following:

MoveOn Moves On, Challenges Rudy To Do His Duty

MoveOn has just released the following press release on PRnewswire, which reads, in part:

Now that the Times has revealed this mistake for the first time, and while we believe that the $142,083 figure is above the market rate paid by most organizations, out of an abundance of caution we have decided to pay that rate for this ad. We will therefore wire the $77,083 difference to the Times tomorrow (Monday, September 24, 2007).

We call on Mayor Giuliani, who received exactly the same ad deal for the same price, to pay the corrected fee also.