Here's a thing

You probably saw earlier this week a new poll suggesting that 18% of the American people think that President Obama is Muslim, which prompted all sorts of people to weigh in with their take, and the White House to issue a statement that the President is not only a Christian, but prays daily.

So, what do you think the reaction will be now that we know that nearly 60% of the American people oppose the war in Afghanistan?

Continue reading Here's a thing

Not an instruction manual

I remember being on the radio back in 2002 or so, and in conversation with a caller saying something like "When Orwell wrote 1984, it was a warning, not an instruction manual."

But these guys take doublethink to a whole new level.

TPM:

Tuesday, Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) called Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf -- best known for his work with multicultural Cordoba Initiative to build a mosque and community center in Lower Manhattan -- a "radical" and criticized the Obama Administration for including him on a Middle East speaking tour. That tour, which includes stops in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is designed by the public diplomacy office to explain to Muslims abroad what it's like to be a Muslim in America.

. . .

If one were to hearken back to the halcyon days of the Bush Administration, one would remember that, when Bush adviser Karen Hughes was appointed Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, the Bush Administration saw improving America's standing among Muslims abroad as a part of its national security strategy. And, as such, Hughes set up listening tours, attended meetings and worked with interfaith groups that -- shocking, by today's Republican standards -- included actual Muslims.

One of those people was Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.

Contemporary press accounts indicate that Rauf and Hughes were part of the February 2006 U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. He was part of a delegation that met with her in March 2006 and held a joint press conference. A letter to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in November 2007 indicates that contacts with Hughes and Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns had continued apace.

Fortunately, as a member of the professional left, i'm allowed to notice.

Continue reading Not an instruction manual

Credit where credit is due

A lot of bloggers have been really harsh on Democrats lately. Yeah, it's been deserved, as the wimpiness over health care has been especially painful to watch.

But it's not all gloom and doom. Found this nugget in a story about how wage theft, that is, employers not paying their employees what they're owed, has been on the rise since 2000:

Despite reports from the ground that wage theft is on the rise, the U.S. Department of Labor reported a 25 percent drop in registered complaints from low-wage workers from the start of the Bush administration through 2008, the most recent data available.

A recent Congressional report slammed the Labor Department for frequently failing to investigate or even register some complaints; a bill in the House would extend the federal statute of limitations on some violations to give the department more time to investigate them.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has added about 250 wage and hour inspectors, and last week, the department signed an agreement with the New York labor department, Mexican Consulate and several other groups to create a call center that will provide Hispanic workers in the New York area information about their labor rights.

There's a reason why we kicked those bums out of power. Let's hope Harry Reid can remember that. Barack Obama too.

Continue reading Credit where credit is due

Deep thought

The world at the end of the Obama administration is going to look very different from the world at the beginning of the Obama administration.

The Times previously refused to sell the Globe after former General Electric Co Chief Executive Jack Welch and former advertising executive Jack Connors reportedly asked about the possibility. At the time, they valued the Pulitzer prize-winning newspaper at $550 million to $600 million, the Journal said. Barclays now values the Globe at about $20 million.

Happy war on Christmas. Don't shoot your eye out.

Continue reading Deep thought