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If Sarah Palin Weren't a Fanatic, I Might Feel Sorry For Her
Tweet Share on Facebook June 30, 2009 Comment (35)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Todd Purdum's excoriation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin comes as close to making me feel as sorry for her as any gently disguised screed possibly could. When Sen. McCain first chose her as his running mate, I thought it was a stroke of genius. Then she opened her mouth, completing the transition from strong, successful woman to evangelical extremist. The nadir was Palin's Katie Couric interview, in which she waxed poetic about the history of our great country, while dodging the question, "Besides Roe v. Wade, are there any other Supreme Court decisions you disagree with?"
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Sarkozy's Right About Islamic Debasement: The Burkha Is an Offense Against Women
Tweet Share on Facebook June 30, 2009 Comment (16)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has predictably drawn the ire of Muslims worldwide by backing demands to ban the wearing of the burkha in France. But let's remember a couple of things about the burkha. First, it is the complete body-covering garment which reveals only a slit for the eyes—it is not a mere headscarf. The burkha can be worn and indeed has been worn by male and female suicide bombers to hide deadly weaponry. It creates a terror issue not created by the wearing of a headscarf.
That is not Sarkozy's main justification for backing the ban. He based his position on the burkha's degradation of women:
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Is Salon.com Soft on Horse Slaughter?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 30, 2009 Comment (37)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Interesting that supposedly liberal Salon.com sports an article about horse slaughter that reads, in part, like a cheat sheet from the slaughter industry. I have written about the despicable horse slaughter industry from a decidedly antithetical perspective. I would have thought a progressive mouthpiece such as Salon.com would share my views on this issue. Instead, the piece on horse slaughter, although written by a self-professed horse and donkey owner, seems to favor the slaughter industry:
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Obama's Endless Czar List Now Includes a Domestic Violence Aide
Tweet Share on Facebook June 29, 2009 Comment (35)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
President Obama has appointed yet another czar—you know, one of those people in his administration with a long title, huge portfolio and no budget to get anything done. This time, it's a worthy enough portfolio assigned to Lynn Rosenthal—fighting domestic violence. But it's a czar-like post of such little consequence, the public announcement was handled by Vice President Joe Biden, not President Obama. From ABC News:
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Obama Sweeps Hillary Clinton Under the Rug on Iran Election Crisis
Tweet Share on Facebook June 26, 2009 Comment (21)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Has anyone noticed it took an experienced female country leader to get President Obama to take on Iran?
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Obama’s Dangerous Inexperience Shows In Iran and Dying Healthcare Reform
Tweet Share on Facebook June 26, 2009 Comment (12)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
As President Obama escalates the tone of his rhetoric against the Iranian leadership, from pablum to "outrageous," I keep thinking back to my criticisms of him during his presidential campaign.
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Illegal Immigration Is Bad for the Environment
Tweet Share on Facebook June 25, 2009 Comment (23)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
I come to my opposition to mass illegal immigration from an environmental perspective. This country's ballooning population is polluting our water, our air, turning beautiful open space into tacky suburbs and malls and generally degrading the quality of life here.
Individual immigrants, whether legal or illegal, are generally good people. They want what native-born Americans want—to make a good living and provide for their families. That's completely understandable. Unfortunately, at this point in our history, there is no way they can do so here without degrading the environment. It's tough to say that, as looking at new immigrants, my heart goes out to them. But does my heart hurt to the point where I want to see the American countryside destroyed, rural life pushed aside, and our air and water polluted to the breaking point? No.
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Schumer's Right: Illegal Immigration Is Just Plain Wrong
Tweet Share on Facebook June 25, 2009 Comment (25)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Every time he says something, I like my birth-state senator, Democrat Charles Schumer of New York, even more. It takes guts in a state with a huge immigrant (legal and illegal) population to tell illegal immigrants to get in line or get out. And yet, that's exactly what Schumer told the Washington Post:
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The Truth Could Have Set South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford Free
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 Comment (8)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Before this last disastrous weekend's events, South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford needed a new communications director, or a P-R person whose advice he would have taken. There's no way his or any communications advisor could or would have presided over the massive mishandling of his personal travails which began late last week.
In all my years covering politics, I've never seen a star-bound politician's career fizzle with such catastrophic downward velocity. And it all could have been averted, if he had just been honest with the media from the start.
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Washington Post Fails at Online Political Video Humor
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 Comment (3)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I'm not sure what this video is, but assuming it is what it appears to be, it's weak. It appears to be two serious Washington Post journalists trying to be funny. They fail miserably.
Further, in attempting to be something they're not (funny or comedians, take your pick) they inadvertently succeed at something they most likely never intended: to stretch their credibility as journalists to a microscopic sinew. Advice to Milbank and Cillizza, the guys in the video who write for the Washington Post: Stick to print, and leave the video news comedy to Jon Stewart, who's great at what he does.
Fortunately for the Washington Post, it isn't the only print venture into online video attempting to be funny, but missing the mark. The somewhat infamous Onion, the spoof newspaper out of Wisconsin, is also apparently venturing in to online media. And even though Onion staffers have proven comedic credentials in print, they, too, are having a tough time transitioning into video (which you can see after the jump):
