Canadian Eloquence on Freedom & Minority Rights — and What a Real Constitutional Amendment Ought to be About Anyway. . .

-

7

The other day, I was moved by this Colbert King column that made the link betweeen the W.E.B. Du Bois-led civil rights movement at Niagara Falls 100 years ago and the pursuit of equal rights for gays and lesbians and the legalization of same-sex marriage.

East Germany’s Historical Memory Problems: Jacob Heilbrunn Puts the Dresden Neo-Nazis in Context

-

17

I just got off the phone with Jacob Heilbrunn from whom I received permission to post this excellent and educational article about the large neo-Nazi demonstration in Dresden this past week. Heilbrunn deftly delineates between the two former parts of Germany and how each managed its historical memory challenges.

Could Jeff Gannon/Jim Guckert Be Turned? The Scandal Makes it to the Respectable Press in Kurtz Column

-

53

Howard Kurtz has a very long column today profiling Jeff Gannon/James Guckert. Most of what Kurtz writes on is the excellent investigative work of John Aravosis, but he makes some other important points.

The White House’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Press Room: Jeff Gannon’s Seduction of the Bush Team

-

43

I have to admit that I feel awkward and uneasy posting comments about Jeff Gannon, his role as a shill for the White House, and his alleged extracurricular activities as a gay-sex hustler.

If Every American Just Gave a Dollar. . . Comments on Bush’s Supplemental Budget Request for the Afghan and Iraq Conflicts

-

9

When I was more youthful, less cynical, and thought that some of the world’s most severe problems could be solved if every American just gave a dime, or a quarter, or a dollar, I had no idea how expensive fixing some of the world’s problems could be. George W.

Divining the Next Trade Czars: In Washington and Geneva

-

I am sorry to see that my pal Grant Aldonas has fallen out of the rumour mill on who might be the next U.S. Trade Representative. Chris Nelson of the Nelson Report gives a glimpse of the latest jockeying, both for USTR and the next Director General of the World Trade Organization.

Wolfowitz’s Anthrax Obsession

-

37

I have posted in the past several items on the question of forced anthrax vaccinations among our military ranks. What I have found interesting in this debate are the lengths that DoD civilian leaders are willing to go to obfuscate for and hide from Congressional oversight what the key intelligence is that justifies these vaccinations….