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Philadelphia Phillies: World Champions
It’s not just baseball — here’s to the great city of Philadelphia. And to the great state of Pennsylvania. And a Tuesday victory in PA for our next president, Barack Obama. Yes we can.
The week on disc (30)
In case you missed the last one… Harris Eisenstadt, Guewel (Clean Feed) Mostly Other People Do the Killing, This Is Our Moosic (Hot Cup) Peter Bernstein, Monk (Xanadu) Royal Hartigan Ensemble, Blood Drum Spirit (Innova) Mike LeDonne, FiveLive (Savant) John Bunch Trio, Plays the Music of Irving Berlin (Arbors)
Chávez: another thing
A pro-Chávez commenter writes: Evil President Hugo Chavez is one of those scary Socialists Senator McCain warns you about – those who care more for the wretched than for the rich. This Washington Post report of a Miami criminal investigation tells us much about Chávez’s supposed concern for the poor: Transcripts of the taped conversations reveal intricate details of the collaboration
Hugo Chávez, thug
Jose Miguel Vivanco and Daniel Wilkinson of Human Rights Watch write about their experience being thrown out of Venezuela for the crime of criticizing the Chávez government. Here’s one lovely detail: [A] close Chávez ally in the legislature suggested on national TV that the two of us had been sharing a single hotel room where we were indulging our “weaknesses.”
“Spread the wealth”
“The really big fortune, the swollen fortune, by the mere fact of its size, acquires qualities which differentiate it in kind as well as in degree from what is possessed by men of relatively small means. Therefore, I believe in a graduated income tax on big fortunes, and … a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, properly safeguarded against evasion,
GOP racism watch
Colin Powell’s message isn’t getting through to some. Marcia Stirman, not a fringe figure but a Republican official in New Mexico, declared in a letter to the editor, “I believe Muslims are our enemies.” She also labeled Barack Obama a “Muslim socialist.” Asked later to clarify her view of Muslims, she said: “I don’t trust them at all. They’ve sworn across
No on Prop 8
Andrew Sullivan notes that the vicious Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that threatens to strip gay couples of all civil equality, is being massively bankrolled by the Mormon Church — which, incidentally, was founded in the 19th century by a fraud and con man. Donate to the No effort here. [Update: Fairness demands that I acknowledge this.]
Palin: feminist when convenient
This boggles the mind: Campaigning later in the day in Henderson, Palin made a direct play for female voters, particularly those who backed Obama’s primary rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. ”Barack Obama just couldn’t bring himself to pick a woman who got 18 million votes in the primary,” Palin said. She told the crowd the situation was a ”too familiar