Month: December 2009

Enduring America’s Scott Lucas:

Even by the standards of the outstanding footage we received yesterday — too much in the end for us to do more than give a snapshot of the events — this video is, well, incredible

He later adds:

[T]o raise a smile, set this foootage against the claim in the pro-regime newspaper Kayhan, noted in yesterday’s updates, that “a maximum of 5000 people” turned out.

Today on the Dish we monitored the public mourning of Montazeri. Robert Worth explained the significance of his death, Mousavi could have been killed, and we watched some stirring footage here, here, here, and here. The Times of London helped us look ahead.

In healthcare commentary, Jon Cohn and Maggie Mahar dove into the details, Krugman talked cost, Adam Ozimek tackled pork, Ambinder dispensed wisdom, and Ezra predicted a quick fade of public debate. Andrew recognized Obama keeping his "universal" pledge and Douthat called out the AWOL of the GOP.  We also noted some predictable partisanship, ugly rhetoric, and really ugly rhetoric.

In assorted commentary, Andrew examined the 1990s in depth and Fareed put a spotlight on Iraq. Sarah Palin became the liar of the year (even without the latest doozy over "threats" to her daughters). Human Events lionized Cheney while Newt did his best imitation. Julian Sanchez took on Dish readers over free will, Jerry Coyne revisited theodicy, and readers discussed the atheist "ban." Patrick elucidated the workings of the Dish and elicited some feedback from James Joyner. This was a great quote.

We continued to compile Christmas songs here, here, and here, with some cynical smack-down here. The Dish began a retrospective on this year's Recession Views. And be sure to check out our annual contest if you missed it.

— C.B.

The death of Montazeri has paved the way for Ashura to be quite a day:

The Green Movement appears to be emboldened and gaining momentum, and this is a week of great opportunity. The sacred month of Muharram culminates on Sunday in the emotionally charged holiday of Ashura, when Shia Muslims mourn the 7th century martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and the talk is of sacrifice.

The opposition is planning nationwide protests that day, and the fact that Ashura coincides with the seventh day since Montazeri’s death, an important date in the Shia mourning ritual, will give them greater impetus.

“Montazeri’s death could not have come at a worse time for the regime and it will rachet up the tensions considerably,” Dr Ansari said. “This has made an extremely fragile situation even worse for the Government and it will be scrambling to find a way to deal with it.”

Know hope.

Human Events gives the award to war criminal and deficit-lover Dick Cheney. John Bolton wrote the editorial, natch:

Cheney knows that the personal attacks on him, as offensive as they are, in reality constitute stark evidence that Obama and his supporters are simply unable to match him in the substantive policy debate. An old lawyers’ cliché says: “If the law is against you, pound on the facts; if the facts are against you, pound on the law; if the law and the facts are against you, pound on the table.” Obama and his supporters are doing the political equivalent of continuous table-pounding, because that’s basically all they have to offer. Cheney’s unwillingness to be deterred by the media assaults on his character, his judgment and his performance in office are therefore his most impressive force multiplier with the general public. Outside-the-Beltway Americans see him for exactly what he is: a very experienced, very dedicated patriot, giving his fellow citizens his best analysis on how to keep them and their country safe.

Adam Serwer sighs. I find the whole nyah-nyah tone absurd; and the refusal to face up to the fundamental breach of the rule of law and the legacy of importing torture and abuse of prisoners directly into the American system of government to be as depressing as it is familiar.

(Hat tip: Weigel)

Adam Ozimek notes a $100 million health care provision in the bill. He worries:

The problem with these handouts is that they are going to generate even less complaints than defense handouts do, because it’s a lot harder to get mad about $100 million for a health care facility than it is for a $100 million space laser or some failed helicopter project. I mean, who is going to complain about money going to medical treatment for workers exposed to asbestos in a vermiculite mine?

Similarly, can you picture anyone angrily declaring “the government is building another childrens’ hospital!? My god, this is what my tax dollars are going to? Curing diseases for children!?” And to a certain extent, there’s a good reason why few people would make that complaint; we obviously want to cure sick childrens’ diseases, and we want there to be enough health care facilities.  But there is such a thing is too much of this stuff,  and there is an unlimited supply of lobbying for it, which suggests to me that we will be getting quite a bit more than “enough” health care facilities in the future.

Has anyone coined the phrase health-care-industrial-complex yet?

Ambers' take on the health insurance reform bill is as judicious as it is informed. Like most things he writes.

A reader writes, "Stephen Colbert + Elvis Costello's Christmas duet is depressing in a very cynical way."

The Colbert Report	Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
A Colbert Christmas: Colbert/Costello Duet
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

A reader writes:

I'm a reporter working in Asheville, and I've been surprised by the amount of national play this manufactured "controversy" has gotten, given that there's no serious attempt to remove City Council member Cecil Bothwell from office.

The Citizen-Times' article that began the controversy cited unnamed "critics" that wanted Bothwell barred from taking office due to his atheism, but it quoted only one person: H.K. Edgerton. While Edgerton's been referred to as a former President of the NAACP in many articles and posts about this controversy, that sidelines what he's been best known for locally and elsewhere: brandishing a Confederate flag and marching around extolling the virtues of the antebellum South. He is, to put mildly, not a mainstream figure. Even in the initial article, even he didn't say he was going to press a lawsuit, just that, based on his rather unique views of the U.S. Constitution, he didn't think Bothwell could hold office.

Eventually the Citizen-Times did find another Bothwell critic for a follow-up piece: the publisher of the far-right Asheville Tribune, a small circulation tabloid best known for running multi-part defenses of secession, slavery and the Crusades. Again, not exactly a mainstream threat. Furthermore, Bothwell doesn't even call himself an atheist, but a "post-theist." He attends a Unitarian church. The assertion about his atheism was based on the reporter looking up a long-defunct Myspace page.

When Bothwell took his oath of office, along with the other elected council members and the re-elected mayor, there was not one bit of serious dispute over his right to take his seat. No one shouted, no one heckled him. No one's tried to press a lawsuit. The city attorney's office is completely unconcerned. No one on council, including the conservative Democrat, the sole Republican and our outspokenly Christian mayor, tried to oppose him. He got his round of applause and at his first full meeting, on Dec. 15, exercised his rights to speak and vote just like every other council member.

However, the "controversy" has blown up. Since this started, I've seen the false assertion on numerous blogs (usually atheist) that Bothwell was prevented from taking office (he wasn't) and that Asheville "needs to join the 21st century," though our city populace and government seem just fine with Bothwell's religious views or lack thereof.

Atheists, like many members of minority creeds, do face incidences of discrimination. This isn't one of them. But it's abundantly clear that the grumbling of one or two fringe figures and some sloppy newspaper articles now make a national shouting match, as long as it's about atheism. Good to know.