Month: October 2003

Full Results. Detailed CA recall election results are here. [Hit & Run]

I voted for Ned Roscoe, who got under 2,000 votes.

DIRTY TRICKS AT THE LA TIMES?. The LA Weekly, David to the LA Times’ Goliath, has done some digging, and apparently the Times has not been entirely forthcoming about the background and handling of its last-minute stories about Schwarzenegger’s alleged groping and harassment history. The Weekly, by the way, is an unabashedly liberal paper in its general outlook, but they also obviously know a story when they see one. From one LA Weekly story:

The L.A. Times has a story Saturday about three more women who allege… [The Light of Reason]

I’m extremely suspicious of the story myself. If it had been printed at any other time, my initial reaction would have been that it wasn’t surprising coming from a sleazy Hollywood type, but as it is my initial reaction was that it was a totally predictable example of the political dirty tricks Davis is famous for.

IT’S NOT ONLY BRIBERY…. I had been intending to address this generally very uninformed debate at some point, but Jacob Hornberger has saved me the trouble:

Horrors! Sen. Edward Kennedy has thrown the Washington establishment into turmoil by making the shocking observation that the Bush administration is using U.S. foreign aid to bribe foreign governments to support its occupation of Iraq. “My belief is this money is being shuffled all around to these political leaders in all parts of the world, bribing them to… [The Light of Reason]

Naturally I’m completely opposed to all foreign aid. If individual citizens want to donate money to some foreign country, it’s their business, but the Feds’ foreign aid programs are illegal, immoral, and counterproductive.

It’s a bad sign for Bush when even dedicated Republican partisans like Michael Ramirez are making fun of his attempts to spin his past lies.

Gray Davis Batters Female Staff. And the LA Times covers it up…. [LewRockwell.com Blog]

Yet another reason to get rid of him, regardless of who you vote for to replace him.

A MEMO TO THE MEDIA: DO YOUR JOB!. Since David Kay is so much in the news at the moment, it might be useful to remember his various connections, and to remember more generally how things work with regard to the defense industry and the Iraq reconstruction — and note that I had to dig this story up from the Asia Times in mid-August of this year:

It is no secret that U.S. defense and construction companies – particularly those with close ties to the administration of President George W Bush – are making a lot of money in… [The Light of Reason]

Unfortunately the media generally restricts itself to reprinting government press releases, so we can’t expect them to start asking such questions.

By Jo Mannies at The St. Louis Post-Dispatch –

A-B drops support of Holden over guns – Anheuser-Busch, brewer of
Buddweiser, Michelog, Busch, and other beer brands, and the largest
corporate player in Missouri politics, has dropped its support of
governor Holden over his anti-gun stance. Bravo! [trt-ny
smith2004]
bq.
Republican and Democratic sources say the brewery’s decision not to
support the governor’s re-election next year is highly unusual in
light of its long-standing reputation as a donor which gives
generously to both parties and their candidates, regardless of their
views.

Before Holden vetoed the [concealed carry] bill last summer, sources
say, a brewery lobbyist showed up at the governor’s office to tell him
that such action would end the long-standing support he’d enjoyed from
Anheuser-Busch and its executives. Holden confirmed that position
later in phone conversations with Anheuser-Busch Cos. Chairman August
A. Busch III and corporate group vice president Stephen K. Lambright,
sources said.
[End the War on Freedom]

It’s nice to see a company basing its support for a politician on a desire for freedom. It’s a shame more companies aren’t like that.

Do gun laws prevent violence? Health officials don’t know. A sweeping federal review of the nation’s gun control laws — including mandatory waiting periods and bans on certain weapons — found no proof such measures reduce firearm violence.

The review, released Thursday, was conducted by a task force of scientists appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC said the report suggests more study is needed, not that gun laws don’t work. But the agency said it has no plans to spend more money on firearms study. [FirearmNews.com]

The outcome of this study is hardly surprising, but it is surprising that the CDC would admit it, given their long history of producing anti-gun propaganda.

OBJECTIVELY PRO-TREASON. I had almost forgotten about the whole travel office business, but this editorial writer !hasn’t:

Ten years ago, Republicans went nuts when the Clinton White House fired seven bureaucrats who worked in the travel office. GOP senators demanded that a special prosecutor investigate. So where on the outrage scale does the possible outing by the White House of an undercover CIA officer register?

This time, Democrats are hollering for a special prosecutor. Their reaction is more justified… [The Light of Reason]

There was an article in the Los Angeles Times this morning saying that Bush thought the Justice Department should handle things rather than a special prosecutor. Imagine that.

Live Free or Move. The Free State Project, which aims to move en masse to a single state and agitate there for libertarianism, has picked New Hampshire. [Hit & Run]

Unfortunately all the candidate states are way too cold for me.