Gwen Ifill

Well-know Democratic shill.

-AF

Catching Up Is Hard To Do

Having limited computer access for a week made me realize how odd it is that I get the vast majority of my news from three sources: the internet, The Daily Show and Keith Olbermann. It was weird with them all basically off last week. Not bad weird. Just weird.

Now if I can only get Firefox to work properly again.

-AF

Did Biz Editors Cover Credit Crunch Early On?

Unsurprisingly, business editors say "yes." E&P has analysis.

-AF

Sully Deconstructs The Source Of His Early Iraq War Support

This site's namesake, Andrew Sullivan, was an early, passionate Iraq War supporter. He beat the drum early and often. Mr. Sullivan has since recanted somewhat.

For Good Friday and the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War's start, Sully felt compelled to atone for his "sins." (OK, so Slate asked him to comment -- few things motivate Andrew Sullivan like attention to, well, Andrew Sullivan).

Sully "confesses" four sins:

1. Historical Narcissism (i.e. Andy's own copious narcissism). Actual quote: "I was distracted by the internal American debate to the occlusion of the reality of Iraq..." My translation: "I was a proud Thatcherite and Reaganite blahblahblah. The wall came down blahblahblah. I had a mega man-crush on Junior blahblahblah. Might is right blahblahblah."

2. Narrow Moralism. More narcissism. Actual quote: "I became enamored of my own morality and this single moral act." My translation: "I know I'm right and therefore fuck it. Let's kick some Iraqi ass."
3. Unconservatism. Even more narcissism. Actual quote: "I heard and read about ancient Sunni and Shiite divisions, knew of the awful time the British had in running Iraq but had never properly absorbed the lesson." My translation: "Yes, I'm fucking British fer crissakes. I know this goes against all I think I believe in but I'm certain I'm right and so what are we waiting for? I wanna kick some Iraqi ass."
4. Misreading Bush. Actual quote: "Yes, the incompetence and arrogance were beyond anything I imagined. In 2000, my support for Bush was not deep...It was a fatal misjudgment of Bush's sense of morality." Nicely deceptive, Andrew. He's so narcissistic that he misrepresents his history lest we think less of him. By March 2003 Andy had a full-blown crush on GWB. My translation: "I loved him 'cuz I thought he was just like me only more manly." To paraphrase Otter in "Animal House," it's the "I fucked up - I trusted him" defense.
   

Where did Andrew Sullivan go wrong on Iraq? He opened his mouth.

-AF

(HT Thers@Atrios)

"Accuracy In Media" Turns Its Racist Sights On Obama

Via Crooks and Liars The Corner's Lisa Schiffren carries AIM's water. Obama **gasp** possibly knows somebody who may have once known somebody who accidentally brushed up against a Communist in 1952. Why is this true? "Cuz Barack Obama was born to a white mother and a black father in 1961. In those days, the only way that could have happened is if one or both parents were Jesus-hating-baby-eating-Communist-
Muslims from Antartica.

Ms. Schiffren has proof:

Obama and I are roughly the same age. I grew up in liberal circles in New York City — a place to which people who wished to rebel against their upbringings had gravitated for generations. And yet, all of my mixed race, black/white classmates throughout my youth, some of whom I am still in contact with, were the product of very culturally specific unions. They were always the offspring of a white mother, (in my circles, she was usually Jewish, but elsewhere not necessarily) and usually a highly educated black father. And how had these two come together at a time when it was neither natural nor easy for such relationships to flourish? Always through politics. No, not the young Republicans. Usually the Communist Youth League. Or maybe a different arm of the CPUSA. But, for a white woman to marry a black man in 1958, or 60, there was almost inevitably a connection to explicit Communist politics.
***
Time for some investigative journalism about the Obama family’s background, now that his chances of being president have increased so much.

Schiffren kicks off her ham-fisted attempt at political assassination with this laughable opener:

Until I came across this article by Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media, which I regard as factual — with all that that implies — the questions about Obama's background that should have come naturally never quite rose to the surface of my mind.

AIM's "Accuracy In Media" is about as accurate as Fox News is "Fair and Balanced." And anything they write Ms. Schiffren regards as "factual." That tells us all we need to know about Schriffren's biases. AIM is another group folks funded in part by Richard Mellon Scaife. AIM still claims Bill Clinton’s Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster was murdered. FYI Lisa, even uber-partisan Special Prosecutor Ken Starr ruled Foster's death a suicide.

-AF

**Check it: ASIAF fave blog The Edge of The American West's strikes back at the First Black Communist President meme.