Liberal Talk Radio

I’ve always had a soft spot for Arkansas Gov. and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, despite the fact that I disagree with him on a bunch of social litmus test issues (i.e. abortion, gay marriage). Perusing a month-old copy of Time in the doctor’s office yesterday, Joe Klein reminded me why:
“I’m a ‘grace’ Christian,” [...]

I missed the Democratic debate last nigtht on MSNBC, but from the commentary, it looks like I didn’t miss much. John Dickerson has some highlights, including this:
They were asked to name the one Supreme Court justice they admired, and raise their hands to answer questions like did they own a gun or believe in [...]

Mythbusting:
Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne said on the air Wednesday night that Curt Schilling’s famed sock was not bloody but painted and ‘all for PR.’ He quoted Boston’s Doug Mirabelli, touching off angry denials from the catcher and the Red Sox.
Schilling pitched with a damaged ankle that was allegedly stitched, allowing him to face [...]

Dexter Filkins has a great appreciation of David Halberstam, who Tom posted about on Monday. In some ways, Filkins has inheritied Halberstam’s role, being one of the few unembedded reporters during the Iraq War. (If you haven’t read Filkins’ much-lauded reporting from the Battle of Fallujah in 2004, do yourself a favor…)
Filkins notes [...]

Many bloggers have been saying this, but if, for some reason, you get your news exclusively from BATP (shudder!!), definitely find some time to watch Bill Moyers’ show on the selling of the Iraq war. It’s a comprehensive, start-to-finish case on how the media completely fell down on the job covering the Iraq war.
Overall, [...]

Giuliani:
Rudy Giuliani said if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001.
But if a Republican is elected, he said, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped
Rudy Giuliani benefitted from a great deal of post-9/11 haigiography [...]

…there’s eBay:
It’s a perk of federal employment: a free monthly subsidy that pays for commutes on public transportation. But scores of workers have been taking the government for a ride, selling their benefits on the Internet and pocketing millions in cash each year.
So obviously the good-government guy in me is appalled by this. But, [...]

I wasn’t terribly surprised when Vonnegut left us; I saw him speak when I an undergrad, and he was frail then.
Losing Halberstam, on the other hand, is a shock. I was hoping that he would produce a book on the Bush wars as incisive as this one and this one. If you haven’t, buy [...]

Another great article from Michael Pollan. It turns out that the poor are being perfectly rational: junk food provides the best calorie/dollar ratio in the supermarket. But it’s the least nutritious in the long run. God bless the Farm Bill:
A public-health researcher from Mars might legitimately wonder why a nation faced with [...]