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April 10, 2006 in Links

Pogie comments on the Morrison affair: now Morrison is no longer the “electable” candidate, he’ll now have to define himself clearly. Wulfgar! peruses the Gazette comments and concludes, yes, there are some issues about the affair that just won’t go away.

Matt Singer chides Morrison’s staff for portraying their candidate as a victim of personal attacks. Who’s attacked Morrison’s character so far? Not Tester. Not Burns.

It looks like Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has lost the election. Expect Italian support for Bush’s Iraq war to vanish.

Psychoanalyzing Bush’s malapropisms: "It's only when he leaps into the wild blue yonder of compassion, or idealism, or altruism, that he makes these hilarious mistakes." (Via 43rd State Blues)

Crooks & Liars had the video of Sy Hersch on “Late Edition” talking about the “Iran war plans.” There is a nuclear option on the table, folks. And remember, Sy Hersch hasn’t been wrong yet. Read Hersch’s article for yourself.

BoingBoing has some lawyerly reactions to the Smithsonian’s sale of its video archives. Nothing’s uglier than the wrath of an angry lawyer.

A couple of Conrad Burns goodies today: (a) The Saginaw Chippewa tribe to whom Burns directed a $3M federal grant in exchange for a little campaign donation gave the Burns’ ill-gotten gain to charity. (b) Newsweek does a little story on Burns and how his involvement with Abramoff has spooked, frustrated the GOP.

Apparently justice works differently if you have a Republican dad. Clifton Bennett, son of Arizona’s Senate President, Ken Bennett, gets off lightly in a hazing incident in which the 19-year-old “punished 18 of the 11-14 year old boys by making them lay face down on their bed, in front of all the other boys, shoving a broomstick into their anus through their pants.”

Did anyone mention the forced abortions that were occurring on Saipan? This is counter to Burns’ stance on abortion, isn’t it? Or does commerce trump life? The Seattle Times has more on the illegal activities surrounding the Marianas Islands and Jack Abramoff.

Now for the cheery news: a Daily Kos diarists proposes that the US is an empire in decline.

John at Blogenlust shows how a fantasy baseball obsession can spin out of control. Although he does have a point about not being penalized for getting caught stealing…and the Devil Rays won’t win the division anyway, so who cares?