Links…

April 17, 2007 in Links

David’s sister earns the Bronze Star. Congratulations to her, along with thanks for her service and wishes for her safety and mission.

F-Words has found a link that gives some insight behind the madness of mass shootings, like what happened at Virginia Tech.

The Y Chromosone’s John recalls a shooting at the University of Arizona, where he was enrolled at the time, and urges the press to wait to start pointing the finger of blame.

Sarpy Sam’s exactly right: the VA Tech shootings isn’t about guns, or lack of guns, it’s about a madman. Let’s not politicize this, folks.

Like an *sshat, who rushes immediately to his keyboard to blame the shootings on evolution.

Matt thinks fundraising numbers show that Dennis Rehberg is not going after Max Baucus’ Senate seat.

Max Baucus may not have enough votes to stop a filibuster over the bill to allow the government to negotiate drug prices for seniors.

Grist’s blog does not like Schweitzer’s touting of coal as an alternative to oil.

Matt makes a plea for insuring children. Hear, hear.

Montana Headlines makes a plea for legislators to override the Good Guv’s veto to keep telecom taxes low, in order that rural customers will be well served. Color me undecided. On one hand, rural folks do deserve cell phone service – and arguably have a greater need for it. On the other, I’m not a big fan of giving continued handouts to big, inefficient telecomm companies. Is there a compromise here, somewhere?

Shane lauds Kendall Van Dyk’s plan to extend tax relief to renters. They pay taxes, too, you know.

Fake news aficionados most likely to be up on current events. Big name media outlets everywhere should be cringing in shame.

Missoula approves universal mail-in vote; Matt likes the idea.

Montana Liberty Project mulls happiness, and offers some economic suggestions on how it might be achieved here in Missoula…

Knobye thinks the biggest knuckleheads in Missoula’s pickle-gate are the folks rushing to defend the Pickle Barrel before knowing what actually happened. That is, they could be defending a couple of racist f*cks.

Ex-police chief Ron Tussing’s candidacy for Billings mayor gets off to a poor start. (Hat tip to David Crisp, who analyzes the scuffle.)

I couldn’t let a links post pass without a nod to this lovely graphic of the Balyeat brothers.

Why the anti-voting supporters are wrong: your vote is not a privilege, it is a right.

David Crisp defends our right to privacy from a “champion of liberty.”

States reject abstinence-only sex ed, because it doesn’t work.

Giuliani tells Regent University students that they have to “get beyond” abortion. I agree! Which is

IRS to middle-class tax filers: “we’re coming after you.” Feel paranoid? You should. The Bush administration let go the auditors who investigate wealthy tax cheats. This is class warfare, people.

Contrary to what the White House says, the President does not have the right to “exclude…discordant viewpoints” from the public sphere.

Abramoff scandal reaches the White House.

The missing White House emails touch more than just the prosecutor purge. Instead it hints at a culture of corruption in our nation’s highest office.

Apparently New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici called President Bush about pesky and later-to-be-fired US attorney David Iglesias. Bush spokesperson: Phone call? What phone call?

Ex-DoJ official, Michael Battle on the fired attorneys: there were no performance problems.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez’s “apology”: “I’m sorry you all are making such a big deal out of this.”

Harper’s on the devolution of the GOP: “I believe it’s unfair to a great political party – unfair to Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight David Eisenhower – to call the current tenants at 1600 Pennsylvania ‘Republicans.’ A new label is far more appropriate, because it describes the end state likely to emerge from their transfiguration of American political institutions, namely ‘Banana-Republicans.’”

McCain’s plan B for Iraq: there is no plan B.

Steve Benen contemplate how “mature” people view Iraq.

Iraqi government is crumbling over US refusal to set timetable on withdrawal.

Advice for Alberto Gonzalez from Stephen Colbert.