Hillary and Homosexuality

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Wednesday March 14, 2007 · 5:07 PM PDT

2007/03/14 · 17:07

O boy, I really don't want to do this. But since Hillary is being skewered for saying "I'm going to leave that to others to conclude" about the morality of homosexuality, it really is worth noting that her comment is subject to different interpretations. It's my best guess that she was not leaving the question of morality open. She was indicating her position and criticizing the question.

How can that be? Well, there are a couple of ways of seeing this is at least a reasonable interpretation. One way is to look at what Tapper, on his blog says she said:

Well I'm going to leave that to others to conclude," she said. "I'm very proud of the gays and lesbians I know who perform work that is essential to our country, who want to serve their country and I want make sure they can."

What she says following the "conclude" comment rules out the idea that she was leaving the question of morality unanswered. Unless, that is, you really think she was saying "Well, maybe they are immoral, but I am very proud of the gays and lesbians doing this splendid work."

Poll

53 votes Show Results

Does Hillary want us to think she is undecided about gays?

53 votes Vote Now!

Does Hillary want us to think she is undecided about gays?

1. Yes, there's no doubt about it. She's dodging the bullet.

25 votes

2. Well, it may not be so clear.

3 votes

3. She didn't dodge the bullet. The comment is really odd unless it is understood as criticizing the question.

25 votes

Go figure: Gore, Drudge, NYTIMES

JPete

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Monday March 12, 2007 · 3:09 PM PDT

2007/03/12 · 15:09

According to Drudge,

NY TIMES PLANS TUESDAY HIT ON GORE, NEWSROOM SOURCES TELL DRUDGE: 'Scientists argue that Gore's warnings are full of exaggerated claims and startling errors'... Developing...

The first time I heard of the developing consensus in the scientific community about global warming was in the early or mid-1980's. The story was mostly word of mouth, because few scientists would run the risk of making the exaggerated claims and startling errors that their knowledge at the time would allow if it were pushed into definite claims and predictions. So is the NY Times going to blast Gore for taking the leap before we can yet see the details for certain? Well, I looked at the NYTimes science section that is published in print on Tues, but much of which is on the web on Monday.

JPete

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Thursday December 14, 2006 · 2:00 PM PST

2006/12/14 · 14:00

The NYTimes just reported that breast cancer rates in the US "dropped dramatically" in 2003.

The "experts" conjecture that it is due to women's stopping taking HRT for menopause symptoms.

Find some snippets and a comment below:

JPete

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday December 09, 2006 · 1:02 PM PST

2006/12/09 · 13:02

I did a search on DKos on comments for "psychotic" (36) and "sociopaths"(93)for the last week It's hard not to understand the impulse to see Bush as a sociopath; his justifications seem so phoney that he looks like he has a reckless disregard for human life on a pretty big scale.

But there are some problems with calling him a sociopath, and with dismissing the rethug leaders as a bunch of psychotics who enjoy the thought of torture. Let me recognize one that others have brought up, and then move on to some others I haven't seen here before - or at least not put the way I will.

We've had some discussions about whether DKos is furthering the stigmatizing of some of suffering people; see, e.g., http://www.dailykos.com/... This is an important issue. For families living with people going through psychotic episodes, for example, there is not a lot of joking fun to be had. Laughter at the images of mentally ill people voting republican is offensive to some of our members, for very good reasons.

And there are other reasons that appeal more directly to our self-interest.

JPete

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 15, 2006 · 11:32 AM PST

2006/11/15 · 11:32

Well, this was fun. I was commenting on an article in a very academic journal; it was about tenure. The authors were arguing that tenure for professors didn't serve much purpose. I strongly disagree, and argued so.

My comment had to be pretty short, and so it really is something only an academic with the original article at hand could like. And the sentence structure is merciless. But there a few snippets that I'm fond of. See below.

It starts with a quote from Jimmy Carter that he made on Daily Kos. In fact, it was in response to a question of mine. It was pretty cool, I thought.

The comment itself probably won't be in print until the spring or summer. Read More

"Give me a break!" No. 2 Have some animal cams w/poll

JPete

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Saturday October 14, 2006 · 1:46 PM PDT

2006/10/14 · 13:46

This is an escape diary. It's also an invitation to slow way down.

One way to do that is to watch hens. (We're talking really slowing down.) You can look at the yard or go inside the hen house. Don't forget to have a look at the hens' biographies.

Update: If you look at the hens' biographies, you'll see how you can go from DKos to animal cams. Read More

Houston Justice: little boy who killed his father sentenced.

JPete

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Thursday October 05, 2006 · 2:07 PM PDT

2006/10/05 · 14:07

From the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/

Boy who killed dad gets 10-year sentence -- A jury decided today that a 12-year-old boy who shot his father to death two years ago as the man waited outside his ex-wife's home in Katy should remain in custody for 10 more years...

Channel 12 says that it will report later on reasons why the boy may actually serve less time. Read More

"The Death of a President" (w/ a poll)

JPete

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Saturday September 02, 2006 · 1:18 PM PDT

2006/09/02 · 13:18

The British television station More(subscript 4) is going to show a pseudodocumentary that depicts Bush being assassinated and explores the aftermath. There is no doubt that the character of the president is supposed to be Bush; apparently the actor's face has been digitally redone to look like Bush's.

The British press are not taking a strong stand, today's NY Times tell us, but the The Daily Mirror is quoted in the NYT as saying the movie:

treading a fine line in terms of taste, it nevertheless provides dramatic food for thought...The undoubted furor that this will spark across the U.S. and among the handful of Bush supporters in Europe must not obscure the real question facing us all. Where is the War on Terror going? And how bad does it have to get before it gets better?

The right wing press are very unhappy, to judge by my radio. What do Kossacks think? Read More

Would you fly to England this weekend on continental?

JPete

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Thursday August 10, 2006 · 8:39 AM PDT

2006/08/10 · 08:39

There's a valuable discussion on the recommend list that is discussing the high alert airports are on. But it has framed this discussion in terms of a likelihood that it is all a tempest in a teapot. (Something the Brits can do quite well.)

But there's a different way to frame the discussion. Suppose you have a ticket on Continental to fly to England this weekend. How would you think about this. Or, gulp, how should I think about it? Read More

"Give me a break!" Have some animal stories

JPete

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 03, 2006 · 9:04 AM PDT

2006/08/03 · 09:04

This is a tense week! If you feel like taking a break, you might enjoy some thinking about some events in the world of animal companions.

Today's Guardian, for example, has the tale of Barney, the doberman pinscher guard dog, and the teddy bears he was guarding.

It turns out that teddy bears can be very, very expensive. Well over 50K for a former bear of Elvis's, for example. And Barney appears to have had a brain storm.

See below: Read More

Our President (!) on Larry King tomorrow night

JPete

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday July 05, 2006 · 6:59 PM PDT

2006/07/05 · 18:59

George W. and Laura both will be on Larry King tomorrow night. You can send in questions at www.cnn.com/larryking

So we have a major international crisis. Everyone here knows the details. Iraq, Iran were in the forefront of most people's attention and then Opps! North Korea looks out of control.

So what in the world are we going to get on Larry King? A major policy speech? A folksy 'what us worried?' Read More

Tenure for professors: It is important? w/ a poll

JPete

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday June 27, 2006 · 2:49 PM PDT

2006/06/27 · 14:49

Proceedings against Ward Churchill have attracted interest here, and I'm hoping to get some more input from Kossacks about the general issue of tenure for college and university professors.

I'm writing a short piece about it. Let me tell you some of the main points I'm making. If you are interested, you might react to these, or you might bring up different topics.

I'm responding to someone who is arguing against tenure. And I don't want to deny obvious problems with tenure: that there are non-performing and/or incompetent and/or immoral people who are secure in protected positions, and tenure may make it more difficult to get rid of them. (A little more on this later.) If you've got ideas against tenure that I'm not mentioning, I'd love to see them.

You may know/want to know that the American Association of University Professors had two major claims in favor of tenure in a 1940 document, the ideas of which are continuously cited and supported: (1) free speech for research and teaching; (2) economic security to attract quality faculty. Read More

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Hillary and Homosexuality

Go figure: Gore, Drudge, NYTIMES

Pharmaceuticals and US breast cancer rates: just announced

What's wrong with calling them mentally ill, sociopaths, etc.

Daily Kos in an academic journal

"Give me a break!" No. 2 Have some animal cams w/poll

Houston Justice: little boy who killed his father sentenced.

"The Death of a President" (w/ a poll)

Would you fly to England this weekend on continental?

"Give me a break!" Have some animal stories

Our President (!) on Larry King tomorrow night

Tenure for professors: It is important? w/ a poll