What does everyone think about the rape shield laws? Is it acceptable to drag Kobe through the mud with a mere accusation, or should the accuser’s name be published? I have already seen a picture of her, and I know her name and all that- anyone with a cursory understanding of usenet could find it rather easily. The question is, should her name be out in the open?
John Cole started Balloon Juice early in 2002. Those who have followed along know that this has been quite the journey.
It’s The Economy, Stupid
Take this with the usual grain of salt:
A key measure of future economic activity increased slightly in June for the third month in a row, in line with analysts’ expectations.
The report lent support to the view among economists that the worst was over, although it did not alter their opinion that consumers and businesses still are on shaky ground.
The Conference Board reported Monday that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose by 0.1 percent in June to 111.8, after a 1.1 percent rise in May and a 0.1 percent rise in April. However, the board said it was too soon to declare the start of a period of steady economic growth.
“I still think we need to be a little cautious,” said Ken Goldstein, an economist for the board.
“But,” he added, “we may finally, after a year and a half delay, be moving into a real recovery.”
This Has to Be Killing the French
I bet they just hate this:
Shaking off a crash that left him lying on the road, Lance Armstrong the dominator reappeared in the Tour de France today, winning the major stage in the Pyrenees, significantly widening his overall lead and taking a big step toward his fifth consecutive victory.
After he hit a spectator and went down early on the last of six climbs, he told himself, he said later,”Lance, if you want to win the Tour, attack.”
Damn simplistic Americans. Always attacking. And he’s a Texan to boot. Maybe we should have the Belgians charge him with Human Rights Violations.
Unhinged Libs
When I say that the left has become unhinged, this is what I mean:
They steal the 2000 presidential election, a number of 2002 congressional races, and they prepare to steal the White House in the next.
They reduce public access to government information and they slash civil liberties.
They declare corporate pre-emptive war on a country that offers us no resistance, and ignore the pleadings of unemployed Americans in order so they can instead advance the selfish aims of the investor class.
They run the government without considered input from the loyal opposition and ram through legislation with the most revulsive hardball tactics.
Welcome to the GOP police state.
Had enough yet?
Yeah, I have had enough of your tired rhetoric. Fortunately, so has the public. And, btw- I have a modest income, but I invest as much as possible (I have a 20 year old car and a very modest apartment) o I can take care of myself later in life- I am your evil investor class. I love the bill the Dems are trying to block.
Soldiers Opinions In Iraq
The other day the left (and I will use Oliver Willis’s two posts as a typical example- not to single him out, but just that his links always work and his post was typical), got themselves into an uproar over some comments from some disgruntled soldiers in Iraq. Here is the letter Oliver Willis doesn’t want you to see:
To the Editor:
Re “U.S. Commander in Iraq Says Yearlong Tours Are Option to Combat `Guerrilla’ War” (front page, July 17):
As soldiers serving with the 101st Airborne Division in northern Iraq, we’re frustrated every time we open a newspaper and read articles about the extended deployments of troops overseas and soldiers complaining because they cannot go home.
Nobody forces a soldier into enlisting in the military. It’s a voluntary contract that each soldier signs.
Do we miss our families back in the States? Yes. Are we going to sit around and write letters to Congress asking if we can go home? No.
The majority of us are professionals who will do what it takes to complete the mission, whether it is a wartime or a peacekeeping operation. For every soldier you read about who writes a letter to his Congressional representative imploring the government to bring us home, there are many more who are proud to be performing their duties.
It is a disservice to those who sacrificed their lives to sit around and complain about being here too long.
(Staff Sgt.) CLAY GRIMES
(Cpl.) JESSE ALLEN
Mosul, Iraq, July 18, 2003
Oliver notes in his second post about the complaining soldiers that “I’m not saying these soldiers represent the opinion of all our armed forces in Iraq, but their point of view is just as valid as their gung-ho counterpart.”
Sure- but anyone with half a brain knows there are going to be some disgruntled soldiers (the old maxim is that 10% of the soldiers take up 90% of the time), so why mention the story at all? The answer is because Oliver and others felt it damaged Bush and Rumsfeld. That is it. That is the only reason to have that story posted- not to give some balance to the ‘gung-ho counterpart.’
Projection 101
Amusing analysis of polls:
This is important. The 75% who say the WMD doesn’t matter are simply the hardcore Bush supporters and Bush haters. But of that middle 25%, 20% of them say they are less likely to vote for him if the WMD isn’t found. That’s a huge number when you consider that presidential elections are normally decided by only a few percentage points, and my guess is that it’s based as much on questions of Bush’s honesty as it is on the WMD itself.
That growing doubt about Bush’s honesty is what the president’s supporters are really concerned about, and that’s why they pretend to think that Democrats are loons for continuing to press their doubts over George Bush’s trustworthiness. Don’t listen to them.
For the record, I think the Democrats are loons because I don’t think Bush is lying. I am waiting for this to blow up on them- shoujld be really entertaining- and then when they reap what they have sowed, they will blame it all on a Rove plot.
Excuse Me?
I have never understood why Democrats always believe they have a monopoly on the interpretation of political speech, but here is another fantastic example. Matt Yglesias links approvingly to a Kieran Healy post (who I should read more often) that states the following:
Dan [Drezner] can be relied on to have made as well-argued and well-supported case for war as possible, but at this point I really don