I was channel surfing the newsies last night, and without looking for it, I noted that at least three shows (two on CNN) headlined with the Professer Ward Churchill controversy. This might have been a pretty newsworthy story . . . three years ago when he wrote the essay.
So why was it dominating the air waves last night? Because the right wing noise factory has pushed it to the forefront of the media, with the so-called “liberal” media dutifully marching in step.
Just another example of how conservatives, not liberals, establish the media’s agenda.
UPDATE: By the way, while other program hosts were ranting about whether or not a Colorado professor committed treason three years ago, Keith Olbermann had a pretty good piece on the infestation of the White House press corps by a bogus journalist.
If you aren’t watching The Keith, you should be.

North Korea has nukes:

North Korea said on Thursday that it had manufactured nuclear weapons for its self-defense and was suspending participation in six-way talks on its atomic arms program for an “indefinite period.”
. . .
In North Korea’s clearest statement yet that it already possesses nuclear arms, the official KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying:
“We had already taken the resolute action of pulling out of the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and have manufactured nukes to cope with the Bush administration’s evermore undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the DPRK (North Korea).
“Its nuclear weapons will remain nuclear deterrent for self-defense under any circumstances,” the statement added.
. . .
“We have wanted the six-party talks but we are compelled to suspend our participation in the talks for an indefinite period till we have recognized that there is justification for us to attend the talks and there are ample conditions and atmosphere to expect positive results from the talks,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.
“The Bush administration termed the DPRK, its dialogue partner, an outpost of tyranny, putting into the shade its hostile policy, and totally rejected it,” the spokesman said.
“This deprived the DPRK of any justification to participate in the six-party talks,” the spokesman added.

Bush diplomacy is working spendedly, isn’t it?

Should we be surprised?

In the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal aviation officials reviewed dozens of intelligence reports that warned about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, some of which specifically discussed airline hijackings and suicide operations, according to a previously undisclosed report from the 9/11 commission.
But aviation officials were “lulled into a false sense of security,” and “intelligence that indicated a real and growing threat leading up to 9/11 did not stimulate significant increases in security procedures,” the commission report concluded.
The report discloses that the Federal Aviation Administration, despite being focused on risks of hijackings overseas, warned airports in the spring of 2001 that if “the intent of the hijacker is not to exchange hostages for prisoners, but to commit suicide in a spectacular explosion, a domestic hijacking would probably be preferable.”
. . .
The Bush administration has blocked the public release of the full, classified version of the report for more than five months, officials said, much to the frustration of former commission members who say it provides a critical understanding of the failures of the civil aviation system. The administration provided both the classified report and a declassified, 120-page version to the National Archives two weeks ago and, even with heavy redactions in some areas, the declassified version provides the firmest evidence to date about the warnings that aviation officials received concerning the threat of an attack on airliners and the failure to take steps to deter it.

Accountability recap–number of high ranking government officials who were fired for negligence and incompetence contributing to the deaths of 2,700+ Americans: O.
Mind boggling.

. . . into Red State America:

One Alabama lawmaker has proposed a bill that may yank “The Color Purple,” and many other classic works, from public bookshelves.
District 62 Representative, Gerald Allen, says he wants to ban books that, “…sanction, recognize, foster, or promote a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws of the state.” Allen says it falls right in line with the proposed ban on gay marriage. “A society cannot sustain itself through activities such as this,” says Allen, “and for us to promote it with public dollars just doesn’t make sense.” For many, the proposed law itself doesn’t make sense.

Perhaps we could make a big bonfire in the public square to rid ourselves of illegal literature.
Via Crooks and Liars.

Via The General is a web site which will come in handy if you are a parent looking for an affordable rod to swat your child. Because “a single swat has more influence than a thousand threats.”
“Joey” and his crew of volunteer craftsmen offer free, handcrafted paddles ($5.75 for shipping to those outside New Kensington, PA–offer good only in USA) to needy parents. Who says you can’t get anything for free anymore?
These aren’t your run-of-the-mill paddles, either. Craftsman Joey puts “a lot of myself into each thing I create including sweat and sometimes tears.” Hard to find that these days.
But wait–there’s more! In addition to the paddles, Joey offers online resources for better parenting. There’s the downloadable appointment cards, so you can give your child a reminder of his or her upcoming spanking. And a suggested punishment matrix, to establish the correct number of swats for frequent offenses (e.g., two swats for cursing, five swats for drinking). But remember, for best results allow one minute of meditation between each swat, so your child will understand why they are being punished. And only use force sufficient to “get the child’s attention” [calibrate your paddle by swatting yourself on the rump and adjusting your swing].
People say it’s tough being a parent these days . . . I don’t know about that. With resources like this available, how can you go wrong?