Words Matter

Barack Obama has been attacked ever since he hit the national scene for being a good orator.  The cynical wing nuts couldn’t make a case against him for his ability to communicate, so they accused him of being nothing but talk.  But as we’ve seen in Cairo on Thursday and at Buchenwald on Friday, words can make a difference.  With German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel by his side, Obama gave a soaring speech about how important it is to fight the spread of evil.

“This place teaches us that we must be ever vigilant about the …

Church To Hold Open Carry Gun Service

The New Bethel Church in Louisville is having what it’s calling an “open carry service” in late June. Parishioners will be encouraged to carry unloaded guns and enter a raffle to win a free gun while listening to patriotic songs and listening to talks by owners of gun stores and firing ranges.  The event is being promoted with a poster showing a gun and red lettering that resembles dripping blood.

[Pastor Tom] Pagano said the poster wasn’t intended to glorify bloodshed and that the lettering was just “a fontthat somebody developed.”

The Rev. Jerry Cappel, president …

On Thursday’s Radio Show…

• Alan discusses President Obama’s Cairo speech with Ahmed Rehab of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

• Could Obama bring a lasting peace to the Middle East? Famed MIT Professor Noam Chomsky shares his thoughts.

• The “Axis of Evil” Today: IAEA official Gustavo Zlauvinen examines the nuclear threat from Iran and North Korea, and reveals a fascinating theory on why Iraqi WMDs were never found.…

Jon And Kate: Unreal

Jon Gosselin says his kids aren’t being negatively affected by the reality TV series affecting his family.  The Pennsylvania Labor Department is looking into whether the show is violating child labor laws.  Is he exploiting his kids?

“I don’t even want to use that word, because I think it’s ridiculous,” he told People magazine. “We have healthy, happy, well-adjusted, educated kids. They’re bouncing around and having a good time.”

Jon and Kate both deny allegations of cheating, but admit their marriage has suffered with al the media attention. If you’re not Ozzy Osbourne, is it really healthy to …

Obama’s Speech: Reaction

Israel says it hopes the speech will lead to a “new era of reconciliation” with the Arab world.”

In Gaza, they liked that he quoted the Koran, but want to see action not just words.

The speech showed that the president is a conciliator, not a warrior.

Obama spoke fervently about the creation of a Palestinian state while also stressing that the U.S.-Israeli bond was unbreakable. This was the topic many Muslims waited for, and Obama, as in much of the speech, turned to history and how it resonated but said that the world must not be bound by …

Here’s How Socialist We Are

The Atlantic has it.

h/t Hoffmania

…

New Hampshire Legalizes Gay Marriage

New Hampshire becomes the sixth state

to make same-sex marriage legal.  Five out of six New England states have legalized it, making Rhode Island the only one which hasn’t.  But will rights for gays spread beyond New England?

Forty-two U.S. states explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage, including 29 with constitutional amendments.

Last week, California’s supreme court backed a ban on gay marriage by upholding a voter-approved proposition defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

If nothing else, it’s great for the economy.

Gay and lesbian weddings have boosted the Massachusetts economy by about $111 million, according to …

Lindsey Graham Contradicts Himself On Sotomayor’s Character

After meeting with Judge Sonia Sotomayor, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said she had a character and temperament problem.

“I think she does have the intellectual capacity to do the job,” Graham said. “But there’s a character problem. There’s a temperament problem that they – during the time they’ve had to be a judge, that they were more of an advocate than an impartial decider of the law. And I’ve got to find out, in my own mind” about her temperament.

Then, on FOX News, after saying he didn’t get an apology from the judge (on her comment …

On Wednesday’s Radio Show…

• As the president prepares to address the Arab world, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discusses the message Obama needs to deliver.

• The far Right Wing is at it again, renewing their attacks on Obama’s “Muslim roots.” Alan confronts infamous Republican hatchet man Floyd Brown.

• Alan weighs in on the latest troubling reports about Dick Cheney and torture.…

Obama Keeps Appointing Republicans

The latest in a long line of Obama’s Republican appointees is former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, who was just appointed to head the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The president already nominated Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y. to be secretary of the Army, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to be U.S. ambassador to China. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was a Republican congressman from Illinois and his Defense secretary, Robert Gates, held the same post in George W. Bush’s administration.

It can be a political strategy, a pretty smart one. Or it can be just good governance, also very smart.  …

Cheney Led Secret Meetings To Promote Torture

Paul Kane and Joby Warrick of the Washington Post reveal previously unknown efforts by former Vice President Cheney to lead the charge for torturing detainees.  Don’t bother me with terms like “enhanced interrogation techniques.”  There were at least four secret briefings in 2005 at times when congressional support for these methods were wavering.  And there was a concerted effort to keep Cheney’s role secret.

The CIA made no mention of his role in documents delivered to Capitol Hill last month that listed every lawmaker who had been briefed on “enhanced interrogation techniques” since 2002. For meetings that were overseen by …