Action Point with Cynthia Black 11-18-2007: The Reference Shelf

Today's article and item links:

• From the Mukasey Fle: Bush Ushers in Mukasey, Defends Gonzales: Now watch this guy — very carefully.

• The Guliani File: News Corp And Fox News Have A Long, Chummy Relationship With Rudy Giuliani and Pat Roberston Conquers the Martians: "Robertson's proclamation of support for Rudy Giuliani was another classic moment of nonsensical silliness by another of America's holy blowhards.”
  

• The "President John Edwards" File: John Edwards: 'We Need Paper Ballots' and speaking of Election Integrity: Ballot Petition Fraud Occuring in Support of California's Republican Electoral College Initiative?

• Big Baby on Board: Bush to take aim at judicial confirmation process: Bush whines: '...too many Beltway insiders “interpret ‘advise and consent’ to mean ‘search and destroy.’ While you read just remember these phrases: “Activist judges” and “Litmus test”.

• I Think I'm Going to Scream Now: The Hollywood Prayer Network: From their “About Us” page: THPN is a non-denominational Christian prayer ministry for the purpose of praying for the people, the projects and the powerful influence of the Entertainment Industry. HPN believes that by mobilizing global prayer we can be a part of God's miraculous work of changing the spiritual climate of Hollywood, from the inside out. Will you join us in praying for Hollywood?

• MUST READ: Election '08 Meets The Great Education Myth: another excellent piece from David Sirota:

“Regular readers know my frustration with what I previously deemed The Great Education Myth in an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle. This myth, omniscient in our media and political debate, states that America's problem with stagnating wages, job loss and benefits cuts is a problem of education. If only workers were better educated, the myth goes, their economic problems would be over.”

• ENVIRONMENT: Governors Join in Creating Regional Pacts on Climate Change: “Frustrated with the slow progress of legislation in Washington on energy and global warming, the nation’s governors have created regional agreements to cap greenhouse gases and are engaged in a concerted lobbying effort to prod Congress to act.”

• Update to The Andrew Meyers File (aka police over-reactions in a post 911 World): No comment.
  

“A Victoria man who filmed Robert Dziekanski's dying moments at Vancouver International Airport last month says the Polish immigrant was surrendering himself to police when officers shocked him with a Taser.

On Tuesday, Paul Pritchard said police piled on to the 40-year-old after he fell to the ground, and one officer dug his knee into the back of Dziekanski's neck until he went limp.

"On the video you will see some things that I didn't talk about before because I didn't see them until I reviewed the tape," Mr. Pritchard said in an interview Tuesday. "It's really brutal."

• Speaking of Torture: U.S. Army reiterates waterboarding ban: “With Congress' approval of a new attorney general who refused to describe waterboarding as torture, the U.S. Army has sent out a message to its leaders repeating that the interrogation technique is prohibited in the military.” Which is why of course, we have Blackwater!

• This is Bad (No, Really Bad) File: Saudi Arabia to Punish Survivor of Gang Rape with 200 Lashes and Prison Term: (From Alternet) “Yes, you read that right. A woman who was raped by six armed men is being punished by our BFF Wahhabists in Saudi Arabia. Huzzah for our awesome ally!”

“The 19-year-old Shiite woman was originally sentenced to receive 90 lashes for "being in the car of an unrelated male at the time of the rape," but after the woman had the unmitigated temerity of not unquestioningly submitting to being tortured as punishment for "getting herself raped," judges on Saudi Arabia's Higher Judicial Council more than doubled her punishment for "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media."

• INCOMING: Secrecy provision buried in appropriations bill: Read it and weep.

• Weird: Lasers, Helmet Cams Ordered for U.S. Convoy Guards “The State Department plans to equip its motorcade security details in Iraq with lasers to "dazzle" suspect motorists and helmet cameras to record it all.”

• The Good News File: American students seek true view of Middle East "It's funny how it's different. It's just not a scary place at all," said University of Illinois student Anne Shivers, whose worried older brother offered her $400 not to come to Cairo. "I've explained it to my parents but they still don't believe me," she added.

• Arts and Leisure: A HuffPost Project: Posterizing the Modern GOP: These are so good my computer now sports one as background...
  

"Silverstein, who as co-chairman of Goodby, Silverstein, and Partners was behind the famous "Got Milk?" ad campaign and the Budweiser frogs, had such a grasp of what makes for effective communication in radio, movies, TV, and online, that I thought he might have some ideas on how to help the Democrats, who continue to struggle with framing an election where they are holding all the cards. He did... The result is three powerful posters that simply but graphically capture the lunacy of the modern GOP.”