http://pleadthefirst.com Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of an unnecessary blog, or prohibiting the free posting therein. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:41:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This is beyond the pale - a columnist at Newsmax advocates a military coup to overthrow the government of the United States. Of course, he says he's merely "describing" what could happen, not advocating it. But the language he uses suggests otherwise: Will the day come when patriotic general and flag ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2009/09/30/right-wing-treason/ Limbaugh is nothing if not canny: Calling Sotomayor a "racist" and a "hack" on his radio show Tuesday, Limbaugh took particular issue with a 2001 speech at Berkeley during which she stated a "wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2009/05/26/blunting-the-backlash/ When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2009/05/25/prolonged-warfare/ I gotta start paying attention to these sorts of things again. If Greenwald is portraying this accurately, it's absolutely chilling: It's important to be clear about what "preventive detention" authorizes. It does not merely allow the U.S. Government to imprison people alleged to have committed Terrorist acts yet who are ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2009/05/23/preventive-detention/ Local blogger Keith Brown is working hard to get protest petitions reinstated for Greensboro. Protest petitions give citizens a bit more power in the zoning process, and Greensboro is the only city in North Carolina that doesn't allow them as an option. Check out Keith's site, Protest Petition for Greensboro ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2009/01/20/cartoon-protest-petitions/ E. J. Dionne Jr. on the election: Above all, it is time to celebrate the country's wholehearted embrace of democracy, reflected in the intense engagement of Americans in this campaign and the outpouring to the polls all over the nation. For years, we have spoken of bringing free elections to the ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2008/11/05/practicing-what-we-preach/ David Frum floats an interesting idea - a standby tax on oil: The one (and probably only) thing that will promote a shift away from oil is an excise tax to ensure that the price of oil remains at or above $65 a barrel. If oil falls below that figure, the ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2008/10/26/taxing-oil/ Did you vote for Bush in 2004, and later regret that vote? Considering how low Bush's approval ratings are, there must be at least a few of you out there. Fortunately, you get a do-over. A second chance, of sorts. It's pretty well known by now that McCain has voted in line ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2008/10/21/a-second-chance-this-election-day/ It turns out that Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin was vetted after all - by Alaskan Democrats in 2006. Mudflats, an Alaskan political blog, links to opposition research compiled during her 2006 run for Governor of Alaska. http://pleadthefirst.com/2008/09/05/palin-was-vetted/ I'm fascinated by McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for Vice President. Considering how much emphasis McCain has placed on the necessity of "experience", it seems highly hypocritical of him to choose her, when there were so many other potential picks who had far more experience. Apparently, experience isn't as important ... http://pleadthefirst.com/2008/09/01/palin-for-president/