11/28 Quick Hits

1. I had previously noted the Religious Right's early, babystep efforts to combat global warming, hoping liberals and evangelicals could find common ground there. Well, that ray of hope has been extinguished. The head of the Christian Coalition steps down (free registration required) because nobody in the coalition actually wants to fight poverty or climate change, which is what he wanted to do. Fantastic- tell me again What Jesus Would Do?

2. Charlie Savage at the Boston Globe does a wonderful job digging into Vice President Cheney's political past. It turns out he's been an authoritarian since his days working for Nixon. I always assumed this, but I was surprised at how explicit his views were during his days as a Wyoming Congressman and as Secretary of Defense in the first Bush Administration. We just weren't looking, or we never imagined. In any case, I urge you to read this article, because it contains a lot of chilling statements- the President's ability to violate the law, creating an environment to intimidate the press, etc.

3. If Bill O'Reilly is bleating about the "War on Christmas," then it must be the holiday season. This week's target: Crate & Barrel! Dun dun DUN....

4. NBC and MSNBC decide to actually call the Iraq Civil War a Civil War. Also just in- NBC and MSNBC also decided to call a spade a spade. Oh, but wait- the Washington Post, Fox News, USA Today and others decide to obey the wishes of the Bush Administration, and call the Civil War something else, like "sectarian violence." CNN, unfortunately, is part of the group refusing to call this a civil war- take a look at their own Michael Ware (here and here) going as far as he possibly can without explicitly calling it a civil war, obviously on instructions from management. (sigh).

5. A good update on the overall picture on Network Neutrality. If you don't recall, here's a good primer/background on Net Neutrality, and why it's important.