Politically, Murtha is the best of both worlds for Democrats. 

One theory is that Murtha's candidacy could provide midterm voters with a tougher, more conservative contrast to the liberal minority leader, Nancy Pelosi (Calif.). A decorated Marine combat veteran, Murtha is strongly pro-military. But his call last year for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq was a pivotal moment in the war debate, emboldening many Democrats to speak out forcefully against the conflict.

Iraq War Critic Surprises Democrats
Murtha Says He Will Run for Majority Leader if Party Wins
By Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 10, 2006; A06

It's obvious from the conservative reaction to Ann Coulter's screed that I've underestimated her importance to their opinion machine. Apparently her job is to throw out an idea that's so far out of bounds that the "compromise" between it and reality happens to fall somewhere near what conservatives really want to say.

In [TS] Mourning in America, John Tierney says what conservatives really wanted to say.

The widows and widowers of the victims of Sept. 11 are not urban planners who should get veto power over the rebuilding at Ground Zero. The parents of Americans killed in Iraq do not have special expertise in foreign policy.

Whether they support the war or not, they are expressing their personal views, and not necessarily even their slain children's. Cindy Sheehan camped outside President Bush's ranch in Texas to protest the war, but her son voluntarily re-enlisted before his death.

I only do that when the editorial perfectly covers what need be said.

Our Heritage, to the Highest Bidder

Americans would be rightly outraged to learn that the newly discovered papers of, say, Washington, Jefferson or Lincoln were being sold at auction to someone who might bar the general public from using them for research purposes, or even eventually sell them off piece by piece as curiosities. They should be just as worried about the impending auction of thousands of documents from the personal papers of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King was perhaps the most important American of the last half of the 20th century, the figure who played a pivotal role in the movement for social justice that transformed the nation. He was also the symbol of the great moral challenge of American history — the heritage of slavery and the issue of race.

It is astonishing that the United States celebrates Dr. King's birthday with a national holiday but has failed to make sure his papers were placed at a research institution where they would have remained open to public use. But the King family — which has too often placed profit and family control above the national interests — is said to have discouraged such a university sale by imposing undue restrictions on the papers that would have remained in effect even after the documents were sold.

This unfortunate chain of events has led to the auction block at Sotheby's in New York, which has scheduled a sale of more 7,000 items from the King papers, including the manuscript of his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, on June 30. The King children owe it to their father's legacy to change their minds. Failing that, we can only hope that whoever buys the collection recognizes its immense historical value and preserves unfettered public access in perpetuity. If not, an important window into Dr. King's life during his most active years could well be closed forever.

"The Franklins" here are Dr. John Hope Franklin's people. And this op-ed, worthy as it is on a free-standing basis, introduces Dr. Franklin's Mirror to America : The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin.

His older brother, Buck Franklin Jr., had a different, and even worse, experience. He was drafted, despite being married, over 30 and a high school principal, by a bigoted draft board that seemed determined to bring an "uppity" black man down. Assigned to a white officer who appeared to have hated him from the start, he fell into a depression from which he never recovered. He died in 1947, after he either fell or jumped from a hotel window. Dr. Franklin, known throughout his career for his evenness of temper, still refers to his brother's death as murder.

The forces of nostalgia see Jim Crow segregation as a minor blemish on the otherwise noble effort that was the great war. But government-enforced racism was actually at the very heart of the enterprise. It undermined the war effort, further poisoned an already racially troubled society and took a savage toll on families like the Franklins. It would be a crime in itself for the country ever to forget that.

One Man's Memory of What the Nation Wants to Forget
By BRENT STAPLES

Nations tend to write their histories by forgetting the shameful parts. In America, once-buried issues associated with slavery and the genocide against Native Americans have resurfaced and been incorporated into the national memory. But World War II has thus far been held apart as an era that is almost beyond reproach. Indeed, the people who led the country in the 40's and fought the war have been transformed from mere mortals — with faults like the rest of us — into sudden secular saints. They were dubbed "the greatest generation" and made out to be peerless in bravery and moral rectitude.

But when it comes to racial justice, any claim of moral superiority is false on its face. Franklin Roosevelt and the national political leadership failed when tested on the great moral issue of the 20th century. It was within Roosevelt's power to strike Jim Crow segregation from the military — which is precisely what Harry Truman would do three years after the war ended. Roosevelt, however, embraced apartheid segregation, actually spreading it from the Army, where it had been long established, into other major branches of the military.

F.D.A. Imposes Long-Delayed Rule to Require Tracking of Prescription Drugs
By BARNABY J. FEDER

Long-delayed federal rules requiring most wholesalers to be able to track prescription drugs from factory floor to pharmacy door will finally take effect in December, the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday.

The regulations, stemming from a 1988 law intended to combat counterfeiting by verifying a drug's pedigree, were originally drafted in 1999. But the F.D.A. had repeatedly put a stay on the rules because the drug industry said it lacked practical methods for tracking and tracing all of its products. Now, though, the agency said further delay of the "pedigree" rules as they are known was no longer justified because of the development of electronic tracking technology, particularly digital identification tags that can be scanned with radio waves.

Looks like that NY Times article didn't help. My head heart bleeds for him.

Mr. Minucci was found not guilty of a top charge — first-degree assault as a hate crime — but was convicted of first- and second-degree robbery as a hate crime. He used the bat to rob Mr. Moore of his Air Jordan sneakers, a pair of Prada shoes and a blue polo shirt on June 29, 2005. Mr. Moore was carrying them in a bag while walking with two black friends in Howard Beach at 3 a.m. that day.

Batsman Convicted of Howard Beach Hate Crimes
By COREY KILGANNON

via Blac(k)ademic

Specter Offers Compromise on NSA Surveillance
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 9, 2006; A04

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has proposed legislation that would give President Bush the option of seeking a warrant from a special court for an electronic surveillance program such as the one being conducted by the National Security Agency.

Sen. Arlen Specter's approach modifies his earlier position that the NSA eavesdropping program, which targets international telephone calls and e-mails in which one party is suspected of links to terrorists, must be subject to supervision by the secret court set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

TheThink:

The third installation of “Being a Black Man” was released today, this time focusing on a 9-year-old boy named Marcus Jerome Yarboro (read: “The Young Apprentice“). I might as well admit it from the get: my initial interest in this project has led me to more frustrations and questions about the state of black America than I would have hoped for. Less are the stories of attainability for most black men in America; more are the anecdotes proving that with perseverance, a tough “work twice as hard as you” ethic, and so much luck the Texas Lotto feels insecure, that you too can be America’s Next Top black Model of success. But I did ask for a diversity of experiences, and this is what I got, so I can’t complain too much.

I've long been concerned about the disconnect between the statistics we use to make social and political decisions, and the effect those decisions have on people. So this gets my attention right away.

[TS] What Happens if Inflation Is Overstated?
By FLOYD NORRIS

AMONG some Americans, it is almost an article of faith that the Consumer Price Index understates inflation — there are conspiracy theories about why that happens. After all, holding down the C.P.I. saves the government money in a variety of ways and hurts those with pension or Social Security benefits linked to the index.

But you don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to conclude that in the last decade, an important part of the index has been understated. That is the housing component.

Since 1983, the government has measured the price of homes not by looking at house prices but by computing what it calls "owner's imputed rent." That is the rental value of the house you own. It accounts for nearly a quarter of the entire Consumer Price Index.

[TS] The DeLay Principle
By PAUL KRUGMAN

On one side, a measure that would have increased scrutiny of containers entering U.S. ports, at a cost of $648 million, has been dropped from a national security package being negotiated in Congress.

Now, President Bush says that we're fighting a global war on terrorism. Even if you think that's a bad metaphor, we do face a terrifying terrorist threat, and experts warn that ports make a particularly tempting target. So some people might wonder why, almost five years after 9/11, only about 5 percent of containers entering the U.S. are inspected. But our Congressional leaders, in their wisdom, decided that improving port security was too expensive.

On the other side, Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, tried yesterday to push through elimination of the estate tax, which the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates would reduce federal revenue by $355 billion over the next 10 years. He fell three votes short of the 60 needed to end debate, but promised to keep pushing. "Getting rid of the death tax," he said, "is just too important an issue to give up so easily."

So there you have it. Some people might wonder whether it makes sense to balk at spending a few hundred million dollars — that's million with an "m" — to secure our ports against a possible terrorist attack, while sacrificing several hundred billion dollars — that's billion with a "b" — in federal revenue to give wealthy heirs a tax break. But nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes.

New York State has banned United Healthcare's managed care plan, an arm of the nation's second-largest health insurer, from signing up most types of new customers. State regulators say they took the rare action because the company has persistently defied state rules.

For at least three years, United Healthcare has repeatedly filed late, incomplete or inaccurate reports to the state about its finances and subcontracting, and has wrongly denied payment to doctors and other providers, along with a range of other violations, said officials at the State Health Department.

The only way to "counter the influence of...Chavez" is to do more for the hoardes of poor folks in Latin America than he does.

Mexico conservative to counter Chavez influence
Fri Jun 9, 2006 01:59 AM ET
By Alistair Bell

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico (Reuters) - The conservative tied for first place in Mexico's presidential race said on Thursday he would counter the influence of U.S. foe Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Latin America if elected.

Felipe Calderon told Reuters he wanted Mexico, which has close trade ties with the United States, to play a more active role in the region.

"It is going to be a factor of deliberation, balance and good sense compared to the leadership and active policies, to give them their polite name, of Hugo Chavez," Calderon said.

Ms. Winfrey, Mr. Cosby...couldn't you guys buy this stuff for one of the HBCUs?

Martin Luther King papers, books to be auctioned
Thu Jun 8, 2006 04:04 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 10,000 manuscripts and books from the estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., many in the hand of the crusader for justice and nonviolence, will be sold on June 30, Sotheby's auction house said on Thursday.

The collection, to be auctioned 38 years after the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner's assassination, will be sold in a single lot and is expected to fetch $15 million to $30 million, Sotheby's said.

The auction will be preceded by a nine-day exhibition June 21-29 of items ranging from drafts of some of King's most famous speeches and essays to his blue test booklets from college. More than 7,000 items offered are in King's own hand.

Quote of note:

Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., who is desperately breathing life into her bid for a Senate seat, brashly declared, “We will not allow our courts to redesign society into some politically correct utopia.”

“That’s right,” one of the African-American ministers on the podium declared as the crowd applauded and cheered. It was as if for a moment the ghosts of George Wallace and his segregationist sycophants had possessed the crowd in a bizarre recreation of his infamous standoffs.

We can only hope that the emptiness and hypocrisy of their arguments will be their undoing.

Used To Sell A Mirage
Isaiah J. Poole
June 06, 2006

Few things hurt more deeply than the sight of passionate, and often compassionate, African-American pastors selling themselves for an illusion, with their followers applauding as if the rhetorical points their spiritual leaders scored had any meaning.

Farmers know you're not supposed to eat the corn you need to plant next year's crop. We need more farmers in Congress.

"We've got to keep our priorities straight," said Representative Ralph Regula , an Ohio Republican who is chairman of the appropriations panel that approved the cut. "You're going to choose between giving a little more money to handicapped children versus providing appropriations for public broadcasting."

Priorities my ass. You're the same guys that want to cancel the estate tax. PBS is the one universally beneficial thing to come out of television technology in this country.

Trust me, you don't want to lose the Sesame Street Effect. Seriously, how many folks have the time and skill to teach their kids all Sesame Street taught them? How many of those left have the money to hire a tutor?

GOP takes aim at PBS funding
House panel backs budget reductions
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | June 8, 2006

I get the email notification of new articles from The New Republic. Today I see this:

Death Penalty
by Spencer Ackerman
The downside of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi's death.

...and I'm like, please...why you want to feed the animals?

Turns out Mr. Ackerman has a point, if you're a Bushite.

At every stage during the occupation of Iraq, the United States and the ruling Iraqi faction have portrayed each large-scale bombing, murder of civilians, and politically deleterious act of violence as the work of Zarqawi. The U.S. military put together a propaganda campaign to inflate Zarqawi's importance within the Iraqi insurgency. (This was complemented by a campaign of ridicule after the military discovered an outtakes reel of Zarqawi's most recent videotape.) Similarly, after most sectarian massacres, Shia or Kurdish officials frequently mention how "Zarqawi's strategy" of instigating a civil war is bound to fail. In general, such campaigns have a clear logic: to portray the widespread phenomenon of sectarian violence in Iraq as attributable to one person. And Zarqawi fit the caricature perfectly: His missives called for the extermination of the Shia, the Kurds, and those Sunnis who collaborated with the United States--defined, in effect, as any Sunni insufficiently loyal to Zarqawi.