Month: June 2005

Cox the Corporate Cog.

So, apparently Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA), Dubya’s new pick to head the SEC, is — wait for it — yes, yet another right-wing freakshow, this time of the corporate stooge variety. “Mr. Cox – a devoted student of Ayn Rand, the high priestess of unfettered capitalism – has a long record in the House of promoting the agenda of business interests that are a cornerstone of the Republican Party’s political and financial support. A major recipient of contributions from business groups, the accounting profession and Silicon Valley, he has fought against accounting rules that would give less favorable treatment to corporate mergers and executive stock options. He opposes taxes on dividends and capital gains. And he helped to steer through the House a bill making investor lawsuits more difficult.”

Aigh!! Books!!!

By way of a colleague in the program, conservative rag Human Events lists their choices for the Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th & 20th Centuries (because remember, folks — reading & thinking are dangerous.) The usual rogues’ gallery — Marx, Hitler, Mao — are up front, as you might expect, but then things get kooky. Including Darwin is medieval enough, but Betty Friedan and Rachel Carson? You must be joking. (Well, at least it’s good to see the right-wing fringe still running scared from progressives like John Dewey and Herbert Croly.)

Mutant Massacre.

With Matthew Vaughn gone, is Marvel really going to put X3 in the hands of Brett Hackner? Oh, lordy, that’s terrible. Apparently, the film will include three surprising deaths and a sex scene to boot. Well, shucks, I hope they find a way to fit some car chases in there too. I always thought X-Men needed more car chases. Update: It seems official…Ratner’s in.

Bolted Shut / Evildoers Everywhere!

“Now in terms of the requests for the documents, I view that as just another stall tactic, another way to delay, another way not to allow Bolton to get an up or down vote.” As per his usual my-way-or-the-highway approach, Dubya announced he’s decided to stonewall the Dems by withholding the requested intelligence documents bearing on Bolton. Given that this UN appointment seems a done deal in terms of votes, you’d think our “uniter, not a divider” prez might’ve relished an opportunity to appear magnanimous and thus replenish some of his squandered political capital. But perhaps he didn’t want to put another feather in McCain’s cap so soon after the nuclear compromise…or perhaps these documents confirm anew that Bolton is unfit for his post. (Video link via Freakgirl.)

Even more troubling, in keeping with the administration’s attempts to make Amnesty International this week’s Newsweek, our president also put the blame for the “absurd” recent Amnesty report about our dismaying recent proclivity for torture squarely on the shoulders of “people who hate America.” As Sidney Blumenthal notes, “It may be of minor ironic interest that before the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration cited Amnesty International’s reports on Saddam Hussein’s violations of human rights as unimpeachable texts. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld often claimed Amnesty as his ultimate authority.”

Judge Shredd.

“‘To lose a case like this is huge,’ said William B. Mateja, a former official of the Justice Department’s corporate fraud task force. ‘Arthur Andersen was the poster-child case of all the corporate fraud cases.'” The Supreme Court overturns the 2002 conviction of Arthur Andersen LLP, thus facilitating future corporate shredding binges. “More broadly, some lawyers said the court’s decision shows its sympathy for corporate America’s view that companies should be freer to engage in routine document destruction — often under the ironic title of ‘document retention policy.’“

Emmett Exhumed.

“Twas down in Mississippi no so long ago,
When a young boy from Chicago town stepped through a Southern door.” FBI agents begin an exhumation of the murdered Emmett Till. “‘One purpose of this is to positively identify the remains and dispel any rumors as to whether it is truly Emmett Till or not,’ [FBI Spokesman] Bochte said. A second reason, he said, is to ‘see if any further evidence can be looked at to help Mississippi officials bring additional charges if warranted.’”