Free Republic

by Mark Finkelstein August 12, 2006 - 17:53 You might have thought they had gone the way of the dodo bird. But as per a sighting on today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer web site, there are still defenders of communism out there in the Western press. The P-I saw fit to accord space on its op-ed page to Andrew Buncombe of the UK's Independent newspaper. His column was entitled [not a typo] Cuba's agricultural revolution an example to the world. If the headline wasn't enough to stop you dead in your tracks, the opening paragraph should have sent you running for the...

Nothing's worse than seeing a major news development, especially one having such a huge potential impact on conservative activism, getting buried by holiday distractions. Especially ironic: a judicial assault on free speech, just before Independence Day. Since a Thurston County, Washington, judge ruled late last Friday that comments by Seattle talk hosts are considered in-kind campaign contributions, subject to reporting under state disclosure laws, it's been an uphill battle getting conservatives to understand its ramifications.

Seattle has a cheery reputation for being wondrously liberal. On a dare, I decided to test this widely held belief. During the presidential campaign, when I would bump into folks on the street, I would say: "Hi. I'm with a group called Blacks for Bush. We are trying to help our president win four more ..." .... So much for tolerance. For the record, I do prefer donkeys to elephants. I'm pro-Kerry. But my unscientific experiment, involving encounters with dozens of people, made me realize a truth in what conservatives often kvetch about: The Emerald City ain't so pretty if...

"Given the verbiage contained in this daily fish wrap celebrating John Kerry and wailing what a threat to the planet George W. Bush constitutes, I suppose it is time for someone to sluice out the Augean stables of accumulated political nonsense."