The state of California has taken steps to stop a chain of private schools from issuing high school diplomas. The 10 week course included a 54-page book that had a rather revisionist take on the US political system and history.
Students learned that Congress had two houses -- the Senate for Democrats and the House for Republicans; that the U.S. flag had not been updated to reflect the addition of Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico to the "original" 50 states; that the federal "administrative" branch oversees the Treasury Department; and that World War II occurred from 1938 to 1942.
I've done a serious update on my blogroll (along the left side) to reflect the blogs that I actually read regularly. The non-Salon blogs I read I generally reach via syndication through Bloglines, and when I update my subscriptions there I have this tendency to not reflect those changes here.
They are listed in no particular or logical order.
I list blogs I like and read, and I don't ask for or expect return links (especially for blogs far more prominent than mine). However, links are always appreciated. Thanks!
I haven't earlier blogged about the growing controversy around the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and their campaign against John Kerry.
Some of the attacks and quite a bit of the language appears to be very much over the top, but I do understand that these people, as well as Kerry himself, feel very strongly about their experiences in Vietnam. Obviously, John Kerry invited much of the criticism by making his short service in Vietnam the forefront of his campaign, as opposed to his long tenure in the US Senate. How much of the criticism is fair is up to every one to decide, and ultimately the voters.
One accusation against Kerry stands out as well documented and rather serious, however. On a number of occastions, including a speech to the US Senate March 27, 1986, protesting President Reagan's support for the contras in Nicaragua, John Kerry stated that on Christmas Eve 1968, he was on a gunboat in Cambodia, listening to President Nixon on the radio denying there were any troops in that country. That, says Kerry, made him develop a deep mistrust in the government, and it made a pivotal moment in his thinking.
An Iraqi court has issued two arrest warrants, for Ahmed Chalabi and his nephew Salem, the latter being head of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein.
Salem is sought on suspicion of murder, while Ahmed is wanted in connection with financial crimes, more specifically counterfeiting.
You will remember that Ahmed Chalabi fell from grace rather spectacularly in the early days of June. Chalabi, a Shiite, was accused of having given US secrets to the Iranians.
Both men are out of the country. Guess where Ahmed is?
"I'm now mobilised on all fronts to rebuff all these charges," he told CNN from the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Undoubtedly.
I assume Salem will be replaced on the Saddam tribunal.
