When President Bush took to the podium on July 4 to speak at a naturalization ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home, there were some in the crowd besides those gathered to be sworn in as American citizens. 

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• July 3, 2008 Uncle Sam’s Piñata
• June 18, 2008 Bush: Lift the Ban on Offshore Drilling
• June 18, 2008 Boeing Gains Ally in Tanker Battle
• June 16, 2008 Obama and Family
• June 14, 2008 Empire or Republic?

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• June 20, 2008 Obama Taking Clinton on the Campaign Trail
• June 17, 2008 Is Clinton the Ticket for Obama?
• June 17, 2008 You Can’t Always Veep Who You Want
• June 16, 2008 Clintonites Miffed by Obama Hire
• June 10, 2008 Cheney’s Goal Portrayed as Regime Change Across Mideast

White separatist, U.S. senator, GOP darling and otherwise racist stalwart Jesse Helms died Friday after a bout with both metaphorical and actual heart problems. For his supporters and detractors, Helms’ persona as a race-baiting Southern politician defined many debates around civil rights in the 1960s.

The L.A. Times:

Jesse Helms, the former U.S. senator from North Carolina who for half a century infuriated liberals with his race-baiting campaign tactics and presidents of both parties with his use of senatorial privilege, died today. He was 86.

Helms, who won election to the Senate five times before retiring in 2003, died in Raleigh, N.C., of natural causes, his former chief of staff, Jimmy Broughton, told the Associated Press.

A registered Democrat in the years before he ran for the Senate in 1972, Helms was not the only Southerner of his generation to defect to the GOP after his party championed the cause of civil rights and, as he put it, “veered so far to the left nationally.” Nor was he, at his death, the only politician defending the traditional values of a rural South that had long since been suburbanized.

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• June 26, 2008 This Summer’s Trilogy of Truth
• June 23, 2008 Carlin
• June 23, 2008 Remembering George Carlin
• June 17, 2008 Pinpointing Racism at the Texas Republican Convention
• June 16, 2008 The Essential Tim Russert

While environmentalists and opponents of foreign oil may have found common cause in the use of biofuels, a new, confidential World Bank report estimates that the recent increase in plant-based fuel production has actually contributed to a 75 percent rise in global food prices, sparking riots across the world and pushing millions beneath the poverty line.

This figure greatly contradicts the U.S. government’s finding that biofuels are responsible for only 3 percent of the rise in global food prices.

The Guardian:

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75%—far more than previously estimated—according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.

The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at [the] global financial body.

The figure emphatically contradicts the US government’s claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.

Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush.

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• July 3, 2008 Obama’s Leap of Faith
• July 3, 2008 FBI Considers Racial Profiling
• July 2, 2008 How to Steal an Election With the Help of FISA
• July 1, 2008 Happy Oil Dependence Day
• July 1, 2008 Way Beyond Waterboarding

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• July 5, 2008 Protesters Razz Bush at July 4 Event
• July 3, 2008 Pull and Pray
• July 3, 2008 Pepsi Promise
• July 1, 2008 Happy Oil Dependence Day
• July 1, 2008 Irony

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• July 3, 2008 Prisoner of War
• July 1, 2008 Starbucks Going From Venti to Grande
• June 27, 2008 Doug Henwood on the Global Power Elite
• June 26, 2008 The Ideal Commute
• June 24, 2008 New Material

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• July 3, 2008 Uncle Sam’s Piñata
• July 3, 2008 Ruth Rosen on ‘The Populist Vision’
• July 3, 2008 On Black Patriotism
• July 3, 2008 Obama’s Leap of Faith
• July 3, 2008 Obama Hedges on Withdrawal

Do the socially progressive ideals that jump-started 20th-century reform movements have lessons relevant to the concerns of 21st-century America? A new book makes a strong case that they do.

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• July 4, 2008 Biofuels Blamed in Global Food Crisis
• July 3, 2008 Pull and Pray
• July 3, 2008 On Black Patriotism
• July 3, 2008 Obama’s Leap of Faith
• July 3, 2008 Obama Hedges on Withdrawal

According to his Web site, he’s “America’s Truth Detector; the Doctor of Democracy; the Most Dangerous Man in America; the All-Knowing, All-Sensing, All-Everything Maha Rushie; defender of motherhood, protector of fatherhood and an all-around good guy.” Whatever he may be, Rush Limbaugh is also going to be even richer than ever with his new contract to keep talking for the next eight years.

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• July 3, 2008 Writers’ Strike Bears Online Fruit
• July 2, 2008 Wal-Mart Employees Are Restless
• June 26, 2008 Beyond Swift Boat
• June 23, 2008 What War?
• June 18, 2008 Boeing Gains Ally in Tanker Battle

The fact that African-American patriotism is never simple doesn’t mean it’s in any way halfhearted; to the contrary, complicated relationships tend to be the deepest and strongest.

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• July 3, 2008 Pull and Pray
• July 3, 2008 Ruth Rosen on ‘The Populist Vision’
• July 3, 2008 Obama’s Leap of Faith
• July 3, 2008 Obama Hedges on Withdrawal
• July 3, 2008 FBI Considers Racial Profiling

Barack Obama keeps trying to end the wars over culture and religion, and good for him. The 1960s are so 40 years ago. But Obama’s opponents, as well as some of his friends, won’t let him do it.

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• July 4, 2008 Biofuels Blamed in Global Food Crisis
• July 3, 2008 Pull and Pray
• July 3, 2008 Ruth Rosen on ‘The Populist Vision’
• July 3, 2008 On Black Patriotism
• July 3, 2008 Obama Hedges on Withdrawal

During the protracted writers’ strike that gobbled up a good part of fall and winter material for small and big screens alike, some entertainment scribes didn’t let their time in limbo go to waste, such as the group behind Strike.tv, an online network coming soon to a laptop near you.

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• July 3, 2008 Eight More Years of Rush
• July 2, 2008 American Vets’ Stories in Their Own Words
• June 26, 2008 Beyond Swift Boat
• June 24, 2008 ‘Daily Show’: Obama’s Seal of Disapproval
• June 23, 2008 What War?

Capping off a week of disappointments for his progressive supporters, Barack Obama backed away from the idea of a timely withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, a signature plank in his campaign. “And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground,” explained Obama, “I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”

Update: In response to criticism from John McCain’s campaign, Barack Obama has clarified his earlier comments, saying he would not extend his timetable for withdrawal, but would consider leaving more troops behind, depending on the advice of military commanders.

New York Times:

Mr. Obama, whose popularity in the Democratic primary was built upon a sharp opposition to the war and an often-touted 16-month gradual timetable for removing combat troops, dismissed suggestions that he was changing positions in the wake of reductions in violence in Iraq and a general election fight with Senator John McCain.

“I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed,” he said. “And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”

As he arrived for a campaign stop in North Dakota, Mr. Obama told reporters on Thursday that he intended to conduct “a thorough assessment” of his Iraq policy during a forthcoming trip to the country. He stressed that he has long called for a careful and responsible withdrawal of American forces, but he declined to offer a fresh endorsement of his plan to remove one to two combat brigades a month.

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• July 3, 2008 Pull and Pray
• July 3, 2008 Ruth Rosen on ‘The Populist Vision’
• July 3, 2008 On Black Patriotism
• July 3, 2008 Obama’s Leap of Faith
• July 3, 2008 News for Dummies

This election cycle has seen no shortage of inane non-scandals and mock outrage, but the dimwitted fracas over Gen. Wesley Clark’s comments is a particularly grievous example. With Fox News leading the way, the cable channels have been competing to see who can get it wrong the loudest.

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• July 3, 2008 Obama Hedges on Withdrawal
• July 3, 2008 Snapshots of Life and Death in Baghdad
• July 3, 2008 Prisoner of War
• July 2, 2008 Fake Outrage Over Clark Comments
• July 2, 2008 Fox Sinks to New Lows

Three bodies lie beside a Baghdad street on a blindingly hot day. The one on the right is dressed in a white shirt and bright green trousers, his hands tied behind his back. Two others on the left lie shoeless, both dressed in check shirts, dumped—how easily we use that word of Baghdad’s corpses—on a yard of dirt and bags of garbage. They, too, of course, are now garbage.

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• July 3, 2008 News for Dummies
• July 2, 2008 Fox Sinks to New Lows
• July 2, 2008 Private Contractors in Iraq to Lose Immunity
• June 30, 2008 The Illusion of Saving Nations From Themselves
• June 25, 2008 A Teachable Moment for Teen Pregnancy

If new rule changes go through, the FBI will be allowed to open national security investigations without evidence of wrongdoing. Instead, the agency could pursue cases based on profiles of Americans it deems likelier to commit crimes such as terrorism. The policy would be in keeping with the Bush administration’s dragnet, fact-phobic approach to terrorism; the president himself has been critical of profiling.

AP via The Los Angeles Times:

Although President Bush has disavowed targeting suspects based on race or ethnicity, the new rules would allow the FBI to consider those factors among a number of traits that could trigger a national security investigation.

Currently, FBI agents need specific reasons—such as evidence or allegations that a law probably has been violated—to investigate U.S. citizens and legal residents. The new policy, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press, would let agents open preliminary terrorism investigations after mining public records and intelligence to build a profile of traits that, taken together, were deemed suspicious.

Factors that could make someone the subject of an investigation include travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity, access to weapons or military training and the person’s race or ethnicity.

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• July 3, 2008 U.S. Borrowed Interrogation Methods From an Old Enemy
• July 2, 2008 Fake Outrage Over Clark Comments
• July 2, 2008 How to Steal an Election With the Help of FISA
• July 2, 2008 Private Contractors in Iraq to Lose Immunity
• July 1, 2008 Olbermann to Obama: ‘Give Them Something to Cry About’

If Bob Dole’s dance card isn’t full these days, he might consider being a pitch man for watermelon as a follow-up to his stint as the, er, face of Viagra. According to a group of scientists from Texas (perhaps unsurprisingly one of the country’s top watermelon-producing states) has discovered that the picnic-friendly fruit contains a substance called citrulline that’s similar to the active ingredient found in the famous little blue pill. But sorry, guys, it’s not quite as “organ-specific” as Viagra, as one researcher puts it.

AP via Google News:

A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra—but don’t necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks all night long.

Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that helps relax the body’s blood vessels, similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, said scientists in Texas, one of the nation’s top producers of the seedless variety.

Found in the flesh and rind of watermelons, citrulline reacts with the body’s enzymes when consumed in large quantities and is changed into arginine, an amino acid that benefits the heart and the circulatory and immune systems.

“Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it,” said Bhimu Patil, a researcher and director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center. “Watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra, but it’s a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects.”

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• June 25, 2008 A Teachable Moment for Teen Pregnancy
• June 20, 2008 Tony Platt on American Eugenics
• June 18, 2008 The Hymen Controversy
• June 9, 2008 Herpes Is Common Among New Yorkers
• May 22, 2008 Court Sides With Polygamists

A court has ordered Google to hand over the viewing log of every user and every video ever on YouTube. Media giant Viacom is suing Google over copyright violations, and won access to the 12 terabytes of data, but not YouTube’s source code, which it also demanded. Google has asked to anonymize the data.

BBC:

Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the ruling a “set-back to privacy rights”.

The viewing log, which will be handed to Viacom, contains the log-in ID of users, the computer IP address (online identifier) and video clip details.

While the legal battle between the two firms is being contested in the US, it is thought the ruling will apply to YouTube users and their viewing habits everywhere.

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• July 2, 2008 Inquiry on Search Partnership
• June 26, 2008 This Summer’s Trilogy of Truth
• June 25, 2008 Supreme Court Slashes Exxon Valdez Penalty
• June 23, 2008 John McCain Is Not Reading This
• June 19, 2008 FISA Deal: Compromise or Capitulation?

One man’s torture, it seems, is another’s “coercive management technique.” For decades the United States has maintained that American prisoners were tortured by the Chinese during the Korean War. Now it turns out that at least some of the interrogation methods used at Guantanamo Bay were lifted directly from an American study of China’s Korean War era practices.

Much of the information the Chinese were able to gather at that time was false, so the U.S. military not only chose to copy the exact interrogation techniques once used against its own soldiers, but techniques that it knew didn’t even work.

New York Times:

The military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including “sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” and “exposure.”

What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.

The recycled chart is the latest and most vivid evidence of the way Communist interrogation methods that the United States long described as torture became the basis for interrogations both by the military at the base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and by the Central Intelligence Agency.

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• July 3, 2008 FBI Considers Racial Profiling
• July 2, 2008 Fake Outrage Over Clark Comments
• July 2, 2008 Waterboarding Christopher Hitchens
• July 2, 2008 Private Contractors in Iraq to Lose Immunity
• July 1, 2008 Way Beyond Waterboarding

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• July 1, 2008 Irony
• June 24, 2008 McTerror
• June 23, 2008 Carlin
• June 19, 2008 Operating at Code Fabulous
• June 10, 2008 Women and Children First