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Adam Serwer

Good For Herman Cain

Adam SerwerJul 28, 2011

Herman Cain apparently met with "Muslim leaders" yesterday to discuss his statements about blocking mosques and banning Muslims from his cabinet:

“I would be flabbergasted if he ever repeated those statements and said that communities should be allowed to ban mosques,” He said. “I think that the meeting today has changed his mind 100 percent. From the tenor of the conversation, I can’t see him repeating such things.”

In a statement sent to reporters following the meeting, Cain apologized for causing offense to Muslims, but didn’t renounce his earlier comments.

Fallout

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

Muslims in Norway reflect on the fallout of the Oslo attacks.

Bachmann sexism watch, hair and makeup edition.

Republicans will like anything Democrats don't.

GOP Governor Chris Christie is tired of dealing with "the crazies."

Local Media Me

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

I was on the 70 bus when it crashed Saturday afternoon on Georgia Avenue, and I took a few photos used by local ABC affiliate WJLA.

I was sitting in the front of the bus, the seats reserved for the elderly and disabled when buses get crowded, and I was thrown several feet to the floor of the bus when it crashed. So if you have any elderly or disabled relatives who use the bus regularly, I would recommend telling them not to actually sit in those seats unless they're strapped in.

The FBI's 2009 Reading List Looks A Lot Like Breivik's

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

Alleged Oslo terrorist Anders Breivik's 1,500-page manifesto contained a number of recommendations to readers for where to go to get the truth about those barbaric Muslims. The scary part is that the FBI's 2009 Islam 101 briefing recommends some of the same books, Spencer Ackerman reports:

Captain America's Faux Integration, Ctd

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

Alyssa Rosenberg says that Captain America: The First Avenger's portrayal of institutional sexism wasn't all that:

King's Al Shabaab Hearings

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

Representative Peter King's hearings on al Shabaab's Minnesota recruitment efforts was largely uneventful. Despite King hyping the supposed lack of cooperation with law enforcement from Minnesota's Somali American community, when asked whether he faced any opposition the St. Paul* chief of police, Tom Smith, said that he hadn't.

Imagine If We Had Leaders Like This

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

Contrast the reaction of Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to the Olso attacks...

“It’s absolutely possible to have an open, democratic, inclusive society, and at the same time have security measures and not be naive,” he said.

Stoltenberg underlined his commitment to openness, defending freedom of thought even if includes extremist views such as those held by the 32-year-old Norwegian who confessed to Friday’s bomb blast at government headquarters and to the shooting massacre at a Labor Party youth camp hours later. At least 76 people were killed.

Civil Rights Division Suing Wells Fargo

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

It was two years ago that the NAACP and Baltimore city officials went after Wells Fargo over revelations that the bank had marketed subprime "ghetto loans" to blacks, referred to in internal memos as "mud people." The Justice Department has finally decided to act, suing Wells Fargo for discriminatory lending practices.

Just Stop Digging, Dude

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

Robert Spencer is mad at me:

The Growing Racial Wealth Gap

Adam SerwerJul 27, 2011

Yesterday, the Pew Research Center released its report on the racial wealth gap in American society, with some really depressing results. The economic crisis essentially wiped out the wealth gains made by people of color over the past 20 years, resulting in "lopsided wealth ratios," that "are the largest since the government began publishing such data a quarter-century ago and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the Great Recession that ended in 2009."

Take a look:

Fallout

Adam SerwerJul 26, 2011

Obama sucks at negotiating.

But Yglesias is right that Congress is a bigger issue.

Turns out late-term abortions aren't as fun as Republicans think they are.

Seven tropes we should retire.

Supply-Side Jesus Strikes Again

Adam SerwerJul 26, 2011

Obama's favorite anti-gay pastor Rick Warren apparently has a twitter feed where he says things like:

HALF of America pays no taxes. ZERO. So they're happy for tax rates to be raised on the other half that DOES pay taxes.

Kevin Drum has a chart that says otherwise:

Terrorism And "True" Belief

Adam SerwerJul 26, 2011

Alex Pareene makes an important point about alleged Oslo shooter Anders Breivik identifying as a Christian:

He's a sick perversion of Christianity, sure. But if he "doesn't count" as a Christian solely because no one this evil should "count" as a Christian (which is [Bill] O'Reilly's other argument -- "no one believing in Jesus commits mass murder," he said) then no terrorist should "count" as a representative of his faith.

The "Blank Check" Lie

Adam SerwerJul 26, 2011

I'm obviously not an expert on the debate occurring over the debt ceiling, but I know enough to know that raising the debt ceiling has nothing to do with cutting spending. During last night's speech, House Speaker John Boehner repeated a whopper that is becoming a standard part of Republican talking points on the issue:

Captain America's Faux Integration, Ctd

Adam SerwerJul 26, 2011

Alyssa Rosenberg argues that Captain America: The First Avenger lacks any acknowledgement of Armed Forces segregation because The Avengers is about "institutional optimism."

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