http://maxblumenthal.com Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:13:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Almost as soon as the first Israeli missile struck the Gaza Strip, a veteran cheering squad suited up to support the home team. "Israel is so scrupulous about civilian life," Charles Krauthammer claimed in the Washington Post. Echoing Krauthammer, Alan Dershowitz called the Israeli attack on Gaza, "Perfectly 'Proportionate.'" And in the New ... http://maxblumenthal.com/2009/01/why-arent-more-americans-dancing-to-israels-tune/ 2008 went fast, but it was a very good year for the left blogosphere. I made out fairly well myself, according to some of my favorite sites. I finished fourth in the Southern Poverty Law Center's 2nd Annual Smackdown Awards and earned Alternet's fifth most outrageous story of the year. ... http://maxblumenthal.com/2009/01/recapping-2008/ http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/merry-christmas/   [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="324" caption="Rick Warren, courtier and culture warrior"][/caption] Today I discussed Barack Obama's selection of Rick Warren as his inaugural pastor with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. Watch or listen to it here or read the transcript, which continues below the fold: AMY GOODMAN: President-elect Barack Obama, speaking in Chicago last ... http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/my-purpose-driven-democracy-now-segment/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="In his heart, Paul Weyrich knew he was right"][/caption] Pioneering conservative activist Paul Weyrich died on December 18 at the age of 66. Though Weyrich was commonly regarded as a behind-the-scenes Beltway operator, he achieved one of his most enduring goals in the backwaters of the South.   In ... http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/remembering-paul-weyrich/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="129" caption="Inaugural pastor Rick Warren is officially not gay"][/caption] Why couldn't Barack Obama have at least selected Rich Cizik to deliver his inaugural prayer? Cizik was just drummed out as the head of the National Association of Evangelicals for revealing that, like Obama, he supports civil union (James ... http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/homophobia-you-can-believe-in/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="332" caption="Nixon "evil genius" Chuck Colson is rewarded with the prestigious Citizens' Medal. But has his life truly been redeemed, or simply reframed?"][/caption] The Republican campaign of 2008 will be remembered, among other things, for the accusation that Barack Obama was "palling around with terrorists," namely former Weather ... http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/second-acts/ Keith Olbermann, with a rapid fire synopsis of my Daily Beast story on the anti-Semitic origins of O'Reilly's War on Christmas hysteria (go to 1:48): http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/olbermann-reps-my-war-on-christmas-history/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="136" caption="Steve Sailer likes Jews who write Christmas ditties"][/caption] One of the most confounding characteristics of open anti-Semites is their tendency to deny harboring any malice towards Jews after being confronted with their own anti-Semitic statements. At the 2006 American Renaissance conference, after David Duke delivered a conspiratorial ... http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/sailer-sailing-away-from-himself/ Peter Brimelow praises my latest piece of "ethnic paranoia" as "a relatively good account of VDARE.COM’s role in exposing the War Against Christmas," adds a few annotations, then asks for money. It is a pleasure to help the poor and needy white nationalists this holiday...I mean, Christmas season. http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/brimelow-and-vdare-on-my-latest/