Northwest Airlines serves Minneapolis-St Paul in a big way.  It's no wonder they tout themselves as "The Official Airline of the Republican National Convention," and they're concerned about the comfort of Republicans.  That's why NWA fired off a demand to Clear Channel Communications that the mega-media company take down a billboard they thought carried a "strong anti-McCain message" that was in the Minneapolis-St Paul airport.

Northwest worried that the thousands of Republican delegates, officials, and members of the media would find the ad "offensive" and "scary" and insisted that it come down immediately.

Clear Channel agreed.

In his blog, David Horowitz responds to my earlier critique of his plans for an Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week that called for colleges and student governments to ban funding for Muslim Student Associations.

Horowitz writes that he "was attacked by the left on DailyKos. This follows a pattern the Kos left has followed since 9/11 of defending the jihadists, and attacking the defenders of freedom in this country and abroad." This is, of course, silly, and Horowitz offers not one single example of anyone on Kos "defending the jihadists," let alone a "pattern."

Markos Moulitsas Zúniga will prove to be an important historical figure in 21st century American politics.  The creation of Daily Kos not only provided an outlet for, organized and activated a frustrated liberal voting bloc, but it also helped establish they very discipline of political blogging.  The success of Daily Kos has spawned books, political office holders, and good old fashion in your face journalism/activism (See, Mike Stark).  However, the success of Daily Kos has put the site in the spotlight and is assumed to speak for large chunks of liberal voters.  With great power, comes great responsibility.  With greater prominence comes greater scrutiny.  Under the spotlight, the question that must be asked is has the Daily Kos community met the challenge, or have they jumped the shark.

UPDATE: I changed the name of the diary because too many people only read the title and don't read the content.

Right-winger David Horowitz is calling for "the defunding of MSA chapters who promote of ethnic hatred and refuse to condemn holy war" unless they agree with his view that Hamas and Hezbollah are evil. Horowitz also wants funding removed from MSA chapters for sponsoring speakers he disagrees with.

This is an extraordinary attack on free speech. In my book, Patriotic Correctness: Academic Freedom and Its Enemies, I write about the threat to free expression posed by Horowitz's efforts to silence political speech on campus. Horowitz's advocacy of suppression even includes calling for campuses to ban professors from putting cartoons on their office doors. This effort to ban funding of Muslim groups on campus is a perfect example of the suppression sought by his Orwellian-named (and modestly titled) David Horowitz Freedom Center.

To alleviate the confusion of a few folks, the "DNC" here means the Convention, not Howard Dean's "DNC".

Titles from linked sources were reposted exactly.

The Democrats and the Po-lice are ready for terrorism protests in Denver.

City readies warehouse for mass DNC arrests

Some protesters arrested at the Democratic National Convention could be jailed in a city- owned warehouse, complete with metal cages and barbed wire, CBS4 News has learned.

Investigative reporter Rick Sallinger discovered the location and managed to get inside Tuesday for a look. The newly created lockup, in a warehouse northeast of Denver, contains dozens of metal cages made of chain-link fence material, topped by rolls of barbed wire.

Each of these fenced-in areas is about 15 feet by 15 feet, with a lock on the door.

A sign on the wall reads "Warning, electric stun devices used in this facility."

Land of the Free, ya know.

So it seems my fellow gimps have found something to be outraged over, leaving me to wonder...

Are they retarded?

George W. Bush is a liberal. Don't rub your eyes. You read that right. He's a liberal. To learn why he's a liberal (or maybe he isn't) read Walter Brasch's column about free speech and the Bush Administration.

You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware, I'm tearing you asunder.
Ooh, There is thunder in our hearts.

Is there so much hate for the ones who love?
Tell me we both matter don't we?

You,
It's you and me,
It's you and me who won't be unhappy.
-- Kate Bush, Hounds Of Love, Running Up That Hill

I sometimes find inspiration and enlightenment in music. It so happens that at times listening to a talented artist can reach a place in me that reason and logic cannot penetrate. I hope that Kate Bush will not mind so much that I'm quoting her lyrics on a political blog. I know next to nothing about her politics, only that her music has nearly always brought me hope.

Bethlehem, Pa., is currently in the middle of a 10-day music festival. There are six or seven venues, giving attendees a choice of about 35 performers each day. There is no admission charge and no gates to get onto festival grounds, with the exception of a headliner act each night on an island in the Lehigh River.

Obama's campaign wisely selected its Lehigh Valley headquarters on Main Street in Bethlehem, right in the middle of the festival which attracts thousands every night.

McCain's headquarters are tucked away in a sleepy little shopping mall on the outskirts. There were 24 cars in the parking lot when I drove by yesterday. It's the same shopping center in which he spoke to 12 supporters and some applesauce jars in the grocery store last month.

In Bristow Virginia, the public housing Executive Director David Baldwin kicked Obama volunteers out, while they participated in a voter registration drive in the area.

http://www.tricities.com/...

A group of Obama campaign workers broke no law when they knocked on doors in a Bristol Virginia housing project last week.

The campaign workers weren’t there to cause trouble. They were registering voters and drumming up support for the Democratic presidential candidate. They got tossed out anyway. Why?

Follow me below for the changing story.

If you needed any more clearly defined for you the difference between Republicans and Democrats, here's a perfect example.

Here's a listing, from the ACLU, of various events where President Bush or Vice President Cheney were going to have a town hall meeting, or give a speech, and people were arrested.  If someone manages to sneak their way into such a speech or meeting, and jumps up to make a stink, they'll almost always be ejected from the venue pretty quickly.

And they're doing the same thing at McCain appearances.

I devoted a lot of thought to this post. Read it when you have the time and ability to concentrate on something that I take very seriously.

I won't re-hash it. We already know the situation. We know what Jim Adkisson did in that Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tennessee. We know that he was a fan of right-wing radio hosts and blamed liberals for the country's problems.

Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, "Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.
                       Michael Weiner (aka Michael Savage), July 16, 2008

I think you're an idiot, based on this statement made on your show.  And I'm attempting to influence all who read my writing, complete with this (ahem) intellectual property of yours that I have copied without your permission or consent, to cease listening to your show and tell everyone that they know to do the same, thus interfering with your relationship with your advertisers - oh yeah, you guys should boycott them too.

And there's even more where that came from below the fold.

Now sue me just like you sued the Council on Islamic-American Relations, you coward.

So Sue Me!

The great minds at the Republican National Committee are once again demonstrating their transcendent grasp of marketing, finance, and public relations.

In an action so preposterously witless as to scramble the common cranium, the GOP has sent a "cease and desist" letter to CafePress citing trademark infringement on the part of sellers using the term "GOP" or the elephant logo.

Brought to you by...
News Corpse, The Internet's Chronicle Of Media Decay.

Taday's New York Times had a story about a hotelier whose donations to an anti-gay marriage campaign spurred a boycott by his gay clientele.

While the case raises some questions whee we need to tread carefully so we avoid charges of hypocrisy; on thorough examination, they are bogus claims and Doug Manchester, the innkeeper in question, is a crybaby.

First Amendment scandals. Ever hear of them?

By Steve Bergstein

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I once wrote that no one ever talks about a First Amendment scandal the way that we talk about sex scandals or bribery or other abuses of the public trust. There is no such thing as a First Amendment scandal. But First Amendment scandals happen all the time. We just don't hear about them.

I am reporting this press release about an alleged academic freedom case in Red Oak, Iowa. I have not been able to find any corroboration of the case. However, I have a reasonable trust for Common Dreams and the details given of the case are credible to me given my own experiences and those of others I am aware of. If the facts of this case are true, it is disturbing. Also disturbing is the lack of public interest in such cases.