Message from Mousavi

Andrew Sullivan gets word from Mousavi via BBC-Farsi:

I AM UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE TO ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THE SHAM ELECTION. THEY HAVE CUT ME OFF FROM ANY COMMUNICATION WITH PEOPLE AND AM UNDER SURVEILLANCE. I ASK THE PEOPLE TO STAY IN THE STREETS BUT AVOID VIOLENCE

More as I find it.

News from Tehran

The Iranian election this week marks a turning point for an important 21st Century hegemon. After Ahmadinejad declared victory in an election that appears stolen, one of the largest popular reform movements in recent Iranian history spilled onto the streets of Tehran in protest.

The result has been two long days of tension and violence:



More video here.

The good guys can still win this one:

Mir Hossein Mousavi’s, the main reformist rival to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, letter to the important ayatollahs in the holy city of Qom, asking them to protest the fraud and declare it against Islam, has sparked protests by the ayatollahs and clerics as well.

The Association of Combatant Clerics, which consists of moderate and leftist clerics and includes such important figures as former president Mohammad Khatami, Ayatollah Mohammad Mousavi Khoiniha, and Grand Ayatollah Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardabili, issued a strongly-worded statement, calling the results of the election valid.

...

Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei, a progressive cleric and a confidante of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, has declared that Mr. Ahmadinejad is not the legitimate president and cooperation with him, as well as working for him, are haraam (against Islam and a great sin). He has also declared that any changes in the votes by unlawful means are also haraam. Several credible reports indicate that he has traveled to Tehran in order to participate in nationwide protests scheduled for Monday (June 18). It is said that he has planned a sit-in in some public place, in order to further protest election fraud. His website has been blocked.

I've been trying to follow here:

http://tehranlive.org/
http://www.memeorandum.com/
http://tehranbureau.com/
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/
http://www.michaeltotten.com/

More as I find it.

Update: Apparently, the government has taken down one of these resources with DoS. Per a recent tweet:

problem w/ site pinpointed: webmaster says the Iranian govt is overloading us
with requests to disable our site: "denial of service attack".

Update 2: Twitter is apparently the single best resource for the latest news. Warning, some of it is hard to read

WTF?!

What is going on with the "intellectual" right?  Here's Krauthammer today:

Not that Obama considers himself divine. (He sees himself as merely messianic, or, at worst, apostolic.) But he does position himself as hovering above mere mortals, mere country, to gaze benignly upon the darkling plain beneath him where ignorant armies clash by night, blind to the common humanity that only he can see. Traveling the world, he brings the gospel of understanding and godly forbearance. We have all sinned against each other. We must now look beyond that and walk together to the sunny uplands of comity and understanding. He shall guide you. 

More on Right-Wing Extremism

Eugene Robinson gets the problem exactly right today in WaPo.  I've bee trying to make the same point since October.  It's OK, though ... I bet we can expect the grassroots right to be grownups about this stuff:

Update: Krugman piles on:

And at this point, whatever dividing line there was between mainstream conservatism and the black-helicopter crowd seems to have been virtually erased.

Why the GOP Needs Fear

Nate Silver's recent analysis gives us some idea why the GOP spends so much time trying to scare us all about national security.  Turns out "Security Issues" may be the glue that holds the party together:

A Noun a Verb and Nancy Pelosi?

Can someome explain to me why looping in Nancy Pelosi makes torture OK? Seems like this is the only argument the GOP loyalists are using anymore. Strikes me as delusional and sad. (Sigh.)

More on Generational Politics

Gallup has a new poll on party affiliation by age. Interestingly, GenX is more Republican than GenY or the Boomers:

Although Democrats currently enjoy a party identification advantage over Republicans among Americans at every age between 18 to 85, the Democrats' greatest advantages come among those in their 20s and baby boomers in their late 40s and 50s. Republicans, on the other hand, come closest to parity with Democrats among Generation Xers in their late 30s and early 40s and among seniors in their late 60s.