Perhaps I didn't choose my words as carefully as I should have, given what an obviously explosive issue this is, and on a Jewish holy day too:

But I think the public has a right to know where Murdoch stands politically, if not religiously.

I meant "if not" in the sense that he should make his position on militant Zionism clear one way or the other. His religious views are only important to me if they inform his radical political agenda, and even so I would not be speculating about his religion if only his political agenda was more explicit. As you say:

What makes Rupert Murdoch destructive is that agenda, not that his mother was Jewish.

I fully agree. By comparison, does Sarah Palin believe in the Rapture? Or does John McCain expect the world to end during his lifetime? If so, the public has a right to know. Right?

Anyway, in Murdoch's case, I guess actions speak louder than words. By their fruits shall ye know them.

And calling Israel a murderous apartheid state is also anti-semitic.

Does the Israeli state murder innocent people on a regular basis? Yes. Does it segregate Palestinians and even treat Arab Israelis as second-class citizens? Yes.

So why is it anti-Semitic to state such known facts? Please explain, if you can.

Are you contending that the more religious a Jew is, the more likely he is to be a militant Zionist? Are you saying that Zionism, political, militant (any kind except spiritual) is a demand of the Jewish religion?

No of course not! I have no idea how you read that into my comments. PS: Thanks to you and others for responding to the ridiculous but totally predictable charges of "anti-semitism" while I was sleeping.

It's Yom Kippur here in Australia today, and I hope all those who rabidly support militant Zionist expansionism and apartheid hatred will reflect carefully on the holy day's message of atonement, reconciliation and forgiveness.

If McCain were the decent man he pretends to be, he would immediately stop talking when someone at a rally shouts out nonsense like this, and publicly admonish that individual. Such outrageous language has no place in a civilized democratic election. Instead, McCain just shrugs - like maybe it's true, but he can't say it - and keeps on talking.

The Obama campaign should put out their own adverts challenging McCain to disown this dangerous, hate-filled rhetoric. But more importantly, the Washington press corps should be demanding a straight-talk response from McCain and Palin. Ask them about the specific words coming from the crowds, and force them to either endorse or disown this crap.

And if they endorse it - as, in fact, they all but have already - then the press has a responsibility to tell the people of the USA what is really going on here: a deperate campaign is whipping up the worst kind of Nazi-style crowd hysteria.

Personally, I think McCain would be delighted if someone shot his opponent dead. Judging purely by appearances, that could well be at the core of his election strategy right now.

McCain is a dangerous man with no courage, no moral compass, and (as Josh Marshall deliciously put it today) no testicles. For an alternative view of this great "war hero", I suggest people take a look at Mary Hershberger's detailed investigation of a 1967 fire on board the USS Forrestal (link at my sig). McCain comes across as another spoiled child of the privileged elite class whose Daddy gets him out of trouble and helps re-write the record to cover up embarrassing facts - just like George W. "AWOL" Bush.

It's worth mentioning that this hate-filled McCain campaign is a logical continuation of the increasingly Fascist direction that the USA has been taking for the past eight years.

And it's worth noting that Obama has himself been a part of that momentum. For example, failing to hold criminals in high office accountable ("impeachment is off the table"), or endorsing warrant-less wire-tapping and other forms of spying on ordinary citizens. Not to mention muddled responses on war and torture.

Just sayin'...

Josh Marshall has just posted a video from the Politico in which McCain listens to a supporter's angry rant about "hooligans" and "socialists taking over our country". McCain says "the man is right".

Link at sig.

PS: Um, isn't McCain currently supporting the Bush administration's moves to nationalize banks?

Here's Leahy in April 07: “One of the distinguishing characteristics of the United States is that we do not use the military to patrol our communities and neighborhoods.”

Now he is expressing concern about the new unit and asking for more info. Link at sig.

Still off-topic (sorry!) here's David Iglesias commenting on the latest developments regarding his DoJ firing.

I was not disappointed or surprised by the findings contained in its blistering report which I cooperated with fully. Every reason given for my ouster was examined and rejected as "disingenuous after-the-fact rationalizations" by former Justice Department personnel, thus sounding the death knell to my alleged "performance-related" problems. More importantly, the firings of my colleagues and me "severely damaged the credibility of the Department and raised doubts about the integrity of Department prosecutive decisions" according to the investigation. Several Republican officials took key roles damaging America's premier crime fighting organization...

I've learned many lessons these past eighteen months -- prosecutorial independence is not a talking point and seeking justice can never be viewed as a political "wedge" issue.

link at sig.