Yeah, yeah, another stupid open thread.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Get a Spine
From what I know I'm certainly not too optimistic about the new owners of our local dailies, but this is silly:
According to Jonathan Neumann, Tierney created "a whole new playbook" for the city's public relations community. "Once Brian had some success mounting personal attacks on reporters," he says, "we started getting those kinds of calls all the time."
Neumann faced meetings with Tierney other than those involving Cipriano. He says the public relations exec once declared that two separate reporters working on two separate stories were biased against Tierney's two separate clients-just like Cipriano.
Hey, if it worked once ...
Neumann's take on Tierney doesn't sit well with some people, including Tierney himself.
"I think it's a sad day that someone I've always considered an enemy of the First Amendment and an enemy of the Constitution now owns those newspapers," says Neumann.
The story is rather involved, but basically it's a story of cowardly editors backing down to what sounds like surprisingly minor public pressure. I really don't understand why editors seem to break so easily. It's not Tierney's fault the wimps made his job easy. Give in to this crap and it'll keep coming. If it works they'll keep doing it.
Dreaming of Fixing All The Typos
Yes they exist. No I can't fix them. Blogger hates me, and hates Digby too.
Rage Against the Machine
The FBI today arrested two computer experts on the staff of state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, accusing them of trying to obstruct the federal investigation into the powerful Philadelphia Democrat.
A 65-page affidavit laying out the case against legislative aides Leonard P. Luchko and Mark Eister said they and unnamed others had "conspired to obstruct justice" by deleting "electronic evidence," including e-mails.
In the affavidavit, the FBI spells out in its bluntest terms yet the nature of its probe, saying it is looking into whether Fumo engaged in "exortion."
The agency said the inquiry is focused on whether Fumo "used his authority and official position to attempt to demand and obtain payments" from corporations to a South Philadelphia nonprofit.
The document does not name Fumo. Instead, it always referring to an unidentified "Senator." It is clear from the context, however, that the reference is to Fumo.
The FBI is also investigating whether Fumo "benefited both political and personally from expenditures made by the organization," a nonprofit called Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods.
It added that it was probing whether the nonprofit "spent money for the senator's personal benefits and for politial activities inconsistent with the organization's limited mission and tax-exempt status."
I won't shed any tears if they get Fumo.
Fair Game
Chuck Todd:
The "line" hasn't existed in my lifetime, it's just something selectively applied. Todd also asks whether Ryan Lizza's reporting on George Allen's high school days were appropriate. I think it's a valid question, though in that case on balance I'd say "yes" as they fit into a bigger picture, but I agree that it's debatable. I'd actually be more than happy to universally agree that what presidential candidates did before about age 26, except felony convictions, is basically irrelevant. Along those lines I never had a problem with Bush's shoddy Guard service, I had a problem with the facts that a) He (see autobiography) and his campaign continued to lie about it and b) This was the ultimate example of selective media coverage of such issues.
"It's hard not to cross it. They keep moving the little sucker, don't they?" claims William Hurt in "Broadcast News" when accused by a producer of "crossing the line" during a news report. So what is that line? And does it even exist?
...
What truly made the story depressing for us though was the lack of shock and outrage about the story uttered in the Washington political community. There was some partisan outrage among folks we either read or talked to, with the left thinking the Times went over the line and the right fearing the story could only help Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., play the victim card to get into the White House.
But when the dean of all political reporters, the Washington Post's David Broder, just matter-of-factly acknowledged the significance of the Times' story without expressing even the slightest bit of regret or remorse for the very idea of running it, that's when we knew that we were going to be very lonely in expressing our disappointment. While not trying to read Broder's mind, it's likely he sees coverage like this as inevitable and that, frankly, we would be naïve if we pretended it's not there. But is this really how we're going to elect out next president; based on how many weekends a month partners of a dual-income marriage spend together? There are a number of prospective '08 candidates who have been married more than once -- should we expect the dirty details of every divorce? Apparently so, the Times has deemed.
The "line" hasn't existed in my lifetime, it's just something selectively applied. Todd also asks whether Ryan Lizza's reporting on George Allen's high school days were appropriate. I think it's a valid question, though in that case on balance I'd say "yes" as they fit into a bigger picture, but I agree that it's debatable. I'd actually be more than happy to universally agree that what presidential candidates did before about age 26, except felony convictions, is basically irrelevant. Along those lines I never had a problem with Bush's shoddy Guard service, I had a problem with the facts that a) He (see autobiography) and his campaign continued to lie about it and b) This was the ultimate example of selective media coverage of such issues.
Conason
New York Observer:
Ultimately, this episode reveals less about the Clintons than about the decaying culture of Washington journalism. Like the Bourbons, the Washington press corps forgets nothing, forgives nothing and learns nothing. They remain utterly oblivious to their own mean-spirited hypocrisy.
Is there a reason why the enduring, 30-year bond of the Clintons merits more withering scrutiny than the multiple unhappy marriages of ambitious politicians such as Senator John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani? Is there a reason why the marital privacy of elected officials should be violated, while media moguls like Rupert Murdoch can discard their wives with impunity?
Meanwhile, it is reassuring to know that Mr. Healy, at least, is a high-minded professional searching for significance. As the Times reporter told the American Society of Newspaper Editors a few years ago: "The media's future depends on journalists exercising this responsibility in a way that earns them the public's trust and confidence …. The most meaningful part of being a journalist, and the reason I chose that path, is the reward of telling stories about real-life, high-stakes matters of consequence, stories that will have an impact on real people."
That says it all.
Internships are Evil
The proliferation of unpaid jobs as the entryway into important political and journalistic institutions makes such institutions extraordinarily exclusive and perpetuates a huge class bias. Not everyone has parents who can subsidize their summers. Not everyone can afford to forego making real money during the summer.
Wonderful opportunities for those who can afford to take them.
Wonderful opportunities for those who can afford to take them.
Donate
I think it's fair to say that the single most important thing on the ballot this November is the ballot measure to overturn South Dakota's abortion law. I'm violating the sacred wall between editorial and advertising here, but I'd highly recommend considering throwing a few bucks to these people.
Obviously winning this one matters on its own terms, but it also matters in trying to reshape the entrenched media narrative that being anti-choice is the popular position. If we can kill this one in South Dakota...
They got the signatures to get it on the ballot. Now they have to round up the votes.
Obviously winning this one matters on its own terms, but it also matters in trying to reshape the entrenched media narrative that being anti-choice is the popular position. If we can kill this one in South Dakota...
They got the signatures to get it on the ballot. Now they have to round up the votes.
#1
And they're #1.
NEW YORK, May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- As Taking The Long Way debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 best-selling albums chart this week, with first week's sales of 525,829, the Dixie Chicks have become the first female group in chart history to have three albums debut at #1, breaking the record the Chicks established in 2002 when the group's last studio album, Home, debuted at #1 and made them the first female group ever to have two albums debut at #1.
With the #1 debut of Taking The Long Way, the Dixie Chicks have also become the first female group in chart history to have three studio albums occupy the #1 slot on the Top 200.
Taking The Long Way has achieved one of the year's Top 5 first week's sales tallies and has the best first week's sales for any female act on the Top 200 in 2006.
In addition to its chart-topping success in America, Taking The Long Way has just debuted at #2 in Australia.
Still Bloggered
Oh Lords of Blogger, please use your powers to health thyself. Or something.
Anyway, post by mail is a real pain, so light blogging until the
Blogger Gods fix the problem.
Let's try this one more time.
Jeff Goldstein, Artist's Conception (revised).
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Bloggered
Blogger is bloggered which means all I can do is post by email. It also means that if I try to post by email and make a booboo I can't fix it.
But blog I must.
So I give you Jeff Goldstein, artist's conception (revised).
<img src="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/duncanblack/paste2.jpg">
But blog I must.
So I give you Jeff Goldstein, artist's conception (revised).
<img src="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/duncanblack/paste2.jpg">
Cleland
Went to a rally for Bryan Lentz who is running for PA state rep. Senator Cleland was there for the event.
Cleland's a friendly guy and has a good sense of humor. Lentz is an Iraq vet, and some of the guys he served with were there along with an Iraqi who served as their translator for a time in Mosul.
Lentz is spending his days knocking on doors, winning votes one by one. Hopefully he pulls it off.
Cleland's a friendly guy and has a good sense of humor. Lentz is an Iraq vet, and some of the guys he served with were there along with an Iraqi who served as their translator for a time in Mosul.
Lentz is spending his days knocking on doors, winning votes one by one. Hopefully he pulls it off.
Debutante Bio
Fresh from obsessing about Hillary Clinton's panties the Times has moved on to treating Nancy Pelosi, the longest-serving member of the House Intelligence Committee, as a 17 year old girl about to have her coming out party.
My favorite was this paragraph:
Ah, the passive voice. Who is subjecting her to such speculation? Why, Mark Leibovich is! In the pages of the paper of record.
My favorite was this paragraph:
As the prospect of a Democratic majority gains credibility and Ms. Pelosi is more visible, she is also subjected to the speculation and analysis about her hair, makeup and clothes that any woman positioned for such a big job often must endure.
Ah, the passive voice. Who is subjecting her to such speculation? Why, Mark Leibovich is! In the pages of the paper of record.
The Shit Sandwich is Tasty
Republicans are apparently pushing the "economy is great and voters are too stupid to know it" line. That's a great strategy.
Look, wages have been flat for years and we're reaching what is hopefully the tail end of a decades-long systematic undermining of various elements of our society/economy which provided the middle class with a bit of economic security. All politicians needs to begin to understand that simple fact.
Look, wages have been flat for years and we're reaching what is hopefully the tail end of a decades-long systematic undermining of various elements of our society/economy which provided the middle class with a bit of economic security. All politicians needs to begin to understand that simple fact.
Apparently He's a Gore Man
New Treasury Secretary sounds like that unhinged moonbat Al Gore.
Philly folk get your tickets now!
Everyone else, check if the movie is opening in your city this weekend.
Philly folk get your tickets now!
Everyone else, check if the movie is opening in your city this weekend.
Horsemen of the Esophagus
Here in Philadelphia we're very proud of our competitive eating. The annual wing bowl is eagerly anticipated every year and recent Philly resident (no idea if he still is) Jason Fagone's just written a book on the competitive eating circuit. It's not normally the kind of thing I'd plug, but Fagone was probably the first real media person I actually talked to, back when I was anonymous. He was the one who revealed to the world that my superhero costume (winter version) was a grey turtleneck. Seemed like a nice guy, and he never revealed by secret identity. Anyway, just saw him on CNN so I thought I'd throw him a plug. I hear he got a nice advance for this.
Bye John
It appears the longest retirement watch in Washington history is finally over. Snow's out, Goldman Sachs head, and obviously insane person, Henry Paulson to take the job.
Thanks, Andy!
I got an award! Yay!
Is that Roger or Gordon?
I, in turn, give Andy the first official Doughy Pantload award.
Is that Roger or Gordon?
I, in turn, give Andy the first official Doughy Pantload award.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Six Monthers
I haven't seen Stuff Happens, though I'd like to, but apparently playwright David Hare thinks there are six monthers in his bizness as well:
Iraq and how we got there won't be out of date next year, the next, or the next. Why people fail to come to grips with this I do not understand.
Sir David Hare changed the Colin Powell character in his play about the run-up to the Iraq war between productions, because he became convinced that the former US secretary general, far from being an honest broker, had not told the truth.
In the National Theatre production of Stuff Happens two years ago, Mr Powell was "represented as a liberal hero", Sir David told the Guardian Hay festival. "In the (subsequent) US production he was a tragic hero. I now believe that Powell was lying when he presented (the weapons of mass destruction) evidence to the UN.
"This is, I admit, very contentious, and is in the face of repeated denials by Powell," he added. "But I think he had grave reservations about whether the 45 minutes claim was true ... he was tricked into going to the UN by George Bush."
Sir David also told the festival how Stuff Happens had encountered "mysterious trouble". At the National Theatre, he said, "it was playing to full houses, had brilliant reviews, and was taken off. I was promised it would be revived, and it never was. I have never been given a proper explanation. I was told, 'It will be out of date next year.'"
Iraq and how we got there won't be out of date next year, the next, or the next. Why people fail to come to grips with this I do not understand.
Speaking of Lieberman
Oh my:
Joe walked the parade route with a Republican Congresswoman.
So much to get up tonight. We’ll start with an introduction of Senator Lieberman by a veteran at the Memorial Day parade in Waterbury earlier today:
“Jospeph Lieberman has served, he’s in his 18th year. And, ummm, as the expression goes, ‘maybe we’ll keep him there until he gets it right.’”
Joe walked the parade route with a Republican Congresswoman.
Hilarious
Fresh off psychotic rants about crazy liberals daring to support a primary challenger to Joe Lieberman, Marshall Wittman and the gang seem positively giddy about the possibility of a Bloomberg independent run.
Gore Mania
Philly people can buy their tickets to an Inconvenient Truth's Friday opening at the Ritz East.
Iraq'd
One of the things which constantly amazes me is the willingness of the mainstream media to give platform to people who hate them. I don't mean harsh critics - I'd welcome more presentation of serious harsh criticism - I mean people who have literally no respect for what journalism aspires to be. It's why the Bernie Goldberg got dozens or hundreds of hours of promotion for his book "Bias." It's why Howie Kurtz has Assrocket and Hugh Hewitt on his show on a regular basis. I suppose the reasons for this are very simple - by bringing on these idiot critics they placate the right wing frothers while simultaneously confronting cartoon criticism, letting themselves avoid confronting actual criticism. Still, at some point one wonders if enough is every enough? I mean, who would invite Laura Ingraham back on after this crack:
Journalists tend a bit too much to bask in the reflected glory of the accomplishments and activities of their greatest colleagues, but there's certainly reason to have a great deal of respect for people who are actually trying to get the story in Iraq. The truth is it is extremely dangerous for journalists to go out in Iraq - something the right wingers sitting in their basements covered in cheetoes like to attribute to cowardice as they wank away - but it's also the case that some journalists are getting out there one way or another.
Another few millenia in hell awaits Ingraham, I think.
LAURA INGRAHAM, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: To do a show from Iraq means to talk to the Iraqi military, to go out with the Iraqi military, to actually have a conversation with the people instead of reporting from hotel balconies about the latest IEDs going off.
Journalists tend a bit too much to bask in the reflected glory of the accomplishments and activities of their greatest colleagues, but there's certainly reason to have a great deal of respect for people who are actually trying to get the story in Iraq. The truth is it is extremely dangerous for journalists to go out in Iraq - something the right wingers sitting in their basements covered in cheetoes like to attribute to cowardice as they wank away - but it's also the case that some journalists are getting out there one way or another.
Another few millenia in hell awaits Ingraham, I think.
A CBS News correspondent was critically injured and her two-person crew killed Monday when the Baghdad military unit in which they were imbedded was attacked.
Kimberly Dozier, 39, sustained serious injuries in the attack and underwent surgery at a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad, the network reported. She is in critical condition, but doctors are cautiously optimistic about her prognosis.
Cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, both London-based, were killed.
Max Cleland - Philly Burbs Tomorrow
For local folks, Max Cleland will be in the area tomorrow supporting Bryan Lentz.
Carless city residents like myself can get there with the R3 (about a half a mile walk from the station) or by taking the 101 trolley from the 69th street terminal - that one stops very close to the location.
Event: Bryan Lentz for State House Campaign rally featuring Sen. Max Cleland.
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 30th, 2:30 PM
Location: Iron Hill Brewery
30 East State Street
Media, PA
Carless city residents like myself can get there with the R3 (about a half a mile walk from the station) or by taking the 101 trolley from the 69th street terminal - that one stops very close to the location.
Little Debbie
I've long been puzzled what I've found to be a deep degree of dishonesty/obfuscation among journalists when they talk about their own craft. I've had various theories about why this is, though none are entirely satisfying. One potential theory is that they've spent years with the basic rules of source/reporter, where even on the smallest things access is exchanged for a willingness of the reporter to portrary things as the source would like them presented.
But, Little Debbie is at it again...
But, Little Debbie is at it again...
Morning Thread
Anyone know if Bill and Hill spent the night together last night? Haven't had a chance to check the New York Times yet and I need to know.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Fighting for America
Topsy Turvy world.
The willingness to send others off to die for a misguided war because you wet your pants after 9/11 is called "cowardice" not courage.
The willingness to send others off to die for a misguided war because you wet your pants after 9/11 is called "cowardice" not courage.
Easterbrook
The Editors:
Most people aren’t authorities on climate science, or on much of anything, but that’s not some horrible moral failing. Most people don’t want to read all the way to chapter 9 of some assiduously dry science policy document; and, let’s face it, most people are full of weird ideas about shit they don’t know anything about. I know I am. The problem is that - for reasons I can’t begin to understand - Easterbrook is sitting in the chair that should be occupied by someone who knows what the hell they are talking about.
The Central Front in the War on Terrorism
Drum:
"The war on terror" was always a sham, in the sense that it was a hideously inappropriate metaphor which provided cover for a bunch of hideously inappropriate policies. As for these magical straw liberals who think terrorism isn't an issue, I imagine they're hiding out in Beinart's barn along with the rest of his straw monsters. As for the real issue, which is "George Bush's approach to terrorism," well, yes, that's a sham as I imagine even Beinart would acknowledge.
Perhaps someone just needs to sit Beinart down and tell him that a tendency to argue with invisible adversaries is not a sign of a deep and important thinker, something he so desperately wants to be.
P.S. According to Bush, it's Iraq. And we're not supposed to think it's all a sham?
Indeed they do. But here's the funny thing about that. I read The Good Fight a couple of weeks ago, and Beinart is pretty clear that he now believes he was wrong about a whole host of things back in 2003. He was wrong about WMD, wrong about containment, wrong about the need for international legitimacy, etc. etc. If he had it to do over again, he wouldn't have supported the war.
What's more, his prescription for how liberals should approach foreign policy going forward is distinctly non-martial. He believes we need a sort of modern-day Marshall plan for the Middle East; a willingness to work with international institutions even if that sometimes restrains our actions; an acceptance that we should abide by the same restrictions that we demand of others; greater patience in foreign affairs; and a rededication to social justice both at home and abroad.
In other words, I think he could give the keynote address at YearlyKos and not really say much of anything the audience would disagree with. If Beinart really is the standard bearer for a new incarnation of liberal hawkishness, then we're almost all liberal hawks now.
There's a little more to it, of course, and Beinart remains critical of liberals who have gotten so disgusted with George Bush's approach to terrorism that they've decided the whole war on terror is just a sham. Still, it's an interesting transformation, and many of the differences that remain within liberal circles strike me as more rhetorical than substantive.
"The war on terror" was always a sham, in the sense that it was a hideously inappropriate metaphor which provided cover for a bunch of hideously inappropriate policies. As for these magical straw liberals who think terrorism isn't an issue, I imagine they're hiding out in Beinart's barn along with the rest of his straw monsters. As for the real issue, which is "George Bush's approach to terrorism," well, yes, that's a sham as I imagine even Beinart would acknowledge.
Perhaps someone just needs to sit Beinart down and tell him that a tendency to argue with invisible adversaries is not a sign of a deep and important thinker, something he so desperately wants to be.
P.S. According to Bush, it's Iraq. And we're not supposed to think it's all a sham?
Bloodshed
Timmeh:
This is the level at which the guardians of our elite discourse think about the world. Lord help us.
A young Russert, standing up to the insurgency:
Military service of Tim Russert, who was 20 in 1970:
BLITZER: He's trying to balance a realistic assessment. At the same time, he uses the phrase "a turning point," which may or may not happen.
RUSSERT: We do not know if this will be a turning point. The reason is, are there enough young Iraqis who will step forward and say, "I believe in this new democracy. And to prove that, I'm willing to shed my blood and give my life."
It is then and only then can Americans start coming home. That's the unanswered question. Do the Iraqis believe, across the board, in their government and willing to take on the insurgency without any question?
This is the level at which the guardians of our elite discourse think about the world. Lord help us.
A young Russert, standing up to the insurgency:
Military service of Tim Russert, who was 20 in 1970:
Billions and Billions
The fact that the anti-Gore crowd are shills and liars will not prevent them from being brought on, repeatedly, for "balance."
Stating The Obvious
I'm glad crack reporter Matt Bai has finally figured out what all of us have known for years.
The miracle of the Dean campaign wasn't the blog, or the fundraising, it was the fact that people were inviting strangers into their homes to meet and plan actions. It was that they were going from the virtual world to the real world. This was 3 years ago.
The miracle of the Dean campaign wasn't the blog, or the fundraising, it was the fact that people were inviting strangers into their homes to meet and plan actions. It was that they were going from the virtual world to the real world. This was 3 years ago.
More Gloomy Crap
Greg Sargent takes a look at the latest from Adam Nagourney, who has been derided as a goat molester.
Music for a Gloomy Day
Quite a lot of you signed up for emusic's trial (50 free mp3s, no charge if you cancel within 14). If anyone has any serious complaints let me know. I don't mean in the sense that I can be your customer service rep, but if I plug something I want to know that it's a decent service so as not to lead people astray.
Some artists I've enjoyed recently which have at least some of their stuff on emusic.
Jess Klein.
Neko Case.
Matt Pond PA
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Modest Mouse.
Calexico.
The Essex Green.
The New Pornographers
Spoon
For classic music lovers, they have a massive Naxos catalog. And, since it's basically a quarter per song depending on how the music is sliced up on the CDs you could be downloading massive amounts of classical music for cheap - a quarter per movement, a buck a symphony for lots of stuff.
Some artists I've enjoyed recently which have at least some of their stuff on emusic.
Jess Klein.
Neko Case.
Matt Pond PA
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Modest Mouse.
Calexico.
The Essex Green.
The New Pornographers
Spoon
For classic music lovers, they have a massive Naxos catalog. And, since it's basically a quarter per song depending on how the music is sliced up on the CDs you could be downloading massive amounts of classical music for cheap - a quarter per movement, a buck a symphony for lots of stuff.
More People Comparing Gore to Hitler
See below for my feelings on this crap today.
Success is always the best revenge.
New Yorkers:
Lincoln Square.
Landmark Sunshine
Socal:
Hollywood
Santa Monica
Success is always the best revenge.
New Yorkers:
Lincoln Square.
Landmark Sunshine
Socal:
Hollywood
Santa Monica
Feeling Gloomy
One of those days when the juggernaut of bullshit is overwhelming my delicate sensibilities. Between the betlway press being entirely up front that their business (I suppose I should appreciate the honesty) is now tabloid journalism and the fact that they're completely unconcerned by the fact that a new Bush appointee lied, then they lied about his lying. To a New York Sun reporter of all things.
They spit in your face and you ask for more. Can't stand up for you guys if you won't stand up for yourselves.
They spit in your face and you ask for more. Can't stand up for you guys if you won't stand up for yourselves.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
All That And More
Okay, so Slate doesn't believe in fact-checking. Fine. We learned the New York Times wasn't exactly well-staffed in the fact-checking department. So, um, how many mistakes do writers get before you consider giving them a pink slip? Or is it all just part of the fun.
stupid cable modem out all evening
stupid cable modem out all evening
Sunday Show Guests
- Meet the Press hosts Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Washington Post's David Broder, David Ignatius, and Eugene Robinson and National Review's Kate O'Beirne.
Face the Nation hosts Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY). - This Week hosts Reps. John Murtha (D-PA) and Duncan Hunter (R-CA).
- Fox News Sunday hosts Senate Maj. Leader Bill Frist and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).
- Late Edition hosts Iraqi Deputy PM Barham Salih, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and NBC's Tim Russert.
Apparently Meet the Press isn't even going to try to pretend anymore. Their lineup last week:
Meet the Press hosts Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Washington Post's David Broder, David Ignatius, and Eugene Robinson and National Review's Kate O'Beirne.
...argh, that's what happens when you post and your cable modem goes out. My point still stands, I just c&p'd the wrong thing. Here was last week's lineup
- Meet the Press hosts Sec/State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA).
Tester v. Morrison
I really haven't followed the Montana Senate primary enough to really have a strong opinion, but everyone seems to be rallying around John Tester. Howie Klein makes the case.
"Ask Mr. Science"
Um, Slate, do you really have such contempt for your readers that you publish Gregg Easterbrook under the title "Ask Mr. Science"?
Gregg Easterbrook, the man who once wrote:
Can't you find a "Mr. Science" who doesn't think science="some shit we talked about drunk while I was getting my political science and journalism degrees."
Gregg Easterbrook, the man who once wrote:
Intelligent design is a sophisticated theory now being argued out in the nation's top universities. And though this idea assumes existence must have some higher component, it is not religious doctrine under the 1986 Supreme Court definition. Intelligent-design thinking does not propound any specific faith or even say that the higher power is divine. It simply holds that there must be an unseen intellect imbedded in the cosmos.
The intelligent design theory may or may not be correct, but it's a rich, absorbing hypothesis--the sort of thing that is fascinating to debate, and might get students excited about biology class to boot. But most kids won't know the idea unless they are taught it, and in the aftermath of the Kansas votes, pro-evolution dogma continues to suggest that any alternative to natural selection must be kept quiet.
Can't you find a "Mr. Science" who doesn't think science="some shit we talked about drunk while I was getting my political science and journalism degrees."
ARMs
I tried to warn people, but nobody listens to Atrios...
Thanks for the good advice, Greenspan.
ATLANTA - In the suburbs of Dallas, Bridget Edwards comes home to uncertainty every day. She and her husband, James, are four months behind on their mortgage.
“It's been just like a roller coaster,” Bridget says. “Our payments have been just up and down.”
Up and down, from $1,300 a month to more than $2,000.
...
The reason?
“We have an adjustable-rate mortgage,” she explains. “I really didn't know it would change like this.”
Today, foreclosure looms over their $129,000 home. That’s a problem facing a growing number of Americans, who are finding themselves one crisis away from financial ruin. RealtyTrac, an industry organization that maintains a nationwide database of foreclosures, says mortgage defaults between January and March of this year numbered 323,102 compared with 188,122 during the same period last year — an increase of 72 percent.
Thanks for the good advice, Greenspan.
Yearly Kos
I'll be there. I admit I thought when I first saw this being organized that the organizers must be, well, nuts, but it appears they've put together quite the event.
Tribalism
I think some combination of Digby's and Christy's posts really gets the issue quite well. Tribalism in American politics is incredibly important. While I think that most "swing voters" in the presdent day are that way because of a combination of ignorance, apathy, and a desire to imagine themselves to be "independent" (think of them as "Slate readers"), the greater pool of potential swing voters are indeed motivated to a great degree by tribal self-identification.
But that kind of tribalism can't, for the most part, be pandered to by most national politicians. It's long term and it's largely local. Neither George Bush lying about what cheese he puts on his cheese steak nor national Democrats expressing their love for country music (real or not) are going to impact tribal identification long term. Sure nods to tribal identity put pull a few votes back and forth, but long term the goal is get the whole tribe back in your camp.
That's why revitalizing the local party and related institutions at a local tangible level is so important. It also makes it easier to, as Christy points out, actually provide real results to people who need them.
But that kind of tribalism can't, for the most part, be pandered to by most national politicians. It's long term and it's largely local. Neither George Bush lying about what cheese he puts on his cheese steak nor national Democrats expressing their love for country music (real or not) are going to impact tribal identification long term. Sure nods to tribal identity put pull a few votes back and forth, but long term the goal is get the whole tribe back in your camp.
That's why revitalizing the local party and related institutions at a local tangible level is so important. It also makes it easier to, as Christy points out, actually provide real results to people who need them.
Backlash
The first, and probably still best, book I read about how our media regularly constructs and perpetuates utter horeshit was Susan Faludi's Backlash.
While about 16 years old now, I guarantee it isn't dated in the slightest. In fact many members of the wacky cast of characters you're very familiar with today were around back then, and Faludi does a good job eviscerating them and the mainstream media. And, not much has changed since then except maybe the horseshit production factory has gotten more explicitly partisan/political.
One of the major examples of horseshit was an utterly unsupport Newsweek article about the chances for older women to get married which included the claim that after a certain age you had more chance of being killed by a terrorist than getting married. Of coure the chance of getting married was pulled out of their asses. The chance of getting killed by a terrorist was pulled out of their asses. The entire thing was pulled out of their asses.
So, it's nice to see that decades later, Newsweek has finally decided to address the fact that they were, in fact, completely full of shit.
My short reading list, in rough chronological order (of relevance not publication), to have a good sense of what's going on in the media (and its intersection with politics) in this country would be:
On Bended Knee
Backlash
Sound and Fury
Queer in America
Fools for Scandal
Hunting of the President
Blinded by the Right
A Vast Conspiracy
One Scandalous Story
What Liberal Media
Republican Noise Machine
Attack Poodles
Lapdogs
...I added a few after being reminded of them in comments. Also, Joan Didion's Political Fictions has been recommended by just about everyone I tend to trust on these things at one point or another. I've never read it, but add it to the list as well.
While about 16 years old now, I guarantee it isn't dated in the slightest. In fact many members of the wacky cast of characters you're very familiar with today were around back then, and Faludi does a good job eviscerating them and the mainstream media. And, not much has changed since then except maybe the horseshit production factory has gotten more explicitly partisan/political.
One of the major examples of horseshit was an utterly unsupport Newsweek article about the chances for older women to get married which included the claim that after a certain age you had more chance of being killed by a terrorist than getting married. Of coure the chance of getting married was pulled out of their asses. The chance of getting killed by a terrorist was pulled out of their asses. The entire thing was pulled out of their asses.
So, it's nice to see that decades later, Newsweek has finally decided to address the fact that they were, in fact, completely full of shit.
My short reading list, in rough chronological order (of relevance not publication), to have a good sense of what's going on in the media (and its intersection with politics) in this country would be:
On Bended Knee
Backlash
Sound and Fury
Queer in America
Fools for Scandal
Hunting of the President
Blinded by the Right
A Vast Conspiracy
One Scandalous Story
What Liberal Media
Republican Noise Machine
Attack Poodles
Lapdogs
...I added a few after being reminded of them in comments. Also, Joan Didion's Political Fictions has been recommended by just about everyone I tend to trust on these things at one point or another. I've never read it, but add it to the list as well.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Short Bus Ride Joe
What a week it's been. Honored by his neocon pals, because they've made all the right decisions over the past couple of years, and now he supports "pro-life" license plates to support pregnancy crisis scam centers.
What a hideous human being.
Please let's try to get him out of the Senate. This is about Joe, but it's bigger than Joe.
What a hideous human being.
Please let's try to get him out of the Senate. This is about Joe, but it's bigger than Joe.
Easterbrook
What a wanker.
He really must have pictures of editors with goats for them to continue to pay him to write.
He really must have pictures of editors with goats for them to continue to pay him to write.
The Funnies
Over at HuffPo, Rachel Sklar looks at some recent funnies and provides an excerpt from FUBAR by Seder/Sherrill.
The Coming Blogwars
Those of you who have been with me since the dawn of time know that I basically sat out the 2004 primaries and didn't officially take a stand on who the candidate should be. More than that I did my best to not let my discussion of the primary coverage be influenced by my personal preferences. I'm not claiming that I was perfect on that last part, or that I even tried to be (and lacking the Mullet of Objectivity possessed by our Tabloid Press Corps I lack the skills), but still it was something I sorta aimed for.
At the time the reasons were fairly simple. First, I didn't think that the all important Eschaton Endorsement was really going to make a damn bit of difference anyway, so why bother. Second, I didn't want to alienate readers (not because I was worried about traffic for business reasons, at that time the blog was providing beer money if that). Third, I didn't want to spend months fighting with other bloggers. Fourth, while I certainly had my personal preferences about who I'd prefer for president I didn't have any strong sense of who would make the best candidate.
Overall the lefty blogosphere managed to get through 2003 and early 2004 without too much rancor. I think I cried when The Editors got mad at me about something I said about Wes Clark because I was as big an Editors fanboy as he was a Clark fanboy, but aside from that it seemed blogland got through.
Still I worry that it's going to get a wee bit nasty this time. People are going to be understandably passionate about these things and there are certainly those out there who think it's unfair that the "big bloggers" have undue influence. I'm sure I'll be "on the take" of 5 different campaigns (I wish!) as will plenty of others. I'm sure various big bloggers will end up supporting different candidate, so we'll probably end up fighting with each other too. The various blog factions - wonks, netroots - will imagine the other faction is working out of ignorance and bad faith. And on and on.
So, do I pick a team?
At the time the reasons were fairly simple. First, I didn't think that the all important Eschaton Endorsement was really going to make a damn bit of difference anyway, so why bother. Second, I didn't want to alienate readers (not because I was worried about traffic for business reasons, at that time the blog was providing beer money if that). Third, I didn't want to spend months fighting with other bloggers. Fourth, while I certainly had my personal preferences about who I'd prefer for president I didn't have any strong sense of who would make the best candidate.
Overall the lefty blogosphere managed to get through 2003 and early 2004 without too much rancor. I think I cried when The Editors got mad at me about something I said about Wes Clark because I was as big an Editors fanboy as he was a Clark fanboy, but aside from that it seemed blogland got through.
Still I worry that it's going to get a wee bit nasty this time. People are going to be understandably passionate about these things and there are certainly those out there who think it's unfair that the "big bloggers" have undue influence. I'm sure I'll be "on the take" of 5 different campaigns (I wish!) as will plenty of others. I'm sure various big bloggers will end up supporting different candidate, so we'll probably end up fighting with each other too. The various blog factions - wonks, netroots - will imagine the other faction is working out of ignorance and bad faith. And on and on.
So, do I pick a team?
Goremania
Al Gore inspires the Rude Pundit to take a break from his typical evening of hookers and blow to go listen to the sweaty lunk at Town Hall.
New Yorkers can get tickets for this evening at:
Lincoln Square
Landmark Sunshine
In SoCal:
Hollywood
Santa Monica
New Yorkers can get tickets for this evening at:
Lincoln Square
Landmark Sunshine
In SoCal:
Hollywood
Santa Monica
Coming Soon to the New York Times
They're apparently going to start taking all of their news cues from tabloids.
Trespass
Listen to Little Ricky losing his marbles here.
I really don't understand this, anyway. Back in the good old days when I lived in the suburbs I thought one could walk up the driveway and knock on your neighbor's door without being guilty of criminal trespass. Presumably if the light were right one could easily see if windows had curtains and if there was furniture inside from that vantage point. Have things changed?
I really don't understand this, anyway. Back in the good old days when I lived in the suburbs I thought one could walk up the driveway and knock on your neighbor's door without being guilty of criminal trespass. Presumably if the light were right one could easily see if windows had curtains and if there was furniture inside from that vantage point. Have things changed?
Character
Ezra's being snarky, but snark aside there is a deep current of "young people need to have their character built by trials-by-fire." It's rather nauseating especially when it comes from people who, you know, didn't sign up to go kill a bunch of people themselves.
More generally I really don't get the "they're children until they're 18 and then, magically, they need to face the cold hard reality of life as adults" attitude which seems to be pervasive in our culture.
More generally I really don't get the "they're children until they're 18 and then, magically, they need to face the cold hard reality of life as adults" attitude which seems to be pervasive in our culture.
Cleland in Media, PA
Max Cleland is coming to Media, PA (Philly burb) to support the candidacy of Bryan Lentz for state senator.
Tuesday, May 30th, 2:30 PM.
Location: Iron Hill Brewery
30 East State Street
Media, PA
For those up towards the NE corner of the state Cleland will also be attending a variety of events in support of Chris Carney, who is running for Congess.
Tuesday, May 30th, 2:30 PM.
Location: Iron Hill Brewery
30 East State Street
Media, PA
For those up towards the NE corner of the state Cleland will also be attending a variety of events in support of Chris Carney, who is running for Congess.
Reports of Shots Fired in Rayburn House Office Building
From CNN. oy. Hope nothing serious.
Aside from that, it means we get to play a round of blogospheric "was it a right wing nut or a left wing nut" competition even though people who go nuts and start taking shots at the white house/capitol/whatever are usually just... nuts.
...now saying in the garage.
Aside from that, it means we get to play a round of blogospheric "was it a right wing nut or a left wing nut" competition even though people who go nuts and start taking shots at the white house/capitol/whatever are usually just... nuts.
...now saying in the garage.
Make It Stop
On a CNN piece just now on identity theft/document fraud, the chyron was "falsified documents often used by illegal workers & terrorists."
Jeebus on a cracker, how many terrorists do we have in this country?
Jeebus on a cracker, how many terrorists do we have in this country?
The Pro-Child Murder Coalition
War is awful, this war is an awful war, and in wars awful things happen. Good people end up doing bad things. Bad people end up doing worse things. While I should never stop being surprised by these things, I was quite shocked when the wankosphere branded Murtha a traitor for discussing the military investigation into what appears to be (and apparently the military believes) was unprovoked slaughter of Iraqi civilians, including women and children. I don't know how these sick people think such behavior is justified or defensible, but apparently the fault is not with the soliders who are accused of killing defenseless children or with the military investigators looking into what happened, but with military veteran John Murtha.
Nobody Home At Little Ricky's House
Oh my:
Click through and read the whole thing. It's good.
Before every election, the Post-Gazette routinely sends letters to the candidates seeking material for the Voters Guide. Back in March, as part of that process for the primary, the newspaper sent a letter to Rick Santorum at his home address, at least the one that he claims. Back from Penn Hills came the letter with a sticker from the U.S. Postal Service checked as "Not Deliverable As Addressed -- Unable To Forward."
That is all you need to know about the nasty dispute between the Republican Sen. Santorum and his Democratic opponent, Bob Casey Jr., in the November election. The whole thing is rooted in one inconvenient fact for Sen. Santorum: He doesn't live here anymore.
This is not to say that he doesn't visit Penn Hills from time to time. But while he may meet the legal requirements for residency, his home is in Virginia with his wife and children. This is well-known and it has been for quite a while. Indeed, it was at the heart of the objection by some Penn Hills residents to the local school district paying for the senator's children to be enrolled in a cyber charter school. The theory was that -- let us emphasize it again because it is central to the current problem -- he doesn't live here anymore.
Click through and read the whole thing. It's good.
Goremania
On Wednesday an inconvenient truth was the #11 movie in the country despite being in only 4 theaters, earning $78,994 ($19,749/theater). The #10 movie was showing at 1,265 theaters, earning 117,000, or $92/theater.
emusic
Just a plug for eMusic
here. Unlike most (all?) legal download services, emusic has no DRM whatsover. You download the .mp3 and it's yours to do with what you want. It runs on a monthly subscription service - starting at $9.99 for 40 songs/month - though I believe (make sure you check the fine print on this one) there's no commitment period and you can cancel at any time. They don't have most of the latest and greatest from the major labels, but they have some interesting back catalogs and a lot of great indie stuff.
I keep meaning to plug them anyway, but I figured I might as well sign up to the affiliate program and take a cut. Right now they're offering a free trial - 50 free songs in 14 days - so you can check it out. I assume it's one of those if-you-don't-cancel-in-14-days-we-charge-your-credit-card deals but as there's no long commitment involved if you forget to to do that you won't be locked into something forever.
I like the subscription model as I end up trying a bunch of random things when I'm not sure what to download.
Give it a try if you're interested.
here. Unlike most (all?) legal download services, emusic has no DRM whatsover. You download the .mp3 and it's yours to do with what you want. It runs on a monthly subscription service - starting at $9.99 for 40 songs/month - though I believe (make sure you check the fine print on this one) there's no commitment period and you can cancel at any time. They don't have most of the latest and greatest from the major labels, but they have some interesting back catalogs and a lot of great indie stuff.I keep meaning to plug them anyway, but I figured I might as well sign up to the affiliate program and take a cut. Right now they're offering a free trial - 50 free songs in 14 days - so you can check it out. I assume it's one of those if-you-don't-cancel-in-14-days-we-charge-your-credit-card deals but as there's no long commitment involved if you forget to to do that you won't be locked into something forever.
I like the subscription model as I end up trying a bunch of random things when I'm not sure what to download.
Give it a try if you're interested.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
CLENIS
I know we went through this 8 years ago with Bill and Monica so I shouldn't be surprised, but Matthews' obsession with the intimate details of the Clinton marriage shows him to be a psychotic pervert.
It's a 3 minute clip in which we learn when the New York Times and David Broder cover it then it ceases to be "gossip" and becomes real news.
Not that Matthews would know this, but Whitewater ran on the front page of the times to and it was 90% bullshit, including information Jeff Gerth knew to be false.
It's a 3 minute clip in which we learn when the New York Times and David Broder cover it then it ceases to be "gossip" and becomes real news.
Not that Matthews would know this, but Whitewater ran on the front page of the times to and it was 90% bullshit, including information Jeff Gerth knew to be false.
Know the State of Their Marriage
Chris Matthew said the other night:
I hope his wife feels the same way, and if so then they might be quite happy. However, it was not always so:
ok
MATTHEWS: Let's talk about the front page of The New York Times today, at the very top of the fold. I mean, it's right up there at the banner, the Clinton marriage, "For the Clintons, delicate dance of married and public lives." This is the most teasing story I've come across in The New York Times in a long time, the paper of record. Let me give you some quotes:
"Mr. Clinton is rarely without company in public, yet the company he keeps rarely includes his wife."
...
MATTHEWS: Well, I hate being away from my wife more than a day or two, but thank you, Michael.
I hope his wife feels the same way, and if so then they might be quite happy. However, it was not always so:
"Before I was married, you had girlfriends you had a fondness for. Old girlfriends. Most people do. You know, it's a nice thing. You bump into them or have lunch with them once in a while or something. You know what I mean?" he asks. "I'm kind of a romantic. I've always thought that I would never hold it against a guy, even one who was married for 20 or 30 years, who fell in love with his secretary. Just honestly it happens, you know? And you feel sad about the consequences and argue about the morality of it, but I would always understand, and I would never like the guy less. I would say, 'I get it.' " He pauses. "I think this isn't like that."
Matthews once got confessional about his own wandering eyes and hands. Last May, in one of his highest-profile bookings, he confided in his guest, George W. Bush, about his reasons for quitting drinking (he's been sober six years). A roomful of the traveling press corps -- as well as a live audience surrounding the two -- could hear their conversation, as Matthews rambled on during a commercial break. "It was one of these parties, Sam Donaldson's daughter's party," he said to Bush, relating three hours of afternoon drinking. "And I am gone at about six or seven at night. I've got my hand on somebody's leg. Where's this going? Who am I kidding?"
Bush nodded and said simply, "Yeah, yeah," remembering the mike was live.
"I don't mind occasional disasters, but I was heading in the wrong direction," Matthews said. Bush assured him he did the right thing by cutting himself off the booze. By occasional disasters, Matthews meant only flirting, he says months later by way of explanation.
ok
Clinton
While Garance gets at some of the ways this kind of media coverage will impact Senator Clinton, I think the analysis is missing the broader issue which is that the mainstream media has long had multiple conflicting and inconsistent standards when it comes to the private lives of public figures, especially politicians and members of their own club. More than that it presents yet another mainstream media corrupt habit of making something news for no particular reason and then pretending that the story just appeared out of nowhere, even when in this case there is literally no semi-legitimate hook for it. In this case it's doubly corrupt because it's The Paper of Record, which as we all know is liberal, so that gives additional license for the rest of the corporate press to jump on the story.
There's also the little issue of the press's history with the Clintons, where at some point there was no personal detail, no matter how poorly sourced, which was not considered to be legitimate news. One would've liked to have thought that post-Monica Madness this little habit was beaten out of them, that maybe they even had a few regrets, though it's clear again that it's not the case. The Clinton Rules of Journalism never left us.
And, finally, it puts on display the utter vapidity of the press corps we're dealing with. If Dean Broder, who has been covering Washington since 1820, can't sit through a 45 minute speech on energy policy, and the press on Air Force One would rather watch King Kong than the Hayden hearings, while they devote their time and resources to a long 50-source article about how often the Clintons are getting busy, then we have a problem, and it's not something we're going to clear up at a blogger ethics panel.
I'm actually one who thinks that members of the celebrity press (not all the press) are, indeed, celebrities and should have about the same expectation of personal privacy as they, the press, grant to other celebrities. I also think that politicians are public figures who as such should have fairly limited expectations that their personal lives can remain that way, especially to the extent that they conduct their personal lives in public. But our mainstream press has long failed to have any consistent standards for these things, tut-tutting juicy revelations one day while screaming about them the next. And the biggest dodge they use to excuse their behavior is to claim a story is just "out there" when they themselves were the ones to put it out there.
There's also the little issue of the press's history with the Clintons, where at some point there was no personal detail, no matter how poorly sourced, which was not considered to be legitimate news. One would've liked to have thought that post-Monica Madness this little habit was beaten out of them, that maybe they even had a few regrets, though it's clear again that it's not the case. The Clinton Rules of Journalism never left us.
And, finally, it puts on display the utter vapidity of the press corps we're dealing with. If Dean Broder, who has been covering Washington since 1820, can't sit through a 45 minute speech on energy policy, and the press on Air Force One would rather watch King Kong than the Hayden hearings, while they devote their time and resources to a long 50-source article about how often the Clintons are getting busy, then we have a problem, and it's not something we're going to clear up at a blogger ethics panel.
I'm actually one who thinks that members of the celebrity press (not all the press) are, indeed, celebrities and should have about the same expectation of personal privacy as they, the press, grant to other celebrities. I also think that politicians are public figures who as such should have fairly limited expectations that their personal lives can remain that way, especially to the extent that they conduct their personal lives in public. But our mainstream press has long failed to have any consistent standards for these things, tut-tutting juicy revelations one day while screaming about them the next. And the biggest dodge they use to excuse their behavior is to claim a story is just "out there" when they themselves were the ones to put it out there.
Moving Past It
David Broder is such a wanker.
And, as pointed out at Tiny Revolution:
And, as pointed out at Tiny Revolution:
In Broder's world: Figuring out how we got into this catastrophic war, not so important. Not only that, he assumes because it isn't important to him it must not be important to anyone. This is called the Pulling It Our Of Your Ass school of punditry, something the Dean has apparently mastered in his old age.
What is important is thinking about how Teh Hot Hillary is in her yellow pantsuit and dreaming about Teh Sex between her and the Clenis.
And, as pointed out at Tiny Revolution:
MR. RUSSERT: David Broder, is it possible for official Washington--the president, Democratic leaders, Republican leaders--to arrive at common ground, a consensus position on Iraq?
MR. DAVID BRODER: It's possible, Tim, but they won't get there by arguing about who did what three years ago. And this whole debate about whether there was just a mistake or misrepresentation or so on is, I think, from the public point of view largely irrelevant. The public's moved past that.
And, as pointed out at Tiny Revolution:
Just days after he said this, a New York Times poll found that 80% of Americans felt it was "very" (56%) or "somewhat" (24%) important for Congress to investigate Bush's use of intelligence on Iraq.
In Broder's world: Figuring out how we got into this catastrophic war, not so important. Not only that, he assumes because it isn't important to him it must not be important to anyone. This is called the Pulling It Our Of Your Ass school of punditry, something the Dean has apparently mastered in his old age.
What is important is thinking about how Teh Hot Hillary is in her yellow pantsuit and dreaming about Teh Sex between her and the Clenis.
A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
The one "good thing" about the Enron scandal/California Energy Crisis was that it provided a nice way to teach about monopoly and interesting supply curves in my economics classes. When the fake energy crisis hit California, at the time FERC could have taken one simple step to fix it and institute hard price caps on wholesale power sales. At the time the Sage Geniuses of the Media, the self-annointed economic geniuses, Knew just Knew that that since California's "problem" was not enough electricity that price caps would simply exacerbate the problem by reducing the amount of electricity supplied by producers. This they gleaned from a week or two of Econ 101 that had imprinted iteslf on the back of their brains.
Of course what was going on in California (part of it anyway, and reducing it to its essence) was that due to imperfections and bottlenecks in the transmission grid, combined with the ridiculously designed deregulation scheme requiring retailers to buy on the spot market at any wholesale price, local power generators had monopoly power at least over local areas. And, when you have a monopoly, price caps somewhat paradoxically actually increase the quantity supplied because the incentive to withhold supply in order to raise the price is removed.
Fun times.
Of course what was going on in California (part of it anyway, and reducing it to its essence) was that due to imperfections and bottlenecks in the transmission grid, combined with the ridiculously designed deregulation scheme requiring retailers to buy on the spot market at any wholesale price, local power generators had monopoly power at least over local areas. And, when you have a monopoly, price caps somewhat paradoxically actually increase the quantity supplied because the incentive to withhold supply in order to raise the price is removed.
Fun times.
GUILTY!
Ken Lay guilty on all counts in Enron trial, and guilty on separate bank fraud charges.
Praise Jeebus. Bye Kenny Boy.
Skilling guilty of conspiracy, fraud...35+ charges I think they said... now saying 20.
...adding that I was in California during the fake "energy crisis" and had to deal with the fucking idiot media during that time getting everything wrong, so this one was personal.
Praise Jeebus. Bye Kenny Boy.
Skilling guilty of conspiracy, fraud...35+ charges I think they said... now saying 20.
...adding that I was in California during the fake "energy crisis" and had to deal with the fucking idiot media during that time getting everything wrong, so this one was personal.
Cranky Old Men
I love it when cranky old men start trashing young people. And the average age of O'Reilly's audience climbs a bit higher...
First Up Against the Wall
The Note:
On Iraq, perhaps they should read their own polls:
On Universal health care. ABC poll from 2003:
Support for the Massachusetts plan (which I don't like very much but it's still sorta-universal):
A majority of the minority will be in their hearts for higher taxes, universal health care, a heightened emphasis on civiil liberties, and a dramatic and swift reduction of troops from Iraq. They know it, the RNC, NRCC, NRSC, and The Note all know it — the Democrats just have to hope that the American people don't find out until February.
On Iraq, perhaps they should read their own polls:
.
"Which political party -- the Democrats or the Republicans -- do you trust to do a better job handling the situation in Iraq?" Options rotated
.
Democrats 50% Republicans 36%
...
.
"All in all, considering the costs to the United States versus the benefits to the United States, do you think the war with Iraq was worth fighting, or not?"
.
Worth Fighting 37%, Not Worth Fighting 62%
...
"Again thinking about the goals versus the costs of the war, so far in your opinion has there been an acceptable or unacceptable number of U.S. military casualties in Iraq?"
.
Acceptable 22% Unacceptable 76%
...
"Do you think the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq should be increased, decreased, or kept about the same?" Options rotated
.
Increased 15% Decreased 54% Same 27%
On Universal health care. ABC poll from 2003:
Public Preference:
Current System or Universal Coverage?
Current system: 32%
Universal coverage: 62% \
Asked of respondents who answered "universal program":"Would you support or oppose a universal health insurance program if it limited your own choice of doctors?"
Support 57% Oppose 41%
Asked of respondents who answered "universal program":"Would you support or oppose a universal health insurance program if it meant there were waiting lists for some non-emergency treatments?"
Support 62% Oppose 33%
Support for the Massachusetts plan (which I don't like very much but it's still sorta-universal):
ABC News/Washington Post Poll. April 6-9, 2006. N=1,027 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3 (for all adults). Fieldwork by TNS.
.
"As you may know, a new law in Massachusetts would require all residents to have health insurance. Low-income residents would get state subsidies to help pay insurance premiums, but everyone would pay something for health services. The plan would penalize people without any insurance and charge fees to employers who don't provide coverage. . . ."
MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS: "Do you support or oppose this plan?"
NON-MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS: "Would you support or oppose this plan in your state?"
.
Support 55% Oppose 41%
Idiots.
Broder's World
We should thank the Broder for providing us with a full bay window view of the vacuous world where he and the gang of 500 operate. He was the man who laid it all out when he said of Clinton:
Whose place is it? Why it's David Broder's place, where unelected hacks like to think that not only do they run the country, that this is the way it should be. I'm all for a powerful independent press, and perhaps they have to be a bit full of themselves to think they have the stature to take on government, but David Broder isn't interested in taking on government or serious policy issues. Not the Broder, nor the Gang of 500, nor The Note. He's interested in cocktail weanies! He's interested in what people are wearing! He's interested in who is fucking who, when, and how often!
Let's unpack this excerpt from his column:
Now, my readers, I know you aren't as smart as sophisticated as the Broder, so perhaps he's invoking a linguistic construction above our intellectual abilities. But I sat there considering what he termed the "two sides" of Hillary Rodham Clinton, her "opposites." What are they?
Apparently one "side" is her desire to talk about energy policy in a way which is "overwhelming in its detail as it was ambitious in its reach."
Her other side is, apparently, David Broder's obsession with her sex life. Two sides indeed. Heh. As Digby writes:
And Christy adds:
He came in here and trashed the place, and its not his place.
Whose place is it? Why it's David Broder's place, where unelected hacks like to think that not only do they run the country, that this is the way it should be. I'm all for a powerful independent press, and perhaps they have to be a bit full of themselves to think they have the stature to take on government, but David Broder isn't interested in taking on government or serious policy issues. Not the Broder, nor the Gang of 500, nor The Note. He's interested in cocktail weanies! He's interested in what people are wearing! He's interested in who is fucking who, when, and how often!
Let's unpack this excerpt from his column:
The two sides of Hillary Rodham Clinton -- the opposites that make her potential presidential candidacy such a gamble -- came into sharp focus Tuesday morning at the National Press Club.
For the better part of an hour, the senator from New York held forth in a disquisition on energy policy that was as overwhelming in its detail as it was ambitious in its reach.
But the buzz in the room was not about her speech -- or her striking appearance in a lemon-yellow pantsuit -- but about the lengthy analysis of the state of her marriage to Bill Clinton that was on the front page of that morning's New York Times.
Now, my readers, I know you aren't as smart as sophisticated as the Broder, so perhaps he's invoking a linguistic construction above our intellectual abilities. But I sat there considering what he termed the "two sides" of Hillary Rodham Clinton, her "opposites." What are they?
Apparently one "side" is her desire to talk about energy policy in a way which is "overwhelming in its detail as it was ambitious in its reach."
Her other side is, apparently, David Broder's obsession with her sex life. Two sides indeed. Heh. As Digby writes:
Yes it was, wasn't it? The press is putting everyone on notice that they are going to keep their noses firmly buried in Hillary Clinton's panty drawer for the next two years. As he gazes upon her "striking appearance in a lemon-yellow pantsuit" old Dave is so aroused he can't concentrate on her serious energy speech. Hillary and Bill are more potent than Viagra to these nasty old geezers in the Washington Press corps
Oooh. What delicious, delicious fun it is for these shriveled old crones. Finally they can write about things they really enjoy instead of all this boooring corruption, war, terrorism and political failure. Damn it's invigorating to be back in the saddle isn't it Dave?!
I am actually kind of impressed with Broder's candor here. He's not mincing any words. He comes right out and admits that the press is laying down the gauntlet: if Hillary runs, the Washington Press Corps is going to treat her like a whore. A frigid whore, of course, but a whore nonetheless. No games, no pretense. They are primed and cocked for a full-on Clenis porn-fest. It's clear they are desperate for it.
And Christy adds:
Ah, yes. Panty sniffing is back in vogue this season. Along with binoculars, a recording device, a quick shutter camera and Linda Tripp’s plastic surgeon.
Good heavens, don’t these people have anything better to do? Is Rudy Guiliani going to get the Mistress in the Mansion treatment? Do they plan on running the McCain divorce for the booze distribution heiress marriage up the flag pole to salute? I could go on, but I’m making myself queasy with the memories of 7th grade note passing. "Will u b my date 2 the dance? Write yes or no." Blergh.
Here’s how it starts: plant a seed in the NYTimes, and then allow Chris Matthews to provide a little rain to get things going on Hardball. The next thing you know, all the kool kidz are talking about it around the corporate media water cooler. Then the Dean of All Things Acceptable in Washington Journalism comes out to watch it blossom as a rumor weed that we can all cherish from now until 2008, spreading its tendrils among the corporate press in print and on the teevee. And thus, the discussion of the Clinton bedding rituals begins, until this malarky is cemented as a given fact for all the world to know — whether or not it’s true, or even worth discussion at all. (See last night’s Rove cartoon.)
Except for one thing: who the hell cares? I mean really, who cares? Except for the inside, gossip queens of the Beltway, how exactly does this put gas in someone’s tank, keep their kid safe on the battlefield, stop their job from being downsized, or help them pay the balloon payment on their already-ballooning mortgage? What in the hell are these people doing calling this crap "reporting?"
Eastercrapp
In addition to probably being the second stupidest fucking guy on the face of the planet, Gregg Easterbrook is a big fan of Intelligent Design. He wrote:
Which means we should ignore his blithering idiocy when he writes about anything science-related.
Intelligent design is a sophisticated theory now being argued out in the nation's top universities. And though this idea assumes existence must have some higher component, it is not religious doctrine under the 1986 Supreme Court definition. Intelligent-design thinking does not propound any specific faith or even say that the higher power is divine. It simply holds that there must be an unseen intellect imbedded in the cosmos.
The intelligent design theory may or may not be correct, but it's a rich, absorbing hypothesis -- the sort of thing that is fascinating to debate, and might get students excited about biology class to boot. But most kids won't know the idea unless they are taught it, and in the aftermath of the Kansas votes, pro-evolution dogma continues to suggest that any alternative to natural selection must be kept quiet.
Which means we should ignore his blithering idiocy when he writes about anything science-related.
Know The State Of Their Marriage
I suppose it's fair to start at the top.
First, from the New York Times:
But the London Times adds:
Oh my.
First, from the New York Times:
NEW YORK TIMES (4/11/99): Emma Gilbey, an author and journalist, was married yesterday to Bill Keller, the managing editor of The New York Times. The Rev. Robert J. Kennedy performed the ceremony at the Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan.
Ms. Gilbey, 38, is keeping her name. She is the author of "The Lady: The Life and Times of Winnie Mandela" (Jonathan Cape, 1993). The bride graduated from King's College of London University.
She is the daughter of Anthony J. Gilbey of Wangford, England, and the late Lenore Gilbey. The bride's father is the chairman of Gilbey Collections, a London company that commissions limited edition commemorative items. Her mother was a journalist.
Mr. Keller, 50, graduated from Pomona College. He is the son of Adelaide and George M. Keller of San Mateo, Calif. The bridegroom's father retired as the chairman and chief executive of the Chevron Corporation in San Francisco.
But the London Times adds:
Gilbey is said to have dumped Kerry for David Gilmour, the Pink Floyd guitarist. In the 1990s she wrote a well-received biography of Winnie Mandela and met Bill Keller, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who was then foreign editor of The New York Times.
Their affair caused a frisson in New York as Keller walked out on his respected journalist wife when Gilbey became pregnant. They married in 1999. After the scandal caused by the fabrications of Jayson Blair, a reporter, Keller took over as editor of the newspaper last year.
Oh my.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
We Didn't Do It
Ah, the Broder steps up to write the script:
A hot topic for whom? Why, the Beltway press! Tomorrow we'll begin our series looking at the status of THEIR marriages. Should be fun! I'll happily consult more than 50 sources if I need to! Feel free to write in.
But for all the delicacy of the treatment, the very fact that the Times had sent a reporter out to interview 50 people about the state of the Clintons' marriage and placed the story on the top of Page One was a clear signal -- if any was needed -- that the drama of the Clintons' personal life would be a hot topic if she runs for president.
A hot topic for whom? Why, the Beltway press! Tomorrow we'll begin our series looking at the status of THEIR marriages. Should be fun! I'll happily consult more than 50 sources if I need to! Feel free to write in.
Oh My
We'll miss you Denny:
And prediction of the day goes to Lord High Everything Else, Mike Tomasky.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is seeking to determine his role in an ongoing public corruption probe into members of Congress, ABC News has learned from high level official sources.
Federal officials say the information implicating Hastert was developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.
Part of the investigation involves a letter Hastert wrote three years ago, urging the Secretary of the Interior to block a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with other tribes.
The other tribes were represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff who reportedly has provided details of his dealings with Hastert as part of his plea agreement with the government.
The letter was written shortly after a fund-raiser for Hastert at a restaurant owned by Abramoff. Abramoff and his clients contributed more than $26,000 at the time.
And prediction of the day goes to Lord High Everything Else, Mike Tomasky.
Cafferty
While I agree with Yglesias that there are probably constitutional issues here or at the very least the fact that raiding congressional offices is without precedent means we probably lack the appropriate legal precedents, it's also the case that there are wee constitutional issues with tapping phones without warrants and at the very least legal issues with collecting peoples' phone records without warrants. And, therefore, this little rant from Cafferty is more than appropriate.
Language Creep
While I'm generally not one to be a language nanny, I've noticed recently around the internets there's a tendency to refer to any "nasty political attack I don't like" as "swift boating." I know I'll lose this one, but could we try to limit the definition to something like "baselessly attacking a person's perfectly honorable military record."
Uh, Ew?
Rick Santorum has got to be jealous that the Washington Post published this hot Frist-on-Gorilla porn.
Just read it.
And then go throw up.
Just read it.
And then go throw up.
Millionaire Candidates
I've actually never had a huge problem with self-funded millionaire candidates - it's a problem with the system not with the candidates themselves. Of course I'd prefer a system where that wouldn't be an advantage, but frankly given the current system we have the "self-funded millionaire" is actually one of the few ways to get around the bigger problem of the power of entrenched incumbency.
In any case it's rather amusing the Lieberman is a WATB about millionaire candidates even though he's supported them wholeheartedly in the past.
It inspired me to take a look at where Joe's support has come from in the past. In his 1994 election campaign (.pdf) fully 87% of Lieberman's came either from PACs and from large (over $200) donations, with only 8% ($409,504) coming from individual donors giving under $200.
Over the 2000 campaign (admittedly an odd campaign due to the fact that he was also running for VP), only 4.5% of his money came from small donors ($193,562 total).
Opensecrets hasn't broken out the numbers yet for the latest campaign season.
I can't break out Lamonts numbers completely yet, either, but as of the latest filing he's given $371,500 of his own money to the campaign and raised $405,380 otherwise entirely from individual donations.
We also know from his total ActBlue donations that he's raised about half of that through that site, or $205,922, rom 4142 individual donors. That's an average of about $50.
Anyway, the point is WATB Joe has a history of relying on The Big Money to support his campaign, support which is generally only possible to obtain if you are the incumbent. Ned's donated some cash himself, but it seems he's raising money from the little people much more than Joe ever did.
In any case it's rather amusing the Lieberman is a WATB about millionaire candidates even though he's supported them wholeheartedly in the past.
It inspired me to take a look at where Joe's support has come from in the past. In his 1994 election campaign (.pdf) fully 87% of Lieberman's came either from PACs and from large (over $200) donations, with only 8% ($409,504) coming from individual donors giving under $200.
Over the 2000 campaign (admittedly an odd campaign due to the fact that he was also running for VP), only 4.5% of his money came from small donors ($193,562 total).
Opensecrets hasn't broken out the numbers yet for the latest campaign season.
I can't break out Lamonts numbers completely yet, either, but as of the latest filing he's given $371,500 of his own money to the campaign and raised $405,380 otherwise entirely from individual donations.
We also know from his total ActBlue donations that he's raised about half of that through that site, or $205,922, rom 4142 individual donors. That's an average of about $50.
Anyway, the point is WATB Joe has a history of relying on The Big Money to support his campaign, support which is generally only possible to obtain if you are the incumbent. Ned's donated some cash himself, but it seems he's raising money from the little people much more than Joe ever did.
Pelosi to Jefferson: Resign from Ways and Means
He really should resign from Congress, but it's a start. Noises are that the CBC is protecting him. If so, I don't really understand why. Jefferson's long been one of the worst Democrats in Congress.
Right Wing Bloggers and Google News
I've long been puzzled by the obsession of right wing bloggers with being on Google News. Sure I imagine it drives a decent amount of traffic, but I find it bizarre that they'd want to go to search Google News and find a bunch of results from blogs. I think it's great if Google includes a bunch of alternative news sources, including ideological and partisan ones, but most bloggers just don't really fit the mold. I've never wanted to be/tried to get this blog on Google News.
Petey
I haven't read Beinart's book, though I gather it makes the shocking case that:
Anyway, the real issue isn't that Petey and his fellow travelers want to tell Democrats what they should do, the real issue is that they want to be the intellectual leaders of whatever they imagine to be "liberal interventionism." As Supreme Overlord of the Universe and Beyond Mike Tomasky puts it, basically, why the hell should we trust these idiots?
- America has and can do good in the world when it wants to.
- This is something we should continue to do at times.
Anyway, the real issue isn't that Petey and his fellow travelers want to tell Democrats what they should do, the real issue is that they want to be the intellectual leaders of whatever they imagine to be "liberal interventionism." As Supreme Overlord of the Universe and Beyond Mike Tomasky puts it, basically, why the hell should we trust these idiots?
If we are to move forward along lines Beinart suggests, we need to know whether Beinart and other liberal hawks will recognize the difference between antitotalitarian liberalism and conservatism, neo- or otherwise, when they see it. Unfortunately, Beinart slips and slides around this question. His chapter on Iraq, which rehearses the administration’s various arguments for war, reads at first blush like a wise and disinterested account of a tragic march to folly. But he writes about this period as if he’d spent it on a mountaintop in Tibet instead of editing an influential magazine and cheering on the administration virtually every step of the way -- and accusing war critics, not all of whom (news flash: not even a majority of whom) are anti-imperialist Chomskyites, of “intellectual incoherence” and “abject pacifism,” as he so unforgettably put matters to The Washington Post in February 2003. I resented those comments at the time personally, I still do, and I know a lot of people who feel similarly.
I share many of Beinart’s goals for the Democratic Party. I’m not entirely sure how he proposes that today’s Democrats make this Niebuhrian case about recognizing America’s potential to do harm; it doesn’t seem like a vote-getter, but, intellectually at least, he’s on to something. And I found his prescriptive chapter a bit thin. His proposals for how liberals should fight the war on terrorism -- a Marshall Plan for the Arab world, greater cooperation with the United Nations (where possible), and NATO -- are rather general (and, for all his huffing and puffing about doughfacery, every one could be endorsed by the very people he reproves in the previous chapter). Even with these limitations, though, his argument that there is much wisdom to be found today in liberal foreign policy of the 1947-1963 period, and that fighting terrorism must occupy a central place in the liberal schema, is sound.
But to give this subject book-length treatment without acknowledging plainly that the war in Iraq stands against the Cold War liberal tradition rather than within it damages, almost fatally, the credibility of the argument. So we’re supposed to sign up with the author’s vision of a revived ’48-ism, even though we know from his own written record that it could lead to another Iraq? I’d love to talk with Beinart about the future and only the future. But not just yet.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Smells Bad Enough
Jefferson is certainly entitled to his legal defense, and he's also certainly entitled to defend himself in the court of public opinion, but since the former is preventing him from doing the latter I agree with Francine Busby that it's time for him to step down.
Ned Lamont is ANGRY and CRAZY
Holy Joe's taking his ball and going home, refusing to participate in Move On's online primary after agreeing to do so. My guess is he's doing this because a) he know he'll lose and b) he's gonna take a page from the Republican/media playbook and distance themselves from those ANGRY CRAZY people at Move On.
Marginalizing and alienating committed donors and voters is always a great thing for Democrats to do.
Marginalizing and alienating committed donors and voters is always a great thing for Democrats to do.
Comparing Gore to Goebbels
They never stop.
It's really important to support this stuff with your dollars, not because we need to make Gore rich (the money isn't going to his pocket anyway) but because it proves there's a market and an audience and a political constituency for fact-based reality.
So, reprinting from below:
Get your tickets before they're gone. Some shows sold out on Wednesday for opening night in Hollywood, but Santa Monica is still an option.
New Yorkers can get tix to AMC Loews Lincoln Square or Landmark's Sunshine Cinema. It looks like they just added another screen so it'll be running on three.
The rest of you can find the opening date near you here.
...New Yorkers can also see Gore on Thursday at Town Hall. Commenter AJS says tickets are almost gone.
It's really important to support this stuff with your dollars, not because we need to make Gore rich (the money isn't going to his pocket anyway) but because it proves there's a market and an audience and a political constituency for fact-based reality.
So, reprinting from below:
Get your tickets before they're gone. Some shows sold out on Wednesday for opening night in Hollywood, but Santa Monica is still an option.
New Yorkers can get tix to AMC Loews Lincoln Square or Landmark's Sunshine Cinema. It looks like they just added another screen so it'll be running on three.
The rest of you can find the opening date near you here.
...New Yorkers can also see Gore on Thursday at Town Hall. Commenter AJS says tickets are almost gone.
Stabbed in the Back
Let me second BradRocket's recommendation to pick up the latest Harper's to read Kevin Baker's article. I tried to get them to put it online but the response was, sadly, no!
Comma
I must be really stupid because after reading it about 15 times I still couldn't figure out how Dvorkin's issue with comma placement, if even valid, actually changed the meaning.
Saving It!
A genuinely relevant political article in the New York Times would involve a detailed examination of the sex lives of all non-married members of the Bush administration. Abstinence-only education is a key policy feature of the Bush administration, and it would certainly be legitimate to ask if they are, in fact, saving it.
Two Candidates
Patrick Murphy:
Mike Fitzpatrick:
What'd Mike Fitzpatrick say in 2003? (from the 8/7/03 Allentown Morning Call):
WANKER
Exciting things are happening at Murphy headquarters!
President Bush is coming to town on Wednesday to do a fundraiser for Mike Fitzpatrick and Jim Gerlach (PA-6; he's being challenged by Lois Murphy). In response, our terrific corps of volunteers will hold a Day of Action in which they will participate in community service projects throughout the 8th District. The 2006 budget, which Mike Fitzpatrick voted for, drastically cut funding to a number of programs affecting people and organizations throughout the 8th District.
Mike Fitzpatrick:
WASHINGTON - President Bush is lending some help to two vulnerable House Republicans seeking re-election in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Bush is slated to attend a fundraiser Wednesday night in Philadelphia for Reps. Jim Gerlach and Mike Fitzpatrick. The two-term Gerlach faces a challenge from attorney Lois Murphy, a Democrat who nearly beat him in 2004. Fitzpatrick, a freshman, is running against Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy.
The fundraiser also will benefit the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee. Tickets for the event are $1,000.
What'd Mike Fitzpatrick say in 2003? (from the 8/7/03 Allentown Morning Call):
A Republican commissioner said the Democrats were charging too much if they expected to involve average families. Fitzpatrick said he would never ask one of his contributors to pay $1,000 for a ticket to a fund-raiser.
Fitzpatrick said his major fund-raising event each year is a party on St. Patrick's Day. This year, he said, he charged $60 for a ticket.
"We target our fund-raising efforts at more moderately priced events that families can attend," he said. "You can attract a wider audience and have a more personable event than simply asking someone to pay $1,000 to have their picture taken with the governor."
WANKER
The Note
They'll be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.*
*That's a reference to something, not a call for actual violence, for the slow.
*That's a reference to something, not a call for actual violence, for the slow.
WATB
I've found the spectacle of whining conservatives upset that no liberals were interesting in seriously taking on "The Party of Death" to be rather hilarious. Aside from the obvious - don't spit in my face in then ask me to seriously consider the aesthetics of the experience - as Ezra points out it isn't as if conservatives generally go out of their way to review more liberal-leaning tomes. More than that, does anyone on our team go around bitching (Ezra aside, but just to make his point) that the National Review isn't taking us seriously?
Clintons Dogged By Sex Frequency Questions
Yglesias remembers how it was done in the day:
Frankly, I'd like to know why Healy can't just drop the silly insinuations and faux investigative methods. Both Clintons have official spokespersons, just ask them how often Bill and Hillary have sex. When they don't say, you can run a nice juicy headline like "Clintons Stonewalling on Sex Frequency Issue," or, to repeat a classic Monica-era format, "Clintons Dogged By Sex Frequency Questions," as if these things just come out of nowhere. If you're not going to ask straight-up, or even write clearly what you're talking about, then what's the point of all this?
Howie Hearts Assrocket
Boehlert brings us back to when the right wingers were obsessed with another "forged" memo. What he leaves out is that Howie Kurtz had invited Assrocket to come on his show to discuss this theory, though the Pope's death bumped him. Generally Kurtz heavily promoted Assrocket's "theory" in his WaPo column.
Slow News Day
Boston's Jon Keller has some good commentary for both the Times and the "prominent Demcorats" still obsessed with the Clenis. I know he's being a bit sarcastic with the "slow news day" description, but to flesh it out a bit long 50-source front page stories about the personal lives of politicians don't bubble up from "slow days." Such stories are assigned by top editors.
Sniffing Panties
Say hello to Pat Healy, the Times' resident tabloid journalist. Politely ask him when he plans to do a 50 source story on the personal life of Rudy Giuliani - past, present, and "concerns for the future" - and other prominent politicians. Ask him if he's married, and if so ask if he'd be so kind as to tell us just how many nights he spends with his wife during an average month. Or, if not, we'd appreciate an update on his dating situation.
Most of all try to get him to explain whether the intimate details of all politicians' marriages are fair game, or just those of the Clintons.
Most of all try to get him to explain whether the intimate details of all politicians' marriages are fair game, or just those of the Clintons.
Citizen Journalism
VOA doesn't have a Baghdad Bureau because it's too dangerous. I'm sure one of the fine members of Pajamas Media could go start their radio careers there.
Oh My
I'd never been that optimistic that Libby would be convicted, even aside from the inevitable pardon, but...
WASHINGTON - Two top CIA officials will bolster prosecutors' charge that Vice President Cheney's chief aide lied to them, court papers show.
Prosecutors say disgraced Cheney chief of staff Lewis (Scooter) Libby learned CIA spy Valerie Plame's identity from, among others, agency officials who will be called to testify at his trial for perjury, false statements and obstruction of justice.
The U.S. alleges he learned about Plame from one of the CIA officials when he went after dirt on her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Wilson shattered a pillar of President Bush's rationale for war - that Iraq was seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
Both CIA officials - including a top architect of the 2003 Iraq invasion - discussed Plame with Libby a month before columnist Robert Novak blew her cover in July 2003, prosecutors charge.
Dixie Chicks on Letterman
Not Ready To Make Nice:
Buy the CD.
Move over Crooks and Liars! ;)
...oh, and once again, since it's become Truth in wingnuttia that Natalie Maines burned a giant puppet of a US soldier in effigy while dry humping an Osama Bin Laden doll on stage, here's what she said:
That was all.
Buy the CD.
Move over Crooks and Liars! ;)
...oh, and once again, since it's become Truth in wingnuttia that Natalie Maines burned a giant puppet of a US soldier in effigy while dry humping an Osama Bin Laden doll on stage, here's what she said:
Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.
That was all.
All the Tabloid News Fit to Print
Digby:
No folks, that excerpt isn't from Hello magazine or even Vanity Fair. That's the New York fucking Times and it's on page one. If people aren't thinking about the Clintons in terms of infidelity and betrayal now, New York's newest tabloid rag is going to make damned sure they are reminded of it.
I do not know if Hillary is running for president and I'm not making a case for her candidacy. I do, however, think she has the right to try to earn the nomination without this gossip-at-the-hair salon coverage by the NY Times. And believe me, it won't just be her. Look at the spooky picture of Mark Warner on the cover of New York Times Magazine. He looked like something out of a David Lynch movie. I have no doubt that we are going to be reading many derisive accounts of Al Gore the bearded, earth toned circus freak. It's quite clear that if the Democrats are are coming into power, the Times is going to pick up right where it left off when it was last obsessed with Clinton's crotch and Hillary's cold, cold heart. Or perhaps, more to the point, this piece is just a first notice that they plan to.
Democrats be advised: the press is a bunch of braindead robots who are uninterested in changing their puerile Democratic storyline even in the face of the most disasterous administration in American history.It's shocking. You can love Hillary or hate her, I don't care. But goddamit the intimate state of her marriage to Bill Clinton is nobody's business and it NEVER HAS BEEN. If the gossip rags want to play this game, there's nothing anyone can do. But it is just shameful that the New York Times would go back to their cheap, tabloid coverage of politics when the world is on fire. I'm honestly stunned that this is happening again.