At Grist. He has some very good posts up on the Busheviks’ evisceration of the nature and cultures of mountain tops all in the name of short-term coal profits, the media once again doing a story on renewables and standards for them without hitting the major points, and the framing necessary to get the emissions reductions requirements approved (along with intelligent conjecture on whether it will be harder to get the first or the last 20% of emissions. Typical good stuff.
Showing posts with label Blogroll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogroll. Show all posts
Friday, August 24, 2007
David Roberts Watch
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Standing for Something Counts for Blogs, Too
I agree with practically everything Demosthenes adds to the current "why don't they pay attention to blogs?" argument going on right now, but I'd like to replay an old record that thudded loudly a year or so ago. He rightly notes that the blogs are seen primarily (totally?) as a source of funds, for legit candidates and possible wannabes, but that whatever messages are being posted are primarily for the choir and its self-absorption ("look at me on tv!!", "John Kerry blogged with me!!!"). There's no point in lamenting the sole value as an ATM that the progressive blogs have earned. That's where it's been intentionally taken.
Two dot-commers who failed in the boom of the 90s, one of whom got caught cheating, turned the idea and principle world of Billmon (as he famously noted) into a money-making enterprise, at least for them and a few others. Since then, Kos in particular got famous and wealthy by pulling the old Tom Sawyer makes money conning others to do his work, and by shutting off any serious discussion of the ethical implications of the founders' fraudulent activity, with all their acolytes chanting in unison, "Kommandante Kos doesn't control me, Kommandante Kos doesn't control me" when they followed his orders to deny oxygen from the reveal of Armstrong. It was a clear example of what's wrong with the blogs, just as it's wrong with the party it supports and which craps on it. The bloggers expound and stand for issues and some are smarter than others and seem like interesting if often too high maintenance people. But if someone asked, "What is the uniting principle of our blogosphere?", what would they say? There would be a 621 word statement they called a principle, incorporating 18-25 issues and concepts. IOW, just like the Dems.
The Dem leadership [sic] knows that, when push comes, the blogs can't mobilize anyone around any central core ideas. They can be anything they want because there's nothing to truly hold them accountable to. A party and a movement based on, say, Lincoln's underlying beliefs, or King's, would present and proclaim a message to future voters that would inspire and make those principle-less focus grouped "leaders" afraid to cross. But Kos, Armstrong, Bowers, et al., for all their strong stands, are clearly shooting for "leading" and profiting from their new "fame." The one clear and obvious operating principle of this blogosphere IS raising campaign funds and whatever influence they bring for a few key bloggers, and ideas, principle, and standing for something that can unify and advance this nation are all just peripheral, no matter how devoted to and heart-felt the causes for which the minions write. And until the rest of the blogs accept this and what they are and where they're (not) taking us, they'll just keeping putting the whitewash on that fence.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Random, Strange, Interesting Topic of the Day
What if the US had lost the Revolution? Are we Canada? Are we just a younger version of America (i.e. did we just win independence later on)? Would slavery have ended sooner? Would we actually have a good health care system? I have no answers (do I ever?), but it's interesting to ponder...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Mind, It Boggles
Steve Soto is normally one of the shrewder bloggers, but he's come out for Hillary because she's most electable and offers as proof of his wisdom the fact that in 2004 he supported John Kerry for the same reason. And she, like Kerry, will be able to deal effectively with the Repub attacks in the coming campaign.
WUUUHHHHHHHH?????????
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
I Wish I Were As Good at Anything...
...as Glenn Greenwald is at methodically outlining a conservative’s rank hypocricy. I mean, I’m pretty darn good at Random 10’s and all, but I just don’t compare.
John Yoo, 1998:
Presidents Ford, Carter and Bush formally raised the privilege only once each, and President Reagan three times in two full terms. In less than 1 1/2 terms, Mr. Clinton has claimed executive privilege at least six times, four times before Congress and twice in court. Like the boy crying wolf, Mr. Clinton's regular use of the privilege threatens to dilute its effectiveness for future presidents on matters of true national importance . . . .John Yoo, 2007:
Presidents, Congresses, and the courts have long accepted a president's right to keep internal executive discussions confidential.John Yoo, 1998:
...
Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Truman, Eisenhower (whose administration invented the phrase "executive privilege") Kennedy and Reagan, among others, have kept executive deliberations secret from congressional inquiries, usually over matters of diplomacy, national security and law enforcement.
In democracies, we distinguish between a public office and the person who holds that office; people for whom the office and the person are one and the same are called kings.John Yoo, 2007:
Without secrecy, the government can't function.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Ugh...
...I suppose I should be flattered by this.
Quickly, the rules:
Here are the rules: Eight random facts or interesting lies about yourself. Send me the link to your post when you're done. Tag 8 more people. Drop a comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged. Don't sit by your maibox waiting for thank you notes from those you've tagged.Eight random facts? This is suddenly reminding me of every college and work 'get to know you' exercise where I'd think and think for hours and not be able to come up with a single fact.
And now I have to come up with eight. Well...I didn't have anything specific I wanted to accomplish this evening anyway...
1. I owe alcohol for my marriage.
And in a good way.
I met The Butterfly at an MBA Happy Hour. It was being held at a nice local eatery/drinkery, and I knew the manager. He called me 30 minutes before Happy Hour began, told me to wake up my roommate (a fellow MBA'er), and get down there because they had...wait for it...DAY FRESH BUDWEISER! That's right, Budweiser with a born-on date of that very day. Oh baby. So I wake him up, head down there, drink day-fresh Budweiser (which tastes the exact same as 20-day Budweiser, 40-day Budweiser, 120-day Budweiser, and likely 1,000-day Budweiser), and schmooze. My roommate called me over to meet this girl from Oklahoma. Being that I too am from Oklahoma (and she was completely and totally resisting his advances), I must have just a ton in common with her, right?
Right. And 25 months later, we were getting married. At a winery, no less.
(The Butterfly is compelling me to mention that she was a Designated Driver that night. She doesn't want you to get the wrong idea.)
2. I bought The Butterfly all 5 seasons of Smallville for our 2-year wedding anniversary. She bought me a watch. We both got exactly what we wanted.
(And I secretly enjoy the show. Wait...I guess I haven't kept that secret very well, have I...)
Oh, and I bought her all 6 Star Wars DVDs for her birthday...and she loved it. It's safe to say I probably married the right girl.
3. I really want an iPhone. And I really don't need one.
4. In college, I drove 2,000 miles roundtrip in a weekend for a basketball game, then got a B+ on a test Monday morning. (I got a C on the following test, coming off a weekend when I didn't drive to Albuquerque.)
Third gear in my truck went out about 300 miles into the trip. You should try driving to Albuquerque (uphill all the way) without third gear sometimes. You haven't lived.
5. I've seen Willie Nelson in concert three times.
6. I think One Crazy Summer is John Cusack's best movie. Okay, that's a lie. High Fidelity and Say Anything both have it beat...along with like 17 other movies.
But I do think that Rio Bravo is the best John Wayne movie, for whatever that's worth.
7. I accidentally shaved a diagonal bald spot into my head before heading to OK for an ex-girlfriend's wedding. You know...wouldn't want her to see me looking all good and stuff and start regretting her decision or anything...
8. In my one trip to Vegas, I ate a 3x3 Animal Style with Animal Style fries at In-N-Out Burger twice in back-to-back days.
I should also mention that I weigh less than 200 pounds...though I'm a lot closer than I'd like to be...
And now...the lucky tagged...apologies in advance go to the following (and I'm only choosing six because I don't think enough people like this blog to hate me for tagging them and still visit again someday):
Erik Loomis
Michael Atchison AND Trip McClatchy
Spiiderweb
And finally...
Hear No Evil
Berlin Niebuhr
Heh heh heh...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Channeling Molly Ivins...
...(via CorrenteWire) Nancy Greggs tells us why her God is way better than the Republican God.
It’s not that I don’t believe in God, my Republican friends. It is just that I don’t believe in your god, the one you have created in your own image and likeness.Yeah, nothing to add to that. Go read the whole thing.
...
My God expects me to be my brother’s keeper, to help the sick, the hungry, the friendless and the homeless. Your god only wants you to look out for yourself; he expects you to ignore anyone who is less fortunate, less monied, or anyone who worships him in a way different than your own.
My God values every life he has created equally, without regard to religion, country, or ethic origin. Your god only values American lives, Christian lives; all the rest are expendable.
My God is not a product to be sold to the highest bidder, nor a fictional character to be endowed with the characteristics I deem to be suited to my purpose. My enemies are not His enemies, to be exploited, maimed, orphaned or killed at my pleasure. My friends are not His friends because they belong to my church, my country club, my income bracket, my political party.
My God knows that I believe in Him. He needs no financial contribution to prove my faith, no political persuasion to prove my loyalty, no mouthing of words without a true appreciation of their meaning to demonstrate that I understand my obligations to my fellow man.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Ostriches and actual toughness
I’ve been to New York one time. I’m almost embarassed to say that...especially since I’m now going to attempt to somewhat relate to New Yorkers through my infinitesimal experiences there. But yes, one time. For two whole days. I didn’t even fly in—I took the train. While I was there, I rode the Subway, and I got a ride in a cab from a Muslim driver. I walked through the masses on a Friday night (and a Saturday night) in Times Square. In other words, I put myself at risk. For two days. And I felt good about it. It was a good “screw fear” kind of feeling. When I left, I felt an amazing amount of respect for New Yorkers for doing what I did (for all of two days) basically every single day of their lives.
One of the most frustrating parts of the 2004 Election for me was watching the terror debate get dominated by people far removed from actual terror. While people in New York—people who actually felt the blow of terrorism and the fear of it in everyday life—quietly and overwhelmingly voted for John Kerry to protect them from future attacks, people in Wyoming and Oklahoma voted overwhelmingly for Dubya...to protect New Yorkers from future attacks. The people who talked the toughest about eliminating the threat of brown people were the ones who didn’t actually have to face the threat. Meanwhile, the ones who refused to back down from fear were too busy living their lives.
Which sounds about right, actually. Living your life in the face of terrorism is infinitely more challenging than trying to talk people into being afraid, a point Maha Barb brilliantly makes today in light of Michelle Malkin’s basically calling all of New York ‘ostriches’ for not caring enough about terrorism.
[A]ccording to Lulu, if one is not living in a constant state of terror, one is an “ostrich.”
I’ve got news for you, toots: People can’t live that way. And some of us, you know, live here. And if we choose to stay here, we must expose our precious flesh to the dangers of subways and tunnels and bridges and high-rise office buildings and Muslim taxi drivers every single damn day.
But just because we are not in a constant state of mind-numbing, inchoate fear, does not mean we are not mindful of what can happen. A whole lot of of watched the worst that terrorism can do with our own eyes. We were not sitting safely in our living rooms watching a little picture on a television. We were there. We lived with it. And we lived with the shrines and the smell and the sorrow for weeks after.
Believe me, you don’t forget something like that.
We’re still living with the hole in the city. I walked by it just a couple of days ago. Nobody’s forgotten anything. People still cluster in front of St. Paul’s to read the sidewalk display about the recovery effort. There’s still a big flag hung on the front of the Stock Exchange, and another from the ceiling in Grand Central Station, where armed National Guard still stroll through the corridors.
...
Fear does have its uses, of course. If you confront a snarling dog, for example, fear gives you that nice shot of adrenaline that might help you climb a tree to safety. But the reality of modern life is that most of the scary things we face are things we can’t run away from. If we’re going to live our lives as we choose to live them, fear is an obstacle that must be overcome. Stirring up more fear isn’t helping anyone.
Fear isn’t helping anyone but some politicians, I should say.
New Yorkers on the whole do not like it when some politician frightens us with a terrorism threat, and we find out later the threat was absurd (e.g., destroying the Brooklyn Bridge with a blowtorch). We get annoyed when news stories hype a threat to the office buildings we work in, and then we find out the threat was based on three-year-old information. And we do not appreciate someone who lives somewhere else, who was hundreds or thousands of miles away from Manhattan on 9/11, screeching at us that we’re supposed to be afraid. And that if we’re not afraid, we must not understand the dangers we live in.
You want to step over here and say that, Michelle? Out loud? On a New York City sidewalk? You might not like the reaction you get. You should be afraid, actually.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Tuesday Blogroll!!
I’m off work today (Happy Harry Truman Day!), so it’s time to see what our impeccable (and growing) blogroll is coming up with...let’s get to it!
Being that it is Harry Truman’s birthday, I guess we should mention that not everybody agrees on, shall we say, the level of his greatness (Existentialist Cowboy).
For a second or two, I actually thought this was real (Skippy)...that’s a bit of an indictment of myself, but that’s an even bigger (I hope) indictment of how much I think of my president’s decision-making abilities.
Garance Franke-Ruta’s horrid “You can’t lift up your shirt till you’re 21!” proposal is getting justifiably slaughtered. Roy at Alicublog is happily up to the task of addressing this stupidity, as is Avedon, and Mannion (for that matter, so is non-blogroller Jon Swift). Echidne takes a more measured tone. So does Scott at LG&M. Me? I’m just glad that the country has started to realize that electing people who would create laws based on what makes them feel all icky inside might not be a good idea. Still a ways to go, of course, but...yeah. How about we enforce the laws we have (i.e. underage drinking) and see what that does first? Just a thought.
I knew I was going to link to somebody’s post about how the Kansas National Guard (and equipment needed to help repair the Kansas town that was 95% wiped off the map this weekend) is in Iraq and unable to help with the full force they normally would...I just couldn’t decide who would get the honors. We’ll give the honor to Steve Soto at Left Coaster.
What’s worse...a) that we have something that could be even reasonably considered concentration camps, or b) that we won’t let the UN in to take a look at them (Alter Destiny)? USA! USA!
Oh, and those levees? 100% fixed. Honest (Attytood).
House Dems unveil their new Iraq plan (BooMan). Not bad. No mandatory withdrawal date, but it requires the issue to come back onto the table soon, which I’ll take. Talk Left shares some thoughts as well.
And speaking of ‘not perfect, but not too shabby,’ Grist discusses Obama’s recent speech about CAFE standards.
April consumer credit is way up (CorrenteWire). But everything’s fine. Nothing to see here.
George Soros is one of the most FEARED MEN IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!! (C&L)
Overton Window = the Scientology of think tank strategy (Demosthenes).
Conservatives have only been feminizing liberals for 200 years (Digby...and FDL)...let’s keep being really reasonable with them and hope they end up seeing things our way. Isn’t that right, mainstream media? And speaking of media, the KC Star takes some, shall we say, creative liberties (Fired Up! Missouri) with a McClatchy story and makes it just a wee bit more GOP-friendly. And nobody so vividly illustrates the media’s faults better than Glenn Greenwald. You mean Brit Hume isn’t a serious journalist?? Wha??? So...why exactly does the media suck (Dana B.)?
So how long until people notice that Afghanistan is no longer under our control (First Draft)?
Tom Wolfe says Bushnev is relatively well-read (Wolcott). Well that settles that!
Liberal Oasis has your Sunday talk show wrap-up. You’ve been warned.
Phoenix Woman at Mercury Rising talks about the past, present, and future of the progressive blogosphere.
David at Debate Link details yet another way that a Democratic DOJ will have to make significant repairs.
And you knew I couldn’t go without at least one link to the fact that 3 of 10 Republican presidential candidates don’t believe in evolution (Pandagon), didn’t you? And one who does believe in evolution doesn’t really believe that having a BFF with mob ties is really a problem.
The discussion thread in this Upyernoz atheism post is very much worth reading. I don’t consider myself an atheist (I know what I’m not more than I know what I am), but most of the atheists I’ve known/read have explained their position very well. And I’ve seen too many examples of them trying to win anybody over until confronted. I respect that too.
Let your asthma flag fly (Susie Madrak). I like this.
And finally, this is fantastic (TBogg). Never say liberals are too shrill for humor.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Mannion Strikes Again
Lance Mannion has a nice series going on what we've said over and over here. Our politics and society are overwhelmingly dominated by overwhelmingly unserious people. His two examples are David Broder and Jonathan Chait but there are literally multiple thousands to come if he keeps this series going. As Sorkin once said, "These are serious times and they require serious people." That was just a movie, but he was in one of his supremely lucid moments. The historians of this period will very likely need a title for this age, like The Gilded Age or something. The Age of the Unserious People will do, and Lance will have started their chapters.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Vanity plus sloth...
...allow Lance Mannion to introduce you (again) to Orc Logic.
We know better. We believe in God. We don't date crazy foreigners. We are manly-men. If we'd been there this wouldn't have happened. We'd have stopped him somehow. We'd have stood up to him. We'd have caught the bullets in our teeth, slapped the gun out of his hand, knocked him flat with a flick of our finger. We'd have made a gun of our own magically appear in our hand and our aim would have been true and we'd have shot the sucka dead before he could've fired off his first round.I don't have a single thing to add to this. He says everything I would have said, and he says it in an infinitely more creative and literate way (then again, putting things in a generally literate way assures that the point will totally be lost on the Orcs themselves). Just go read it.
We know we'd have done all this and survived and been heroes because we've told ourselves so a thousand times.
Orc Logic is seductive. It is vanity plus sloth. Self-love and moral and intellectual laziness combined. Once you let it become your habit of thought you are freed forever from self-examination, self-criticism, self-judgment. You are freed from having to worry about your own behavior because you know that you are a better person than they are, whoever they are, and that whatever you do is automatically the right thing because you are not them and whatever they do is wrong.
Orc Logic is extremely useful to people whose politics and moral code are devoted exclusively to defending their money and their privileges. If you know without having to think about it that you are a good person you don't have to listen to any calls to sacrifice and pleas for fair dealing and demands that you do an inconvenient right thing.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Treason in Defense of Slavery
We've been really remiss in not sending you over to Alterdestiny to catch Erik Loomis' series on the "mind" of the Confederacy and its dedication to slavery despite claims to the contrary since. Not any single post to promote. Go over, scroll down, and read them all. Really good stuff on the US equivalent of Japan's failure to accept the enormity of its role in WWII. Until we give up the myths we've refused to confront since the Civil War, we'll always have this horrible fault line running through our society and politics. Erik won't do it by himself, but this is a really nice start. Good job.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Snowday Blogroll! (Part II): Other News
On to Part II: Other News, Both Frightening and Frivolous.
* Does “media” mean “unquestioning; falling in line” in some other language? I don’t understand how anybody can fall for this crap yet again (Left Coaster), much less people who are paid to report facts...then again, it’s not complete and total slavish repetition of the party line this time (Liberal Oasis), so I guess that’s something. Not much of something, but something nonetheless. My god, saying “Baby I’ve changed...you can trust me this time” (Upyernoz) better not work. Actually, they're not even saying it's different this time--they're just pretending like they've been right about everything, and nobody has any choice but to trust them.
* Peace > War (CorrenteWire). Great post. Loved this quote: “War cannot be a necessary evil, because non-violence is a necessary good.” But meanwhile, President > Everybody Else in the World Combined (Digby). And yes, he’s our President, not our Commander-in-Chief. And I don’t understand how you can respond to “The War Powers Act requires Congress to vote on whether we should insert troops into hostile situations. The law is clear,” with “Absolutely not,” but whaddo I know. I’m not a congressman. Ggh.
* Saints McCain and Joementum have a really interesting way of supporting the troops (C&L). As does Dear Leader (Gadflyer). Just disgusting.
* This shouldn’t be a surprise (spiiderweb) coming from this administration, who would have given the Medal of Honor to Himmler if he were enough of a good ol’ boy.
* Erik from Alter Destiny got to sit in on an Exxon Mobil conference call with a couple other progressive bloggers. It’s an interesting read. The Far in Lefarkins (LG&M) was in on the call as well.
* Texas coal is now affecting Oklahoma air quality, and Oklahoma might actually do something about it (from a BooMan diary). Impressive.
* This is fantastic (Mercury Rising), and I really hope it’s the start of a trend. Note to progressives in power: It had BETTER be the start of a trend.
* 24 is a good show, according to my many liberal friends who watch it religiously, but when it’s seen as something close to reality TV (Attytood), then I start to have SERIOUS issues. But not as many issues as the people who consider it reality TV have, of course. IT’S A TV SHOW. Wolcott chips in here. Demosthenes adds this:
Surnow has been confronted again and again by real military personnel who have real interrogation experience trying to tell him that what he depicts on the show doesn't work in real life and is negatively influencing real interrogators in Iraq, but he can't be bothered to listen, busy as he is conferencing with the likes of Roger Ailes about future shows. So Jack keeps torturing.* Echidne discusses Harvard’s hiring of a female president.
* David at Debate Link has a fantastic summary of the recent slew of posts regarding prison rape. It’s most certainly been turned into a joke in pop culture, and I really don’t know how you turn that around at this point.
* In science news, it’s Darwin Day (here’s a nice list of science blogs from Skippy), and the Center for American Progress takes on ignorant Missouri legislators and their cutting off of their science nose to spite their stem cell face (via Fired Up! Missouri). But then again, at least no one from Missouri has said this...as far as I know, at least (Gristmill). Dinosaur farts? Really?
* And speaking of conservatives and science, at least they’re making their true feelings known, I guess (Greenwald, at his new home).
* Since when has being an outlaw been bad in country music (First Draft)??
* And finally, Mannion discusses The Queen and Diana. And Attaturk gets his hands on some Valentines. Lovely.
It’s About That Time...Snowday Blogroll! (Part I)
It's snowing yet again in mid-Missouri (this crap’s getting really old), and since I'm taking the day off, I thought it was time for that age-old tradition...the Blogroll. It's been a while, but as Susie discusses the current state of blogroll flux, it's time for our new & improved blogroll to strut its stuff...and being that the roll has expanded well past the roughly 20 it used to be (we’ve cruised into the mid-30s), expect this post to be, as Avedon would say, quite linky. In fact, I should probably break this up a bit.
Part I: All Things Marcotte
Obviously the big issue of the day in the progressive blogosphere is Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon and her decision to resign from the Edwards campaign in the light of stupid controversy. I have to say, this was pretty predictable (the controversy more than the resignation). Amanda is a pretty well-respected blogger, but she makes some pretty abrasive comments (which is one of the reasons she's admired), and in a world where John Kerry was called "not a good man" for calling Dick Cheney's known-lesbian daughter a lesbian, you'd have to figure they'd raise a stink pretty fast. It's a game to them, and they play it well. And if Edwards didn’t know that a) he was hiring a sometimes harsh blogger, or b) there would be a stink raised about it, then he’s not as attuned to the blogosphere OR the real world as I thought he was.
TBogg says it better than I do:
L’Affaire Marcotte should be a cautionary tale to those bloggers who think that the same people who have no qualms about sending American soldiers to die in Iraq (because their own shadow looks brown) wouldn't think twice about fucking with your life. Attach yourself to a campaign or a cause and they'll do to you and your candidate of choice what they did to Amanda and Jane Hamsher and Steve Gilliard with their manufactured outrage and fainting spells and calls for "civility".Dana B. pitches in.
Donohue and all the Far Right's other goons now know they have a veto over the Edwards campaign's message. They can be racists, they can be bigots, they can call people names on TV but if anyone working for Edwards ever responded to their bullying in kind they're out.Avedon adds this to the discussion:
This might have made some sense when the Political Thesis of the Right, its myths and values, were commonly accepted by the people. But in a time of transformation, with the President's war at 35% approval and the President's even lower, giving such a veto to goons like Donohue is unacceptable.
I wish I thought Edwards was smart and brave enough to make lemonade out of this and express outrage that a far-right bigot like Donahue was able to get traction in the press for a hate campaign against one little blogger, but I don't think he will.Even Joe Klein almost had something prescient to add to the conversation. Almost (FDL). But in a world that is ever-changing, I guess it's reassuring to know that the media is still as slavish as they've ever been. Presumably because "Catholic" is in the title, Bill Donohue and his Catholic League are getting to say whatever they want in regard to Marcotte, no matter how far from mainstream he and his group's worldview really is.
And at least the Crunchy Con is falling in line nicely (Alicublog).
Friday, December 29, 2006
Last Blogroll of 2006!
As I eagerly await the kickoff of the Sun Bowl (Mizzou vs Oregon State, 1pm CST, CBS), I figured I had more than enough time to crank out my first blogroll post in a while. Hope everybody had a lovely Christmas holiday season...now it’s on to the blogs!
First off, I apparently missed Billmon’s farewell. Left Coaster caught me up. It’s hard to think of a blogger who was more right about everything for the last few years. Guess I’ll take his name off the blogroll. Eh, screw it. I’ll leave it up for a while. Just in case.
Well, the honeymoon is over. Screw the “bravest politician of our time” crap...Gerald Ford was a traitor! A slanderous traitor (Alicublog)!! How DARE a former president insult a current one! How uncouth (Atrios)!! Couldn’t he see how hard this president was working (AMERICAblog)??
President Bush worked nearly three hours at his Texas ranch on Thursday to design a new U.S. policy in Iraq, then emerged to say that he and his advisers need more time to craft the plan he'll announce in the new year.Nearly three whole hours? In a row? How does this great man do it??
(Not surprisingly, Attaturk has a take on this one as well.)
Then again, how bad could Jerry Ford be? I mean, he was Tricky Dick’s best friend (CorrenteWire)...that’s gotta count for something right? And he ran with Bob Dole...and we all know how classy that guy was (Digby), right? Yup, he was such a nice man (Susie Madrak).
Meanwhile, Mannion discusses Ford’s supposed “lack of ambition.” And Upyernoz shares his memories. And Will at Attytood makes berlin niebuhr happy and mentions 38’s actual biggest contribution to the United States: The single-bullet theory.
But on the bright side, Ford’s death gave Erik Loomis 5 down on his 2006 Death List (Alter Destiny)...so that’s something, right? (Seriously, 5 out of 10 ain’t bad...would really creep me out if I were on his ’07 list...you listening, Lady Bird Johnson? Honestly, I didn’t even know she was alive.)
Dubya: 25x worse than Lucifer (C&L).
Righties: Wrong about everything. Seriously. Absolutely everything (Greenwald). It’s awe-inspiring.
Meanwhile, as Dubya moves into Lame Duck territory with full force, Avedon points me to a Connecting.the.Dots post talking about another Lame Duck presidency. While it’s an interesting (and depressing) thought, I like this one better.
As for the next possile lame duck President, BooMan has a nice post discussing Hilary vs Obama vs Edwards. I don’t think Edwards has too much of a chance (he can feel free to prove me wrong), but I’m all for his entry into the race. And Christy at Firedoglake explains one of the main reasons why I’m for it. Paul from Gadflyer goes into detail about Edwards as well. Mercury Rising points out that his wife kicks quite a bit of ass too.
Meanwhile, David at Debate Link sucks it up and says something nice about each likely Republican candidate. Now it’s time for a righty to do the same about Dems. There’s actually a righty response in the comments to that post...any more takers?
(Oh, and I think John McCain will be way too busy keeping us in Iraq to be any sort of “principled character” that would represent anything positive, but that’s just me.)
"Great secretaries of state have compelling views of the world and/or are effective negotiators -- Secretary Rice has so far demonstrated neither” (First Draft). Ouch.
Demosthenes discusses Rahm Emanuel and his surprise DCCC replacement. I don’t know if this transfer of power is a good or bad thing, but considering how much I (dis)like Rahm, I’m leaning toward ‘good thing.’
Meanwhile, on the Weather Water Energy front, Dana B. takes on a term I haven’t heard since business school: Price Floors. I don’t know if this is a good idea or not—I’ll leave that to berlin niebuhr—but he makes an interesting case.
Via the Le in Lefarkins, I find that Matt Taibbi is taking on Friedman. It’s as gruesome as you would expect.
Thomas Friedman does not get these things right even by accident. It's not that he occasionally screws up and fails to make his metaphors and images agree. It's that he always screws it up. He has an anti-ear, and it's absolutely infallible; he is a Joyce or a Flaubert in reverse, incapable of rendering even the smallest details without genius. The difference between Friedman and an ordinary bad writer is that an ordinary bad writer will, say, call some businessman a shark and have him say some tired, uninspired piece of dialogue: Friedman will have him spout it. And that's guaranteed, every single time. He never misses.Wow, Gay Kansans are feeling it might be safe to come out (Pandagon). I don’t know how to feel about that. Never thought I’d see the day.
And finally, Scientology takes its show on the road (Fired Up! Missouri)! Oh baby!!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Veterans Day Blogroll!
We're off to St. Louis for Spamalot later, but for now...it's blogroll time! So I spent an earlier part of the morning freeing our outdoor cat from a tree after a neighbor dog chased her up it. That really happens? Does this mean I get to put "Volunteer Fire Fighter" on my resume? And speaking of "This really happens?" moments...I'm still having trouble grasping the fact that we might actually see steps toward energy independence, and we might actually see hearings and accountability in government...I mean, I got used to wishing for it...I don't actually know how to react now that it might actually happen. Strange. This must be what I'd feel like if the Pirates won the World Series.
Anyhoo...
Time for some well-deserved schadenfreude.
-- Wolcott stages an intervention.
-- Damn that Blame America First Crowd (Alicublog)!!
-- Poor macaca... (TBogg)
-- Hmm...apparently Bush has always been open to bipartisanship (AMERICAblog). Who knew? Apparently the problem was just that nobody reached out to him or something...uh huh. And apparently, his definition of bipartisanship is re-nominating the same guy that even his own party turned down (FDL). Okie dokie. But that's okay...even the Lame Duck Congress has already said no...again... (Pandagon).
Lovely cartoon (Mercury Rising).
When did The Onion stop doing satire (Atrios)??
Dana discusses what this election means for the netroots. So does Demosthenes.
I have a serious problem with the fact that Republicans have once again gotten away with demonizing something they did themselves (Avedon). Pelosi's getting pressure to take impeachment off the table, and it's just silly. They should just investigate what needs to be investigated. If it leads to impeachment, well...tough. That's their fault, not ours. But according to Digby, pressure Pelosi all you want...she's got quite a set of metaphorical balls. Others who have them: Charlie Rangel (Greenwald). This is gonna be fun.
And speaking of Republicans still getting away with stuff...heads I win, tails you lose (Upyernoz)...
And now, Rumsfeld! Erik at Alter Destiny discusses him and the other candidates for Worst Defense Secretary Ever. While others, uhh, have a different point of view (LG&M). Steve Soto wonders what will change now. Meanwhile, Attaturk takes a look at his likely replacement. YIKES. Meanwhile, Susie asks the LA Times a simple question about their look at his likely replacement. Note to self: don't mess with Susie.
And speaking of Rummy...this is priceless... (C&L)
Billmon tackles the enigma that is Lincoln Chafee. Wow...speaking of enigmas, Rahm Emanuel actually does something admirable (BooMan)...huh. And while Matt Blunt hardly falls in the "enigma" category, this is quite an enigmatic comment (as long as "enigmatic" means "observing an alternate reality") (Fired Up! Missouri).
I'm sure those damn bloggers caused this in some way (First Draft).
Thomas Schaller's looking pretty smart right now (Gadflyer).
Echidne needs your help.
And finally, in case you missed Mannion's Election Night blogging...
Friday, October 20, 2006
Friday Mini Blogroll!!
Friends are in town for Homecoming, and I’m going to work late...probably not late enough to pull off the regular huge blogroll, but hey...something’s better than nothing (which is what you’ve been getting from me lately), right?
Off to the blogs...
Dana sits back and enjoys Monica’s Revenge.
Demosthenes sits back and prepares for the inevitable October Surprise (though, does it count as a surprise if nobody’s surprised by it?). The only encouraging news is that the polls are SO bad for Repubs in Ohio that it will be that much harder to deny something fishy’s going on. And after it happens 5-6 more times, Democrats and the media might even decide to raise a stink.
It’s always been said that politics make for strange bedfellows (FDL)...but I’ve gotta say, Lamont and Schlesinger teaming up for that little comedy bit during the last debate was a little surprising...it was certainly well-timed and funny, but it was still a bit shocking to the system. Boo hoo, nobody likes Joementum…
Ouch...Dear Leader even stonewalls Bill O’Reilly (Debate Link). But he’s from the no spin zone! You can trust him with the truth! But before we actually start (TBogg) complimenting O’Reilly (Hullabaloo) for asking one tough question...
I must say, I continue to enjoy the ongoing “Maybe I was wrong...BUT YOU WEREN’T RIGHT!” arguments. Does my heart good (Pandagon). Who cares if every word we said four years ago was right...that doesn’t mean we were actually right.
Good point here from Erik at Alter Destiny...politics are built around self-interest, and while it might annoy Dubya countries who are actually in danger of attacks from the “axis of evil” don’t share his strutting bravado, it’s in their best interest for South Korea to keep doing what they’re doing. Plus, any time you get to say no to Condi, you should probably take advantage of it.
While it’s tempting to link to Alicublog Roy’s drunk liveblogging of last night’s Mets/Cards game (screw the Cards...but if my wife asks, I didn’t say that), and it’s definitely worth reading, I’ll instead link to his summary of posts on the always unpredictable, always nonpartisan first page of Instapundit.
Fresh off of guest blogging at Atrios’ place, Avedon links to a very interesting Confined Space post about crimes and jail sentences. Not saying this guy doesn’t deserve to rot in prison, but...what he did was 20x or 25x worse than what Ken Lay did? Really?
Upyernoz has, um, good news for those who are afraid of the “constitutional crisis” ahead if Dems win the House...
And meanwhile, while Dubya may be really good at ignoring laws he doesn’t like, he sure gets to work fast (Atrios) on the ones that are in his wheelhouse. As one Mr. Olbermann might say, R.I.P. Habeas Corpus. Meanwhile, Glenn has a nice summary of Dear Leader’s current line of thinking (if you can actually call it that) and thoughts on what’s worse, inaction or overreaction...not that anybody ever actually prescribed inaction...
I thought everybody had learned their lesson about challenging the forced pregnancy lobby with actual facts...but this is a nice effort nonetheless (LG&M).
This is really really (REALLY) wrong...but I laughed (Attaturk). I shouldn’t have, and I might go to jail for it...but I laughed.
Granted, Putin gets a permanent “cooties award” (Echidne) for that whole “blowing on the boy’s bare stomach” thing a while back, but...yeah, this is still creepy on many different levels...
And finally, it’s really an unfair fight, but it’s still fun to watch Mannion take apart Santorum’s stupid LOTR comment...
Monday, October 09, 2006
Monday Morning Blogroll: "Via" Edition (Part 2)
Before I end up throwing my computer through the nearest wall because Blogger keeps eating this post, let's get on to Part 2! Has this been happening to anybody else lately? The last two weeks have been dreadful...either the "word verification" thing comes up as a big red X (making it pretty hard to type in the word verification, no?) or I get it to publish, and it just keeps repeating "0% published" over and over. Am slowly become enraged. Hopefully Attempt #346 is the charm...
Via Upyernoz, I see that Bush made another one of them there signing statements in which he said, “If I wanna hire the most incompetent person possible, by God I’m going to do so.”
***
Via Attaturk and Pandagon, I’ve stumbled across the story of Biting Beaver, failed birth control, and the American Taliban. Attaturk summarizes:
Summed up this way. Birth control fails, worried woman attempts to secure emergency preventives that are supposed to be legally available. She gets the run-around and the "oh you shameful, shameful slut" routine from care providers, and NO preventatives.Amanda expounds:
Now she's pregnant, and being threatened.
I think an important point worth considering here is that every doctor who turned his nose up to her requests for EC had good reason to know that this is what would happen—she would get pregnant, she’d have to get an abortion, she’d have to pay for it out of pocket, and she’d have to tolerate picket lines of people screaming insults at her about how her gender makes her worthless in their eyes. So basically, they set her up to be humiliated and put out like this, on top of the physical suffering that comes as a side effect of RU-486. Being doctors, they can’t claim to be innocent of the knowledge that this was going to happen, but they consoled themselves that it was okay to make Beaver suffer because she “deserved” it; she wouldn’t be in this situation if she hadn’t had sex, right?This seems like a good place to mention that, via olvlzl at Echidne, we find an interesting new blog with an interesting cause.
What strikes me as interesting about that line of thought is it’s exactly the excuses that apologists for torture are making about the people they “get” to torture. Hell, they must have done something wrong, even though we have no court of law to prove it. The excuses are thin as paper, but just enough to make someone feel justified in power tripping on another person.
***
Via Left Coaster, we find ZNet's masterful “The Age of Terror.”
***
Via Demosthenes, we get the latest on the battle for leadership of Canada’s Liberal Party.
***
Via FDL, we find the latest from Colin McEnroe on Joementum and his lack of, well, Joementum.
With each passing day Lieberman depends more and more on the least motivated voters. Least motivated to turn out, I mean. A Republican or conservative-unaffiliated who doesn't like the war, who doesn't like Bush and who is now appalled by the Foley scandal, has less incentive to go to the polls. That voter thinks: Jodi Rell doesn't need me, and I don't like anybody else.***
Via Gadflyer, I find that everyone’s favorite racist idiot Senator from Virginia is also a financial sleaze. I really hope he runs for the Republican nomination in ’08 (if he’s not in jail, anyway). Just keeping this guy on everybody’s TV screen is one of the best things that could happen to Democrats.
***
Via Fired Up! Missouri, I find this WaPo write-up of the Talent-McCaskill debate. Sadly, I’d totally missed that they were doing this...would have actually watched Meet the Press for once.
***
As always, Len Hart gives us a lovely summary of one of the week’s major topics. This week, it’s the myth of America’s “mission” in Iraq.
***
Via Alicublog, I just threw up.
***
And since we too watched this movie last night, I’ll finish with a link to Mannion’s X-Men 3 review. I basically agree. I didn’t think Halle Berry was as stiff and uncomfortable as he did, but that’s about the only disagreement I have (though I can’t disagree with the “about to throw up” part because I think I heard that too).
***
And finally, via Chicago, here's a clip of Wilco's "Via Chicago."
Monday Morning Blogroll: "Via" Edition (Part 1)
Happy Columbus Day to everybody! We won’t talk about the kind of person that Columbus actually was...we’ll just celebrate the excuse to put up another blogroll post! And lucky for us, everybody on the blogroll is linking to something good!
What’s the next best thing to having an opposition party that takes a stand and wins back the trust of the people? Having the ruling party completely and totally lose the trust of the people, of course! How are they crumbling? Let me count the ways...
Time has a lovely cover story up about just that (via Susie). Time still sucks, of course, but hey...you know about blind squirrels and nuts and all that...
[H]olding on to power has become not just the means but also the end for the onetime reformers who in 1994 unseated a calcified and corrupted Democratic majority. Washington scandals, it seems, have been following a Moore's law of their own, coming at a faster clip every time there is a shift in control. It took 40 years for the House Democrats to exhaust their goodwill. It may take only 12 years for the Republicans to get there.Is it bad that I am actually shocked at how negative the press reaction to Foley was for Republicans? The media’s actually not letting itself get distracted by Anna Nicole’s surprise marriage or something like that, AND they’re not buying the lame-ass “It’s Democrats’ fault!” talking point. They’re actually doing their jobs...and as with Mizzou being 6-0 in football, I just don’t know how to react to that.
And because the media’s not letting it go, Mercury Rising’s summary of Foley-related links and polls has some very good news. Dana summarizes nicely as well.
Then again, we don’t have 100% of the media in lockstep here (via Wolcott and Avedon), so scratch that.
Some wingnuts are taking another approach: assuming Democratic victory and trying to fit their weird platforms into the upcoming Democratic rule. Via Greenwald, here’s Bill Kristol saying “The Mark Foley scandal is proof positive that gay people shouldn’t be Boy Scout scout masters. Um, yeah. (I recommend just clicking on the Greenwald post, not Kristol’s.)
Meanwhile, via First Draft I see the official prediction for the next domino to fall out of the closet. And via Billmon, a lovely taste of poetic justice.
Aww, poor baby (via Atrios). Somebody’s pulled back the curtain, and it’s ruined his plan to just hold his breath until the country liked him again.
***
Via AMERICAblog, I had totally missed this somehow. Guess my blog-following gets shaky over the weekend, which is unfortunate since all the juicy stuff comes out on Friday evening.
***
And while we’re on the subject of blind squirrels and nuts, the NYT hits a homerun with the first part in its series about the poor, persecuted, white Christian males (via Lefarkins). I love this quote:
Society “treats Christianity like a second-class superstition,” Tom DeLay, then a Republican representative from Texas, told the crowd. “Seen from that perspective, of course there is a war on religion.”That’ll keep me laughing for quite a while. And meanwhile, via C&L we find this blurb about the article from Pharyngula:
A church-based daycare, for instance, has none of the licensing requirements of a private daycare, and doesn't have to meet any of the standards of a non-religious establishment, nor does it have to worry about civil rights requirements…and it's protected from lawsuits.–I say we should revoke the tax-exempt status of all religious organizations. They can ask for exemption for their charitable efforts (and only that part of their work; I don't consider evanglism or missionary work to be charity) just like any secular organization, but simply having "Christ" in their name and mission statement and having a few guys running around with clerical collars is not sufficient justification. It's time to end the sacred scam.Oh, and via Booman, you’d better not ever mock abstinence education, or else you may get fired because of it later on in life.
***
Via Alter Destiny, here’s a Democrat who’s actually not afraid to be a Democrat.
***
Via tristero at Digby, I see what I am just positive will be the next rightwing cause celebre since they’re apparently now interested in free speech and arts and the like.
Stay tuned for Part Two! I know you can't wait!
Subscribe to:
Comment Feed (RSS)