tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34737522011-08-16T20:06:24.757-07:00Public NuisanceRandom commentary and senseless acts of blogging.
<p>The first Republican president once said, "While the people retain their virtue and their vigilance, no administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can seriously injure the government in the short space of four years." If Mr. Lincoln could see what's happened in these last three-and-a-half years, he might hedge a little on that statement.<br>-Ronald ReaganAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comBlogger7341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-540248693996882422009-04-28T22:55:00.000-07:002009-04-28T23:16:21.359-07:00The First 100 Blah Blah BlahAs we head into a blizzard of pointless rehashes of Obama's first 100 days, it's worth noting that this navel gazing, which is irrelevant for most presidencies, is even more so for Obama's. Most presidents hit town with an opposition that is willing, at least for the moment, to go along with much of what the new team plans, particularly when the new president's plans Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-89262040050416134662008-09-18T16:00:00.000-07:002008-09-18T18:10:53.299-07:00Operacion Libertad EspanolaIt now seems official that John McCain's interview flub when he suggested he wouldn't be willing to meet with Spanish PM Zapatero is being claimed as an actual policy by the McCain camp, the better to contrast it with Obama's weak policy of being willing to meet with democratically elected leaders in allied nations. While some Spaniards might find this upsetting, they Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-91625900283314886572008-09-07T17:51:00.000-07:002008-09-09T11:58:39.677-07:00One of These Things is not Like the OthersToday's activities for the candidates:Barak Obama: Interviewed on This WeekJoe Biden: Interviewed on Meet the PressJohn McCain: Interviewed on Face the NationSarah Palin: According to her campaign manager, is "getting to know voters on her own schedule".The statement in the prior post that the Palin pick was a big blunder at the time McCain made it was CWAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-76005952292857889482008-09-02T22:45:00.000-07:002008-09-04T11:53:49.963-07:00It's now pretty clear that John McCain would be in a vastly better position today if he really were the maverick he wants us all to think he is. Various press reports agree that McCain actually wanted to go with Lieberman or Ridge, but chickened out in the face of opposition from the religious right and threats of a floor fight.But would a floor fight really have been such a bad thing? Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-39116086254631392692008-08-29T10:51:00.000-07:002008-08-29T11:10:30.998-07:00PalinOver what I think of as the modern era in politics, roughly since TV took over the process circa 1960, there have been four Hail Mary VP picks - that is, attempts to go with somebody who wasn't on most candidate lists and was virtually unknown to the country at large.1968 - Agnew1972 - Eagleton1984 - Ferraro1988 - QuayleThe obvious point that stands out is that every one was a costly failureAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-31476195172267306032008-04-13T17:47:00.001-07:002008-04-13T18:03:14.568-07:00I'm not a Hillary-hater, unlike quite a few netroots types, but I have to say at this point she's pretty completely jumped the shark. I have no real problem with her still being in the race - she still has widespread support, enough that she's likely to win several more primaries. She still has stunning fundraising numbers - about $20M in March. Consider that Dean raised about $40M for the Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-90115029215905302602008-03-11T18:50:00.000-07:002008-03-11T19:21:08.204-07:00Jeff Jacoby has written, wonder of wonders, a silly column arguing that the cause of the mortgage crisis must be - since markets cannot fail - government regulation. For Jacoby, the sub-prime disaster "is a good reminder of that most powerful of unwritten decrees, the Law of Unintended Consequences - and of the all-too-frequent tendency of solutions imposed by the state to exacerbate the harms Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-9070594543721802642008-02-20T19:46:00.000-08:002008-02-21T09:37:26.575-08:00Only a few days ago, I thought that Senator Clinton, clearly now an underdog, still had a realistic shot at winning. But the latest results and all the trends of the race seem to imply it is virtually over.Polls taken about a week ahead of the Wisconsin Primary showed a real possibility of a Clinton upset, with only a 4% Obama lead and one outlier from ARG (which is having a bad year) showing Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-51986588695424529372008-02-05T13:54:00.000-08:002008-02-05T14:22:42.183-08:00Polls for today's California primary are bizarre, as noted by a blogger at Kos: Zogby shows a 13 point edge for Obama, while SurveyUSA shows Hillary by 10. That's a gap I can't recall ever having seen in polls this close to a major election. But then, no final poll that I saw showed Hillary winning NH or correctly called the huge size of Obama's margin in SC. It does seem that Obama is ridingAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-25064338543482107582008-01-14T02:35:00.000-08:002008-01-14T17:09:39.981-08:00You probably didn't catch it, but something interesting happened in minute 42 of Hillary Clinton's full hour Meet The Press interview Sunday. Tim Russert asked her, for the first and only time during the hour, a question about what she intended to do if elected to the Presidency. (Every other question was about the campaign or her past actions or statements, particularly her vote to authorize Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-89114183269989176952008-01-08T13:47:00.000-08:002008-01-08T14:50:36.390-08:00Reports today are that turnout in NH is off the charts, with apparently more demand for Democratic than Republican ballots. That's good news for Obama, of course, who is a prohibitive favorite if he wins tonight with a healthy margin, as seems likely. It's bad news for McCain, who needs those independent votes. (I'm pretty sure that McCain in 2000 lost every primary in which only Republicans Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-14706664741599968232008-01-03T10:56:00.000-08:002008-01-03T18:15:18.957-08:00One prediction is safe to make for the upcoming Iowa/New Hampshire fetes: the big story coming out of one or both will be John McCain's brilliant comeback. That's not because McCain will do extremely well: he might, but it's far from certain. It's because that's the story the the political media are dying to write: McCain does better than expected. And since expectations are such a flexible Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-40497254227612241572007-06-12T08:56:00.000-07:002007-06-12T10:25:38.350-07:00We constantly hear that Bush is losing support on Capitol Hill, that Republicans there are in a rebellion against him. A Novak column some time back, the source of extensive gloating in the left blogosphere, stated, "In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress -- not Jimmy Carter, not even Richard Nixon as he faced impeachment." An opinion piece in Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-18715480822139822312007-04-21T20:24:00.000-07:002007-04-21T20:45:55.123-07:00Atrios is shocked that the IRS considers forgiven debts as income. But in this case, there's actually a sensible reason for the rule.If I were to give Atrios a new Mercedes (sorry, Duncan, much as I love the blog, this is strictly a hypothetical) he would naturally have to pay a substantial tax on that valuable gift. Suppose instead, he were to agree to pay me the market price plus interest in Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-3496748774519640482007-03-22T12:49:00.000-07:002007-03-22T13:07:24.447-07:00One More ThingHere's a tidbit from the DoJ docs that I should have included in last night's post.A close reading of the doc dump suggests evidence that there has been interference in prosecutions from DoJ. Section 2-3 includes (pp 4-5) a proposed opening statement for William Moschella, Principal Associate Deputy AG, perhaps in preparation for his congressional testimony of March 06. The first Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-62594744470777515452007-03-22T00:19:00.000-07:002007-03-22T00:45:23.465-07:00I went out to see Barak Obama on Saturday. I can't say much about his speech - I had to leave shortly after it started. And I can say even less about Obama - I never got close enough to actually see him.Which leaves nothing to talk about but the crowd, and the crowd was extraordinary. It was the largest political gathering I've been to since the peace marches I attended as a child.My first Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-43873007942764635982007-03-21T22:36:00.000-07:002007-03-22T13:37:18.345-07:00Dump RunI've been through about 200 pages of the celebrated Document Dump of 2007. That's a larger subset of the total dump than it seems, due to the frequent repetitions. Some observations:The sequence should be stated more plainly: even the outstanding Josh Marshall misses some points and gets one just wrong. The plan to fire the attorneys was set out in a memo from Elston to McNulty on Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1170808105609575322007-02-06T12:11:00.000-08:002007-02-06T16:28:25.716-08:00Joe Klein is peeved with Arianna Huffington for challenging his claim that he opposed the war from 2003. In support of his attack, Klein links to these three columns. These columns are in fact critical of Bush and the neocons - although generally more critical of progressives. But not one of them actually criticizes the plan to go to war.The first isn't really about Iraq at all, but about Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1168296229641881222007-01-08T14:43:00.000-08:002007-01-08T14:43:49.696-08:00Last Thursday, the Democrats officially took over Congress. On Friday, the headline on ABC's news coverage was, "House Dems Move to Increase Spending". The story under the headline was, in fact, about a move (re-instituting pay as you go) that will reduce spending significantly. But the official narrative is that Democrats love to spend for the hell of it, so the headline has to reflect Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1166303005564235802006-12-16T12:12:00.000-08:002006-12-19T10:37:56.013-08:00Horse RacesYou would think that Hillary would be smart enough to not advertise the fact that she is every Republican's choice as the next Democratic nominee. You would think that, but you would be wrong.Meanwhile the SCLM is filling the air with discussions like this pretending that the race for the Democratic nomination is now a two person contest between Hillary and Obama. It's too early forAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1160051232175755982006-10-05T05:19:00.000-07:002006-10-05T06:03:38.586-07:00Josh Marshall points to an implausible US News article suggesting that Hastert is recovering from Foleygate. What's missing from the article? A single quote from any important Republican saying on the record that Hastert still has his/her full support. When actual GOP congressmen start saying this on the record, I'll believe that he's weathered the storm. (I don't expect to see that. I Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1159844461105508872006-10-02T18:04:00.000-07:002006-10-02T20:02:22.040-07:00In his CNN interview with Andrea Koppel, Denny Hastert comes dangerously close to admitting that the leadership's actions on the Foley problem from the start have been about protecting the GOP:Koppel:Congressman Reynolds put out a statement on Saturday saying that he told you in the spring. Do you think he's lying?Hastert: No. I'm not saying - I just don't recall him telling me that. If he Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1157728265837402392006-09-08T08:02:00.000-07:002006-09-11T01:10:27.140-07:00The righties have a gift for throwing out arguments so bizarre, so utterly divorced from anything that would qualify as an actual reasonable point, that you don't quite know whether to applaud the pure chutzpah or just vomit. A recent gem in this genre was produced by Hugh Hewitt.Critics of the program want to argue that a five hour program has collapsed eight years too brusquely. There is, by Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1157727769297428452006-09-08T07:58:00.000-07:002006-09-08T08:02:49.316-07:00I found the following bit of wisdom researching in the faultess Wikipedia in this article. And yes, it's already been cleaned up.Title I of HIPAA regulates the availability and breadth of group and individual health insurance plans. It amends both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Public Health Service Act. A good example of some one who dont know jack about hippa like the Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1155069221730964862006-08-08T11:55:00.000-07:002006-08-08T16:46:41.843-07:00After watching the Sunday chatfests, I suspected that the punditocracy has now gone through denial, anger, and bargaining, and is now in acceptance, or at least depression, about Joe Lieberman's upcoming defeat today. But not everybody has given up. Martin Peretz of TNR, writing in that well-known Democratic organ the Wall Street Journal editorial page, is horrified that clones of George Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1151437576739123582006-06-27T10:22:00.000-07:002006-06-27T18:37:25.816-07:00The War TapesI was able last night the watch a preview showing of this new documentary. Last night's showing was the first except for some very limited appearances on the East Coast. I was able to get in because of an arrangement between the producers and WesPAC - Wes Clark has already seen and praised the movie.The movie opens in limited release on Friday. Although it really isn't an anti-warAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1147605984701943352006-05-14T03:48:00.000-07:002006-05-14T04:26:24.763-07:00The Spin CycleTwo recent polls on NSA spying seem to give drastically different results. In a poll done for the Washington Post, 63% supported the NSA program; in one done for Newsweek, 53% say it goes too far in invading privacy.These apparently contradictory results can be explained by the different wording used by the polls. Look at the questions asked by Richard Morin, who, as Jane Hamsher Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1147465219820857232006-05-12T13:18:00.000-07:002006-05-12T13:20:19.830-07:00Happy DaysWelcome to the Roaring 20s, George. Your pal Dick can show you around - he's been there for awhile now.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1146859347258630992006-05-05T12:54:00.000-07:002006-05-05T13:02:27.303-07:00Goss OutBloggers are already wildly speculating on whether there is a hidden motive behind the resignation of Proter Goss, presumably having something to do with the current investigation of sex parties at the Watergate. We don't know for sure, but in these circumstances I'm generally inclined to believe the more scandalous interpretation. That's just because it does look so dubious - if I wereAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1146257199476939972006-04-28T09:15:00.000-07:002006-04-28T20:52:44.026-07:00Is FEMA the Problem?The leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee have now issued a report calling for the elimination and replacement of FEMA. FEMA must be entirely dismantled. say the Senators, because:Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said FEMA "has become a symbol of a bumbling bureaucracy" that must be Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1146075564973484472006-04-26T11:19:00.000-07:002006-04-26T11:19:24.986-07:00I went to a breakfast Monday morning where Wes Clark was speaking to raise money and volunteers for Steve Filson, a candidate in CA-11. Later in the day, Clark campaigned with Filson in the district.The situation in California 11 is a bit comparable to IL-6. Jerry McNerney got the nomination against Pombo in 2004, when nobody else wanted it, and ran an effective campaign with a lot of grass Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1145553736315763442006-04-19T17:20:00.000-07:002006-04-20T10:22:16.396-07:00The Wrong ProblemRecent shuffles in White House personnel illustrate the futility of trying to fix the wrong problem. The problem being addressed by changing spokesmen and playing around with titles is that, supposedly, the White House hasn't been getting its message out and that is the cause of declining poll numbers. In fact, the persistent suport for Bush of about 36% of the country, a poor Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1143576292293069242006-03-28T12:01:00.000-08:002006-03-28T12:05:58.740-08:00LemRecent news of the death of the great Stanislaw Lem is, regrettably, neither hypothetical, chimeric, nor mythical. It is, however, a good enough excuse to post my personal favorite passage from Lem, taken from the Cyberiad, his celebrated analysis of the non-existence of dragons:Everyone knows that dragons don't exist. But while this simplistic formulation may satisfy the layman, it does not Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1143528620369816322006-03-27T22:35:00.000-08:002006-03-28T11:58:18.336-08:00Going PostalNow that the drama is over and Ben Domenech has been fired, the central question stands out more clearly than ever: why on earth did the Post ever hire him to start with?Were they out for new readers? That seems wildly implausible. There's already a rival in town that has the far-right market sown up; the Post can hardly compete with the Washington Times in that area. And Ben's Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1143202561530236232006-03-22T19:39:00.000-08:002006-03-24T04:16:01.606-08:00So we now know that Ben Domenech wrote at least two posts concerning Abramoff and the Department of Interior without ever seeing fit to mention that his own father was Abramoff's goto guy at DoI. And, oh yes, he's also a serial plagiarist - including plagiarizing the Washington Post before he conned them into hiring him.If you're a real journalist, things like not disclosing your interests and Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1143058456089038732006-03-22T12:04:00.000-08:002006-03-22T12:27:20.686-08:00Eleanor Clift asserts that Feingold's censure resolution is a gift for Republicans - yet she never makes any kind of argument that Bush's conduct doesn't, in fact, deserve censure. Nor does she make any real argument as to how censure, which polls show to be popular, is likely to harm Democrats. All she can do is quote that famous anonymous 'party strategist'. They seem to be in the media Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1142596883673388742006-03-17T04:01:00.000-08:002006-03-17T04:01:23.676-08:00The first poll on censure has been published, with the unsurprising result that a narrow plurality (48% - 43%) of Americans favors censure. The most surprising result is that Republicans are opposed by only a 2 - 1 margin; the oddest is that independents are opposed (47 - 42) to censure - but support (47 - 40) impeachment.The Times, which didn't bother to wait for any polling data before Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1142453812008067192006-03-15T11:31:00.000-08:002006-03-15T18:28:15.526-08:00Kevin Drum suggests that Feingold's censure resolution is poor political theater. He's probably mistaken, if only because he assumes that the bill is a partisan move. Almost certainly the real reason that Feingold has gone for censure is to play to the Democratic base in preparation for 2008, and in that he's been spectacularly successful.That Feingold is pushing his own ambitions is no excuse Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1142277945202434022006-03-13T11:19:00.000-08:002006-03-13T11:25:45.230-08:00Epitaph on a TyrantWith the death in captivity of Slobodan Milosevic, it sems an appropriate moment to cite his epitaph, fortunately already composed.Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after,And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;He knew human folly like the back of his hand,And was greatly interested in armies and fleetsWhen he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter.AndAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1141332624148929912006-03-02T10:53:00.000-08:002006-03-02T12:50:24.213-08:00There's been considerable excitement in left Blogistan over Bush's lowest-ever rating in this poll. We shouldn't read too much into that one number, particularly in this poll, which does oversample Democrats. It's also fun to point to Cheney's approval rating of 18% - actually lower than Nixon's when he resigned.But the really significant number here is the -33 rating for Congress: 28% approve,Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1141094038345341242006-02-27T18:04:00.000-08:002006-03-01T18:19:57.410-08:00By any reasonable standard, this is a major story. It's already been picked up by Josh Marshall, Kos, and other bloggers. And yet, a Google news search shows the story has, so far, been almost completely ignored. One paper in Texas picked it up, and UPI put out an abbreviated version - note how the lede of the UPI version makes the key point simply an unsopported allegation from Texans for Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1140640363608188222006-02-22T12:06:00.000-08:002006-02-27T18:35:58.046-08:00A little reminder, from the 9/11 report:At the beginning of February, Bin Ladin was reportedly located in the vicinity of the Sheikh Ali camp, a desert hunting camp being used by visitors from a Gulf state. Public sources have stated that these visitors were from the United Arab Emirates....The next day, national technical intelligence confirmed the location and description of the larger camp andAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1139440487300882432006-02-08T15:01:00.000-08:002006-02-08T15:14:47.376-08:00Kevin Drum apparently believes that Heather Wilson's recent statements distancing herself from illegal wiretaps is evidence that the taps are "becoming a serious wedge issue in the Republican Party". I suspect it has a lot more to do with this.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1139288298232051722006-02-06T20:35:00.000-08:002006-02-06T20:58:18.306-08:00Two recent stories detail apparent attempts by House staff members to polish their bosses' profiles in Wikipedia. Particular attention was paid to the entry on local zero Richard Pombo.Staffers at the U.S. House of Representatives have repeatedly spent work hours tampering with the biographies of Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, and dozens of other lawmakers in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1138991516102111102006-02-03T10:01:00.000-08:002006-02-06T20:35:01.620-08:00We now have an early leader in the Republican race for 2008. William Polley is one of several bloggers to have picked up this recent tidbit from an interview of George Allen:But in Washington, Bernanke] is barely on some people's radar screens. Indeed, here is what Senator George Allen of Virginia, who is considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, said when asked his Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1138351911533342862006-01-26T23:20:00.000-08:002006-01-27T00:53:26.956-08:00The GOP may focus on distorting recent events, but from time to time they're not averse to a little bamboozlement over historic events, just to keep in practice. David Greenberg notes in a recent article in Slate, "John H. Taylor of the Nixon Library... pledged to make his institution's exhibit about Watergate more accurate, which, when I last saw it, accused Democrats in Congress of planning a Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1135298601803445022005-12-22T15:49:00.000-08:002005-12-23T13:13:04.873-08:00In looking at the "Fact Sheet" put out by the RNC to justify President Bush's jihad against civil liberties, I couldn't help noticing that some points seemed to be a trifle misleading or simply odd.Unreliable information put out by the RNC? Hey, I'm as shocked as you are. I assume it was a simple mistake made by an obscure staffer, who by now has surely realized his error and probably feels Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1135235129563561622005-12-21T22:16:00.000-08:002005-12-21T23:05:29.623-08:00The Unified Theory of Republican corruption is still evasive, but getting closer: Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle has now subpoenaed records of Brent Wilkes, the man who bribed Randy Cunningham, as well as Perfect Wave, a company controlled by Wilkes. Actually. Perfect Wave appears to be a front more than a company - there seems to be no evidence it has actual products or clients.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1135189176446535842005-12-20T09:33:00.000-08:002005-12-24T00:18:39.323-08:00Bush is placing his right to order wireless surveillance largely on his implicit powers as commander in chief. As he stated in yesterday's press conference:Now, having suggested this idea, I then, obviously, went to the question, is it legal to do so? I am -- I swore to uphold the laws. Do I have the legal authority to do this? And the answer is, absolutely. As I mentioned in my remarks, the Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1133477424870491302005-12-01T07:34:00.000-08:002005-12-01T14:50:24.943-08:00One rather consistent rule regarding dirty Republicans is that they travel in groups. So I decided to do some research on the invaluable Open Secrets site to see who else was involved with Brent Wilkes, aka co-conpirator number one. Wilkes and other executives in his several corporate entities have been making substantial contributions to many other Republicans than Duke Cunningham. Naturally,Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1133412131649791532005-11-30T19:15:00.000-08:002005-11-30T20:42:11.716-08:00Jeff Birnbaum's article yesterday on corruption came in for some justified criticism, but found an unlikely defender in Kevin Drum.The article pretty clearly deserves the attack. For instance, look at the statement that "No fewer than seven lawmakers, including a Democrat, have been indicted, have pleaded guilty or are under investigation for improper conduct such as conspiracy, securities fraudAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1131523523219010472005-11-08T23:30:00.000-08:002005-11-09T00:51:45.346-08:00I spent most of today as well as much of the past few days in my persona as a grass roots activist instead of one of the internet's quieter shouters. Working on the No on 74 - 77 campaign, the news that was coming in during the day was mostly not good. In heavily blue Alameda, the turnout was lighter than expected. But we stayed at it and, at this point, it looks like our work paid off.The Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1130364688150708762005-10-26T14:59:00.000-07:002005-10-26T15:11:28.200-07:00There seems to be nothing except guesswork that's new in today's stories on the Plame investigation, one day short of the rumored date for a public announcement.It is a question why Fitzgerald has held off this long. With the dueling leaks and rumors, the whole show is reminiscent of a sort of multi-player form of the Prisoner's Dilemma. One point to remember about the Prisoner's Dilemma: the Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1122506264670927262005-07-27T14:48:00.000-07:002005-07-27T16:17:44.736-07:00Josh Marshall has pointed out an interesting new article on the Plame investigation. There are several points of interest, but what most strikes me is that it does reveal new information about Plame's role in arranging for Wilson's trip. The keyy portion quotes one Bill Harlow who was, in July 2003, in press relations in the CIA.Harlow, the former CIA spokesman, said in an interview yesterday Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1122174030899165632005-07-23T19:34:00.000-07:002005-07-24T21:08:41.086-07:00And Speaking of VoldemortThe new Harry Potter is looking so far like a mild disappointment. Not that it's actually bad by any means, but it does seem to be a step down from Rowling's extremely high standards. The start was quite slow and, if I weren't already committed to the series, I would probably have given up on it. In general it's been quite easy to put the book aside for a few hours andAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1122172423045731482005-07-23T18:55:00.000-07:002005-07-23T19:33:43.053-07:00Global warming has been a recorded reality for a few decades now, and a very strong one just lately across almost the entire country. Las Vegas and Denver have, in the past few days, tied their records for highest temperature ever recorded. The recent heat wave has been remarkable in its duration, but even moreso in scope, stretching from Boston through the Southeast and Southwest (the hardest Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1121507403418610092005-07-16T01:04:00.000-07:002005-07-16T02:50:04.050-07:00One of the odder excuses used the GOP smearstorm to defend Karl Rove has been the name defense: supposedly Rove simply said that Joe WIlson's wife worked for the CIA, without specifying her name.This is a rather weak claim logically, and, as Matthew and others have pointed out, it doesn't seem to be a defense at all under either the IIPA or the Espionage Act. So why make such a fuss over it? MyAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1119363688714975672005-06-21T07:13:00.000-07:002005-06-21T07:23:06.160-07:00Falling StarA new poll coming out today will show that Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity in California has plummeted. This is partly due to his recent insistence on calling another special election for new ballot measures. The election will cost the state, which continues to run in deficit, at least $40 million, probably much more, and has 2 to 1 opposition in the poll.Full numbers aren't yet Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1119155792028891362005-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:002005-06-18T21:36:32.036-07:00A Goode DealFollowing up on the previous post concerning Virgil Goode and MZM, this site has some info on what MZM has gotten for its generosity. I doubt that this is the complete story by any means; the ROI for this kind of 'gift' is usually higher.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118892007818909222005-06-15T20:05:00.000-07:002005-06-15T20:44:34.483-07:00The Munificent SevenJosh Marshall has a story up on Talking Points concerning the impressive generosity of MZM, the defense contractor owned by Wade Mitchell, towards Rep Virgil Goode(R-VA).Josh has, however, missed part of the story - at least $18,000 worth. If you look at all Goode's donations from this year, you find that the entire amount, $48,625, appears to come from MZM. Seven checks forAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118783833719814292005-06-14T14:13:00.000-07:002005-06-14T14:17:13.726-07:00Sure, It's a Train, But...There's light at the end of the tunnel.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118780114187765392005-06-14T13:13:00.000-07:002005-06-14T13:26:18.623-07:00The Pink Panther ElephantThe Guardian points out that Democrats recently failed to cut off funds for the continuing investigation of Henry Cisneros. Although Cisneros copped a plea in 1999, more time (and money) have been spent on the investigation since then than before. The rough timeline of this story is as follows:1987: Cisneros, then Mayor of San Antonio, begins an extramarital affair withAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118636368254797402005-06-12T20:48:00.000-07:002005-06-12T21:19:28.276-07:00Kevin Drum recently suggested that the reason the Downing Street Memo has been relatively overlooked by the media is that it is old news. Everybody already knows that Bush had decided on war long before the invasion took place. Frank Rich said precisely the same thing last week on Al Franken, where he was given a far more sycophantic intro than he actually deserves.No doubt this is true. It Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118472704550218872005-06-10T16:28:00.000-07:002005-06-11T00:11:22.143-07:00Deep ThreatThe revelation of the identity of Deep Throat last week brought on some very interesting reactions from rightist commentators. One was the open identification with Richard Nixon. It used to be that rightists didn't really want to have anything to do with Nixon. After all, not only was he disgraced, but he was far from even being a proper Republican in modern terms. He helped createAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118285750899200752005-06-08T19:51:00.000-07:002005-06-08T19:58:22.500-07:00Celebrity BloggingI'm thrilled to hear that Paris Hilton is engaged. And it's just so cute that her fiance has the same first name that she does. But really, isn't this guy a little old for her?Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118285421632791662005-06-08T18:33:00.000-07:002005-06-08T21:27:43.740-07:00Thank goodness that we have the fearless tribunes of the liberal media to warn us when evildoers threaten. Anne Applebaum comes through today, picking up her pen to fight back against a terrible injustice related to American detention practices against suspected terrorists.What is it that has our fearless crusader so irate? It isn't the practice of rendition, sending prisoners who have never Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1118209014667187962005-06-07T22:26:00.000-07:002005-06-07T22:40:05.226-07:00Coo Coo Coo Choo, Mrs RobinsonThe great Anne Bancroft, Mrs Mel Brooks in real life but eternally Mrs Robinson to movie lovers and all Baby Boomers, is dead at 73.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1116891996214201112005-05-23T16:36:00.000-07:002005-05-23T16:46:36.223-07:00One phenomenon that I will never comprehend - or, using the more technically correct term, grok - is people standing in line for weeks or longer to see the latest SF blockbuster movie. I went to the new Star Wars on the day it opened, which is something of a personal tradition. I prepared myself for some lines; in fact, I had to wait behind exactly one person, then bought my tickets and went inAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1116607496746598722005-05-19T23:39:00.000-07:002005-05-20T09:44:56.833-07:00One of the striking facts in this era of 'conservative' power is the complete absence of an actual conservative movement. Jonah Goldberg recently boasted of conservatism's frredom from dogma, but this is true only in the sense that 'undogmatic' and 'unprincipled' are taken as synonyms. Conservatism today seems taken to mean only supporting, by any means possible, political victories for the Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1116475209671265752005-05-18T20:59:00.000-07:002005-05-18T21:00:09.680-07:00Back on the Links GangProblems with internet connections have kept me away from this site for quite a while; on top of that, the posts I did write over that time got Bloggered. However, I once again have a stable connection and will be resuming posting.Incidentally, this isn't the only blog coming back from sustained hiatus. Jeff Cooper has been back in action for a while, although I only Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1109296992423186602005-02-24T17:56:00.000-08:002005-02-24T18:03:12.426-08:00Good news for Michael Jackson and Troy McClure: if this item is true, they can now relax secure in the knowledge that there is another celebrity with a sexual fetish even more bizarre and distasteful than theirs. Tongues are wagging about the recent intimate dinners between actor and frequent "Hardball" guest Ron Silver and leggy, blond, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter. The two were spotted dining Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1109295129556905802005-02-24T16:49:00.000-08:002005-02-24T17:32:09.560-08:00The Supreme Court has ruled against a California policy that segregates newly admitted prisoners, generally but not entirely on racial lines, in order to reduce prison violence.I actually have some first hand knowledge of the California prison system - and no, it isn't from the obvious source, my dubious character notwithstanding. In my younger days, I worked for the state fighting forest fires.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1107769110511859922005-02-07T01:11:00.000-08:002005-02-07T01:38:30.510-08:00The Game
Teams of talented competitors clashed yesterday in a battle that will, for many of them, be the peak moment of their careers. I didn't see the full competition, but, in what I did see, there was a clear winner: the Visa superhero commercial was definitely the cleverest.
In between, there was also a ball game, which led me to ponder one of the deep questions of our age: why is it thatAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1107260293625445662005-02-01T04:13:00.000-08:002005-02-01T04:18:13.626-08:00I know a lot of parents have a favorite child, but isn't Secretary of Defense Heller in this season's 24 taking it a bit far? This week, when his daughter had a potential lead to the identity of the terrorists, he insisted she should rest and recover from her ordeal before trying to follow up on it. Last week, when he thought his son knew something and was holding out, he authorized CTU to use Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1107259790689181462005-02-01T03:59:00.000-08:002005-02-01T04:09:50.690-08:00Josh Marshall notes that the Bush plan to privatize Social Security can't really move forward unless the increasingly solid wall of Democratic opposition is broken. Josh has done as much as anyone to build that wall and can take some justifiable pride in it. But on its own, it wouldn't stop the Repubs or probably even slow them down much. Remember, they're more than happy to pass bills with Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1106822449676770682005-01-27T02:19:00.000-08:002005-01-27T02:40:49.676-08:00An odd moment from Bush's press conference:
Last year at this time, the projected budget was $527 billion. You might remember that. It turned out that the budget was $412 billion for last year. Now the budget is projected to be at $427 billion. We look forward to working to hold the line with the United States Congress on spending. And as I say, I'll promote a package that will show the budget Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1105967277363129912005-01-15T13:33:00.000-08:002005-01-17T05:10:37.703-08:00The latest tempest to blow through the blogosphere is the claim by former Dean aide Zephyr Treachout that bloggers Markos Zuniga and Jerome Armstrong were hired by the Dean campaign to blog favorably about Dean. If it's true (the facts are disputed by other ex-Deanies)it's just further proof of something that we already knew: the Dean campaign made some really dumb decisions about spending moneyAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1105740654973693772005-01-14T13:58:00.000-08:002005-01-15T12:33:03.273-08:00The Huygens probe landed successfully today on Titan, sending back some astonishing images from the surface of the only moon in the Solar System with a significant atmosphere. The top image isn't quite as Earth-like as it seems, however: Titan is believed to have a surface temperature of about -300F (-185 C). If there are lakes or oceans on the surface of Titan, which is what I thought this Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1104896065432523912005-01-04T19:26:00.000-08:002005-01-04T19:34:25.433-08:00Go Trojans?
Rooting for USC is a rather new experience for me - like many dedicated Bay Area natives, I've always rooted against LA teams. And watching the Trojans play has long been especially irritating - how even USC fans can endure listening to the band play the same two tunes over and over without a break for 3 hours is a mystery to me.
But I'm still a West Coast cosmopolitan elitist, andAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1103940245331663092004-12-24T17:59:00.000-08:002004-12-24T18:04:05.333-08:00This will be my last post for several days, although I'll probably stop in again before the New Year. As a final assault on the personal dignity and religious freedom of any readers who may happen to be Christians, I'd like to wish you all Happy Holidays.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1103939085985374292004-12-24T17:33:00.000-08:002004-12-24T17:44:45.986-08:00Donald Rumsfeld has become the latest VIP to tour Iraq. He did something that I believe every senior Anglo/American official touring Iraq has done for the past year: he entered the country with no prior notice and was gone before his visit could be widely known.
The visit will probably help with Rumsfeld's political troubles, but are these hit and run visits supposed to convince us that the Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1103937253684818122004-12-24T17:05:00.000-08:002004-12-24T17:14:13.683-08:00Department of Unintentional/Unconscious Self-Satire
This morning, the high court considered whether King County -- the state's largest and a stronghold for Gregoire -- should be allowed to add to the recount 723 ballots that weren't counted originally because of mistakes by county election workers....
A Pierce County Superior Court judge on Friday granted the state Republican Party's motion forAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1103440386207584002004-12-18T13:44:00.000-08:002004-12-19T02:36:35.853-08:00Good news for parents who have excess infants lying about: thanks to an innovative new EPA program, you can now poison those unwanted brats and earn exciting prizes, including cash, T-shirts, and even a camcorder.
This nation, which once was deservedly both the envy and admiration of almost all the world, is now governed by people who actually think this is a good idea. You really don't know Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1101237881229070682004-11-23T09:47:00.000-08:002004-11-23T11:29:29.366-08:00Mark Kleiman is willing to buy the explanation the the recent Istook/not-Istook provision snafu was probably just an innocent accident. I'm not prepared to be so generous.
There are a few problems with Mark's position. A minor one is that he dismisses the spin as "far too complicated to be an effective political response" and therefore probably true. That seems to be an argument that rather Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1099500062153192362004-11-03T07:38:00.000-08:002004-11-03T08:41:02.153-08:00Looking at the nearly-final electoral map, the most striking thing is how firmly lines have been drawn. So far, the only state that has switched from 2000 is New Hampshire. Florida, which Bush had to steal in 2000, he seems to have won honestly, making the generous assumption that the count there, including counts from electronic machines, was legitimate. Iowa and New Mexico, extremely close Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1099378965959382182004-11-01T22:44:00.000-08:002004-11-01T23:02:45.960-08:00Our GOTV efforts seem to be reaching saturation level. In calling Ohio today, I repeatedly spoke to people who said they had gotten several calls in the last few days; others didn't say it directly but acted as if such calls were expected and getting tiresome.
I just hope we're doing as much for Senate candidates. We have the potential to take back the Senate tomorrow, but it will take a Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1099033995965360512004-10-29T01:10:00.000-07:002004-10-29T00:13:15.966-07:00One part correction, two parts self-satire: the following is an actual correction from the Wall Street Journal, as pointed out by BOP.
"Corrections & Amplifications"
News Corp.'s Fox News was incorrectly described in this article as being sympathetic to the Bush cause.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1099033792058614082004-10-28T21:27:00.001-07:002004-10-29T12:35:46.266-07:00The Final Stretch
Only a few days left now, and it's unlikely that anything will happen to significantly change the face of the campaign before D-Day. My own feeling is that prospects are looking very good.
An incumbent generally loses the undecided voters who break in the final days of a campaign, so he's in trouble if he can't muster 50%. Bush is consistently below 50% in every state Gore Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1099022358931384262004-10-28T20:01:00.000-07:002004-10-28T21:04:07.750-07:00It's pretty clear now that the various spin lines used to explain away the explosives stolen from Al Qaqaa are all phony - the footage that shows the 82nd Airborne examining the material is pretty solid.
But really, it wouldn't even be relevant if the materials had been proven not to be there when the Airborne arrived. The following facts are all undisputed:
There were a relatively small numberAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1098300722657480132004-10-19T16:28:00.000-07:002004-10-20T12:32:02.656-07:00Summer radio ratings are now coming out city by city and show generally strong results for Air America. The most impressive result has been in San Diego, where Air America affiliate KLSD jumped up from dramatically. What makes that extraordinary is that AAR started in San Diego around September 1, meaning that only 1/3 of the period shown is AAR. Assuming that the old format continued to draw Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1097833091189358822004-10-15T02:19:00.000-07:002004-10-15T11:20:12.700-07:00Not So Swift Vet
Tonight's Nightline sent a crew to Vietnam where they actually interviewed Vietnamese soldiers who fought against John Kerry in the batle where he earned a Silver Star and civilian witnesses. Long story short: Kerry's account is truthful and the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are, you guessed it, lying liars.
After the story, Koppel brought on John O'Neill who waved books at theAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1097791086562929612004-10-14T14:56:00.000-07:002004-10-14T19:26:11.826-07:00Did Jake Read the Memo?
Get up Jake
It's late in the morning
The rain is pouring
We got work to do.
Get up Jake
No need for lying
You tell me that you're dying but I know it's not true.
-Robbie Robertson
ABC reporter Jake Tapper apparently lacks the energy of late to read his e-mail. ABC News Political Director Mark Halperin recently sent out a memo urging journalists not to "reflexively andAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1097613901582716262004-10-12T13:43:00.000-07:002004-10-12T13:45:01.583-07:00The main difference between Andrew's satire of H. P. Lovecraft and the real thing is that Andrew's is far better. Lovecraft is actually one of the more overrated authors I've ever read.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1097587503077413472004-10-12T05:54:00.000-07:002004-10-12T06:27:56.993-07:00So Where is the Video?
One more step in the Republican Party's continuing campaign to make it absolutely impossible to tell the difference between real news and satire: Oklahoma Senate candidate Tom Coburn is taking on the new issue
of teen lesbians.
The Republican Senate candidate in Oklahoma warns of "rampant" lesbianism in some schools in the state in a tape released Monday by his Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1097576550514300642004-10-11T13:46:00.000-07:002004-10-12T03:22:30.513-07:00I'm sure all of us are relieved to learn that George Bush wants the judges he appoints to be anti-slavery - I guess that's what compassionate conservatism is all about - but Bush managed to reach his normal levels of incoherence even in criticizing slavery.
Another example would be the Dred Scott case, which is where judges, years ago, said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1097098475793671512004-10-06T13:11:00.000-07:002004-10-06T14:34:35.793-07:00Good 2, Evil 0
The big media boys give solid explanations of why last night was a victory for Kerry/Edwards here and here. The key point is that of the four men who have debated so far, Bush definitely looks like the one who doesn't belong in the picture. The other three were all able to give coherent explanations of their positions while Bush grimaced and stammerred. Also, while Cheney did Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1096931471643343142004-10-04T16:03:00.000-07:002004-10-04T16:16:33.146-07:00Best Laugh of the Day
Right wing gay-hating Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave has a web site for her current campaign, musgrave2004, that's filled with decent hate-filled Christian material. But it seems she forgot to keep registration paid up on her last campaign website, which normally means that the site will go back to the internet host, who in turn will sell it to the highest bidder. And if Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1096904026266404842004-10-03T19:56:00.000-07:002004-10-04T09:10:56.276-07:00The post debate polls are interesting. Polls taken the night of the debate did show Kerry winning by solid but modest margins: 45-36 (ABC), 44-26 (CDS), 53-37 (CNN). But a few days later, it's a runaway: 61-19 (Newsweek), 54-15 (LAT). And a new series of polls show that the debate has paid off, with Kerry tied or narrowly in the lead.
Actually, this debate was a complete success for the good Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1096790264536737982004-10-03T01:24:00.000-07:002004-10-03T00:58:46.930-07:00The Message
Some selected Bush phrase counts from Thursday night:
hard work: 11
wrong war, wrong place, wrong time: 6
same intelligence, looked at: 6
mixed signals/messages, sending: 11
making progress: 3
changing/changes positions: 7
The Republican propaganda machine functions by repeating the same ideas over and over again. But when it's done properly, the speaker works the talking points Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473752.post-1096781703041409392004-10-01T17:41:00.000-07:002004-10-03T00:01:41.323-07:00Mexed Missages
You cannot change positions in this war on terror if you expect to win. And I expect to win. It's necessary we win.
George Bush, 09/30/04
I don't think you can win [the war on terror]. But I think you can create conditions so that the - those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world.
George Bush, 08/30/04Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863451401686874047noreply@blogger.com