2010 archive
Single-Issue Voters? 0
Zandar thinks it’s all about the Scary Black Man. I think his rhetoric is somewhat extreme. But only somewhat.
All of the rest is a ruse. Yes, if this means Christine O’Donnell is in office, they don’t care what she does, as long as Obama is removed from office.
People need to recognize the driving force behind Tea Party anger is getting rid of Obama.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Dick Polman considers the rise and fall of Rick Sanchez:
That’s the real crux of the Sanchez story.
(snip)
Exit traditional dispassion, hello passion. That’s why Campbell Brown’s journalistically responsible prime-time show (which, naturally, tanked in the ratings) will be officially supplanted tonight with a ‘tude and opinion show that pairs a (talented) conservative columnist with a fallen governor who digs hookers.
The glitz factor is why Rick Sanchez got tapped for stardom in the first place, so that’s why I’ll cut him a break. He didn’t dumb down the news discourse. In the final analysis, we did.
QOTD 0
Gore Vidal, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
At any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation, and prejudice.
Xtreme Baseball 0
And Philadelphia fans get a bad rap:
“Hiss-Boom-Bah” 5
Victoria Coren, writing at the London Observer, makes the case that cheer leading is not a sport.
She has a point.
There are many endeavors which require athletic ability, but are not sports, such as tight-rope walking and band marching. There are others which require little or no athletic ability, but are considered sports, such as auto-racing and golf (especially golf–I live next to a golf course, I see golfers, don’t argue).
A nugget from her take down:
Cantor’s Cant 1
Steve Benen wonders about Eric Cantor’s (R-Cloud-Cuckoo Land) statements on the federal deficit:
I can’t say with any confidence whether Cantor actually believes this nonsense. I’ve never met him personally, and it’s possible that he repeats claims he knows to be false because he thinks of his supporters as fools.
And in some ways, I really hope that’s the case, because I’d much prefer Cantor to be a shameless conman than a congressional leader who’s deeply confused about one of his own top issues.
For the record, since President Obama took office, the U.S. has added $2.8 trillion to the national debt. That same debt was $10.6 trillion the day the president was sworn in. (Dear Eric, 10.6 trillion is significantly larger than 2.8 trillion. Sincerely, Steve)
Defence Do-Overs: Quality Construction at a Price That’s Right 0
What you are getting for your defense dollars: Do-Overs:
The San Antonio, commissioned in 2005, has been under continuous repair since December.
Foreign Language 1
I’m reading an old murder mystery that I’m having trouble understanding.
It involves something called “poison pen” letters prepared on a device referred to as a “portable typewriter” and delivered by something called the “post.”
Light Bloggery 0
On the road taking care of business at the farm.
Regular insanity will resume tomorrow.
Irregular insanity may resume earlier.
Dustbiters 0
These dudes have to look for new universes to master, because they aren’t doing so well in this one:
Is This the End . . . 0
. . . of the saga of Cooch and the Mooch?
Cuccinelli was by far the largest Virginia beneficiary of the group, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Cuccinelli announced last month that he would donate the cash after months of political pressure. Gov. Bob McDonnell rid himself of the donations in the spring when word started to spread that the group run by “Bobby Thompson” might not be legitimate.
There’s still very little known about the man and Cuccinelli’s release even identifies him “man who donated as Bobby Thompson” probably because there are identity fraud questions.
Commodore Lipton Would Be Ashamed 0
Will Bunch:
(snip)
The arrival of the first nonwhite president in 2008 in the person of Obama was like a lightning bolt, creating not only the “uncomfortable” feelings of future Tea Party joiners like Garcia but also inspiring theories that the new president is not an American citizen or is a secret Muslim.
Read the whole thing.
Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied 0
There is one thing of which I have no doubt. If the farmers were white, they would have been paid long ago:
Last week, following a protest by farmers in Washington, Sens. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) introduced legislation to provide the needed $1.15 billion in funding. After negotiations between the Democratic and Republican leadership, the measure was set to be passed by unanimous consent.
But U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) broke with his party’s leadership and objected to the funding. Coburn also objected to the bill when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered it by consent back in May.
It’s the Concentration, Stupid 0
Robert Reich on Fresh Air:
They can’t go deeper and deeper into debt. They can’t work longer hours. They’ve just, they’ve exhausted all of their coping mechanisms. And meanwhile, people at the top are taking home so much that they are almost inevitably going to speculate in stocks or in commodities or in whatever the current speculative vehicles are going to be, which causes the economy to become unstable anyway.
And that combination of a kind of unsustainable debt loads for the middle class, in fact, now the middle class can’t even go back into debt, there’s not nearly enough demand for all the goods and services the American economy could produce and can produce at full employment coupled with a lot of speculation.
Follow the link above to read the whole transcript or listen here.