First Looks category archive

In other words, play fair with the man.

It does seem to be the end of wankery as usual.

John Cole wrote this so I wouldn’t have to.

Addendum, Supper Time:

kos has more in his Midday Update.

Here. Read the comments.

H/T Karen, once again.

StevenD sounds an all points bulletin, then answers his own question:

Gee, where were all these GOP budget hawks when Bush was blowing buh-buh-buh-BILLIONS of UNACCOUNTED and WASTED TAX DOLLARS in Iraq on a war and occupation which was based on a lie? When the bloated Medicare Drug Bill was written to the specifications of lobbyists for the Pharmaceutical and Insurance industries? I guess bipartisan means never having to do anything a Democratic President wants to help ordinary Americans in trouble …

And his answer surprises us how?

A submission from a reader over at TPM.

Yes, right here in River City:

On the 36th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, a man smashed his SUV into the entrance of the Planned Parenthood office in St. Paul this morning.

(snip)

“We think it’s intentional because of Roe vs. Wade,” Panos said. “He’s not saying much. He was praying or chanting when the officers arrived.”

Via Glomarization.

Bill Shein review compares the lives of Lincoln and Obama:

For example, we know that both came to the White House from Illinois. Both are regarded as masters of the political game. Both are tall. Both studied and practiced the law. And both enjoyed star-studded, pre-inauguration concerts that included an outstanding performance by folk legend Pete Seeger.

But it’s less-well-known that both Obama and Lincoln named their children Sasha and Malia, something that Lincoln biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin says is “absolutely not true.” At least when she’s asked during repeated late-night prank phone calls to her home.

There are countless other links between 1861 and 2009. It’s been widely reported that President Obama used Lincoln’s Bible while taking the oath of office. But did you know that thanks to special arrangement with the Smithsonian Institution, on Tuesday, soul legend Aretha Franklin wore the actual hat worn by Mary Todd Lincoln during her husband’s first swearing-in?

One hopes that his column will do to such comparisons what Airplane did to the loathsome and hackneyed Airport series.

End them.

Hot to trots:

Nineteen portable toilets have been deliberately set on fire at construction sites since Nov. 6, according to a San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman. No one has been injured, but the breezes blowing in from the Pacific have taken a hit.

Marketwatch summarizes “how to detect unfair or deceptive credit-card practices . . ..”

This story is worth a read for anyone who still has a credit card.

The Backwards Bush Clock over there

——————————–>

on the sidebar has been retired.

Bush is and will remain backwards, but his clock has run out.

Now, God willing, the polity will return to reasonable fights over sane policies, rather than unreasonable fights over insane policies.

God be with us as we return to reality.

Here.

.

The Booman discusses the difference between governing and kvetching.

What Susie said.

Courtesy of Philadelphia City Paper and others, Tuesday, The Plough and Stars, Second between Market and Chestnut, Philadelphia, Pa., 6 p.

Addendum:

I won’t tell anyone about my secret parking place. Rox reports that over 1000 persons have RSVP’ed.

Damn, I better print up some more business cards for tomorrow!

John Cole wrote this so I didn’t have to (it refers to this news story):

While James and the Supreme Court are focusing on worthwhile Constitutional issues, this seems to me to be missing the point, and akin to trying to cure heart disease by making better defibrillators. We need to look at what got us to this point that school officials would even CONSIDER performing a strip search for over the counter medication. This is a manifestation of decades of drug war mania and the ensuing zero tolerance idiocy.

The medicine they were looking for was prescription Ibuprofen.

The only difference between over-the-counter and prescription Ibuprofen is the strength of the pill.

You can turn standard (200 mg.) OTC Ibuprofen into Rx Ibuprofen by taking three of them, instead of two.

By the way, after making the girl strip to her underwear in front of a committee, school officials found nothing.

Except a half-naked 13-year-old girl.

It is difficult for me not to think that the whole scene must of have been a little weird.

If I had a picture of her in that state, I would go to jail for a long time, have my reputation trashed in the newspaper and on television, have my picture splashed all over the place, and be required to register with the authorities for the rest of my life.

But they, of course, are (drum roll) School Officials Fighting the War on Legal Non-Addictive Painkillers.

By the way: In Delaware, students are prohibited from having any medicine, whether or not it’s prescription, on them while in school. They are supposed to turn any medicine into the school nurse at the beginning of the school day.

Pop Quiz: What’s the difference between medicine and medication? (Answer below the fold).

Read more »

What happens without responsible regulation (part umpty-ump of a continuing series):

U.S. health authorities told consumers on Saturday to avoid eating products that contain peanut butter until they can determine the scope of an outbreak of salmonella food poisoning that may have contributed to six deaths.

Note that this does not apply to the peanut butter you find in the market. It applies to peanut butter sold to manufacturers, such as those who make peanut butter cookies, and to institutions, such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.

Addendum, Later the Same Evening:

Some of Susie’s family ended up in the hospital. They are still waiting for test results to find out if it’s peanut-butter-cracker-related.

Judging by all the helicopter activity down by the river where the railroad tracks run, I would say that the Obama Express just passed by.

No blanket pardons for unconstitutional conduct.

Yet.