First Looks category archive

The Booman points to signs of progress:

No, if there is going to be a cure for bipartisanship, it isn’t going to come from the Republicans in the Senate. Their back is already broken, and they know it. All that remains is for them to get used to it.

(Aside: The Booman seems to have a firmer grasp on political reality than do a lot of the ideologues and naysayers. To paraphrase what a friend emailed to me today over something else, there’s a country to save here. It’s time to stop quibbling over commas and semicolons. The Repubs haven’t yet figured out that the great majority of the country is just tuning them out. They’ve shown what they do, and no one wants them to do more of it.)

Now maybe the country can move forward and fix all the problems that the Repubs created.

It’s rather disgusting that people actually watch this thing live on the telly vision, while food aid organizations can’t keep up with demand.

I’ve seen video clips. That’s enough. The concept and the execution are both throw-up making.

Video courtesy Brendan, who has a lot more details and statistics, if you can–er–stomach them.

From today’s New York Times business webpage:

As Duncan says, “Lucky duckies.”

Phillybits faces a quandary, which he has since removed from his site.

Tuesday, Triumph Brewing Company, Chestnut two blocks from Front, 6 p.

Plenty of parking on Front, and, for drivers, parking meter rates have doubled. Save up even more quarters. (Meters are still cheaper than lots.)

Good food, good drink, good politics, good fellowship for all left-thinking persons.

And those economists at WellsWachovia should know about downturns (emphasis added):

The U.S. economy contracted violently in the fourth quarter, with gross domestic product falling at its fastest pace in more than 25 years, economists said ahead of what promises to be a grim week of economic news.

“Real economic activity fell off a cliff during the fourth quarter, producing a sharp drop in employment, output and spending,” wrote economists at Wachovia.

It’s gonna take a long time to clean up this mess.

And the worst part is that it’s not over. Economists expect another huge decline in the first quarter, with a smaller contraction in the second quarter.

Apparently, there was a pageant today.

Via Delaware Liberal, which also posted the text.

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

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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.