First Looks category archive

Drinking Liberally is a gathering place for liberals. Socialize and laugh in a friendly atmosphere.

When: 6 p., Tuesday, February 11.

Where:
Uno Chicago Grill
5900 Virginia Beach Blvd
(Janaf Shopping Center) (map)

Tuesdays for Norfolk, Thursdays for Virginia Beach to make it easier for persons with commitments on either day to catch at least one per month.

Back when I was a road warrior, leaping on airplanes and trains to travel all over the country, I always enjoyed reading the local rag, wherever I happened to be. Nothing tells you more about a place than the letters to the editor in the local newspaper.

I particularly enjoyed the Boston Globe, the Chicago Sun-Times (before Rupert Murdoch), and the Los Angeles Times. When Murdoch destroyed the credibility of the Sun-Times by his very presence, I moved to the Chicago Tribune, which leaned conservative, but sane.

That was then.

I commend to your attention George Smith’s discussion of how Sam Zell destroyed the Chicago Trib and the L. A. Times. It is a text-book illustration of how extracting maximum return from a property by shafting persons who do honest work and expect an honest return for their labor conflicts with the legitimate capitalist notion of providing good value for a reasonable return.

There is a difference between an capitalist economy and a leech economy.

We do not have a capitalist economy.

We have a lamprey economy.

As I write this, the weather plugin on the sidebar is displaying an error message.

Weather Unavailable or invalid NOAA code.

As I have changed nothing, I am assuming it is their problem, not mine. If the problem persists, I will look into it more deeply.

Addendum, Minutes Later:

Now it’s working. Blankety-blank computers.

This is good news.

The Natural Bridge will become a state park under a deal reached between its former and current owners and several Virginia agencies.

(snip)

Last spring Puglisi (the owner–ed.) contracted with Jim Woltz of Roanoke-based Woltz and Associates to auction the property, but told him that he wanted the national historic landmark to become a national or state park.

“He didn’t want it to be a carnival. He didn’t want to see a zip line off the bridge,” Woltz said.

If you have never seen it, it’s worth a trip.

Warning: If you are looking for tastefulness, look elsewhere.

Pete Seeger passes away after almost a century of championing the dispossessed and the persecuted.

I saw him in person once, at the Mobe in 1969, where he led the crowd in “All We Are Saying Is Give Peace a Chance.”

I’ve added Juanita Jean’s Beauty Salon to the feeds, over there, on the sidebar, because, frankly, it rocks.

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Off to drink liberally.

Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us and talk about anything in a relaxed atmosphere.

When: Thursday, January 23rd, 6 p.

Where:
Croc’s 19 Street Bistro
620 19th Street (Map)

More here.

Or not.

Warning: More bad taste than usual.

Off to drink liberally.

Drinking Liberally is a gathering place for liberals. Socialize and laugh in a friendly atmosphere.

When: 6 p., Tuesday, January 14.

Where:
Uno Chicago Grill
5900 Virginia Beach Blvd
(Janaf Shopping Center) (map)

Tuesdays for Norfolk, Thursdays for Virginia Beach to make it easier for persons with commitments on either day to catch at least one per month.

Some good news.

In April, the outlook was not good for the huge, historic vessel that has hovered like a specter over the South Philly waterfront since the mid-’90s.

(snip)

Donors from around the world contributed at least $205,000, and another $116,000 was raised by scrapping obsolete pieces of the ship that would have had to be cleared eventually by a developer, said Susan Gibbs, the conservancy’s executive director.

The influx of cash should cover the ship’s upkeep bills for the next six months or so. By that time, Gibbs said, there’s hope that a redevelopment deal will finally be close at hand.

You can see some pictures I took of her here.

Lefties are fond of saying that this group or that group “voted against their own interests.” Invariably, they refer to economic interests.

I am sympathetic to those statements, because, as far as I can see, all politics is political economy. Qui bono ultimately lies behind all policy, but qui bono does not lie behind all votes. That’s why misdirection plays work so well in politics.

Heather Denkmire explores this quite nicely at the Bangor Daily News, a small paper with big writers.

Be polite to your dealer.

State police said this morning they have charged a Saltsburg man with homicide and other offenses in the shooting death of an Indiana County gun dealer Tuesday.

TNT is showing all three Lord of the Rings movies today.

Happy New Year!

It was time to remodel. I’ve been working on this new theme the past few days. Please let me know of any problems you encounter by commenting on this post.

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