Wednesday, February 01, 2006
SOTU: Confident? Prepare to be challenged.
In his State of the Union Address, Bush vows to create an agenda that competes with confidence.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
BULLETIN! Bush/Abramoff Photos discovered by Anonymoses
Remember...I don't know you.
(See: "in the Biblical sense")
"I did not have verbal relations with that man." - GW Bush
BUSH’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS TO BE SIMULCAST IN ENGLISH
President Hopes to Reach Broader Audience, Aides Say
For the first time since he was elected President of the United States, George W. Bush’s State of the Union address tonight will be simulcast in English, the White House confirmed.
With the president’s approval ratings sagging, the decision to simulcast the speech in English was widely seen as an attempt by the president to make an appeal to a broader audience.
More on this breaking news from the Borowitz Report
(hat tip to Rah Bourbon)
For the first time since he was elected President of the United States, George W. Bush’s State of the Union address tonight will be simulcast in English, the White House confirmed.
With the president’s approval ratings sagging, the decision to simulcast the speech in English was widely seen as an attempt by the president to make an appeal to a broader audience.
More on this breaking news from the Borowitz Report
(hat tip to Rah Bourbon)
Mrs. Martin Luther King has died
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King's Accomplishments Included a Syndicated Column
NEW YORK Coretta Scott King, who died overnight at age 78, lived a memorable life. But one thing many people may not remember is that she wrote a weekly column for the New York Times Syndicate during the mid-1980s.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Dark Dubya
Bush morphing into dark double
"Ah-mad-in-e-jad. Not to be comfused with I'm mad and in a jam."
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Yale finally comes clean
Infamous university finally discovers the wonders of soap
"I think it's great that people have soap."
After centuries of unclean living, Yale University has now decided to change its stripes, and join the ranks of Harvard, Haverford and Chapel Hill -- centers of higher cleanliness. We predict, however, that the change will have a detrimental effect on their sports teams, since it was usually the smell which facilitated any victory that might happen along. Here's to clean learning!
"I think it's great that people have soap."
After centuries of unclean living, Yale University has now decided to change its stripes, and join the ranks of Harvard, Haverford and Chapel Hill -- centers of higher cleanliness. We predict, however, that the change will have a detrimental effect on their sports teams, since it was usually the smell which facilitated any victory that might happen along. Here's to clean learning!
Music for a Sunday Midwinter Night
Sunday is a time for reflection. Or maybe it was refraction. I'll have to get back on that. Anyway, Sunday is good for something, I just can't remember. Oh yeah. Jesus. How could I forget? Music! Music for God's sake!
Or maybe it was for God's snake. The mad cow. Denny Crane!
Since you are not privy to my library, let me offer you a reasonable alternative.
It's called Echoes. And was probably named after the Floyd song with the same name.
And no, not Cramer. And not the barber. Except on T-shirts.
In Charlotte, it is on FM 90.7, WFAE. The station that caters to the ejikated classes.
Here are highlights from Echoes' playlist for tonight:
(Ignore that it says it's from Wednesday. They must replay it at night or something.)
-Thomas Newman (composer of the soundtracks for The Player, Jarhead, and American Beauty, among others.)
- Tinh
- R Carlos Nakai and Keola Beamer
- Dean De Benedictis
- Peppino D'Agostino and Stef Burns
- Takashi Kohgo
- Blue Stone
- Anja Lechner and Vasillis Tsabropoulos
- Bombay Dub Orchestra
- Bochum Welt
- Dungen
- Sophie Barker
- Richard Bone
- Harp 46
- Archetribe
Granted, not the most memorable of names. But soul-revivifying music, in the main.
Covering Morrocone at the moment...
Movies for a Sunday Afternoon
"Roman Holiday" and "It Happened One Night", two of the best movies of all time, will be on today at 2pm and 4pm. If you're not busy, you ought to watch them. They will make you a better person. Swear! You can catch them on the great Turner Classic Movies (TCM).
"Roman Holiday" stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, as well as a young Eddie Albert, and features the famous scene of Peck putting his hand into to mouth in the wall, shocking Ms. Hepburn when he removes his arm...handless. My own father used to do this to us kids, and people say he looked a lot like Mr. Peck.
"It Happened One Night" stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in surely their funniest roles. The movie won more academy awards than any since its own win in the late 1930s. It is said that the sale of T-shirts plummeted after this movie came out. (Clark strips at one point, and he is not wearing upper undergarments.)
Both movies are entirely 5-star affairs, and will surely become one of your own favorites. All four of the principals are sublime.
If you can...tape it. You'll want to share, just as I do...
"Roman Holiday" stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, as well as a young Eddie Albert, and features the famous scene of Peck putting his hand into to mouth in the wall, shocking Ms. Hepburn when he removes his arm...handless. My own father used to do this to us kids, and people say he looked a lot like Mr. Peck.
"It Happened One Night" stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in surely their funniest roles. The movie won more academy awards than any since its own win in the late 1930s. It is said that the sale of T-shirts plummeted after this movie came out. (Clark strips at one point, and he is not wearing upper undergarments.)
Both movies are entirely 5-star affairs, and will surely become one of your own favorites. All four of the principals are sublime.
If you can...tape it. You'll want to share, just as I do...
ABC's Woodruff, cameraman injured in Iraq
BREAKING NEWS
Bob Woodruff Injured in Iraq IED explosion
NEW YORK - ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and a cameraman were seriously injured Sunday in an explosion while reporting from Iraq, the network said Sunday.
Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were hit by an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq, and were in serious condition at a U.S. military hospital, ABC News President David Westin said.
The last time I saw Mr. Woodruff on Friday night, I remember him to have an apprehensive look on his face as he said he was going to be reporting from Iraq.
Was he prescient, or are things even worse than they are being portrayed, and Bob knew it?
Our prayers are with these brave gentlemen. May they have a speedy recovery.
Bob Woodruff Injured in Iraq IED explosion
NEW YORK - ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and a cameraman were seriously injured Sunday in an explosion while reporting from Iraq, the network said Sunday.
Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were hit by an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq, and were in serious condition at a U.S. military hospital, ABC News President David Westin said.
The last time I saw Mr. Woodruff on Friday night, I remember him to have an apprehensive look on his face as he said he was going to be reporting from Iraq.
Was he prescient, or are things even worse than they are being portrayed, and Bob knew it?
Our prayers are with these brave gentlemen. May they have a speedy recovery.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
CONNECTING THE DOTS: News as Clues
- Bush '04 paid studio with photo $140,000 - Raw Story
- NYT Sunday; Ted Koppel: TV news industry 'in distress' - Raw Story
- U.S. seized Iraqi wives as tactic - Yahoo! News
- End Of The Road Map - Tom Paine
- Global warming 'raises' sea levels - Newsday
- GOP's Frist will try to revive gay marriage amendment... - Raw Story
- The Impeachment of George W. Bush - The Nation
- The New Face of the Campus Left - The Nation
- When Will US Women Demand Peace? - The Nation
- Rocking the House - The Nation
- The Emperor's Powers - The Nation
- Liberals, Religion and the Social Gospel - The Nation
- Music for the End of Time - The Nation on Olivier Messiaen
- Poll: Most Think Bush is Failing - The Nation
- Bush the Incompetent by Harold Meyerson
- Bush: I Am The State - Washington Post
- State Of The People's Union - Robert L. Borosage and Troy Peters
- 2005 Utne Independent Press Awards: And the Winners Are... - Utne Reader
- Socially Responsible Investing (PDF) - Utne.com
- How Many Innocent People in Prison? - Mother Jones
- Jack Bauer and the Ethics of Urgency - In These Times
- Sexual healing - Salon.com
- The blogosphere, left and right - The Daou Report
- Fatah gunmen storm parliament - Guardian
- Cinema Purgatorio - Slate.com
- God and Man on Television: For the networks, Friday is the new Sunday. - Slate.com
- Old Laws Obsolete at Bush's Word? - OneAmerica blog
- Tar Heel Tavern XL - BlueNC blog
- Tar Heel Tavern XL, uh, II - BlueNC blog
- Deep-Sea Drill Set for Climate Research - AP World News
- A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq - AP World News
- Pope: Annulment Decisions Must Be Rapid - AP World News
- Polish Roof Collapse Kills at Least 20 - AP World News
- Visions of the Left Emerge in Venezuela - AP World News
- Botswana Adopts Radical Approach to HIV - AP World News
- Britain Hopes to Lower Iraq Troop Numbers - AP World News
- Hamas Suggests Using Militants in Army - AP World News
Friday, January 27, 2006
Intellectual Freedom: The Democrats' Secret Ingredient
Intellectual Freedom and Honesty, NOT Dogma, Secrecy and Spin
No one is asking you to say "ditto". We want you to think with your own head. We are Democrats.
If you are tired of all the dogma, secrecy and spin...consider joining the great Democratic Party. The party of the future. The party to go to.
Are you able to think your own thoughts without fear, coercion or social pressure?
Widen your world. Be a Democrat.
And think!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Collected Political Posts of Coturnix
Science And Politics: Looking for Politics on "Science And Politics"?
Great idea, Bora! I'm gonna hafta compile my two good posts...
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
LA Times on pseudopatriotistic pacifists and other wussies.
Joel Stein:
Warriors and wusses
I DON'T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.
...
But I'm not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they're wussy by definition. MORE
Warriors and wusses
I DON'T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.
...
But I'm not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they're wussy by definition. MORE
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Post-Post-911: Moving from Fear to Love
Before 9/11, Americans were not consumed by fear. But then 9/11 changed everything. America became consumed by fear. And when you are fearful, you make bad decisions.
In this sense, Karl Rove was right. Democrats are pre-911...at least in the sense of not being consumed by fear. But what about those who ARE consumed by fear? Can we help those folks get over their fear? Can we help them to become post-post-911?
Decades are funny things. Oftentimes the first half is radically different than the last half. Look at the 60s...which didn't really get going until the latter part of the decade.
The same can be said for the decade we are in.
The first half of this decade has been dominated by post-911 fear. The latter half will be dominated by post-post-911 love. Wait and see. Better yet...join in!
Monday, January 23, 2006
Wake Politics: Raleigh News & Observer does blogging
Ryan Teague Beckwith maintains this excellent blog which tracks local government in Wake County.
From the blog:
"Check here for the latest on your local elected officials, community activism and upcoming political events of all stripes.
Some links on WakePol will take you to other sites covering local politics, including individual blogs, government Web sites, partisan interest groups and other news media. WakePol does not endorse any opinions expressed on those sites and cannot guarantee their accuracy.
This blog is maintained by Wake County reporter Ryan Teague Beckwith and Western Wake reporter Toby Coleman. "
From the blog:
"Check here for the latest on your local elected officials, community activism and upcoming political events of all stripes.
Some links on WakePol will take you to other sites covering local politics, including individual blogs, government Web sites, partisan interest groups and other news media. WakePol does not endorse any opinions expressed on those sites and cannot guarantee their accuracy.
This blog is maintained by Wake County reporter Ryan Teague Beckwith and Western Wake reporter Toby Coleman. "
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