Spinning the Wheel of Life...

I guess it's time..

2009-09-13T14:11:00.005-05:00

... to bid this blog an official adieu.
I just haven't had the time to keep up with my older blogs, and this one was the last to go. But it bugs me when people just abandon blogs without a parting post, so here is mine.
I really have enjoyed keeping this blog for the last three years, especially in the early days of my politically-oriented job. In the first year or so, I was pretty prolific.
But there's no sense in dragging things out now that I'm down to a post every other month.
So here's to radical moderation, moderate radicalism, etc.!
To anyone out there who read this blog, especially those who really believe that there's power and sanity in the middle way (much of the time, anyway), please keep (nonviolently, always, and with respect for all humanity) fighting the good fight!

Wow, this is depressing.

2009-07-21T11:26:00.002-05:00

Prominent scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is going to have a few things to write about this incident. And well he should.

On a Lighter Note (Congressional Quote of the Year So Far)

2009-07-16T22:53:00.004-05:00

from The Huffington Post: "That Crack Cocaine Thing"

Senator Jeff Sessions simultaneously shocked and cracked up the Sotomayor hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday afternoon when he said he was looking forward to doing "that crack cocaine thing" with Senator Patrick Leahy and Wade Henderson, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Sessions, in a casual tone, said "Mr. Henderson, It's good to work with you. Senator Leahy and I are talking during these hearings, we're going to do that crack cocaine thing that you and I have talked about before."

After an awkward pause, Henderson laughed to himself and said, "Thank you, Senator, I appreciate that."

While the Senate gallery laughed, and witnesses including NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former FBI director Louis Freeh snickered, Sessions sputtered, "Let me correct the record."

Sessions explained: "I misspoke. We're going to reduce the burden of penalties in some of the crack cocaine cases and make them fair."

Admiration...

2009-06-19T12:27:00.007-05:00

... for the young students and other supporters (more of freedom itself -- for the first time in many of their lives -- than specifically) of Moussavi in Iran. This is courage and patriotism if I've ever seen it.
Things are getting dangerous over there and the supreme leader (whose names says it all) isn't giving an inch, yet the movement persists. What happens tomorrow will be pivotal.
For diplomatic reasons, the U.S., particularly at the administration level, is understandably cautious. If the new administration learned anything from the past administration's mistakes in Iraq (or Palestine), it's not to meddle directly in other countries' elections. And all we can do as citizens is assist in providing the protesters an international voice via reporting and technology, and wish them the best, which doesn't seem like enough. It's hard to just watch.

On Dreams... I sort of knew this, actually.

2009-06-16T09:49:00.006-05:00

It makes intuitive sense. Dreams help us process the emotional component of memories, and being sleep-deprived makes us paranoid and cranky (for evolutionary survival reasons.)
This would explain why, even after a bad day, "things look better after a good night's sleep."

from Time magazine

Obama On Why We Need Health Care Reform Now

2009-06-13T12:31:00.004-05:00

I think he makes a pretty good case here, and it's the first time I've heard him directly address the reasonable objections that have been made in a concise, straightforward manner. He should say this more often.

from his townhall meeting in Green Bay on Thursday:

PRES. BARACK OBAMA: So I just want to repeat, the single biggest problem we have, in terms of the debt and the deficit, is health care. It's Medicare and Medicaid.

(APPLAUSE)

That -- that is -- when you hear all these projections about all these trillions of dollars and red ink going out as far as the eye can see, almost all of that is because of the increase in Medicare and Medicaid costs that are going up much, much faster than inflation.

It's undoubtedly true that this economic crisis has hurt our budget situation. Because, again, a lot less money is coming in from corporate taxes, sales taxes, et cetera. So that reduces the amount of money coming in at the same time as we're having to put a lot more money out for food stamps and for unemployment insurance and all kinds of other help that people need when they get thrown out of their jobs, subsidizing COBRA so they can keep their health care.

That's contributed to some of it. Some of it is that I have proposed some investments in education and in energy and in health information technologies.

But there was just an article in the New York Times yesterday that showed that all that stuff -- everything that I've proposed, my stimulus package, what we've done in terms of bailing out the financial system, all that stuff -- that accounts for maybe 7 percent, 8 percent of what you've seen in terms of increased debt and deficit.

The real problem is Medicaid and Medicare. That's the nightmare scenario. If we can bend the curve, the cost curve down, so that health care inflation is no more than ordinary inflation; it's matching up with the amount of increases that you're seeing on your paychecks in your wages and your incomes, then we're going to be OK. And if we don't get a handle on it, we're not going to be OK.

It doesn't matter, you know, that we eliminate earmarks or do all that other stuff. That won't make any difference. We'll still be consumed by huge debt for the next generation.

That's why it's so important. That's why we're going to get it done. That's why I need your help, Green Bay.

With Time, A Grim and Haunting Perspective on the Toll of War for Iraqis

2009-05-28T11:00:00.008-05:00

While we were debating whether or not to call what was happening between sectarian militias "civil war," Iraqis were living it, and still are.

Inside Iraq: Living With the Enemy

The Early Objections...

2009-05-27T14:28:00.003-05:00

... to Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination leave something to be desired.
Megyn Fox was playing devil's advocate on Fox News this morning, but perhaps she was playing too hard for Mr. Franks, whose main argument seemed to be that he can read the president's mind. (Also, the issue of abortion, via that conveniently co-opted phrase "right to life," was, in his view, first and foremost in the minds of the nation's founders when they were drafting the Constitution.)

REP. TRENT FRANKS, R-ARIZ.: She, you know, has been touted as a bipartisan pick, but she is a reliable liberal on the Supreme Court. And I think Mr. Obama knew that, that she would probably very likely have a pro-abortion perspective that would overcome any right to life, that really is the whole foundation of the Constitution.

And there is clearly a liberal bias in her -- in her votes, and that's borne out in the -- in the record, across the board.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: But where do you get that from? I mean, I've looked back at her opinions, and granted, it hasn't been that long that we've been poring over her history, but I see no pro-abortion ruling on there. I see one ruling she issued that was actually pro-life.

FRANKS: Yes, no, I'm not -- I'm not pointing out the life issue, in particular, in any rulings that she's made, but I'm convinced that Mr. Obama knows what her perspective there is.

Today's Reading: Killer Robots and Invisible Agents

2009-05-19T16:51:00.004-05:00

I just think the following is the best MSNBC web article title ever:

Robot Warriors Will Get Ethics Guide

And Scientific American has a really good article by Michael Shermer, author of Why People Believe Weird Things:

Why People Believe Invisible Agents Control the World

Music Opens the Heart (It's Not a Metaphor)

2009-05-12T13:37:00.002-05:00

Music and laughter open up blood vessels and produce protective chemicals, says Maryland cardiologist.
It has to be music one enjoys, however, and it can't be played in a loop. (I have my doubts about the latter, though. Some songs just seem to get better after the fourth consecutive listen.)

Breaking News in Moderate-land

2009-04-28T12:41:00.006-05:00

Arlen Specter switches parties.

I don't care precisely why he did it right now, because it was long overdue. He held out for a revival of the moderate wing of the GOP, but instead it's continued to shrink, and now extinction seems likelier than not. No doubt, he'll miss being ranking member of Judiciary, but hopefully the warm welcome wagon will be some consolation.

Yeah, I've always liked this guy, my former senator, but today seals the deal.

Fascinating Article on Infant Cognition...

2009-04-27T00:02:00.002-05:00

... and creativity/ Zen "beginner's mind" in adults.

Inside the Baby Mind

I just don't get it.

2009-04-13T13:21:00.010-05:00

If a bunch of people sat in a room with the task of imagining the most f***ed-up thing they could think of, it couldn't be much worse than this:

A 13-year-old girl is raped by three men, and when her father complains to the authorities, they accuse her of adultery and sentence her to be stoned to death. She is taken to a football stadium where 1,000 people watch as she is placed in a hole in the ground and buried to her neck. Fifty men stone her, and at one point nurses are sent to check whether she is still alive. She is, so they put her back in the hole until she dies. Then a story is fabricated for the press in which she is 23 and pleads guilty to "adultery," accepting her fate, rather than pleading for her life, as she did in reality -- as if these changes of detail makes the hideous spectacle somehow excusable. Later, Amnesty International learned the factual details from witnesses to the execution. One boy was shot in a crossfire as members of the crowd attempted to assist the girl.

So, yes, this is what is happening on the mainland in Somalia.

After reading that horrible, enraging story, I needed to search for organizations that are helping women in places that hold little hope for them -- although, in the case of the organization below, not specifically Somalia, but perhaps they will include that country in the future. But it is helping women in Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Sudan, etc. It looks like a wonderful organization. I have been looking for something like this to support.

Women for Women International

Quote du Jour: Obama in Turkey

2009-04-06T19:06:00.005-05:00

Obama: "I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is, although as I mentioned we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."

Yes, these comments may be controversial to some here at home who, while dropping the term "founding fathers" quite a lot, appear not to have read them very thoroughly. If they had, they might realize that our nation is based as much on secular classical principles of justice, equality and democracy (principles inherent in early community-based Judeo- and Hellenistic Christianity, but not in Christianity as it was later conceived as a state religion) as it is on Abrahamic or Judeo-Christian values.

Except for the unfortunate concession on Armenia implied by his phrasing, the conciliatory Ankara speech is another very encouraging example of the new tone Obama is setting.

Overseas Contingency Operation

2009-04-01T23:10:00.003-05:00

I, for one, like it (the name, that is.)
Because, as John Oliver so sagely put it on "The Daily Show" last night, after eight years of an administration appealing, through its nomenclature and other means, to our basest war-mongering instincts, America needs to "calm the f*** down."

Why I Like Barack Obama

2009-03-28T01:42:00.003-05:00

His place on a political spectrum notwithstanding, he's at heart a moderate, intellectually, temperamentally.
Here's just one example. It's not so much that I agree with his campaign position against Hillary's vision of health care. I think perhaps scrapping our present system might indeed be the thing to do... but not for the sake of burning down a house just to build something on top of it; only if it's really the smartest way to do it.
In any case, I guess I just like the way the guy's mind works. If anyone equated his conception of "change" with "revolution," they may be disappointed. But on the other hand, they may just see some change.

from Thursday's "town hall" meeting on the economy:

OBAMA: Let me just see a show of hands. How many people here have health insurance through your employer?

OK. So the majority of Americans, partly for a historical accident -- I won't go into -- you know, FDR had imposed wage controls during wartime in World War II.

People were -- companies were trying to figure out how to attract workers, and they said, well, maybe we'll provide health care as a benefit.

And so what evolved in America was an employer-based system. It may not be the best system, if we were designing it from scratch, but that's what everybody's accustomed to. That's what everybody's used to. It works for a lot of Americans.

And so I don't think the best way to fix our health care system is to suddenly completely scrap what everybody is accustomed to and the vast majority of people already have....

Spike in Military Suicides: Is it reallly still such a mystery?

2009-03-18T23:07:00.004-05:00

I've heard this issue discussed enough in congressional hearings; the questions are always asked, but there are never any answers...
Could the repeated (up to four!) deployments have anything to do with it?

From Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps: "We have looked at the data to try to find answers that will enable us to address this needless loss of life.... The most likely cause is a failed relationship with a woman."

And I wonder why that's happening... would it possibly be related to the repeated deployments? Is it possible for anyone to deploy three or four times in seven years and not have some form of combat stress that would be extremely destructive if not treated?

And in many cases, it's not being treated, acknowledged, or understood. As for Congress, it seems they need to try a new tack.

Sad Money

2009-03-13T23:00:00.005-05:00

I know my blog-rate is petering out here, but I had to comment on the heartbreaking mastery of Jon Stewart's Frost/Nixon job on "Mad Money's" Jim Cramer. I guess everyone who hasn't been living under a rock has seen the show, and those living under rocks have probably seen at least a clip, but if you haven't seen the full interview, it's HERE.
Not surprisingly, the parts that weren't aired were the more amicable moments. I know I shouldn't, but I hope Jim is OK. I'll just keep thinking of all those CNBC viewers who lost their life savings.

Religious Pluralism and the Nonbeliever

2009-03-03T16:54:00.004-05:00

I like how Eboo Patel, executive director of something called Interfaith Youth Core, parsed his terms in last Thursday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on engaging Muslim communities -- specifically how those terms didn't exclude nonbelievers or promote unity at their expense.

PATEL: Mr. Chairman, I believe that the question of the 21st century will be the question of the faith line -- that is, how diverse religious communities choose to interact, whether that interaction moves toward conflict or toward cooperation.

The biggest mistake we can make on the question of the faith line is to define it wrong. The wrong definition of the faith line pits Muslims against Christians, or believers against nonbelievers.

If we define the faith line as Muslims against Christians, we are left with a world of 2 billion people at war with a world of 1.3 billion people. That is an eternal war.

I prefer to divide the faith line -- to define the faith line as a line that divides people I call religious pluralists from religious totalitarians.

I have a very simple definition for a religious pluralist. It's somebody who believes in a society where people from diverse backgrounds live in equal dignity and mutual loyalty.

I have a very simple definition of a religious totalitarian. It's somebody who wants their community to dominate and everyone else to suffocate.

In honor of Valentine's Day...

2009-02-14T15:56:00.000-05:00

... I thought this photo was cute (no, it's not a kitten and a duck, but still cute ;)

The Oddest of Odd Couples

Newsflash: Chris Wallace Believes What He Reads In "The Media."

2009-02-03T22:26:00.005-05:00

on Fox News today:

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Since you became president, you have warned Republicans, quote, "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done."

PRES. BARACK OBAMA: Now, how do you know that's a quote?

WALLACE: Well, I read it in the media.

OBAMA: Yeah.

WALLACE: Did you not say...

OBAMA: I just wanted -- I'm not sure that was the exact quote.

WALLACE: Let me throw another one at you and you tell me whether this is an exact quote. You were widely quoted, when you met with the House GOP caucus saying, "Go ahead, free feel to whack me. I'll watch Fox News and feel bad about myself."

OBAMA: That one I did say.

WALLACE: Is perhaps -- let me just raise the possibility -- are you a trifle thin-skinned?

OBAMA: No, no, no. I said it in good humor. I think everybody understood that that was a joke.

Yep, Chris, this guy is no Clinton in the hot seat, but no Bush, either. What did we learn today? Chris Wallace follows the MSM and has no sense of humor.
I like our president more and more every day.

Weekly Schiefferism

2009-01-26T22:24:00.008-05:00

OK, yeah, I like Bob Schieffer. Here's yet another of his quotable "final thoughts," from Sunday on "Face the Nation":

Finally today, it is an example I have cited many times over the years, that Hubert Humphrey once said the 1964 Civil Rights Act was America's single most effective foreign policy initiative.

It had nothing to do with foreign policy, but it told the world who we were and what we stood for and that our system was about fairness and equal treatment, and that it worked.

I thought about that when Barack Obama announced that torture would never be part of our national policy. America has always been the most successful when it is leading by example, when we have practiced what we have preached.

America's weapons did not win the Cold War. They kept the Soviet Union at bay. The war was won when the people on the other side looked across the Iron Curtain, saw a better way of life there, realized their system of government could not give it to them, and so the walls came down.

With a simple declaration, President Obama told the world our system of government is so strong, we don't need to torture people to survive. That is the way of those who would destroy us. But that is not us. We have found a better way.

That is what our message to the world must be. More importantly, that is what we want our children to know. When we are admired and respected by others, we are far more secure than any weapon can ever make us.

Quote du Jour: Hope Over Fear

2009-01-20T13:47:00.002-05:00

The inaugural speech

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." -- President Barack Obama

Important Presidential Update: Obama is Keeping his BlackBerry!

2009-01-18T19:36:00.003-05:00

on John King's new CNN Sunday show, "State of the Union" today:

KING: Well, actually, one last question. And it's, in part, silly. But it's not always silly. You like these [holding up BlackBerry]. I was just with you before this, and you have a couple of them. And there are a lot of people who say, because this will end up in the presidential library, because you don't have privacy any more, your life's about to change.

Tuesday noon, you have to give this up.

OBAMA: Yes.

KING: You going to do it?

OBAMA: I think we're going to be able to beat this back.

KING: Beat this back?

OBAMA: I think we're going to be able to hang onto one of these. Now...

KING: Do you want mine?

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: My -- my working assumption, and this is not new, is that anything I write on an e-mail could end up being on CNN. So I make sure to -- to think before I press "send."

But what this has been -- what this does is -- and it's just one tool among a number of tools that I'm trying to use, to break out of the bubble, to make sure that people can still reach me, that if I'm doing something stupid, somebody in Chicago can send me an e-mail and say, "What are you doing?" You know? Or "you seem detached" or "you're not listening to what is going on here in the neighborhood."

I want to be able to have voices, other than the people who are immediately working for me, be able to reach out and -- and send me a message about what's happening in America.

Good for you, Mr. Soon-President. Bring us into the 21st century, in yet another sense.

Quote of the Year (so far): Joe the Plumber...

2009-01-12T21:24:00.003-05:00

... I mean Middle East war correspondent:

"I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting."

More words of wisdom from Joe

Some clerical errors are worse than others.

2009-01-08T23:30:00.003-05:00

This is probably the worst I've seen.

Army apologizes for "Dear John Doe" letters

Where do they find these contractors? I guess I shouldn't ask.

More ex-presidential photo ops

2009-01-08T00:10:00.002-05:00

Don't you feel nostalgic just looking at those guys? (Well, some of them, anyway...)

And a belated ball-drop moment...

2009-01-02T16:51:00.004-05:00

Given how I've followed the Clintons' ups and downs this past year, I couldn't resist posting this cheerier moment from New Year's Eve.

New Year's Day Special: Why You Should Sleep Late

2009-01-01T19:35:00.002-05:00

from Wired:
3 Smart Things About Sleeping Late

Speaking of dire headlines...

2008-12-29T13:55:00.003-05:00

... now Israel's defense minister has described their retaliatory air strikes in Gaza as "war to the bitter end." Not to freak anyone out, or anything...

Aww heck... bah humbug aside...

2008-12-22T13:11:00.005-05:00

... a happy holiday to us all, both Dems and 'pubs, Libertarians and Socialists, Greens and (Other)!
Hope the day's as joyous as November 4th! ;-)

Another one for the "Really?" file.

2008-12-19T17:38:00.006-05:00

It's bad enough that three policemen, at the wrong house, looking for three white prostitutes, tried to arrest a 12-year-old black girl as one of their suspects, and beat her so that she had to be hospitalized and suffered ear drum injury.
But then, instead of apologizing to the traumatized girl, who's still having nightmares about the incident two years later, they try to sue her and her father for assaulting a public servant, because they tried to fight back against the ridiculously bungled arrest by plain-clothes policeman who just jumped out of an unmarked van and began attacking the girl, who had stepped out of her home to turn on a breaker switch.
The first case was a mistrial, and the new case it set for February.
WTF, Galveston, Texas? Really?

Bah Humbug.

2008-12-17T23:41:00.005-05:00

I finally get it, why some people have a problem with Christmas. And it has nothing to do with religion. I grew up hearing about how "commercialism" was ruining Christmas, and I never really got it. Well, I was a kid and I liked presents. Nor could I fathom why this time of year had the highest suicide rate of the year. It was nothing but holly and jolly to me then.
As an adult, I began to understand. Losing my religion had far less effect on my enjoyment of Christmas as merely progressing deeper and deeper into adulthood (and not having yet made the decision, as of this moment, to start a new generation and relive the whole thing through their eyes.)
I see that it's not the commercialism per se that is so objectionable (although to some, that would be enough.) It's the way the hypersentimentality (thanks, Victorians!) of the season is exploited by merchandisers to sell their trinkets. It's not so much the fact that Christmas has been co-opted that bothers me. It's the 21st century, and solstice celebrations have always reflected the times. The present epoch, for better or worse, is a very commercial epoch. What bothers me instead is the way that widowed people, single and divorced people, people who have lost a child or a sibling or a parent that year or are dealing with an illness or personal tragedy of their own, who depend on the humdrum workaday world just to cope until they can manage again, must endure 6 weeks of holiday music on the radio, holiday displays in the stores, holiday commercials on TV, Christmas lights on every corner, Christmas cookies in the office -- reminders everywhere they go to get with the Christmas program and feel how the Victorian Christmas meme tells us all we're supposed to feel, just so that we'll buy some crap at Target.
It's just a bit insidious, that's all.
I mean, it's nice to have something to distract us from and brighten the darkest time of year. I just think it should be compressed from six weeks down to maybe one, or two at most. That's not going to happen, of course, but I was feeling cranky and I had to share.
I'll be chipper again on New Year's Eve (and back to par by January 2nd.)

Waiting for the Other Shoe...

2008-12-14T19:03:00.005-05:00

Wolf Blitzer was salivating over it early this afternoon on "Late Edition":

BLITZER: President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq this morning, the fourth and final trip of his presidency. Let's go to Michael Ware. He's our man in Baghdad, right now. Michael, what do we know?

WARE: Well, Bush -- well, Wolf...

(LAUGHTER)

... the most extraordinary thing. You may or may not believe this. We're getting reports from the press pool that flew in with President Bush, and apparently, just a short time ago, at a press conference with Prime Minister Maliki, an Iraqi man stood up in the press conference and threw a shoe at President Bush.

By the reports we're getting, it just sailed past his head. And while the man was dragged out of the room, President Bush is said to have remarked that, "This was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know," even as the man was heard screaming in the hallway.

So this is all during President Bush's farewell trip, as it's billed, to Iraq, where he's celebrating the SOFA agreement struck between Baghdad and Washington to see the U.S. troops to go home. Wolf?

BLITZER: Wow. That's -- that's -- that's good. I'm sure that the videotape -- we'll get that pretty soon. Any idea when we'll get that video?

WARE: No. We're all waiting with bated breath. Now, we haven't seen many pictures coming out of the trip, but, given this was at a press conference, keep your fingers crossed. Let's hope we see something very soon, Wolf.

BLITZER: I'm sure we will. And we'll bring it to our viewers, Michael, as soon as we get it.

And here it is. Yes, it's as good as it sounds. How are you liking that 3-week vacation now, Jon Stewart?

Well, I'm Not Worried Yet.

2008-12-08T21:45:00.004-05:00

Liberals Voice Concerns About Obama

(Syntax aside) I agree with this guy (John Isaacs, the executive director for Council for Livable World):

“To me it’s not as important as who’s there, than what kind of policies they carry out.”

and this guy (Juan Cole, who "runs a prominent anti-war blog called Informed Comment"):

“... But overall, my estimation is that he has chosen competence over ideology, and I'm willing to cut him some slack."

Dire Headlines: Raising the Bar

2008-12-02T18:43:00.003-05:00

from the Telegraph on the rise of gold "as world unravels."

Ouch. How long do we have left?
Hold this thread as we walk away...

Iceland: Case Study in Economic Crisis?

2008-11-24T15:43:00.006-05:00

Canary in the Coal Mine?

Although I was only there briefly, I liked Iceland. Hope they're on the mend soon.

Why I Love Salon

2008-11-21T22:42:00.002-05:00

Get over it, Clinton haters by Joe Conason

... the president-elect in his wisdom has repudiated the Clinton-bashing mythology of the '90s. Perhaps that is what he meant when he promised to say goodbye to all the partisan poison of the past.

OK, in case there had ever been any question...

2008-11-17T00:13:00.006-05:00

... I can now say for certain that I never want to be president.

No e-mail for 4-8 years? An anachronistic Luddite deprivation for which the most powerful position in the free world would offer little consolation ;)

Obama faces the loss of his beloved BlackBerry.

The Next Question: Secretary of State

2008-11-14T19:32:00.004-05:00

I won't lie and say that I wouldn't love to see Hillary get it. On the other hand, Bill Richardson is incredibly qualified. I wouldn't cry to see John Kerry get it, either, and he is qualified as well, although I'd prefer to see it go to one of the other two.

Veterans Day Quote du Jour: World War II vet held in Nazi slave camp

2008-11-11T15:37:00.002-05:00

... who breaks decades of silence on his ordeal there and its aftermath of U.S. military-enforced secrecy and indifference, but nevetheless offers his unembittered wisdom:

"You only live once. Let's keep trucking. If we don't do that, who's going to do it for us? We have to be happy. Why hate? The world is full of hate, and yet they don't know what they want."

Quote du Jour: Bob Schieffer on Obama's Victory Speech

2008-11-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

I noticed this, too.

from Schieffer's closing comments today on "Face the Nation."

Finally today, seeing the television picture of that crowd in Grant Park that had come to celebrate Barack Obama's victory was a sight I will never forget.

But I was disappointed, at first, in Obama's speech. I was expecting another of those rousing, old-time, "Yes, we can" orations that had electrified crowds during the campaign.

He made a fine speech, I thought, but why didn't he ramp it up, as he had so many times before? Where was the punchline for this one?

Well, the next day, I read something in the paper that helped me understand that wasn't what he had in mind Tuesday night.

I read that his campaign had planned a big fireworks display, but Obama had said no. He understood that the rally that night would speak for itself. There was no need to gild the moment with fireworks, nor would a stem-winding speech that rubbed victory in his opponent's face have been appropriate.

Tuesday, in his mind, was the night to say thank you, not gloat. The faces in the crowd would tell the story.

That restraint, Obama's understanding of how it would all look, an ability so often lacking in today's politicians, may well but what brought him to victory.

Time and again, in a hard-fought campaign, there were lines Obama could have crossed but didn't.

He made no issue of McCain's age. He raised no questions about his health. He never went after Sarah Palin. He knew how it would have looked.

Communicating, cutting through, connecting with people is more than just the words we choose. It also means understanding when no words are necessary.

New look

2008-11-07T22:59:00.006-05:00

Yeah, change is in the air. I thought the blog's facelift made it look a bit less somber.

I'm also wondering if I've become a bit of a misnomer. It's pretty obvious I'm a damn liberal (or progressive, if you prefer), and now that liberals/progressives are being defined as "socialists," who knows what defines a moderate? But, as Obama has often been described as having a conservative temperament despite his politics, I maintain that I have always had a moderate temperament, given to occasional extremes... but always in moderation.

As to the brighter mood, sure, the economy's still in crisis. None of that has changed overnight. But genuine hope shouldn't be underestimated. It's been a long time since this country has been acquainted with it, and we might be pleasantly surprised what we can accomplish if we take an experimental vacation from cynicism.

It sucks about Prop. 8, though.

2008-11-07T22:27:00.003-05:00

I feel bad for Ellen. I guess she doesn't hold as much political sway with her viewers as Oprah supposedly does.
In all seriousness, though, with her recent marriage, she does put a face to the issue, as does George Takei.

Unlike the outcomes in Florida and Arizona, this one surprised me. I thought California was cooler than this. But, like a lot of Easterners who think of Cali as mostly L.A., San Diego/Francisco, and the hippie enclaves of the north, I guess I forgot about places like Orange County. The black vote is also being blamed, but I don't know if that can completely account for it.

This issue isn't going away, though. Like all other civil rights struggles, although "struggle" is the operative word, for the long-lived and patient, time is on its side.

Change

2008-11-06T15:15:00.002-05:00

Change.gov, that is.
That's right, people. You're not dreaming. 75 days and counting...

Poetry of the Moment: Langston Hughes

2008-11-05T11:47:00.009-05:00

Quoted by a Howard University professor on the local NBC news this morning:
from "Let America Be America Again"

O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!

In the midst of our collective good cheer...

2008-11-05T01:43:00.006-05:00

... a minute to consider that, as the country moves toward respect for diversity of all kinds, that atheists, who are also Americans, are still considered fair game as political punching bags, as exemplified by the North Carolina Senate race.

At least, it's good to see that the tactic employed by Elizabeth Dole failed. However, it will be nice to see a day when someone will step up and say, as Colin Powell did with his reminder that it's possible to be both an Arab and a "decent family man," that it's possible for a Senate candidate to stand in the same building with professed nonbelievers and not walk away with political cooties.

These 2007 statistics suggest that such attitudes ignore our present reality:
Pew Research Values Study: Percentage of people identifying themselves as atheist, agnostic or "no religion" by year of birth:

Born after 1946 : 5%
1946-1964: 11%
1965-1976: 14%
1977+: 19%

Yes, we did.

2008-11-04T23:08:00.003-05:00

It's been called.
Nice job, America. I guess we can learn from our mistakes (namely, 2000 and 2004.)

And Now We Wait.

2008-11-04T18:12:00.003-05:00

Can you feel the collective tension?
Work is slow. Most of the pundits and spokespeople are hunkered down, waiting to pounce on the first numbers.

I was shocked to find no line whatsoever at my polling place. It could have been that I went at a good time, between peak hours for people with normal work hours, but not everyone who showed up in the middle of the day was so lucky. I guess I just live in a politically apathetic neighborhood.

So now I'm online, here and here, waiting for those numbers.

Voting Day: First Impressions

2008-11-04T14:26:00.004-05:00

I'm working late today, so I get to cast my vote on the way in. I'm hoping the lines won't be insane at this time of day, but I could be wrong.
Watching CNN Headline News a little earlier, I saw some viewer-submitted photos of long lines in my area and other blue-state areas, but in a little town in Pennsylvania, McCain's last-hope-for-an-upset kind of town, at 9:15 in the morning, absolutely no line. This could bode well.
And, yeah, it's raining, not too hard. It's one of those lovely but melancholy foggy, drizzly autumn days. But that doesn't seem to be affecting voter turnout. In fact, although they say bad weather would be bad for Obama, that usual prediction with its assumption of fairweather Democrats may not hold water this time, so to speak.
I mean, it's a little rain, you know? I think, this time, it may be the McCain folks who stay home. But we'll see. It's gonna be a long day, but hopefully not a long night (and almost certainly not a long month, a la 2000.)

Madelyn Dunham, RIP

2008-11-03T19:53:00.003-05:00

Also known as Barack Obama's (white) grandmother.
But, as he has often pointed out, she was a woman of accomplishment in her own right, as well as a mainstay of support in his.

On the one hand, it seems tragic that she couldn't have held on one more day to see her grandson elected, but on the other, she must have died knowing that he would be. Will be.

From Somalia: Nearly Unbelievable Cruelty

2008-11-02T18:31:00.005-05:00

A 13-year-old Somali girl reports that she had been raped by three men and is accused of adultery and stoned to death, in a stadium full of 1,000 onlookers.

It's almost unbelievable, a caricature of senseless cruelty. But this sort of incident isn't a vestige of an unmodernized culture. It's part of a very "modern," in the sense of "recent" (I guess "anti-modern" would be more accurate) movement in the region, a consciously cultivated practice of misogynistic violence that is perpetrated by militias with a war criminal mindset. If people want a definition of "terrorism," they shouldn't go looking too hard, because this is it.

There is no "lesson" from this for 13-year-old girls in Somalia except to cower behind closed doors, because if they venture outside and are raped, they will be punished with death for the crime of enduring it and living to tell.

Obama, The "R" Word, and Me

2008-10-31T21:20:00.004-05:00

Race is a touchy subject for a liberal, especially a white liberal. Even more so for a white liberal female who cast her primary vote for Hillary Clinton.
It's hard to know where to start, in expressing how I feel about the likelihood of our first black president. But I feel excited.
I feel proud to be an American.
Sometimes I catch a few minutes of the Michael Baisden Show while station-surfing on the way home from work, and get caught up in the excitement there. Yeah, I know I'm white. I check out sites like The Root and feel the same thing.
Maybe part of it is the proverbial guilt. My maternal grandparents hailed from western South Carolina and western Virginia, (Falwell country) respectively. And, of course, I voted for Hillary, so there's that.
But although guilt breeds a sense of responsibility, it doesn't tend to breed excitement.

Part of it is just about Barack Obama himself. He has a certain something, a certain aura of leadership, a certain authenticity, a certain down-to-earth intellectualism (versus Al Gore's and John Kerry's more detached, off-putting variety) and, of course, a certain charisma. There's something in his voice that's both soothing and inspiring, and he has the (admittedly handsome) but furrowed brow of someone who doesn't take decisions lightly, a steadiness and a quiet confidence. These are the qualities that won him all three presidential debates.
I like the guy, as I have since I saw his keynote address four years ago. I liked him even when I cast the primary vote for his opponent. But now I'm on board.
It took a little while to get enthusiastically on board. I was a Bill fan since witnessing his first inaugural, and have wanted to see Hillary run since it was first tossed around as a remote possibility. It took some time to move on, but I've moved. I don't regret my primary vote, but I think my fellow Democrats made the right decision, and I look forward to following their example on Tuesday in the general election.

And part of it really is about race. I want to see unity in this country, and I want to see real healing, and I know that the former can't come without the latter. And I know how deeply Barack Obama feels and believes this (as a crucial aspect of his own identity, no doubt) and that gives me hope that we can see both, and maybe sooner than most of us thought we would. That's the sense I got after hearing his Philadelphia speech.

So, yeah, I'm white. Yeah, I voted for Hillary. And yeah, I'm excited about our first black president, excited about racial healing and reconciliation... and excited about electing Barack Obama.

Alaska is Having the Best Week Ever...

2008-10-29T18:33:00.007-05:00

from the Christian Science Monitor
McCain Calls on Alaskan to Step Down (Stevens, Not Palin)

Google-head: The Atlantic Asks...

2008-10-29T09:34:00.009-05:00

... Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Umm, maybe... although I think, in reference to one of the author's points about ever-changing technologies, the emergence of the computer keyboard with easy delete key is probably an improvement over the typewriter with regard to fluid thinking... certainly with regard to editing (and, yes, verbosity.)
But, sure, I plead guilty to increased stupidity, and I blame no one but Google. But I'm glad it's not just me.

The article was also interesting for its discussion of the impact of the mechanical clock (I've never been a fan.)

And finally, it was enlightening to learn the extent of Google's ambitions... Much as I love Google, it's a wee bit scary to think that their long-term business plan may be to implant their product in our brains, or even supplant our brains with it... Not sure how I feel about that one.

And with just one week left...

2008-10-27T20:16:00.004-05:00

... it's time for the weird-shit phase of this two-year campaign season.
OK, I should say the weirder-shit phase.

McCain volunteer faking ATM mugging/"B for Barack" knife attack.
I'm sure the McCain folks are going, gee, thanks, Ashley; that really helped. (She's sure not Bush's Ashley.)

I mentioned this earlier as only a rumor, that some evangelicals actually believe that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ. But, no, sadly, it's more than a rumor. In fact, it's even made its way into Snopes.

And then, beyond weird, into scary. I just hope these loser kids are an anomaly.

Al Franken may win a Senate seat.

2008-10-24T21:35:00.006-05:00

Why?
Because he's good enough; he's smart enough; and doggone it, Minnesotans like him.
Or, maybe it's in part because of Norm Coleman's bailout vote.
Actually, both candidates have high unfavorability ratings, and the independent is doing relatively well.

Further Developments...

2008-10-24T16:31:00.003-05:00

... in memory research:
Elephants never forget, but now mice may be a different story...

Colin Powell's Finest Hour...

2008-10-19T19:42:00.004-05:00

... at least in this millennium, I think.
And he made his case well.

"Health": "An Extreme Pro-Abortion Position"

2008-10-16T22:23:00.004-05:00

... says McCain in last night's debate:

Just again, the example of the eloquence of Sen. Obama. He's "health for the mother." You know, that's been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, "health."

Watch it and weep at the thought that this guy could have been (uh, I mean, could be, in a worst-case scenario) appointing judges, whatever he may say about no litmus test. And on to the issue of health care, the fact that he shows such contempt for the idea of women's health, per se, is frightening as well.

Will this cost him moderate pro-choice Republican, Democrat, and independent women voters, Chris Matthews was asking on MSNBC today.
I sure as heck hope so.

I'm not superstitious..

2008-10-16T09:06:00.003-05:00

... but still, I hate to say it's in the bag for Obama.
As Colby King said on "Inside Washington" last week, we could still "have our hearts broken."
But after last night's debate, I'd say something dramatic would have to happen to lose it for him.
Knock on wood it doesn't, because it would have to be bigger than Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, and ACORN, if that's the best they've got.
He may not have convinced Joe the Plumber, but he's convinced enough of the rest of us to relax a bit.
As if he's ever not relaxed, as Mark Shields was complaining last night. He moves us, but what moves him?
I see this as an attribute. We need a president who keeps his cool, in these times. And we could use someone who doesn't want it so damn bad (as McCain does, as Hillary did, and Bill, for her) but who's doing it, as with the old notion of the philosopher-king, out of a sense of calling or responsibility rather than personal ambition.

Veiled for a Day...

2008-10-09T09:03:00.004-05:00

... or "Invisible Like Me."
from Zaiba Malik in The Guardian

On the other hand...

2008-10-08T22:41:00.002-05:00

... I wonder if Biden is being too generous, after reading this harsh but informative Rolling Stone article.

Quote du Jour: Joe Biden

2008-10-08T13:36:00.004-05:00

Despite Joe Lieberman's dismissal of Biden's remarks here as "psychobabble" on MSNBC today, I think it was right on the money, speaking to the better aspects of McCain's character at the expense of his present campaign style.

on the "Today Show" this morning, talking about McCain's use of the term "that one."

SEN. JOE BIDEN: When John knows that he's on the attack, and this, and he's not feeling good about it, John never looks you straight in the eye. John doesn't go and refer to you by your first name.

I think it's part of this whole thing -- if you notice, John didn't make a whole lot of eye contact last night because I think John, when he's on the attack mode and making the other guy a bad guy, it's just not his style.

Well, thanks to McCain's divergence...

2008-10-07T22:29:00.007-05:00

... from his campaign's talking points as of the last couple days (Bill Ayers, etc.) I still haven't finished my beer. If it weren't for "My friends," I'd still be completely sober.
But not "taking the gloves off" as he'd promised still didn't win him this debate, even in the town hall format he so famously favors.
If he's determined to have definitively lost this one, this could be the beginning of the end for his campaign.
He managed to be less visibly hostile than in the first debate, yet still came out with lines (like calling Obama "That one") that made him look boorish, if not vaguely racist.

Obama, for his part, answered well and looked more presidential than ever. IMO his only missteps involved consistently talking longer than necessary despite the time limits and thus contributing to Tom Brokaw's despair. When he told Tom he was doing a great job or whatever, it really did echo the "You're likable enough, Hillary" moment.

In fact, all in all, I think Tom Brokaw had the toughest night, what with everyone ignoring his red lights and even blocking his teleprompter view at the end with their awkward handshake.

So, yeah, the debate...

2008-10-03T15:01:00.010-05:00

... was actually pretty interesting, much more so than last week's featuring the top of the ticket.
I suppose the greater liveliness was mostly owing to Sarah Palin's "Gidget goes to Washington" personality (as one of the PBS pundits so aptly put it.)
Honestly, I'll admit that it's hard not to find her perkiness somewhat endearing, even at the same time that she's grating mercilessly on one's nerves, and even with a litany of her despicable policy positions at the back of one's mind and the image of Tina Fey on the couch with her laptop, undoing a few bobby pins. And I'm sure, if I can grudgingly admit that, her fans must have been in hog heaven, so to speak (so much for that elevated tone I've been promising, but I'm working on it ;)
To be fair, her thoughts on the civil union/gay marriage issue were as progressive as Biden's.
The obvious fact that she didn't directly answer a large proportion of the questions, and that the studiously subdued Biden kicked ass (in an entirely gentlemanly way) on most of the ones she did answer, seemed irrelevant to Republicans who were just drawing a breath of relief that this wasn't a repeat of the Couric disaster, and also to Democrats who, in Mark Shields' words, were "disappointed that she didn't implode."
Yeah, I guess we were, although it would have been painful viewing if she had, kind of like watching Gidget wipe out.
Palin's strategy was evident in the following, which verged on an insult, and certainly must have irked Gwen Ifill, although Ms. Ifill stayed cordial (despite the McCain camp's accusations of her partiality) and did a great job, I thought, and even seemed to be enjoying herself by the end:

PALIN: ... And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people..."

And talk straight to the American people, she did, straight in the camera, straight to the base, and any undecided Gidget fans that may happen to be watching...

Required Reading for Omnivores?

2008-09-27T20:50:00.004-05:00

I haven't reached this stage of "meat-consciousness" yet. And I almost wonder, if it were a choice between just going veggie overnight (again) or attending the slaughter of each species of animal I ate, I would just go straight to veggie and skip the slaughterhouse field trip. Well, at least I'll admit to being a hypocrite, but I get the feeling that's only the first step away from meat-related hypocrisy.

Morality bites

I've also been meaning to read The Omnivore's Dilemma (a.k.a. the "All Americans Eat is Corn" book.)

The last word on Sarah Palin... until next Thursday.

2008-09-27T20:23:00.002-05:00

I think Fareed Zakaria summed it up pretty well.
Palin Is Ready? Please.

And, the winner is...

2008-09-27T11:23:00.006-05:00

... survey says... Obama!
From what I saw (I was technically parked in front of the television, but with my attention occasionally wandering toward other tasks like rearranging the bookshelf... Well it was 90 minutes, OK?) I would agree.
The pundits' consensus has been, and I would generally agree with them as well, that both candidates were on top of their material and both came across as sufficiently presidential, but neither of them completely dominated or had any killer takeaway lines.
However, Obama did seem a lot more cordial, less hostile to McCain than vice versa. Both have that tinge of arrogance, but, to be blunt, McCain seems a lot more likely to act like a jerk (to use the PG-rated term.) And whatever he may say about stubbornness, we've had our fill of jerk-iness in the White House lately, too.

Well, that explains her success...

2008-09-25T14:39:00.002-05:00

Sarah Palin has apparently been witchcraft-proof since 2005.

Forget Foreign Policy; It's John "Don't Know Much About the Economy" McCain to Our Economic Rescue!

2008-09-24T22:44:00.008-05:00

I'll admit this marathon campaign has tired me out; my enthusiasm has waned; my cynicism has waxed; my blog entries have begun to peter out... And in this frame of mind, I must admit... Sometimes Wonkette just says it best.
John McCain "Suspending" Campaign by Campaigning More

Quotes du Jour: John McCain/ Herbert Hoover

2008-09-15T23:19:00.009-05:00

Let's play "Who Said Which?"

"The fundamentals of the economy are strong."
"The economy is fundamentally sound."

Ah, Republicans and their fundamental-ism...
Meanwhile, on Wall Street...

Speechless

2008-09-07T22:54:00.003-05:00

So, yeah, I'm back from vacation, and I suppose I should weigh in on the Sarah Palin selection, after all the entries I spent mulling over Obama's VP decision process.
I mean, she's a woman, right? Shouldn't I be excited?
Well, I will sincerely grant that it's cool a woman is the running mate on a major party ticket. If only it were some other woman (even Condi Rice and Kay Bailey Hutchison are looking better, and that's saying a lot.)
But then I don't think there was actually much of a decision-making process with regard to this one... maybe a spur-of-the-moment "gut feeling" a la George Bush decision was made (in each case, gut = Karl Rove?) And like all things suspiciously Rovian, it could turn out to be genius... or it could turn out like the long, slow decline and fall of the Bush administration, only mercifully faster.
All I can say is that if they think former Hillary supporters are going to fall for this (yeah, there are always a few... but...) well, ladies, and West Virginians (and West Virginia ladies -- not leaving you out) please let's prove them wrong.

Gone Fishing Again

2008-08-24T19:20:00.004-05:00

Yeah, it's that time of year when I temporarily flee the country (on vacation, I mean, of course.) I'm a bit bummed that this year's trip coincides with the DNC, just because I'm a big enough geek that I'd actually enjoy some of the speeches. And this time I'm probably not the only one who will be following it with something approaching actual interest. Well, you know, it's the climax we've been building to since -- well, since Dubya was re-elected, basically.
But hopefully it will show up on the Canadian news now and then, too. It's kind of hard to ignore us Yanks and our crazy antics, for good or for ill.

3 AM...

2008-08-23T10:49:00.005-05:00

... has really been a key player in this election so far. That's when Obama's text message finally rolled in, 12 hours before his speech with Biden in Springfield, Illinois.
An ironic take on the 3 AM phone call -- perhaps a message to supporters that we ourselves need to stay vigilant as well?
(As a hopeless night owl, I actually was still just turning in when I heard the phone, but I don't know how many other East Coasters caught it.)
Or was it just that reporters had discovered the Secret Service agents dispatched to Biden's house and the story was appearing online, so the Obama team had to send it out in a hurry so supporters couldn't complain that we weren't in fact "the first to know?"
I guess I was among the first to know when I read the A.P. story on Yahoo, but I wish I'd gotten the message first. But that's what happens when you get reporters worked up into a lather like that. I'd personally thought the message would go out Friday, but I guess they didn't want it hashed over too much before the speech.
Well, it was pretty close, anyway.

And just as I was posting that...

2008-08-22T22:06:00.005-05:00

... AP updated their story to add that Bayh has been eliminated.

OK, so it's Biden, barring some huge surprise.

Well, good for him. It's going to be a fun eight years with him in the mix. And productive, too, I think. He wasn't in my original top 3, but then I hadn't realized he was still in contention, so my bad. Maybe I'll have better luck with the McCain pick. But games aside, I think he's a good choice. And as far as the verbosity issue, I guess the low-key profile he's been keeping lately was a sort of probation period to see if he could do it, and he passed the test.

Well, now I can sleep in a bit.

The Veep-Watch goes on... and on...

2008-08-22T21:34:00.007-05:00

So he's going to make us wait until tomorrow morning.
I guess I'll have my phone by the bed.
I can't believe how incredibly clever this text-message strategy was. And I'm not even much of a texter, nor exactly a bonafide Obamamaniac until this point. It's just that lure of instant knowledge. Whatever staffer came up with that plan should get promoted.

And it looks like Kaine is out, so, unless there's a big surprise, we're looking at Biden and Bayh. And Biden seems to be everyone's bet. Well, I like the guy, notorious verbosity aside. In fact, his personality is more appealing than Bayh's, in that he has more of a personality. He's a bit of a "character." And his foreign policy creds are impeccable. He would be such an asset on that front, like Cheney was to Bush but without all the Sith lord/ f-ing stuff up parts.
However, Bayh seems more steady, less apt to steal the limelight, less apt to make a verbal blunder that the other side can pounce on. And, yeah, his support for Hillary did endear him to "us."

Although I must say, on the subject of "us," I feel a strong need to distance myself from supporters like the one who was interviewed on Neil Cavuto's show today, seeming wildly distracted and almost unhinged with suppressed rage. They're talking about causing a scene at the convention. I'm sure there's a reason why only Fox News is interviewing these people (yes, there are men as well, thank goodness.) But this is the last thing we need (women -- and Democrats -- and particularly women Democrats.) In the name of sanity, not to mention unity, Hillary needs to discourage this. Seriously.

But, yeah, moving on -- as we all must -- I guess I'll just wait for that wake-up call tomorrow.

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, RIP

2008-08-21T22:36:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I almost forgot to pay my respects.

This woman will truly be missed.

The Barbara Walters School of Sportscasting

2008-08-21T20:33:00.005-05:00

I admit to having enjoyed the trend toward focusing on more "human interest" stories in Olympic coverage, back in the early '90s when it first began, but now, like all "human interest" journalism, it's getting out of hand.

Instead of waiting for the athletes who didn't fare so well in their events to calm down, take a shower, have some Gatorade and sit down for a few minutes to philosophize about how they'd done their best and were just excited to be competing in such great company, how they'd keep on doing their thing and may well be back in four years, losing athletes are now cornered immediately after their crushing defeat with a microphone shoved in their face, and are asked humiliating and almost soul-crushing questions, like "How does it feel to know that you've worked for this all your life, you came to the semi-finals as a gold-medal contender and then, having let your place in the finals slip away through some careless error, will not be able to compete, thus breaking your mother's heart and betraying your country, and now that you are old and washed up with no chance in 2012, you may as well go drown yourself in the Yangtze?"
OK, I'm paraphrasing. But not by much.

And then there's the close-up, waiting for the tears. In bygone days, the camera would politely turn away after the first tear fell, but, no, these days, it waits about a minute, until the poor 16-year-old diver has apologized about three times for breaking down on camera, while the correspondent makes sympathetic noises but does not remove the microphone from its position shoved in the poor girl's face.
For the third time, she's just -- sob -- happy to be here.
Isn't there an opening for these journalists in election coverage?

Text Me, Barry

2008-08-21T19:09:00.005-05:00

I was starting to fear that working in a para-journalistic field was starting to take its toll on me in the form of a growing addiction to instantaneous information, but it's even worse than I thought. Just stick the news wire in my veins.
Because I have just sold out my cell phone # and will now be receiving who knows how many paid-for-by-me messages about the Obama campaign over the next couple months, just so I can be among the First to Know who his VP choice is.
All I can say is, it better not happen while I'm sleeping.

By the way, his announcing that he's made up his mind while campaigning in Virginia makes Kaine look likely, but on the other hand, it could simply imply that he's spent enough time with Kaine now to rule him out. I'm going to stick with my guy Bayh, but Kaine is looking strong right now. He has the economic chops; Virginia is a critical state; and Obama may try to go for the "two fresh, young outsiders" approach and just focus on highlighting some more experienced Cabinet picks.

But, OK, I'll stop speculating and try to get some sleep. Is that reindeer hooves I hear? Or just campaign surrogates? On Blitzer, on Cavuto, on Brzezinski and Mitchell... Oh, gosh, this is bad.

Veep-mania!

2008-08-19T19:52:00.008-05:00

I don't think the pundits can wait much longer, guys!
Choose a VP already, one of you, at least. We're hearing words like "frenzy," "fever pitch." They're getting a little antsy.

So, according to this AP story, only one of my top 3 VP pool picks for Obama has survived to the final round, Evan Bayh (my #1 pick) and Pawlenty and Romney for McCain.

I'm going to stick with Bayh (formerly Hillary's man in Indiana) and Pawlenty (my #2 for McCain.) The funny thing is that the two kind of look like brothers, or at least first cousins from a distance, so in a way they cancel each other out. Both seem safe choices.

I like the idea of Johnny choosing a pro-choicer (even if we're talking the likes of Ridge and Lieberman) but I think in the end he won't have the courage to do it. I think Romney would be a mistake, although I could be surprised.

Back to the Dem side, I like both Biden and Kaine and would be happy with either. Kaine would give us "crab cake" region folks some attention and Biden, himself a DelMarVite, is kind of goofy but entertaining and way smart.

I admit, as a former Hillary gal, that Sebelius may not go down so well with "us." Not fair to her, perhaps -- perhaps a bit sour grapes of us, but, you know, so it goes. Actually, I'd prefer Claire McCaskill, but she's a bit too newbie still.

We shall see... for the pundits' sake, I hope soon.

The Troops...

2008-08-14T22:14:00.002-05:00

... apparently feel they would be better supported by the Democratic candidate this time.

Now, that's journalistic dedication

2008-08-14T21:22:00.002-05:00

Georgian TV reporter carries on with her report almost immediately after being shot by a sniper while discussing the arrival of humanitarian aid in Gori.

The sniper bullet grazes her; she goes down; and moments later is sitting in the van rather calmly discussing it.

More Promising Research

2008-08-13T14:52:00.003-05:00

... for drug addiction -- futuristic and only slightly scary in its implications.

All in all, the future looks bright, although someone somewhere is writing a new dystopia as we speak. Cynics don't believe in dystopias, unless you count reality. (But maybe I need my coffee.)

Catharsis

2008-08-13T13:23:00.003-05:00

Is that what we want?

Am I still part of "we?"

Well, in a small way, I suppose. So maybe.

But is there any point?

Furthermore, is it good for the party, the country, to go through such an exercise?

And has Hillary really been reading her Sophocles?

Faking It

2008-08-12T15:59:00.004-05:00

This is so sad. Imagine what effect this poorly conceived idea on the part of China's powers-that-be will have on that little girl's self-esteem, the one with the beautiful voice who was told she just wasn't pretty enough to go on stage.
This, after the fireworks scandal and rumors about some of their gymnasts' ages, may not be the impression China is trying (a bit too hard) to project. In fact, it may just end up reinforcing some of the world's existing trepidation.

The Intricate Dance of Nature and Nurture

2008-08-11T22:13:00.001-05:00

from Newsweek, on parenting and DNA

McCain's best hope with evangelicals...

2008-08-09T16:02:00.004-05:00

... is, according to this Time article, apparently to try to convince that demographic, who have been less than enthused with his candidacy, that Barack Obama is the Antichrist. Literally.
It seems a little far-fetched, for an ad claimed by the McCain campaign to be simply "creative" and "humorous," like the Paris Hilton ad which has gotten much more attention so far, although this one has been aired more often.
But after reading the article, and remembering a little of the evangelical mindset/imagery, and then watching the ad for the first time, I think folks like Tony Campolo, the Democrats' highest-profile evangelical supporter, are right to be alarmed.

CIA Official Says Cheney Probably Behind Forged 9/11-Iraq Letter

2008-08-09T14:26:00.004-05:00

And why exactly are there still only two or three renegade House Democrats calling for his impeachment?
We're talking about forging a document in order to start a war, in which thousands of American lives and thousands more Iraqi lives have been lost, as well as those of our allies.
Even if the proof isn't conclusive, isn't it compelling enough to investigate? Especially when it's only one in a list of other things that already have been proven (see post below.)

A Good Use of the Venn Diagram

2008-08-05T22:37:00.001-05:00

from Slate:
Mapping the Bush administration scandals.

Good Comeback, Paris.

2008-08-05T22:16:00.004-05:00

Who says she can't act/ read a TelePrompter?
Better than some people, anyway.

It would be funny if "her" energy plan became the new gold standard in this election.

An Unsolved Mystery

2008-08-02T13:43:00.004-05:00

What they call "Amerithrax" (apparently -- I hadn't heard the term until I read this article) and the suicide of Bruce Ivins as the FBI closes in.

Those poor House Republicans: They held a filibuster in the dark...

2008-08-01T23:39:00.005-05:00

... and nobody came.

Although we can't be completely sure of that, since C-SPAN was long gone, too.

Quote du Jour: Sean McCormack

2008-07-31T21:22:00.003-05:00

from today's State Department briefing

We've got seven months -- or six months left, 193 days, I think -- something like that. Not that I'm counting.

We're not counting, either, Sean.

On the Road to Nowhere

2008-07-29T12:39:00.002-05:00

Poor Ted Stevens. He had it so good for so long.

My VP Pool

2008-07-24T23:10:00.004-05:00

Guessing VPs and harassing contenders with pointless, repetitive questions and formulaic jokes on the subject has become the cable news talk shows' favorite pastime, so I may as well get in on the fun.
After my last two posts, I can't really claim to be blogging this election with any modicum of seriousness, so why not?

So, before McCain announces, in a vain attempt to steal Obama's overseas thunder:

McCain:
1) Jindal
Advantages: Young; energizes socially conservative base; not very tall; not white.
Disadvantages: Appeal with social conservatives may turn off independents.
2) Pawlenty
Advantages: Young; reinforces McCain's appeal to independents.
Disadvantages: Not from the South, where McCain needs the most help.
3) Romney
Advantages: Energizes Wall Street crowd; would pacify Rush Limbaugh.
Disadvantages: Too tall next to McCain; very white; not from the South.

Obama:
1) Bayh
Advantages: A peace offering to Clinton's people; experienced; centrist; wants it.
Disadvantages: No geographical advantage; just a bit too ambitious, perhaps.
2) Webb
Advantages: Military experience!; used to be a Republican; could deliver Virginia.
Disadvantages: Seems to prefer a Cabinet job that may be going to Reed or Hagel.
3) Richardson
Advantages: Hispanic vote; Western vote; amazing resume in all the right areas.
Disadvantages: May turn off some Clinton people; may drive racists to the polls.

Another one of those botched German-English translations?

2008-07-24T19:11:00.006-05:00

Jelly doughnuts aside, it happened with Maliki, but then there was a third language involved there.
No, I'm guessing Angela knew exactly what she was saying ;)

Asked at a news conference on Wednesday what she thought of Obama, Merkel responded: "I would say that he is well-equipped -- physically, mentally and politically."

And apparently, Dubya's grand tradition of banal workplace sexual harassment of fellow world leaders may well continue into the next administration, if she has her way:

"That's not really up to me," she joked. "But I wouldn't resist."

However, she's retained enough sense of her gravitas as a chancellor to end on a coy note regarding Obama's Berlin speech:

"Maybe I'll turn on the television."

I bet she will.

But then, so will we all (OK, most of us, anyway.)

He's No Jelly Doughnut

2008-07-24T12:55:00.003-05:00

Obama's speech in Berlin (the Big Three may as well admit this is why they came along, not for that "historic" Middle East leg of the itinerary.)
But I don't blame them. This is what we've all been looking forward to, a (would-be, soon-to-be, we hope) president we can be proud of, touching down on the Continent, where our old friends have been so disapproving of us lately. I can't imagine why.
And, no, Kennedy never really said that, either.

Test Your News IQ

2008-07-19T13:14:00.002-05:00

from Pew Research Center:

Fun; just 12 questions. But, no, I didn't get a perfect score :(
Didn't do too bad, though.

She's done it her way.

2008-07-16T23:29:00.006-05:00

Two very different kinds of performers, both in their 80s.
Tenacity doesn't begin to describe it.
As a woman no longer in the 25-34 yr. old marketing demographic, I am duly inspired.
Not that I can dance, or have a desire to professionally disrobe, but that's beside the point.
Death Valley Junction Dancer
Tempest Storm