tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41503912011-04-21T21:13:33.860-04:00Deltiologyyou can go places when you're unemployed
cjrailey@hotmail.comChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comBlogger1061100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-1085872624687546312004-05-29T19:16:00.000-04:002004-05-29T19:17:04.686-04:00This is a test. This is only a test.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-952041132003-06-02T15:26:00.000-04:002003-06-02T15:26:17.150-04:00But the point is that the point is that the point is that . . .
So far, the must-read piece of the week (tho it's only Monday) is Josh Marshall's analysis of Billy "City Slicker" Kristol's analysis of a controversial exchange between Vanity Fair's Sam Tanenhaus and one Paul Wolfowitz. What's interesting is not what Wolfowitz actually believes -- the fact that removing US troops from Saudi ArabiaChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-950408792003-05-29T12:56:00.000-04:002003-05-29T12:56:25.203-04:00They're hiding WMDs in the corn and terrorists in the barn
A Nebraska legislator threatens war against Iowa, which is already a member of the Axis of Boredom.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-949700412003-05-27T23:00:00.000-04:002003-05-27T23:00:21.933-04:00Why the kangaroo has me in his pocket
There are places I go for "politics" and "news" and "the Red Sox score." But I go to Skippy the Bush Kangaroo for everything -- you gotta like versatile. Skippy slowed the pace last week to take care of the home front, but he's back this week and catching up in earnest. I had to laugh tonight when I did my daily roo-click and found posts on the following Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-949680602003-05-27T22:13:00.000-04:002003-05-27T22:27:07.000-04:00Sinking to the level of the devil
Daily Kos is one of my favorite reads when it comes to American politics, and I'm pretty much in favor of the suckerpunch and the swift kick to the testicles when it comes to politics. But a thread on today's Kos -- and the ensuing discussion in the thread comments -- served as a "check yourself" moment.
Kos starts the thread by tallying up the American Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-948623062003-05-25T11:43:00.000-04:002003-05-25T11:47:16.000-04:00We're in the export business
Tim Russert ended this morning's episode of "Meet the Press" by showing a clip of Paul McCartney playing "Back in the U.S.S.R." on stage in front of 10,000 Russians this weekend. Russert brought up Nikita Kruschev's famous quote in which he proclaimed that the grandchildren of his contemporaries would "live under Communism." At the time, Kruschev's prediction seemedChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-948343352003-05-24T14:19:00.000-04:002003-05-24T14:19:42.220-04:00The views expressed by the banner ads do not necessarily . . .
One of my regular readers has pointed out that the blogspot banner ad that usually sits at the top of my blog contains an advertisement for something called the Conservative Book Service. I checked it out, and the CBS, according to their site, is "designed to bring you the best conservative books available, at the best prices....no Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-948037692003-05-23T17:42:00.000-04:002003-05-23T17:42:57.366-04:00Tale of the Mail
This week alone I've received some interesting junk mail (I use the term not to demean, but to distinguish this mail from personal mail or bills).
I got a piece today in a standard business envelope that features a small picture of the president that was apparently taken right after Flight Suit Boy determined that someone in the Oval Office who had already dared question his Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-948000662003-05-23T15:57:00.000-04:002003-05-23T15:57:42.000-04:00Classic "I'll find my self-awareness after I find my car keys" comment of the year
This from Jayson Blair, ex-journalist, to Newsweek, in a bloated story:
"I can't say anything other than the fact that I feel a range of emotions including guilt, shame, sadness, betrayal, freedom and appreciation for those who have stood by me, been tough on me, and have taken the time to understand that there isChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-944708822003-05-16T17:24:00.000-04:002003-05-16T17:24:43.653-04:00Aren't we all just a little like Osama?
Rumsy thinks so. Asked to assess Bin Laden's fate, the Secretary of War had this to say: "He's either alive, or he's alive and injured badly, or he's dead. Who knows?"
For the record, I fall into category A, as do most of my friends.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-944204732003-05-15T20:40:00.000-04:002003-05-15T20:40:51.193-04:00Tiger couldn't tame this golf course
Here is the latest redistricting map proposed by Tom "Dale Gribble of the House" Delay and his merry band of GOP strongarms. Make sense?Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-943557162003-05-14T19:15:00.000-04:002003-05-14T19:15:56.376-04:00Invasionary forces to market "getting your fucking head blown off" to Iraqis as end result of looting
I can't believe we'd put that wonderful relationship we have with the Middle Eastern people in jeapordy by threatening to kill looters.
One representative of the American military, when asked to clarify this new policy, said, "They are going to start shooting a few looters so that the word gets Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-943549812003-05-14T18:59:00.000-04:002003-05-14T18:59:19.183-04:00What's next, Tom "The Dale Gribble of the House" Delay using Homeland Security agents to spray White House for termites?
The Department of Homeland Security is being used to track down Texas Democrats. And we thought Tom Ridge was supposed to help protect us from terrorists, not Democrats.
And yes, the Department of You Thought They Couldn't Sink Any Lower But Hey Remember These Are RepublicansChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-943546512003-05-14T18:51:00.000-04:002003-05-14T18:51:01.813-04:00Right under his picture in the dictionary
Ben Tripp on why he is finally able to call Flight Suit Boy the F-word.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-943539082003-05-14T18:34:00.000-04:002003-05-14T18:34:15.116-04:00This isn't Must See TV, folks. Karl Rove just can't cancel Osama and make him go away
Deltiology is paying a few bills this week, but when he gets home from the slaughterhouse it's good to know that there is excellent, must-read blogitude like this to read. The guys filling in at Daily Kos are doing a great job.
We might be finding out now that the worst thing Bush could have done was to try Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-942685792003-05-13T11:11:00.000-04:002003-05-13T11:11:29.906-04:00Sometimes in life you have to scroll way the hell down the page
I am an insignificant microbe.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-942671322003-05-13T10:48:00.000-04:002003-05-13T10:48:09.046-04:00There's a-gonna be a hangin' on the House floor
The "AWOL Democrats" have been found in Oklahoma, dining at Denny's and plotting their next move. While I could probably spend a few thousand words chuckling about the strange fact that an Austin newspaper can call anybody AWOL without blushing, the real laugher here is that House Speaker Tom Craddick is about to ask the federal government for helpChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-942310602003-05-12T19:05:00.000-04:002003-05-12T19:05:05.996-04:00Blame me, Massholes
I bought an air conditioner to stick in one my windows Saturday. So of course today it's in the 40s and raining. I take full karmal responsibility.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-942305332003-05-12T18:54:00.000-04:002003-05-12T18:54:32.010-04:00Like Texas Republicans need an excuse to shoot people
Boy does it suck when the Democrats play dirty, doesn't it? Gets those 'publi-panties in just so many wads.
Texas Democrats are "hiding out" to block a vote on a congressional redistricting plan being pushed by Karl Rove, I mean Republicans. Of course, this opens up the Democrats to a bunch of jokes about how they're most effective when Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-942302002003-05-12T18:47:00.000-04:002003-05-12T18:47:30.730-04:00Tweed is good
Can we hear a little more about Josh Marshall's freaking dissertation drama? I hope Brown sews his elbow patches onto his jacket fast so he can get over it. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-941646002003-05-11T17:09:00.000-04:002003-05-11T17:10:49.000-04:00The GOP attack machine
I'm almost bored by the idea that the GOP continues to navigate politics without a hint of shame or ethics. They don't play fair. Democrats worry about policy and its effects on, you know, people, and Republicans just decide who's unpatriotic in order to meet their needs. Big news? Nah, but Dan Kennedy at the Boston Phoenix has a good piece on it this week anyway:
"TheChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940732092003-05-09T17:00:00.000-04:002003-05-09T17:10:25.000-04:00Lt. Governor of SC tries to play "Days of Thunder"
What is it with the GOP and Tom Cruise? First Flight Suit Boy pretends that he's in "Top Gun." Now a GOP underling in the SC government tries to channel Cole Trickle.
SC Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer has a great part-time job. For $70K a year, he has to be on time to preside over the SC Senate.
Tuesday Bauer got caught trying to just that.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940694962003-05-09T15:45:00.000-04:002003-05-09T17:27:26.000-04:00Flight Suit Boy in Columbia to remind SC voters that he exists
Yes, the boy king is in Columbia, SC today -- a week after Democratic presidential candidates convened there for their first debate -- to speak at the graduation ceremony of the University of South Carolina, which happens to be my alma mater.
Maybe I'm just ill informed, but I thought that universities, especially really big ones, Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940603402003-05-09T12:40:00.000-04:002003-05-09T12:40:14.523-04:00When your boss reads your blog -- and doesn't dig it
Jason Butler, of the BostonWorks blog, has a couple of interesting entries here and here about how bloggers may find employers cracking down on their off-the-clock activities.
Writes Jason:
"Many bloggers have been disciplined, by termination or its threat . . . . because of what they've written on their sites.
Some of these people should Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940596182003-05-09T12:28:00.000-04:002003-05-09T12:28:49.000-04:00Fox News Biased? -- "I'm shocked Rick -- shocked! -- to find that gambling is going on in this casino!"
The Guardian is reporting that Fox News is under investigation in the UK for alleged impartiality (thanks, KP, for the link). No details yet on whether Fox's arrogant display of its determinedly anti-First Amendment stance helped prompt the investigation.
And no word yet on whether Anti Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940136962003-05-08T17:32:00.000-04:002003-05-08T17:53:19.000-04:00This just in: Bill Bennett is great
Generally sort of dull conservative columnist Cal Thomas compares Bill Bennett to the authors of the Bible. Check out the link if only to see the byline photo of Cal gazing to the heavens as if they rudely opened up just as Thomas was making a critical point in a dinner conversation. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940099892003-05-08T16:22:00.000-04:002003-05-08T16:25:24.000-04:00How afraid of Hillary Clinton is the GOP?
She's already said -- many times -- that she will not mount a presidential campaign in 2004, but a letter written and circulated nationwide by GOP Senator George Allen of Virginia is the basis of a campaign to stop her anyway:
The letter begins like every appeal to the public made by a Republican in the last two years -- it tries to make the audience Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940089412003-05-08T16:02:00.000-04:002003-05-08T16:02:25.936-04:00I didn't know they had the Internet in Alabama, but as an ex-southerner, I have to smile at the name of this blog.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940084202003-05-08T15:54:00.000-04:002003-05-11T17:21:39.000-04:00Yes, in 2003, state flags still make news
The state of insanity, um, Georgia raised its new flag today -- the one that doesn't have the Confederate flag on it:
"The new flag went up immediately after Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill to replace an unpopular design adopted in 2001.
The 2001 flag was a blue banner that contained a small Confederate emblem along the lower edge. It succeeded Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940060402003-05-08T15:08:00.000-04:002003-05-08T15:08:48.400-04:00Espionage linked to GOP
A Republican activist is suspected of being a double agent who hoodwinked the FBI (shocker) and might have funnelled money to the GOP. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-940009642003-05-08T13:21:00.000-04:002003-05-08T13:22:09.000-04:00Will the story of Flight Suit Boy's "military service" again catch fire? And will it be Rove's fault?
So maybe the story of Flight Suit Boy will hang around long enough to gather some steam after all. MediaWhoresOnline cites a number of stories that detail how then Acting Russian Prez Vladimir Putin used a similar stunt as a propaganda ploy in March 2000. This story in the Christian Science Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939943932003-05-08T11:19:00.000-04:002003-05-08T11:19:16.140-04:00Special interest: how to use blogs to teach writing
As a sometime English composition teacher, I enthusiastically pass on this link to Setback Music, whose keeper is a professor of comp. He is beginning what could turn out to be an illuminating and helpful discussion of how to use blogs in writing instruction. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939671792003-05-07T23:13:00.000-04:002003-05-07T23:13:52.550-04:00Fly . . . in . . . to . . . tha . . . Danger Zone
The White House has been forced to come clean and admit that they lied lied lied in their explanations of Flight Suit Boy's plane ride to the USS Lincoln:
Bush wanted "to see an aircraft landing the same way that the pilots saw an aircraft landing," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said yesterday. "He wanted to see it as realistically asChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939667612003-05-07T23:05:00.000-04:002003-05-07T23:14:35.000-04:00War is not theatre, Flight Suit Boy
Senator Robert Byrd has spoken on the Senate floor about Flight Suit Boy's $1 million USS Lincoln stunt.
A taste:
President Bush's address to the American people announcing combat victory in Iraq deserved to be marked with solemnity, not extravagance; with gratitude to God, not self-congratulatory gestures. American blood has been shed on foreign soil in Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939658932003-05-07T22:49:00.000-04:002003-05-07T23:15:03.000-04:00Cincy de My Own
Amigo G.L. in Cincinnati writes in to comment on, among other things, the disconcerting form of "bully patriotism":
"But, hey, patriotism is at an all-time high, right? For example, students at the University of Cincinnati were partying over the weekend to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (because all the undergrads here have ties to Mexico, what with the city being predominantly German Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939484862003-05-07T16:53:00.000-04:002003-05-07T16:53:00.943-04:00Some frightening numbers regarding the 9/11 investigation
Did you know that the budget for the 9/11 Commission (officially the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States) has a budget of $12 million? The commission was initially given $3 million to investigate the 9/11 attacks that killed 3,000 people. By comparison, the government approved a $50 million budget for the Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939459742003-05-07T16:03:00.000-04:002003-05-07T16:30:46.000-04:00Comments are cool
Feel free to partake. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939450182003-05-07T15:44:00.000-04:002003-05-07T15:47:07.000-04:00
Eject, Bush! Eject!
Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune is one of the few members of the media that I've seen actually willing to examine the irony of Dubya's "Top Gun" show. While David Broder and Bob Novak went on "Meet the Press" to talk about how good Bush looked in his flight suit costume, few have dusted off the shoeboxes where they keep those Globe clippings detailing Bush's aversion to Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939400472003-05-07T14:03:00.000-04:002003-05-07T15:48:13.000-04:00
Is Karl Rove hiding under your bed?
I don't see it on their website, but this week's New Yorker has a Nicholas Lemann profile of Karl Rove. Make sure you have your magazine tongs handy.
Here's one chunk from the article that attempts to get at Rove's central philosophy:
"In the Rove schema, the large, centralized, public structures of the modern, regulated welfare state are to be mistrusted, Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939393182003-05-07T13:49:00.000-04:002003-05-07T13:59:05.000-04:00Lots of good stuff to be found at Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, a blog that does a good job of blogging about bloggers who are blogging about various stuff all over the web, including Chicks-in-the-Sticks news and a bit about how lonely it can get when you're a Dixie Chicks protestor -- because you care.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939322102003-05-07T11:37:00.000-04:002003-05-07T11:40:47.000-04:00Cheney and the Succession Question
I thought this was old news, but it seems Dick Cheney has agreed to be Bush's running mate when the dynamic duo tries to get re-appointed in 2004. Wasn't this confirmed months ago -- that Cheney's health problems wouldn't keep him from running for Veep again? Maybe this time the reason for getting the news out is to confirm that Cheney's status as one of the Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-939067352003-05-07T00:05:00.000-04:002003-05-07T15:51:06.000-04:00
"We hate it when our friends become successful"
Ben Fritz of Spinanity.org takes to Salon's pages to combat the "Gore-ing" of John Kerry. As a resident of Boston -- and a Globe reader -- I've been watching Kerry get attacked for no good (by that I mean fact-based) reason for two years. Here Fritz puts some of the myths about Kerry to bed.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938934942003-05-06T19:52:00.000-04:002003-05-06T19:52:20.243-04:00Rock bottom job offering of the week. Put up fliers in the posh suburbs of Boston for beer bling.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938862212003-05-06T17:29:00.000-04:002003-05-07T16:38:42.000-04:00From the Department of Damage Control
I posted a link Friday to a UPI story that had Condaleeza Rice squashing chickenhawk plans to go to war in Syria. Now I've learned at the Memory Hole that that story was pulled and replaced by this piece that denies any such actions by Rice.
Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938856122003-05-06T17:18:00.000-04:002003-05-06T17:18:33.746-04:00You don't say when we're going to play the Dixie Chicks! I do! (pause) Play the Dixie Chicks.
This Dixie Chicks thing, I know, I know . . . who cares? Well, it's just too funny. Seems that a couple of DJs at a country music station in Colorado Springs, CO have been suspended for playing the Chicks.
The statements of KKCS station manager Jerry Grant are a little curious. Apparently the Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938851012003-05-06T17:09:00.000-04:002003-05-06T17:09:12.336-04:00Everbody's having a good time piling on the nine (as of this moment) Democratic presidential candidates for not showing in last weekend's Columbia, SC debate that have a unified vision, or, as Doris Kearns Goodwin put it on "Meet the Press," an understanding of the "larger argument." (No, I don't know where Doris stole the phrase)
But am I wrong? Isn't it May? Of 2003? Is everything supposedChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938826862003-05-06T16:25:00.000-04:002003-05-06T16:50:00.000-04:00Friend, academic, and preeminent mixtape-maker C.F. is blogging on budget cuts to education. He has his blog -- Setback Music -- set up to take your comments, so go give him a hard time and call him on some of his unsubstantiated claims. And ask him why he doesn't even bother to list his old friend among his favorite blogs.
I highly recommend Setback's music links (look on the right side), as Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938811262003-05-06T15:55:00.000-04:002003-05-06T15:55:29.763-04:00From the Department of You're either with us or against us
Bush makes a statement about Cinco de Mayo and doesn't mention Mexico presidient Vincente Fox. A non-story? In his previous two CdM statements, Bush did mention Fox. Then Fox refused to give support to Bush's invasion of Iraq.
Meanwhile, there's this other country that borders the United States, and they're pissing off the Bush Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938744632003-05-06T13:44:00.000-04:002003-05-06T13:44:26.720-04:00WaPo series takes a look at Big Green
Don't miss the scary collection of pieces in WaPo about the Nature Conservancy, the world's biggest environmental non-profit. In the last decade, the Conservancy (called "Big Green" by the authors of the WaPo series), which has pledged to protect and save precious lands, has made a lot of corporate friends and undertaken some questionable activities and Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938737552003-05-06T13:31:00.000-04:002003-05-06T13:31:07.086-04:00Excellent piece by Paul Krugman in today's Times about Bush's flight suit charade aboard the USS Lincoln.
One bit:
"Some background: the Constitution declares the president commander in chief of the armed forces to make it clear that civilians, not the military, hold ultimate authority. That's why American presidents traditionally make a point of avoiding military affectations. Dwight EisenhowerChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938661502003-05-06T11:12:00.000-04:002003-05-07T12:01:28.000-04:00It's nice to see someone leaving the Bush White House without help from security
Mitch Daniels, Bush's budget director, will resign in the next 30 days. Daniels has his eye on Indiana's 2004 gubernatorial election. Democratic incumbent Frank O'Bannon will be completing his second term and cannot run again.
Update: Slate's Daniel Gross tells us why Mitch couldn't cut it in the Bush White Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938655982003-05-06T11:02:00.000-04:002003-05-06T11:02:10.583-04:00Suffering from post-war stress reduction
I am ready to diagnose myself. I just noticed that for the past four days, instead of turning on NPR when I first wake up, I've turned on local blowhard sports radio to find out why the Red Sox don't have any decent relief pitching. All according to plan . . . .Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938317122003-05-05T20:13:00.000-04:002003-05-05T20:15:29.000-04:00So now Bill Bennett claims that he is going to give up gambling, even though he hasn't actually admitted that there's anything wrong with it -- at least not the way he does it. He says that he gambles "too much," and that this is not an example he wants to set.
The story will likely lose its legs before we get a chance to see how the Bookie of Virtue kicks the slots habit (which is a patheticChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938218322003-05-05T16:57:00.000-04:002003-05-05T16:57:24.713-04:00So you've seen the news reports of mass graves of rebels that are being discovered in Iraq? Do you think anybody will think to send the funeral bill to George Bush the Elder, who told these people to take regime change "into their own hands" in 1991 and then turned his back on them?Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-938216672003-05-05T16:54:00.000-04:002003-05-05T16:54:49.316-04:00Michael Tomasky has a sharp piece in The American Prospect about the Democrats' misplaced energies as the 2004 election approaches. Here's a scary part:
"Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee made an announcement on April 21 that is in every way more offensive and shocking than any idiocy that tumbled out of Santorum's mouth. For the entire history of the two-party system in this countryChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-937780092003-05-04T23:14:00.000-04:002003-05-04T23:14:31.223-04:00If I seem a little out of it in the week ahead, it's just because it's the first week of South End Baseball. I'm not a father and I'm not a coach, but I like being able to walk down the street in my Boston neighborhood during the spring and watch some hot Little League action. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-937749992003-05-04T22:17:00.000-04:002003-05-04T22:17:08.380-04:00I'm not about to tell you that my home state flagship paper is worth reading, but it does have this funny bit from 756-year-old Ernest Hollings, who just recently became the senior senator of South Carolina following the retirement of Strom Thurmond:
Hollings on Bush's inability to build global support for the war in Iraq: "This is the only fella in history who got Germany not to go to war."
OfChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-937744542003-05-04T22:06:00.000-04:002003-05-04T22:06:42.430-04:00Job news and job blues and I can play both
On Friday a "creative staffing agency" that hasn't called me in over a year called with a golden opportunity. Well, golden overstates it a bit. The agency "associate," Julie, began by apologizing that the opportunity she had for me didn't pay very well. Then, as she shuffled papers around and thought aloud about what she was supposed to tell me firstChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-936763902003-05-02T18:36:00.000-04:002003-05-02T18:37:56.000-04:00Friend K.P. in Boston sent along this article about how Condi Rice put her moderate foot down on the invasion of Syria hoped for by neo-cons -- not because it would put the administration on shaky justification ground (though they seem to love it there), but because the 2004 election looms, and it's high time that Bush at least throw out some lip service that Fox News can pretend applies to thoseChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-936648932003-05-02T14:27:00.000-04:002003-05-02T18:40:20.000-04:00Take your meds, fool
If yesterday's display on the USS Lincoln left you drooling and lying in a fetal position, Joe Conason's Salon piece is worth reading. It won't stop the drool, but it might help you put your "isn't the idea of Bush speaking on an aircraft carrier kind of a joke?" thoughts in order.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-936640762003-05-02T14:11:00.000-04:002003-05-02T18:09:37.000-04:00Anybody wanna double down on Bill Bennett's credibility?
The Washington Monthly and Newsweek are reporting that Bill Bennett, the US morality czar and definer of virtues, has gambled away about $8 million in trips to casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
From the Newsweek piece:
"Reached by NEWSWEEK, Bennett acknowledged he gambles but not that he has ended up behind. 'Over ten years, I’d Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-936565882003-05-02T11:53:00.000-04:002003-05-02T11:53:44.546-04:00Blogger and all-around smartypants Josh Marshall of TPM at long last has it piled higher and deeper.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-936563692003-05-02T11:49:00.000-04:002003-05-02T11:49:51.713-04:00Boston area readers should note that Monday, May 5th, the city's ban on smoking in public places goes into effect. As a non-smoker, I've always been very supportive of smokers and their right to make everything within a five mile radius smell like an ashtray -- really, I've spent a lot of time in bars and around smokers and I'm quite sensitive to their needs -- but even I'm looking forward to Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-936515382003-05-02T10:27:00.000-04:002003-05-02T10:27:05.720-04:00Well, the hatemongers who hoped that country music fans in South Carolina would string the Dixie Chicks up must be disappointed. About 15 protestors showed up outside the kick-off show of the Chicks' summer tour at Greenville. Hell, those aren't even Marty Burke at the Masters numbers, are they? Fifteen people?!? Inside, the crowd cheered and sang along with Natalie Maines and the Chicks.
Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-936505252003-05-02T10:09:00.000-04:002003-05-02T10:09:36.690-04:00You may be on the Lincoln, but I knew Lincoln, and you, sir, are no Lincoln
If you didn't see Bush's speech from the deck of the USS Lincoln (I can understand if you're repulsed by the notion of Bush "speaking" anywhere near the word Lincoln), you didn't miss much. Every word, grunt, and wink from the president was greeted with applause, but given the fact that the Lincoln has been out to see Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935973682003-05-01T10:58:00.000-04:002003-05-01T11:02:45.000-04:00Thursday is nearly always reader mail day
The sad story of "Anything that Floats" somehow caught the attention of the Globe's BostonWorks blogger who graciously passed along this link. Thanks, JB!
Friend and cyberprotege C.F. gets dizzy about the blog phenomenon: "Let the circle be unbroken. That article was pointed out to me by a blog, I read it, passed the info on to you, and now it's on Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935571422003-04-30T18:09:00.000-04:002003-04-30T18:11:11.000-04:00Neal Pollack, you magnificent bastard.
If you don't know what the hell Neal's talking about, read this piece about James Frey first. Or this one.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935563282003-04-30T17:53:00.000-04:002003-04-30T17:53:07.460-04:00Could this be true? Daniel Gross writes at Slate today that "even if the economy does add 2 million jobs by October 2004, he will still have presided over the only job-losing presidency since Hoover." Democrats who don't mind playing dirty -- imagine that -- might want to refer to the H-word when talking about Bush as much as they possibly can.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935557612003-04-30T17:42:00.000-04:002003-04-30T17:47:50.000-04:00Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?
Friend and fellow news junkie C.F. wonders today in our email discussion why our discussion has cooled down now that we're in the occupation stage of the Iraq invasion. He's frustrated: "We have been strangely silent. But this is all according to plan. The neoCon magnates in the White House and State Department are well aware of the short Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935388772003-04-30T12:22:00.000-04:002003-04-30T18:16:00.000-04:00Nothing's shocking when it comes out of the mouths of coddled ballplayers
We're no longer shocked -- if we ever were -- when professional athletes reveal their bigotry and homophobia, are we? This week the Colorado Rockies organization is doing damage control in the wake of some not that interesting comments made by reliever Todd Jones. Asked about what his reaction would be if a teammate Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935329652003-04-30T10:40:00.000-04:002003-04-30T10:40:58.783-04:00Fun job listing of the day: this might be my best chance for a beach vacation this year.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935322102003-04-30T10:27:00.000-04:002003-05-01T10:48:48.000-04:00The "No Jobs for You" section of my local newspaper, also known as "Boston Works," has been publishing a little ditty called "View from the Cube," in which people who work in an office someplace go on for about 24,000 words about the nuances of their office's water cooler or the beauty of the conference room, or daydreaming.
The brief wave of stories written by the unemployederati might be on Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-935311902003-04-30T10:08:00.000-04:002003-04-30T10:08:36.406-04:00From the edge of civilization. The very edge.
Roxanne, one of the "stars" of the reality movie The Real Cancun gets deep for a moment:
"I'd rather be known for this instead of being smart or something. There's a million people who are smart. There's only 16 of us who were in Cancun together."
Amen, Roxanne. You don't have to put on the red light. We can tell by the wet t-shirt that Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-934217982003-04-28T17:06:00.000-04:002003-04-28T17:09:25.000-04:00Don't use that Pearl Jam "Vitalogy" CD that you found at the bottom of a drawer as a coaster! Someone wants to pay you for it. Those textbooks that you picked up free at the book fair when you were a starving adjunct comp teacher? Big bucks! Sell sell sell, and then find out when the next book fair is. That penny paperback copy of Siddhartha that you keep around because it reminds you of Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-934127532003-04-28T14:17:00.000-04:002003-04-28T14:17:25.343-04:00Can't talk now. Have to sell my books and CDs to pay the rent and keep food on the table. No wait. Already sold the table. Tough times.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-933052122003-04-26T14:12:00.000-04:002003-04-26T14:12:49.263-04:00This is what happens when you sleep through history
Here's a word you're going to be hearing and reading a lot in the coming months in stories about the Republican Party: hubris.
After Newt Gingrich used his "Contract for America" to stage a Republican revolution a decade ago, he quickly demonstrated how arrogance can overcome ambition, how one might push a stance so far that one winds up Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-932671502003-04-25T19:01:00.000-04:002003-04-25T19:04:53.000-04:00Downloading days at the Boston Cyberarts Festival
For readers who might be in the New England area, I'm reprinting this preview of the Boston Cyberarts Festival that I wrote for Light magazine. Light's content does not appear online, and I'm only willing to reproduce it here because the April issue in which the article appeared is about to be the old issue.
The festival kicks off this weekend Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-932567902003-04-25T15:23:00.000-04:002003-04-25T15:23:08.320-04:00Fun job listing of the day. I love the title, but I think I have too much integrity to get a bed moving for this little money.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-932561162003-04-25T15:09:00.000-04:002003-04-25T15:18:11.000-04:00Today's Rick "Why don't we do it in the road" Santorum update:
The president, via The Ari Fleischer Blowhole, throws his support behind Senator Puppy Love. Per prez, the Distinguished Tail Chaser from Pennsylvania is an "inclusive man." That's a pretty fat softball pitch right there, but I'm going to resist the urge to smack it out of the park.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-932557352003-04-25T15:02:00.000-04:002003-04-25T15:02:25.166-04:00If you're going to make fun of anybody named Hitchens, make sure you don't leave Christopher out.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-932555202003-04-25T14:58:00.000-04:002003-04-25T14:58:30.443-04:00US soldiers save lions and cheetahs found in Bushdad palace. Until proper food for these animals can be rounded up, the soldiers plan to feed them relics from the National Museum of Iraq.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-932549162003-04-25T14:47:00.000-04:002003-04-25T14:53:08.000-04:00The Weekly Standard continues the neo-con mission of making everything in the world so simple and devoid of complexity that even our president can understand it. In today's episode of conservative circle jerkery, contributing prisspot Hugh Hewitt calls out the "caucus of the wrong," which includes such world leaders as Tim Robbins, the Dixie Chicks, and a Yale prof. When are the people at the Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931875292003-04-24T13:15:00.000-04:002003-04-24T13:15:22.203-04:00Is it scary that I would type the word "Rumsfeld" into the Ebay search engine? Is it scarier that I would find a whole lot of Rumshwag?Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931869352003-04-24T13:04:00.000-04:002003-04-24T13:11:33.000-04:00I'm humping the legs of this story for all they're worth
I'm all over this Rick "Do it in the butt with your sister" Santorum story. Now his comments about consensual sex have pissed off polygamists (Question: Do polygamists feel superior to mere bigomists?).
Juicy bit:
"Owen Allred, 89, head of the United Apostolic Brethen, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of Bluffdale, agreed with Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931867722003-04-24T13:01:00.000-04:002003-04-24T13:11:20.000-04:00If looting you is wrong, I must work for the right
Thanks to Gary in the 'Nati for passing along this story regarding one of the so-called winners in the War for Reputations and Ratings in Iraq, Fox News. Seems that looting, not love, is the international language.
Juicy bit: "So far, only Benjamin James Johnson, who worked as an engineer for Fox News Channel, has been charged. But officials Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931863612003-04-24T12:53:00.000-04:002003-04-24T12:56:36.000-04:00Thanks for the mail. Keep it coming with ideas and comments. Don't forget to rate me using the little meter on the left side of the blog. Word on the cyberstreet is that people who have highly rated blogs get big Iraq Reconstruction contracts.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931859452003-04-24T12:45:00.000-04:002003-04-24T12:45:42.630-04:00Fun local job listing of the day: UNCUT.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931857242003-04-24T12:41:00.000-04:002003-04-24T14:37:30.000-04:00Let's say that Thursday will be Reader Mail Day, shall we, and hope that it gets better than this as time goes on?
"Fun blog to read . . . How did you get your blog page set up? That looks like fun."
--G., poet, Cincinnati OH
"Cool. I only found out what a blog was like 2 months ago. Pathetic. I like your web site, too. What does Roman Wilderness mean? (I'm not too smart these days.) Did you Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931840122003-04-24T12:07:00.000-04:002003-04-24T12:07:59.740-04:00At least five factions or exile groups in Iraq have stepped up and claimed to be in power -- with the approval of the US government. One has already offered its group a pay increase (who says we can't spread Congressional government abroad?).
In a major step for both democracy and westernization in the way of women's rights, one of these factions is led by a female. Her name is Hallie Burton.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931836782003-04-24T12:01:00.000-04:002003-04-24T12:03:53.000-04:00As was to be expected, the Rick "Closer kin, Deeper in" Santorum story is becoming a semantics exercise for people who seem not to care that Senator Doggy Style's remarks, while they don't really break any laws, prove that he's at least a dullard. Thank goodness all the protest rallies are over -- we need to rassign some police officers to bedrooms around the country.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931831412003-04-24T11:51:00.000-04:002003-04-24T11:55:11.000-04:00The must-read comic relief piece of the week is in the Weekly Standard/NeoCon Bible, where Joel Kotkin and Fred Siegel, in a semi-coherent article titled "The Redistribution of Honor," make the "argument" that the victory in Iraq is enough to debunk every non-conservative idea put forth in the last thousand or so years. The US victory has, according to these two dudes, reconfigured the "moral Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931574432003-04-24T00:22:00.000-04:002003-04-24T00:23:51.000-04:00There isn't time (or energy) enough right now for a full Flaming Lips debriefing. But let me say here that it was as frontman and head cheerleader Wayne Coyne described it: "like an enormous birthday party." I've rarely seen a big ballroom performance that was more inclusive -- and more about having a good time -- than this one.
Last week I saw Yo La Tengo in the same venue (Boston's Roxy).Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931380782003-04-23T17:54:00.000-04:002003-04-23T17:54:23.606-04:00And we're off to see Flaming Lips. A full report of bunny costumes, white suits, and peacelove glitter to come.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931312252003-04-23T15:49:00.000-04:002003-04-23T15:49:53.450-04:00"I'm shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in this establishment!" Or something like that, right? Conservative (and gay) pundit Andrew Sullivan is pretty surprised to hear an upstanding guy like Santorum come out in favor of policing the bedroom. Sully's meta-narrative of this ongoing story is interesting.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931287602003-04-23T15:04:00.000-04:002003-04-23T15:10:45.000-04:00The Rick Santorum story is starting to grow legs. Here see his complete interview with an AP reporter that took place April 7th.
One excerpt:
Santorum: "The idea is that the state doesn't have rights to limit individuals' wants and passions. I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931283562003-04-23T14:57:00.000-04:002003-04-23T14:57:30.426-04:00A serio-comic email debate is taking place among friends regarding this Salon article on Ralph Nader's chances of rising above the status of political sideshow attraction in the 2004 election. A summary of the argumentative wheat and chaff soon to follow.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931146062003-04-23T10:50:00.000-04:002003-04-23T10:50:21.636-04:00More proof that Colonel Sanders is a relentless killer who must be stopped, regardless of the originality value of his recipe.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931125112003-04-23T10:11:00.000-04:002003-04-23T10:11:49.686-04:00Singled out in a review of Hungry? Boston: The Lowdown on Where the Real People Eat! by online mag GroovyStylie.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-931114412003-04-23T09:51:00.000-04:002003-04-23T09:51:08.470-04:00Do-gooders need apply: there's a website looking for folks who have Greenpeace and Big Brothers on their resume. Good thing, 'cause I'm looking for something in the low teens at sixty hours a week. I want to help people. Really. (Okay, that's cynical, but hey, it's a buyer's market like crazy out there in JobWorld)Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150391.post-930762032003-04-22T19:21:00.000-04:002003-04-22T19:21:52.073-04:00Fun job listing of the day. You'll know when it gets this bad out there for.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803628674543460994noreply@blogger.com