Good morning, folks. Jesse James considers himself the world\’s most hated man. Now, your morning constitutional: The Senate on Thursday passed the financial reform package on a 59-39 vote. Four Republicans voted for the package, and two Democrats voted against. The bill now goes to conference to be reconciled before it will hit President Obama\’s desk for signing. Slate on how the reform package is kinder to the finance industry than it has to be. The Bundestag, Germany\’s lower house of Parliament, approved Friday a measure to contribute to a rescue package for Greece put together by...
Continue reading...May 2010
New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman Ain’t Free” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. Well, I’ve decided to devote a daily feature to these folks, by daily pointing out one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Nicholas \”The Dark Crystal\” Kristof, who in his spectacular column today, \”Poverty and the...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Thursday, 20 May 2010
Good morning, everybody. Lindsay missed her court date, and there\’s a warrant for her arrest. Now, your morning constitutional: Thai authorities have restored an uneasy order to Bangkok, a day after rioting and violence killed 15 and injured nearly 100. The Staten Island Republican Party has endorsed Vito Fossella for another run for Congress. Yes, the same Fossella who secret other family was exposed after he was arrested for drunk driving. Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg unveiled their final coalition agreement today. South Korea on Thursday accused North Korea of sinking one...
Continue reading...Adventures in Hypocrisy
For your daily dose of schadenfraude… If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth watching this video of Indiana Rep. Mark “Morally and Physically Repellent” Souder, the family values-touting Republican who just announced his resignation after admitting his affair with a staffer. In it, the woman with whom he was cheating on his wife interviews Souder about his passionate support for abstinence education. Ha. Real glad he was doing his best to keep teens from engaging in sex outside of the sacred bonds of marriage. The video, which up until yesterday was featured on Souder’s website but...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman Ain’t Free” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. Well, I’ve decided to devote a daily feature to these folks, by daily pointing out one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Tawmy \”Friedman\’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose\” Friedman, who, in his...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Good morning, folks. Campbell Brown is leaving CNN; could Eliot Spitzer take her spot? Now, your morning constitutional: Results in yesterday\’s primaries and the one special election were pretty much as expected: Paul won, Specter lost, Lincoln goes to a run-off. Analysis from Slate, FiveThirtyEight, Politico, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor. Did Rand Paul refuse to take Grayson\’s congratulations call? In Thailand, four leaders of the anti-government protesters have surrendered to police after troops surrounded the protesters\’ fortified encampment in Bangkok. BBC asks: How did it come to this? The Senate Judiciary Committee has posted Elena...
Continue reading...Geometry teacher really bad at coming up with original examples
From the “Obvious Things Teachers Shouldn’t Do That Don’t Involve Anything Sexual” Files: A Jefferson County teacher picked the wrong example when he used assassinating President Barack Obama as a way to teach angles to his geometry students. … The teacher was apparently teaching his geometry students about parallel lines and angles, officials said. He used the example of where to stand and aim if shooting Obama. Um. Okay. Superintendent Phil Hammonds said the teacher remains at work, and there are no plans for termination. “We are going to have a long conversation with him about what\’s...
Continue reading...Ta-Nehisi Coates on affirmative action and victimhood
We made mention of it this morning in the Morning Constitutional, but there is a significant amount of grumbling in some circles over how Miss Michigan, Rima Fakih, an Arab-American, won the Miss America pageant last night. We did note Adam Serwer’s excellent comments, but Ta-Nehisi Coates over at the Atlantic goes further and uses this example to unveil the racism behind those who immediately think she must have won because of affirmative action, and affirmative action critics in general: That aside, I think it’s obviously fine to have a debate about the effectiveness and justice of...
Continue reading...New York Time Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman Ain’t Free” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. Well, I’ve decided to devote a daily feature to these folks, by daily pointing out one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from David \”Yawny-Pants\” Brooks, who in his column \”Children of the \’70s,\” blames hippies: The...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Good morning, everybody. Charlie Sheen has signed on for two more years of Two and a Half Men, and at a salary of nearly $2M an episode, becomes the highest paid actor on television. Now, your morning constitutional: Democrats and Republicans go to polls today in primaries and special elections in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oregon. As Congress looks this week at how the government and industry responded to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it is likely that regulations on oil extraction will be tightened. Newt Gingrich trying really, really hard to stay relevant....
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