Mark Silk knocks it out of the park: In recent years, the wise guys in the Republican Party have cottoned to the fact that the U.S. of A. has become a good deal more Latino than it used to be, and that it might not be such a good idea for the future of the GOP if it embraced (at least publicly) such anti-Latino-immigrant laws as Arizona passed a few months ago. Why not find a less politically potent body of Americans on which to vent one’s nativist animosity? I give you: The Muslims. Unlike the Latinos,...
Continue reading...August 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’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. This is a daily feature dedicated to these folks: one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Maureen \”The Refrigerator\” Dowd who, in her column \”Our Mosque Madness,\” writes: Some critics...
Continue reading...Happy Anniversary, Women's Suffrage!
On this day 90 years ago, Tennessee became the final state to ratify the 19th amendment, finally giving women the right to vote. If you haven’t yet, go read Gail Collins’ excellent column last week describing the circumstances leading up to that historic vote: My Favorite August. I was thinking about how to best celebrate this occasion, and I think it’s in the spirit of gratefulness. Granted, that’s not my usual mood, particularly when it comes to women’s issues. As you know from my repeated rants, being a pro-choice feminist can be frustrating. When it comes to...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Good morning, folks. Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood have called off their engagement. Now, your morning constitutional: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was found guilty of one charge, making false statements to the FBI, but the jury was hung on the other 23 charges facing Blagojevich. Despite the fact that congress rushed to get aid to states to prevent them from having to fire teachers, many large school districts are holding off rehiring and saving the money to offset future budget deficits. President Obama\’s incredible winning streak. How Democrats are having trouble celebrating their historic achievements....
Continue reading...The Shot Heard 'Round the World
The single most important influence on me learning to love baseball was my grandfather. He was the first man I ever saw wrapped up in baseball games on the television, screaming obscenities at who I thought was the team he loved. He was a Red Sox fan who, in the eighty years of his life, never once saw the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. One thing I remember him telling me is that “back in the day,” the biggest rivalry in sports was not actually the Red Sox and Yankees. In fact, it was the...
Continue reading...Welcome to the Terrordome
Sometimes, it’s a little hard to like Majority Leader Harry Reid. Okay, not sometimes: Often. Sure, once in a while he’ll accomplish the historic passage of a Republican health care bill, but, generally, he’s blasé at best and offensively useless at worst. Or maybe just offensive. Offensive it is, again. Yesterday, in addressing the recent (cynical) outrage over the planning of an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center site, his spokesman, Jim Manley said, “The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Senator Reid respects that, but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else.”...
Continue reading...Candidate for Congress Ben Qualye thinks Obama is the worst president ever
Ben Quayle, the 33-year-old son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, is running for a House seat from Arizona, released the above ad last week calling President Obama “the worst president in history.” You’d think he would have read this week’s conservative talking points. I’m referring, of course to a a list compiled by conservative bloggers of the worst 25 figures in American history—a list which President Jimmy Carter topped. Jimmy Carter: The worst figure in American history? The lowest of “all the gangsters, serial killers, mass murderers, incompetent & crooked politicians, spies, traitors, and ultra left-wing...
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’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. This is a daily feature dedicated to these folks: one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Bob \”Day Job\” Herbert who, in his column, \”No \’Graceful Exit,\’\” writes: Look around...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Good morning, everybody. Tila Tequila was attacked on-stage by stones, bottles and various other things at the annual Gathering of the Juggalos festival in Illinois. Now, your morning constitutional: In Pakistan, one-fifth of which is under water due to horrific flooding, water-borne diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis and cholera may bring further tragedy. At least 59 were killed by a suicide bomber at an army recruitment center in Baghdad. Five months after the election, with no government yet formed, coalition talks have been suspended after Nouri al-Maliki claimed the al-Iraqiya bloc, the winner of the most...
Continue reading...Great Moments in Campaign Advertising: "Read My Lips"
This is the ad that, maybe more than anything else, most likely sank President George H. W. Bush’s chances for re-election. Of course, it was those tax increases that made way for years of balanced budgets under Clinton, but don’t tell anybody. And, of course, that raising the gas tax was maybe just a little before its time, not to mention a policy many progressives want to further. But, it was a really, really effective ad. This is exactly the script I bet the Republican nominee will use in 2012.
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