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 Roger \”Life of the Party\” Cohen, who in his Globalist column \”The New American...
Continue reading...September 2010
Poem of the Week
At the National Book Festival, in addition to snagging the awesome commemorative poster (which, seriously, I\’m pretty excited about), I also got a copy of the Poetry Out Loud Anthology, a collection of poems high schoolers can memorize for the National Recitation Contest. Among a lot of familiar classics, here\’s one I hadn\’t seen before: How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson It was like soul-kissing, the way the words filled my mouth as Mrs. Purdy read from her desk. All the other kids zoned an hour ahead to 3:15, but Mrs. Purdy and I wandered lonely...
Continue reading...The National Book Festival
This afternoon I braved the unseasonable heat (over 90 degrees in late September? Really, DC?) to check out the National Book Festival. Every year, the Festival takes over 4 blocks of the National Mall and sets up a dozen or so tents featuring authors and other literary programs. This was my first year going, and it’s the kind of thing that makes me want to live here forever, so I can go every year and take my hypothetical future children. In a day full of luminary literary stars, I only made it to a few events, but...
Continue reading...Nevada Republican nominee for Senate Sharron Angle makes fun of autism
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqxCCLr3Fa4&w=560&h=340] It\’s been awhile since we checked in with Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle. In the video above, taken at a tea party rally last year, she openly mocks a Nevada law that mandates health insurance coverage for \”autism\” (air quotes hers). She says: “Take off the mandates for coverage in the state of Nevada and all over the United States. But here you know what I’m talking about. You’re paying for things you don’t even need. They just passed the latest one, is everything that they want to throw at us now is covered under...
Continue reading...On Teresa Lewis and the Problem of Capital Punishment
Last night, Teresa Lewis was executed in Virginia. The news stories I\’ve seen all lead with the rarety of the death penalty being applied to a woman: Lewis was the first woman executed since 2005, and only the 12th in the 34 years since the death penalty was reinstated. There are questions about whether Lewis\’ execution will lead the way to more women on death row being executed, but that\’s not the most salient piece of the story. What matters more are the circumstances of her case and whether they merited the sentence received. There is no...
Continue reading...Who wrote the Republican's "Pledge to America?"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640 Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Well, it turns out that if you open the PDF version of the Republican\’s \”A Pledge to America,\” their follow-up to the 1994 \”Contract With America,\” you learn that the author of the document was not, actually, some staffer in House Minority Leader John Boehner\’s office,* but none other than Brian Wild. The Hill: Huffington Post’s Sam Stein reports that Wild, as a lobbyist at the Nickels Group, “was paid $740,000 in lobbying contracts from AIG, the former insurance company at the heart of...
Continue reading...Colbert on the Hill
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640 Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Stephen Colbert (yes, that Stephen Colbert) was on Capitol Hill this morning testifying about immigration and jobs before a House Judiciary subcommittee. I just watched the hearing, and it was rather amazing. Above is a video of his opening statement.
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 a little bit of a departure, as while it appears in Paul \”The Little Professor\”...
Continue reading...The emotional and financial toll of the Hyde Amendment
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=15141054&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0 Hyde: The Status Quo Is Not OK from Center for Reproductive Rights on Vimeo.
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Friday, 24 September 2010
Good morning, everybody. Lady Gaga\’s meat dress will be made into jerky for archival purposes. Now, your morning constitutional: Senate Democrats give up trying to vote on extension of Bush tax cuts before the November elections. Senator Mary Landrieu has pledged to block the confirmation of President Obama\’s new budget director unless the administration ends the moratorium on deep-water oil drilling is lifted. Ireland\’s economy contracted by 1.2% in the second quarter of the year, surprising analysts who had expected it to grow. British Queen Elizabeth asked if money earmarked for schools and poverty programs could be...
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