Good morning, folks. A Malaysian man tried to bring 95 snakes on a plane. Now, your morning constitutional: The U.S. shed 54,000 jobs in August, raising the unemployment rate to 9.6% percent. The job losses were actually the result of public sector firing; while the private sector added 67,000 jobs, the Census let go of 114,000 temporary workers as state and local governments dropped 10,000. By historical standards, the labor market is actually recovering rapidly, as job growth began earlier than past recessions. Hurricane Earl is weakening as it approaches Massachusetts. The U.S. auto industry is smaller...
Continue reading...September 2010
Poem of the Week
Most of the poems I’ve posted here so far have been free verse– my usual preferred mode for both reading and writing poetry. But this is one of the best examples I’ve seen of the complicated villanelle form: a 19 line poem consisting of five three-line stanzas followed by a concluding four-line stanza. Villanelles feature an ABA rhyme scheme, as well as two lines that repeat throughout, alternating as the last line of each stanza. Got that? Complex structure aside, it’s a beautiful poem, the last stanza of which makes for a good mantra. Thanks to my...
Continue reading...Larry Sabato predicts huge wins for Republicans in November
Republicans are undoubtedly going to have a good November, but University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato makes a pretty bold claim: Given what we can see at this moment, Republicans have a good chance to win the House by picking up as many as 47 seats, net. This is a “net” number since the GOP will probably lose several of its own congressional districts in Delaware, Hawaii, and Louisiana. This estimate, which may be raised or lowered by Election Day, is based on a careful district-by-district analysis, plus electoral modeling based on trends in President Obama’s Gallup...
Continue reading..."You got the Belgians running Europe?"
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s memoir is on sale today, alongside a lengthy profile/preview of the book in the Washington Post. Based on the tidbits from the profile, I may just have to snag A Journey: My Political Life (What an original and totally interesting title!). The Post piece mostly centers on the backstabbingly close relationship Blair had with his successor Gordon Brown. There’s this little tidbit regarding how Blair felt about Presidents Clinton and Bush, both of whom with which he shared close relationships. Blair first visited with George W. Bush at Camp David in...
Continue reading...Yes, it's hot outside, but the Potomac River is really not a good place to go swimming
As if we needed another reason to avoid swimming in the Potomac River, now we have to be afraid of…sharks? Willy Dean has an incredible fish tale to tell. On Tuesday, he caught a shark while on the Potomac River in St. Mary’s County, Md. Don’t believe him? He has the pictures to prove it. Dean put out a net Monday at Cornfield Harbor in the Potomac three miles north of Point Lookout with hopes of catching cow-nosed rays for a Solomons Island Marina biologist. When he checked Monday night everything seemed normal. But when he checked again Tuesday...
Continue reading...Another reason why Queen was/is awesome
As if you really needed more, right?, since Queen is pretty much one of the most kick-ass bands of all time. Yet, from Letters of Note (follow it, you’ll thank me later), come to find out that Freddy Mercury was the type of gentleman who actually wrote thank-you letters: In 1973, just as Queen finished recording their second album, 27-year-old Freddie Mercury, ever the gentleman, politely wrote the following letter of thanks to Jac Holzman, founder of their U.S. label, Elektra Records; Holzman had fought hard to bring the band to his label in 1971, and his faith in them hadn’t gone unnoticed by...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Thursday, 2 September 2010
Good morning, folks. Tiger’s getting a new place. Now, your morning constitutional: President Obama urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to not let the opportunity for a permanent peace deal slip away on the eve of new direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. According to a new report, the recession and tougher border security have resulted in fewer illegal immigrants entering the U.S. On the other hand, over the last two decades, the number of children born to immigrants has doubled, while the number of children born to native-born Americans has...
Continue reading...Vanity Fair has a new piece on Sarah Palin, and it's somehow way more awesome than you'd expect
Seriously, this thing is amazing. Here are some choice parts On Sarah the Hunter: This whole hunter thing, for Sarah? That is the biggest fallacy,” says one longtime friend of the family. “That woman has never hunted. The picture of her with the caribou she says she shot? She got out of the R.V. to pose for a picture. She never helps with the fishing either. It’s all a joke.” On rumors that their marriage was rocky: One person who has been a frequent houseguest of the Palins’ says that the couple began many mornings with screaming...
Continue reading...Why did Murkowski lose?
David Weigel offers a post-mortem, as well as how it was her ability and willingness to work across the aisle that brought her down: The post-election gloating over Murkowski’s problems revealed the problems conservatives had with her. She voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008. In October 2009 she said she was “open” to compromise on cap-and-trade legislation if it expanded drilling and nuclear power. She had a moderate record on abortion, siding with liberals on some matters of federal funding for the procedure. And she occasionally spoke dismissively of Sarah Palin. Tell me if I’m missing...
Continue reading...An Iraq vet reacts to the end of combat in Iraq
Ryan Gallucci, an Iraq veteran and the editor at American Veteran Magazine, says it best: Tonight, President Barack Obama announced that combat operations in Iraq have ended for the United States, to which I say, as a veteran of the conflict, it’s about time. I was happy to hear the President acknowledge that through the hard work of America’s military men and women, our nation succeeded in its missions, affording Iraq the opportunity to pursue a prosperous future. The President was also clear to note that the American commitment will continue in a variety of ways. When...
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