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 Ross \”Do That Thing\” Douthat, who in his column \”Mr. Beck Goes to Washington,\”...

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Stay Classy

From the GW Hatchet, the George Washington University newspaper: Though the rally was a mostly peaceful gathering, two rally attendees got into a heated argument with an employee at the GW Deli over the D.C. bag tax, which ultimately resulted in the tea party member throwing a sandwich in the deli employee’s face. The GW Deli declined to comment on the issue. The D.C. bag tax is a fee levied on disposable bags from stores and restaurants. It costs five cents per bag.

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Morning Constitutional – Monday, 30 August 2010

Good morning, everybody. Modern Family and Mad Men are apparently really good shows. Now, your morning constitutional: Hurricane Earl is strengthening into a major hurricane as it moves into the Caribbean, and is forecast to become a Category 3 today as it moves toward Puerto Rico. The storm could affect areas on the U.S. East Coast over Labor Day weekend. Even as much of China\’s growth is the result of private businesses, it is China\’s state-owned companies that are the growing fastest, in large part because of state-bank spending and stimulus measures. Officials in Pakistan say that...

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Cute Kid of the Day + More Poetry

So I’m back from vacation, and it was fun even though the weather was not particularly cooperative (by which I mean it rained for four straight days. Fact: there is nothing to do in Cape Cod when it is raining). Anyway, welcome back, me.  Thanks to Poplicola for posting the great Edna St. Vincent Millay poem and keeping the V&V poetry tradition alive this week. Today I have some bonus poetry, courtesy of this freaking adorable video of a three year old kid reciting the Billy Collins poem “Litany” that I posted here a few weeks back. ...

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Alaska Republican candidate for Senate Joe Miller compares Senator Murkowski to a prostitute

Via Swing State Project. Alaska Republican (and tea party sweetheart) candidate for Senate Joe Miller : “What’s the difference between selling out your party\’s values and the oldest profession? http://bit.ly/93kXBr #teaparty #tcot #alaska #ak” The link is to the Daily Caller, which cites a report from the Daily Beast that someone inside Lisa Murkowski’s  senate campaign has said that if she does lose the Republican nomination, she might consider running under the Libertarian Party, because the deadline for filing as an independent has passed. As unlikely a scenario this is, it’s not even relevant yet, as it...

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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 Paul \”The Little Professor\” Krugman, who in his column \”This Is Not a Recovery,\”...

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There are reasons nobody is trying to build a community center where you live.

Perhaps I’m treading on already trod ground, but the I have to wonder how much of the controversy over the not exactly Ground Zero, not exactly Mosque is really just another proxy battle of misunderstanding between urban Americans and suburban/rural types. The distance of a few blocks is too far to walk on a 100 degree day during my lunch hour, and I love walking. It is also billions of dollars away. If I really want a morning cup of coffee, I’ll go to the coffee shop next door, not 2 1/2 blocks away. For suburbanites, however,...

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Morning Constitutional – Friday, 27 August 2010

Good morning, everybody. With little fanfare, Will Forte\’s leaving SNL. Now, your morning constitutional: Former President Jimmy Carter has left North Korea with Aijalon Mahli Gomes, whose release he had successfully gone to North Korea to secure. An increasing number of congressional Democrats are backing an extension of the Bush tax cuts, even those just for the wealthy, while some former Republican lawmakers are backing new taxes to reduce the budget deficit. Military trainers shocked how bad Afghans are at driving. Katrina recovery efforts seem to have unevenly favored the rich and affluent in Louisiana and Mississippi....

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