And we are back! Let me tell you, ANYONE can do year-end wrap up in the year they actually occurred, but only this blog can bring you on a nostalgic tour of 2008 with the distance and perspective that comes from the first week of 2009. So this week, now that the trees and “menorahs” have been taken down and the New Years hangover is over (replaced with a regular Monday hangover) we will be looking at some of the highs and lows of last year. But first! The news.
If you have really checked out over vacation and are only just coming back to the world, you may have missed that news that Israel has invaded the Gaza strip. Responding to the endless, if sporadic, rocket attacks coming from within Gaza, the Israeli army retaliated through massive air strikes and now with a ground offensive that has cut the strip in half. Fighting has left over 500 Palestinians dead (100 civilians) and a rapidly developing humanitarian crisis is putting millions in danger of starvation. Many experts are saying that Israel chose now to strike because they knew the Bush administration would support them pretty much no matter what they did. That has proven to be the case as the US has blocked moves in the UN to condemn Israel. This will be a major challenge for President-elect Obama when he takes office.
Your favorite, formerly bearded, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from consideration for Secretary of Commerce. Apparently, he is the subject of an ongoing investigation into political donations made to him by a company with massive business interests in front of the state. This might not be the last we hear of him; President-elect Obama has signaled that he is interested in reviving the special envoys to deal with global crisis areas. I am not sure but I don’t think that requires legislative approval.
Because Republicans can’t stand building roads or feeding the hungry, President-elect Obama’s massive stimulus bill *titter* will contain almost $300 billion in tax cuts designed to attract Republican support for the parts that will actually help. Cha-CHING.
Al Franken is going to be the likely winner of the Minnesota senate seat by a margin of about 200 votes. That is awesome in so many ways.
In case you hadn’t already noticed, we are taking the week off. We should be back starting this weekend with some end of the year wrap-ups, so stay tuned and have a good holiday season. Until then, enjoy some Christmas cheer I am ripping off from Ta-Nehisi Coates.
First up, news we are pretty sure is important but can only loosely explain why: The Federal Reserve cut its target interest rate to historic lows between zero and a quarter percentage points. I am pretty sure that this means that banks can borrow money from the Federal Reserve and pay essentially no interest on it. That, hypothetically, means that banks will lower the rate at which they lend money to households and businesses. However, since no one is investing anyway, it doesn’t appear that this is going to work.
Dana Milibank, a Washington Post columnist, is complaining that we are trading a “sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions,” for “another sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions.” His evidence for this is that at Obama’s press conference naming his new Secretary of Education, he avoided the media’s questions about Gov. Blagojevich. Is this the beginning of a trend of stories saying that Obama isn’t open enough with the media? Almost certainly, but keep in mind that he is already having a press conference every few days and demonstrating a refreshing amount of openness in going around the media to talk to the public directly.
Tom Friedman has a great column asking the question, “What is really the difference between Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and the totally legal subprime deals?”
Finally, Timehas named Barack Obama person of the year. This reminds me of Jeff and I debating who would be person of the year last year (I thought Obama until Jeff said that would be next year after he had won the election, kudos ). Man, can you believe that “You” was two years ago? How lame was that!
BAHAHAHA. Jeff is driving home so I took over OMG TV. Here is all that remains of Jeff’s original post “Boy, I wish The Jay Leno Show had started already. People are bitching and moaning, but what is NBC offering us right now at 10pm? Oh look, Momma’s Boys.” Yes Jeff, Momma’s Boys indeed.
8:00 - Charlie Brown Christmas (ABC)
I haven’t seen this treasured childhood classic. Which for me makes it less of a childhood classic and more of a movie about a bunch of kids with giants headsand adults who talk weird.
9:00 - The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
The thinking man’s Kieth Olbermann. Maddow’s show is a little more chilled out and her editorial comments are more asides than long rants. Hmm, This entry is a little light… quick Josh, find some trivia… Did you know she was the first openly gay American to with a Rhodes scholarship? No, that’s right, you didn’t. So you should watch her show.
Anytime - Last night’s How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
I know you have it Tivoed. Or you can watch it at CBS.com. You think I would let that crack last night go Jeff?I wasn’t planning on it. Last night’s episode was awesome. They made fun of Canadians, Minnesotans and… well that is really enough isn’t it? You should check it out, after a really slow start this season is returning to form in a great way. I am willing to bet Jeff actually watched it and was just trying to mess with me. Now to find an obnoxious cast photo to pair with this post…
Late Night
Tom Cruise jumps on Letterman’s couch, Jim Carrey can only answer “Yes” to Leno’s questions, Eva Mendes is scrumptious on Conan.
Because all of you are dedicated followers of Presidential fashion, I am sure you already know that President Obama has already picked a tux for the inaugural balls he will be attending Jan. 20th (Your editors won’t be at a “ball” so much as we will be face down in a gutter outside the cheapest DC bar we can find, still feebly trying to cheer). However, fashionistas will note that Obama’s tuxedo choice is much like Obama himself: solid, dependable and not really very flashy. In stepped the good people at WWD, who solicited submissions from dozens of today’s biggest designers to see what they think Obama should wear.
My favorites are included above and listed from left to right. A Tim Hamilton double-breasted tux with the collar undone says “I’m the new president and I’m here to party.” My absolute favorite is the midnight blue tux from Nautica which is cooler and slightly more contemporary; Obama is a President for the new millenium after all. The entry from Brioni takes a classic approach that is pretty much unimpeachable. And finally, I think we all secretly wish that people still dressed in suits like the one from Rag and Bone for political functions (or is that just me?). Check out the complete 52-page look book of Presidential style below thatalso includes ties and suits for the day.
