Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Snow is blanketing much of the Northeast and Midwest today and I am left to ponder how it really wasn’t that long ago that reports of snow would send me into a frenzy of checking the local news for school cancellation reports. Now I don’t notice it unless it is enough to prevent me from opening my front door.
The House of Representatives is voting on President Obama’s$900 billion stimulus package *titter* today. Republicans are pushing back against the bill because they feel it focuses too much on spending and not enough on tax cuts. Obama spent yesterday trying to drum up Republican support. The whole thing does have an element of farce; For example, the title of the USA Today article is “Obama faces first test of bipartisanship pledge,” that same article also features the line, “The measure is sure to pass .” If you want to know why the Republicans are upset, read this Times article which details how Democrats are using the stimulus as an excuse to push through a lot of welfare and health care policies which have been stalled for years. If you are a Republican, you can argue how this crisis is no time to railroad through partisan proposals. If you are a Democrat, point out that Republican tax cuts and deficit spending helped get us into this mess and don’t forget to add that “NEENER NEENER NEENER WE WON THE ELECTION.”
Novelist John Updike passed away yesterday at the age of 76. Can’t say I am familiar with any of his work so i will leave i to the New York Times to handle the obit. I will also add him to the list of recently deceased famous writers I probably should have read already.
What’s that? An Islamic terrorist group has overthrown a US-backed government? Quick, dispatch a few aircraft carriers and tell the Marines to saddle up… Oh wait, Africa you say? Never mind.
Twentieth Century Fox has assembled a creative team to transform 1980s TV series “The A-Team” into a summer 2010 film. I love it when a plan comes together.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Today’s main story is that Alaska’s Republican Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty by a jury of violating federal ethics laws. He was convicted on seven felony counts he faced in connection with charges that he knowingly failed to list 250,000 in gifts and services on Senate disclosure forms. Stevens is up for reelection this year and Democrats are now seeing what was once a safe Republican seat as a likely pickup. Those hardest hit by the investigation might be bloggers, Stevens leaving the Senate and going to jail takes what little humor there was left out of the “series of tubes” meme.
Game 5 of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays is still going on — sorta. The game was suspended last night after 6 innings because of weather and will resume tonight at 8 pm (if the weather is still bad, tomorrow at 8 pm). The Rays had checked out of their hotel before the game in anticipation of flying home after — and they couldn’t get back in because the hotel was sold out. They had hoped to stay with area fans, but haven’t yet found enough to house all 9 players.
The US is considering talks with elements of the Taliban, the group that once ruled Afghanistan and has been resurgent in recent months. There is a hope that these talks could drive a wedge between the extremist elements of the Afghan insurgency and the more moderate groups.
Led Zepplin is reuniting and planning to go on tour again minus lead singer Robert Plant, who has decided he has quite enough money, thank you very much.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The US has decided to humor the Iraqi government by “negotiating” with them to determine the future of the US military in Iraq. Those negotiations are quickly dissolving into acrimony with the Iraqi government condemning the US’s demands. The US is trying to make sure that their military has a large number of bases all over the country and that the military can operate with little or no oversight from the Iraqi government. The Iraqis want us to get the hell out. My initial thought on this is that it is the case of Iraqi politicians trying to drum up popularity at home by denouncing the big bad United States. Also, that the US military is going to do whatever it wants no matter what the Iraqis say.
The Republican Party is gearing up for big losses in November in both the House and the Senate (and possibly the Presidency). Talk with your Republican coworkers about how the party can refocus, find its roots and plan an eventual return to power. If you are Democrat, just smile and sip your coffee.
The Clinton’s have a literal enemies list that has expanded significantly during this election. While kind of creepy, this can actually be a fun topic of conversation at work! Chat over the water cooler about who would be on your enemies list. So far I have student loan debt, the guy who bumped into me on the subway this morning, and Ryan Reynolds.
I am quick to criticize New York Times Columnists (mostly because of my crippling jealousy) so I should be quick to praise them too. Both David Brooks and Tom Friedman had great columns yesterday and today. Brook’s is about debt and Friedman’s is about the fact that he has been to Egypt (and about Barack Obama).
The Celtics lost game 3, bringing the series to 2-1. Though neither team really covered themselves with glory last night.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
So yesterday was the Super-Duper Tsunami Tuesday, and all across America people are rolling out of bed feeling tired, unsatisfied, and slightly confused. That is what happens when you have a one-night stand… with DEMOCRACY. After millions spent on campaigns and weeks spent on analysis, the Super Tuesday Primaries in 22 states were roughly a tie for the Democrats. Because of arcane and apparently legal delegate apportionment rules, even states where one candidate won by a solid margin split their delegates pretty evenly. Senator Clinton won more of the big states like New York and California, but Senator Obama won more states total. Now the country turns its attention to the next round primaries, which will be taking place on Feb. 9th and includes Louisiana, Washington, and Kansas. So prepare to hear a lot of tearful speeches about Hurricane Katrina. If someone asks what you think, just say it will probably go all the way to the convention while you sigh of infinite weariness.
The Republicans and the rest of today’s news after the jump.
Keep reading
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
They fought on the beaches,
They fought on the landing grounds,
They fought on the fields and streets,
They fought on the shuffleboard courts and on Space Mountain,
They never surrendered… What?… Oh, that guy is surrendering?
After a bruising primary on which he staked his entire candidacy, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will most likely announce today that he is dropping out of the Republican primary. Senator John McCain won the Florida primary, narrowly edging out former Governor Mitt Romney. Many people are saying that this solidifies Sen. McCain’s position as front-runner of the Republican primary. Additionally, the Florida win gives him momentum and credibility going into next week’s Super-Duper Tuesday when 22 states will have primaries or caucuses. However, you can’t count out Mitt Romney, who has more money than god and better hair.
On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton won the Florida primary — sorta — and held a massive Potemkin celebration for the national media. While the Democrats held a primary yesterday, Florida had moved their primary earlier against the orders of the national Democratic party so any delegates elected in Florida won’t be allowed to vote at the Democratic Convention. In deference to the national party, no Democratic Candidates campaigned in Florida or ran any advertisements. So Senator Clinton won the primary, but didn’t really win anything. Not surprisingly, Senator Clinton has been saying for a few days now that not seating the Florida delegates is unfair.
The Republican party is mad at Florida for the same reason, but rather than revoke all of their delegates, the Republicans are allowing Florida to send half of their usual number of delegates.
Meanwhile, back at the White House, President Bush is sending out signals that there are no major troop reductions from Iraq in the near future. In fact, word is that when the President leaves office our troop presence in Iraq there will be as large or larger than it is now.
On the other side of the capitol, Attorney General Michael Mukasey told the Senate that the practice known as waterboarding is definitely torture–proabably–maybe–OK in most cases–Usually. Even if it is, apparently he isn’t sure if it is always illegal. Last time I checked we signed a treaty with some specifics on the matter. But that was before 24 started and we realized how kick-ass torture is.
The New York Times has a great article detailing the inconsistent and confusing laws surrounding buying and selling alcohol in America, especially online. In the article, the author confesses to breaking the law and ordering wine directly from a California winery. Don’t worry, he has already been arrested and waterboarded to give up the name of the winery.
