Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.
An album stream.
Starring My Chemical Romance.
Starring My Chemical Romance.
Roc La Familia.
A Moment of Clarity.
Words.
"We don't define periods in American history by who held the majority in Congress. It was the Reagan Era, not the Tip O'Neill Era - just as we're now living in the Obama Era, no matter what John Boehner or Mitch McConnell might hope.
President Obama is being inundated with contradictory advice on what to do next, now that his party is losing its majority in the House and will have weaker control of the Senate. Most of the punditocracy's counsel centers on how Obama should greet the strengthened and emboldened Republican opposition.
...For what it's worth, my advice for Obama is to forget the Republicans. Not literally, of course - the new House leadership is going to make itself hard to ignore. But ultimately, it's the president who sets the agenda and who ultimately is held accountable for America's successes and failures. Obama's focus should be on using all the tools at his disposal to move the country in the direction he believes it must go.
...Progressives are right when they complain that the White House must do a much better job of making the case for its policies. But the challenge goes well beyond communications. Judging by the way they snubbed Obama's invitation to break bread together, Republicans seem eager for gridlock - and the chance to blame the president for not getting anything done.
That may be the GOP's preferred story line, but Obama can write a narrative of his own. He's the Decider now."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama's opportunity to be the decider
Words.
"We don't define periods in American history by who held the majority in Congress. It was the Reagan Era, not the Tip O'Neill Era - just as we're now living in the Obama Era, no matter what John Boehner or Mitch McConnell might hope.
President Obama is being inundated with contradictory advice on what to do next, now that his party is losing its majority in the House and will have weaker control of the Senate. Most of the punditocracy's counsel centers on how Obama should greet the strengthened and emboldened Republican opposition.
...For what it's worth, my advice for Obama is to forget the Republicans. Not literally, of course - the new House leadership is going to make itself hard to ignore. But ultimately, it's the president who sets the agenda and who ultimately is held accountable for America's successes and failures. Obama's focus should be on using all the tools at his disposal to move the country in the direction he believes it must go.
...Progressives are right when they complain that the White House must do a much better job of making the case for its policies. But the challenge goes well beyond communications. Judging by the way they snubbed Obama's invitation to break bread together, Republicans seem eager for gridlock - and the chance to blame the president for not getting anything done.
That may be the GOP's preferred story line, but Obama can write a narrative of his own. He's the Decider now."
Thursday, November 18, 2010
WRECK-N-EFFECT!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Check the Melody.
Words.
"On Nov. 4, Anderson Cooper did the country a favor. He expertly deconstructed on his CNN show the bogus rumor that President Obama’s trip to Asia would cost $200 million a day. This was an important “story.” It underscored just how far ahead of his time Mark Twain was when he said a century before the Internet, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” But it also showed that there is an antidote to malicious journalism — and that’s good journalism."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Too Good to Check
"On Nov. 4, Anderson Cooper did the country a favor. He expertly deconstructed on his CNN show the bogus rumor that President Obama’s trip to Asia would cost $200 million a day. This was an important “story.” It underscored just how far ahead of his time Mark Twain was when he said a century before the Internet, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” But it also showed that there is an antidote to malicious journalism — and that’s good journalism."
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Pomp & Circumstance.
For Your Consideration...
EARLIER:
THE WASHINGTON POST: Ted Koppel: Olbermann, O'Reilly and the death of real news
EARLIER:
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Check the Melody. Catch the Beat.
A Moment of Clarity.
"SPEAK UP!"
Words. For Your Consideration...
"Since the election, we’ve been waiting for President Obama to regain his voice. When the chairmen of his bipartisan deficit commission issued their draft report, it looked as though the moment had come. We’re still waiting.
There is a lot in their recommendations that needs to be questioned, analyzed and debated, but the principles behind it are exactly what the president should embrace and make his own.
The report said what almost nobody in Washington is daring to say: there is no way to wrestle the deficit under control without both cutting spending and raising taxes; the fragile recovery and the most vulnerable Americans need to be protected; the country cannot stop investing in infrastructure, education and technology; everything — including Medicare, Social Security and defense spending — must be on the table.
This is the sort of no-nonsense talk the country needs. And it is the sort of big idea that Mr. Obama needs to rebut the Republicans’ posturing and obstructionism..."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Waiting for the President
"SPEAK UP!"
Words. For Your Consideration...
"Since the election, we’ve been waiting for President Obama to regain his voice. When the chairmen of his bipartisan deficit commission issued their draft report, it looked as though the moment had come. We’re still waiting.
There is a lot in their recommendations that needs to be questioned, analyzed and debated, but the principles behind it are exactly what the president should embrace and make his own.
The report said what almost nobody in Washington is daring to say: there is no way to wrestle the deficit under control without both cutting spending and raising taxes; the fragile recovery and the most vulnerable Americans need to be protected; the country cannot stop investing in infrastructure, education and technology; everything — including Medicare, Social Security and defense spending — must be on the table.
This is the sort of no-nonsense talk the country needs. And it is the sort of big idea that Mr. Obama needs to rebut the Republicans’ posturing and obstructionism..."
Riot Rhythm(?).
A Moment of Clarity.
"YOU'VE GOTTA MARCH!"
Words.
""Why don't they fight back?"
That's the question I've been hearing from the Democratic Party's stunned and dispirited base. For the past month, I've been on a book tour that has taken me to Asheville, N.C., Terre Haute, Ind., Austin and elsewhere. Everywhere I go, supporters of President Obama and his agenda ask me why so many Democrats in Washington don't stand up for what they say they believe.
...What I'm hearing is frustration, and it's getting louder. I'm hearing the view that the Obama administration, which has done much good, can do better - by speaking clearly, standing its ground - and, when pushed by bullies, shoving back."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Where's the Democrats' fighting spirit?
"YOU'VE GOTTA MARCH!"
Words.
""Why don't they fight back?"
That's the question I've been hearing from the Democratic Party's stunned and dispirited base. For the past month, I've been on a book tour that has taken me to Asheville, N.C., Terre Haute, Ind., Austin and elsewhere. Everywhere I go, supporters of President Obama and his agenda ask me why so many Democrats in Washington don't stand up for what they say they believe.
...What I'm hearing is frustration, and it's getting louder. I'm hearing the view that the Obama administration, which has done much good, can do better - by speaking clearly, standing its ground - and, when pushed by bullies, shoving back."
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Step Up 2: The Streets.
Words.
"If common sense were currency Michele Bachmann would be broke, and holding a tin can by the roadside just now. Alas, because we live in an age where hyperbole is gold, Bachmann is rich.
...Now that they have to govern, Republicans are grappling with a tough initial challenge: how to detach themselves from an influential wing of their party that has never been interested in arguing facts. On a daily basis, these people bemoan, detest and feign outrage over utter fantasies. Some of the loudest voices are elected representatives; others are professional provocateurs interested in keeping their lecture fees high and their base in a lather.
...Other Republicans, as they move legislation through Congress, will be held to higher standards. Is global warming real? Will extending tax cuts on the richest two percent dramatically increase the deficit? Is the surge in Afghanistan doing any good, or just prolonging a winless war? Big questions, big issues. Keeping Bachmann isolated in the make-believe studios of Fox would be a good start."
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The Tipping Point.
Words. For Your Consideration...
"It is possible that the most stunning story of the past week is not the brutal midterm loss suffered by the Democrats, but the release of former President George W. Bush’s memoir, Decision Points, and his attendant book-promoting pubic appearances.
Sitting with NBC’s Matt Lauer President Bush breezily defended his use of water boarding torture, explaining that he relied on the judgment government attorneys who advised him the practice was legal. He also told Oprah he was “sick” about not discovering weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but he went onto confidently assert that the world is better off without Saddam Hussein. But for me the jaw-dropping, headline-making revelation of this week is President Bush’s assertion that the low point of his presidency came when 33-year-old, hip-hop artist Kanye West went off-script during a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert, looked into the camera and asserted, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
...I think there is a lesson in the President’s anxiety about having been labeled racist. It is a lesson about America’s relationship to race and racism and one that might help us better understand our own history, motivations, anxieties, and political choices.
...Empirically, racism may be as American as apple pie, but morally, ethically, and philosophically racism is a betrayal of America. In this sense, when Kanye West pointed to the Bush administration’s non-response as an act of racism, he called Bush a traitor..."
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Twenty Flight Rock.
Starring Conan O'Brien & Jack White. For Your Consideration...
PITCHFORK: Watch: Jack White and Conan O'Brien Duet
Monday, November 08, 2010
"If you ask me..."
Words.
"When a political party suffers two consecutive thrashings at the polls, its supporters can usually look forward to a long period of exile — a time to lick wounds, settle scores, feud over policy and gradually map out a road back to relevance.
Not so the Obama-era Republicans. They were thumped in 2006 and left for dead after 2008, but all it took was a 9.6 unemployment rate and an unpopular liberal majority to bring them roaring back. The wilderness era lasted all of 22 months: conservatives had barely started arguing about what went wrong during the Bush era before the American public handed them the House of Representatives again.
To his credit, John Boehner, the presumptive speaker of the House, seems aware of how little the Republicans have done to earn their summons back to power.
...The modest Mr. Boehner leads a party with much to be modest about. Gingrich could brandish an agenda because he had an agenda — a raft of conservative policy proposals, on welfare and crime and taxes, that couldn’t get any traction in a Democratic-controlled Congress. Today’s Republicans, by contrast, know what they’re against (the health care bill, tax increases, cap and trade) but have a world of trouble saying what they might actually be for..."
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Friday, November 05, 2010
The Wrestler.
Words.
"...amid the wreckage of Tuesday's GOP rampage, there's one person for whom I feel awful: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She's losing her job not because she does it poorly but because she does it so well.
...Her place in history was secure the moment she became the first woman to take possession of the speaker's gavel. Still, she squeezed every drop out of her four-year tenure. To string together a couple of sports cliches, she came to play and she left it all on the field.
...Pelosi did what was right for the country, and what's right isn't always what's popular. Democrats may decide they need a less-polarizing figure as minority leader; if they do, well, that's politics. But I'd love to see her stay in the Democratic leadership - and I'm betting that eventually she'd find a way to take back the gavel that she pounds with such righteous authority."
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Monday, November 01, 2010
"All That I Can Say..."
Words.
"In an interview last week with National Journal's Major Garrett, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was asked what his priority would be for Republicans after their expected gains in Tuesday's election.
The possibilities were many: Balance the budget and pay down the debt? Fight the terrorists and reform entitlements? Support and defend the Constitution?
No, McConnell's priorities were elsewhere. "The single most important thing we want to achieve," he said, "is for President Obama to be a one-term president."
The single most important thing?
This bit of truth-telling, reminiscent of McConnell's lament in August that "I wish we had been able to obstruct more" of Obama's agenda, underscored a problem that will come to the fore if Republicans succeed in winning a majority on Tuesday: The party is sorely in need of grown-ups.
"...With a House leader determined not to compromise, and a Senate leader whose top national priority is the defeat of the president, things won't get any better after Tuesday."
THE WASHINGTON POST: The Republican Party could use some adults
"In an interview last week with National Journal's Major Garrett, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was asked what his priority would be for Republicans after their expected gains in Tuesday's election.
The possibilities were many: Balance the budget and pay down the debt? Fight the terrorists and reform entitlements? Support and defend the Constitution?
No, McConnell's priorities were elsewhere. "The single most important thing we want to achieve," he said, "is for President Obama to be a one-term president."
The single most important thing?
This bit of truth-telling, reminiscent of McConnell's lament in August that "I wish we had been able to obstruct more" of Obama's agenda, underscored a problem that will come to the fore if Republicans succeed in winning a majority on Tuesday: The party is sorely in need of grown-ups.
"...With a House leader determined not to compromise, and a Senate leader whose top national priority is the defeat of the president, things won't get any better after Tuesday."
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