Boxer Briefs
In the spirit of Deb's Frothy Friday start to the weekend, below, here's a Seth Stevenson piece in Slate, "In Praise of Boxer Briefs: An Underpants Manifesto." It begins:

It's come to my attention that there are some men out there—even a few friends of mine—who've not yet switched to boxer briefs. These are otherwise intelligent fellows who, either through ignorance or recalcitrance, begin each day by pulling on (shudder) traditional boxers or (double-shudder) briefs. I feel great pity for these men. Because the irrefutable truth is that boxer briefs—a knit, mid-thigh-length compromise between boxer and brief—are the ultimate male netherwear. The sooner you accept this, the happier your crotch will be.

I came a little late to the boxer briefs parade--maybe about a year ago. On many of his points I agree, but it's hard to beat the simple beauty of the boxers. And on the off-chance you're caught with, uh, your pants down (very off chance in my case), having what otherwise appear to be shorts on under there is a pretty safe way to go.

Please Please Please
Run Newt Run!

In remarks that were critical of both parties' recent performance, Gingrich told a luncheon group of scholars and reporters at the Brookings Institution that he will make a decision in the fall of 2007 about running.

"If at that point there's still a vacuum . . . then we'll probably do something," Gingrich said, adding that his policy pronouncements have more weight if he is seen as a potential presidential candidate. "If you're interested in defining the idea context and the political context for the next generation of Americans, which I am, the most effective way to do that is to be seen as potentially available."

I still think the Republican presidential landscape looks simple to handicap. Assuming Colin Powell doesn't get int he mix, it's McCain vs. Giuliani. Frist-Allen-Gingrich-Bush-whoever are just wasting time. But it would be fun to watch Newt lose.

Frothy Friday

Remember, I'm here to provide comic relief and keep us from being too serious (especially on Fridays), so I'm launching a 500 lb. bomb of a weekly feature wherein we can discuss frothy issues - celebrities, animals, beverages that come w/ umbrellas in them, etc.

Smells like Gene Spirit? KISS is now marketing a fragrance and coffeehouses. Who besides Don has pre-ordered aftershave?

An uplifting new women's movement: without even trying, I've seen several TV or print/online features recently on the importance and value of proper bra fitting, so it must be a heaving issue. Did you know as many as 70% of all women are wearing the wrong size bra? Oprah, TLC's What Not to Wear, and Queen Latifah all claim poor fit = poor confidence, bad appearance, and pain. Amen, sisters.

It's almost time for a beverage - what flavor is your froth today?

Finally
For the first time in 3 days of trying to log in, blogger is cooperating (knock on virtual wood). So what am I reading this morning? I'm getting annoyed at a problem I see more and more: completely inaccurate headlines. First the Washington Times has a story with the banner "Democrats call Zarqawi Killing a Stunt", except that, as Sam Rosenfeld points out, no Democrat says that in the story. And I went from that to an AP story about Mexixo-US immigration issues headlined "Powell Says Border Walls Won't Work" in which he pretty clearly says no such thing. (In fact these 2 headlines could probably be more properly reversed. Powell calls Border Walls a Stunt; and Democrats say Zarqawi Killing Won't Work.)

With that in mind, what is the completely untrue headline for today?

al-Zarqawi Killed by US Airstrike

This is great news, especially for the military who can use the morale boost. But with public sentiment about Iraq where it is now, will it create a positive kick anything like the capture of Saddam for the WH? Will it make much difference in Iraq?

Election Night
...in lots of the country. Kos has the rundown on what to watch.

It's National Hunger Awareness Day
Do the right thing. Here's a start.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been watching, reading, listening to?

Any Article 19ers seen the Gore movie yet? An Inconvenient Truth finished 9th for the weekend with 1.3 million in box office revenue...with only 77 theaters showing it. Also got a powerful review from Roger Ebert. Here's the top 5 for the weekend:

1. The Break-up
2. X-Men
3. Over the Hedge
4. The DaVinci Code
5. Mission Impossible 3

Libby Needs a New Plan
Judge won't allow the Chewbacca defense.

2004
Robert Kennedy Jr. has written an article for Rolling Stone magazine claiming to demonstrate that the '04 election was stolen. It is a truly craptacular walk down memory lane--exit polls, long lines, shredded voter registration. Not sure why he's writing this, or why Rolling Stone is where he got it printed. But I wish it would do some good toward actually getting some honest elections and vote-counting. It's a long, fairly comprehensive essay. Here's a tiny bit:

A five-month analysis of the Ohio vote conducted by the Democratic National Committee concluded in June 2005 that three percent of all Ohio voters who showed up to vote on Election Day were forced to leave without casting a ballot. That's more than 174,000 voters. "The vast majority of this lost vote," concluded the Conyers report, "was concentrated in urban, minority and Democratic-leaning areas." Statewide, African-Americans waited an average of fifty-two minutes to vote, compared to only eighteen minutes for whites.

Local Update
Inconvenient Truth starts in Nashville on June 23 (Green Hills).

Already over half a million taken in with only 4 screens in 8 days.

Kick the Oil Habit
The Center for American Progress is sponsoring this effort. Robert Redford wrote an editorial supporting it:

A grassroots movement is gathering today to promote solutions, like renewable fuels, clean electricity, more efficient cars, and green buildings that use less energy -- all of which are exciting alternatives that rebuild our communities even as they cut pollution and create good jobs.
...
Recently, a dynamic new campaign launched to seize and grow these opportunities and break our energy dependence. It's called KickTheOilHabit.org, and it has the backing of a diverse coalition of organizations. Its first action was to challenge oil companies to double the number of renewable fuel pumps at their stations within the year and pledge to offer E85 ethanol fuel at half of all gas stations within the decade.

This is a simple clear action that the oil companies can do today. But it is only a first step. Many others are ready to be put in action despite industry claims to the contrary.

In coming months, this campaign, which is based at the Center for American Progress and works with partners from the Natural Resources Defense Council to Consumers Union, MoveOn.org to the Apollo Alliance, will launch new challenges to our elected leaders, but it will also point to good work that is already going on all around the country. It will illuminate efforts on Capitol Hill by those who are concerned about the public good as well as the work of a myriad of grassroots groups effectively pushing innovative technological and public policy solutions alike.

[Thanks to reader JB for the tip]

Sigh
This is just silly. Even if it does predict a landslide victory for Al Gore.

Today's Winners and Losers
Who's making gains, and who's losing traction:

Winners
--The Dixie Chicks
--Al Gore
--South Dakotans (only a preliminary victory)

Losers
--Rick Santorum
--James Taranto
--Religious conservatives with half a spine.

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? A-19's very own US Rep. Marsha Blackburn was voted the hottest woman in US politics in politics1.com's recent poll (found via Wonkette).

I'd like to look as hot as she does, so I'm hoping someone can tell me what skin care products, services and procedures she purchases with her Abramoff dollars.

FYI, hottest guy voting begins later this week; I don't think Tennessee will sweep, but I'd put some money on my Senator Obama being in the running.

MEDIA TUESDAY (It's virtually Monday, right?)
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

Last night I watched "Two Days in October" on PBS' American Experience. Apparently it was originally broadcast last fall, but I hadn't seen it before.

It was about 1967 or now, Vietnam or Iraq, Westy or Rummy. The one thing that's strikingly and disappointingly different is how thousands of Americans took their opposition to the war into the streets in 1967.

Mr. Robinson
Congratulations?

Hurricane Seasons Starts June 1
Chris Rose of the Times-Picayune is afraid. And it looks like for good reason.

Depressing
On a weekend getaway with a few friends to New Orleans (you know, just to help out the economy)...the good news is the hotel has wireless Internet access! But the last few miles of the drive in was bleak, bleak, bleak. A ghost town in spots.

A Winning Ticket
For 2008.

Screen Saver Fun
When he gets stuck, just drag him out into the open. Enjoy. (via TalkLeft)

Bastard
News conference yesterday with Blair

QUESTION: Mr. President, you spoke about missteps and mistakes in Iraq.

Could I ask both of you which missteps and mistakes of your own you most regret?

BUSH: Sounds like kind of a familiar refrain here.

Saying, "Bring it on"; kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner, you know. "Wanted, dead or alive"; that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted. And so I learned from that.

"certain parts of the world"....."misinterpreted."

Echoes of The Sopranos?
Come on...who shoots a rapper in the "upper right arm"? I'm suspicious.

Nice Work, Democrats
Circular Firing Squad in full effect.

The man is on tape. Time to cut him loose. If prosecutors can't put him away with their evidence, then we'll all give him a big wet apology and name him ambassador to someplace nice. In the mean time, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Could it really all be unraveling for the GOP?
Holy Cow. Maybe this is why Hasert doesn't want law enforcement snooping around congressional offices. Convenient timing of this leak, eh? Maybe the FBI got tired of hearing his sanctimonious crap.

Haha
Tom Delay has finally found a conservative that's willing to offer strong support, so he's featured this new ally's "hard-hitting" interview with filmmaker Robert Greenwald on the front of his "Defend Delay" website. The staunch, America-loving conservative at his side? Stephen Colbert...

CNN = Crappy News Network?

CNN.com recently updated their home page's format to make room for their Pipeline live video thing, and their new layout now maintains a list of 12-13 "latest news" headlines adjacent to the lead story photo. Since that change, there are consistently 5-6 useless topic headlines in that chunk of prime real estate, usually including Paris Hilton, Brittney Spears, American Idol, crazy animal stories, and things you used to see as "news of the weird" or on a Fox TV video "caught on tape" show.

As we speak:
Dashcam shows SUV flipping, rolling off road
Lawyer: 3 kids tossed in bay as sacrifice
Tape shows wife on fire, husband pouring gas
Atheist sues Catholic Church for proof of Jesus
SI.com: Jeb Bush for NFL commissioner?
Prankster finds giant hamster wheel in his room

There was one yesterday about a dog too fat to walk from being fed donuts and beer. Ha ha, cruelty is so funny that I don't care anymore about Iraq, NSA spying, fencing the border, or melting glaciers.

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Al and Katie
Atrios has video of Gore on the Today Show.

OK This Could Be Bad, Right? [UPDATED]
Longtime readers will remember that the bird flu scares the crap out of me. This seems to me especially bad news.

All seven people infected with bird flu in a cluster of Indonesian cases can be linked to other patients, according to disease trackers investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

A team of international experts has been unable to find animals that might have infected the people, the World Health Organization said in a statement today. In one case, a 10-year- old boy who caught the virus from his aunt may have passed it to his father, the first time officials have seen evidence of a three-person chain of infection, an agency spokeswoman said. Six of the seven people have died.

A highly contagious human-to-human strain of H5N1 is a nightmare scenario. Sooo...everyone have a good day!

[UPDATE: Reuters reports 3 factors in this case that hopefully point this development away from the realm of global pandemic. One, there is no evidence of significant mutation in the strain found on the family (though they will only know of its contagion when it happens). Two, the family apparently had killed animals recently for a feast of some sort and this region has been notoriously uncooperative in animal testing. So, they may have all been infected through animal contact. Three, there is evidence of a genetic predisposition that could make some more likely to be infected, which again could explain why the family all was highly contagious, without necessitating that the virus easily spreads among all humans, which would be the worst possible explanation.]

Renege
At least he didn't say "read my lips." If you're worried that your teen might be on the verge of becoming a Republican, you can tell them this story, of one of the ways the Bush Administration is trying to help pay for tax cuts to the richest Americans and corporations. From David Cay Johnston, author of "Perfectly Legal", in Sunday's NYTimes:

The $69 billion tax cut bill that President Bush signed this week tripled tax rates for teenagers with college savings funds, despite Mr. Bush's 1999 pledge to veto any tax increase.

Under the new law, teenagers age 14 to 17 with investment income will now be taxed at the same rate as their parents, not at their own rates. Long-term capital gains and dividends that had been taxed at 5 percent will now be taxed at 15 percent. Interest that had been taxed at 10 percent will now be taxed at as much as 35 percent.

We wouldn't want to accidentally offer any encouragement for kids to save for college now would we?

Why Bother?
Come on, Chris. You're a good Senator and leader. But, can we not waste time on this?

On the Gore Bandwagon
Shorter Bill Clinton: "Me Too!"

I'm sure the coming wave of attention Al Gore may receive will be hard on Bill Clinton's ego, and I'm sure his desire to see Hillary President will have him eager to see Al trip up. But Slick better not do something to sabotage an Al Gore resurgence that might propel him into the Presidential race.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, listening to, watching?

Why I Like The Dixie Chicks
Nice article in Time Magazine (cover story) about the Dixie Chicks and their new album. You have to watch an online ad to get to read it for free, but here are my favorite snips:

"I'd rather have a smaller following of really cool people who get it," says Maguire, "who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith. We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do."
...
Maines says she's not looking for more battles, but she won't shy away from any either. "Everything was so nice and fine and happy for us for the longest time," she says of their pre-Incident days. "It was awesome to feel those feelings again that I felt in high school: to be angry, to be sure that you're right and that the things you do matter. You don't realize that you're not feeling those feelings until you do. And then you realize how much more interesting life is."

The writer says it will be the best adult pop cd of the year, which ordinarily would make me run the other way...but I'm looking forward to supporting them by picking it up. Not overly crazy about the first 2 albums, but think Home is a great bit of song-writing and arranging. That they've decided not to go crawling back to mainstream country fans begging forgiveness, with so much at stake, says something about their character.

Weekend Box Office
1. Davinci Code
2. Over the Hedge
3. Mission Impossible 3
4. Poseidon
5. RV

Looks like Davinci did some serious worldwide damage in box office, despite the bad reviews. I've actually seen more positive reviews lately (though usually involving something of a back-handed compliment), but coming more from reviewers who hated the book. AO Scott wasn't terribly fond of either.

To their credit the director and his screenwriter, Akiva Goldsman (who collaborated with Mr. Howard on "Cinderella Man" and "A Beautiful Mind"), have streamlined Mr. Brown's story and refrained from trying to capture his, um, prose style. "Almost inconceivably, the gun into which she was now staring was clutched in the pale hand of an enormous albino with long white hair." Such language — note the exquisite "almost" and the fastidious tucking of the "which" after the preposition — can live only on the page.

So, I know some of you have seen it already. Give a thumbs up or down in comments and identify yourself as follows: read the book and liked it, read the book and didn't like it, or haven't read the book.

Sopranos Thread
One episode to go this season. What do you think?

Warning: Spoilers in the comments

Protest, Hope, Naivety
Some time back I squirted up a bad-mood post, picking up on a sentiment of Kos', that was down on the idea of mobilized protest (marches, vigorous speeches, yadda yadda) as means of affecting social change. I was rightfully smacked around by some here who had just taken part in the war protest in question. At the time, I was concerned that it got the wrong kind of attention, served as a kind of leftist caricature that Republicans have learned to shine a cynical light toward, and in the end just doesn't work anymore because of that.

I was missing some of the big picture (and ok, some of the little picture as well) in my dismissal. Readers reminded me that sometimes such things are less about persuasion than they are about rejuvenation among the distressed, who need to be shown they are not alone; and they convinced that keeping a bad war in the news, no matter what the frame, is always an important way to inch toward its end. I was reminded of that discusssion today after reading Shelly Fredman's (Tikkun Magazine) recent interview with Howard Zinn, who--after all these years, no...because of all these years--still believes.

HZ: It's true that any talk of hope is dismissed as naïve, but that's because we tend to look at the surface of things at any given time. And the surface almost always looks grim. The charge of naïvete also comes from a loss of historical perspective. History shows that what is considered naïve in one decade becomes reality in another.

How much hope was there for black people in the South in the fifties? At the start of the Vietnam War, anyone who thought the monster war machine could be stopped seemed naïve. When I was in South Africa in 1982, and apartheid was fully entrenched, it seemed naïve to think that it would be dissolved and even more naïve to think that Mandela would become president. But in all those cases, anyone looking under the surface would have seen currents of potential change bubbling and growing.

SF: Has the Left responded adequately to the kind of fascism we see coming from Bush's people? Street protests seem to be ineffective; it's sometimes disheartening.

HZ: The responses are never adequate, until they build and build and something changes. People very often think that there must be some magical tactic, beyond the traditional ones - protests, demonstrations, vigils, civil disobedience - but there is no magical panacea, only persistence in continuing and escalating the usual tactics of protest and resistance. The end of the Vietnam War did not come because the Left suddenly did something new and dramatic, but because all of the actions built up over time.

If you listen to the media, you get no sense of what's happening. I speak to groups of people in different parts of the country. I was in Austin, Texas recently and a thousand people showed up. I believe people are basically decent, they just lack information.

There's plenty for even an optimist to quibble with here (finding 1,000 protestors in Austin is about as difficult as finding 1,000 guitar players in Nashville: not very; the "monster war machine", apparently, wasn't "stopped" so much as momentarily diverted) but his point is well-taken and most surely right. Every victory counts, and true advances in humanity are better measured in generations and lifetimes than in congressional terms or news cycles. We'd prefer justice to roll down like a mighty river, but in truth the path is more winding, the pace is sometimes more of a slow drip. The only question is what kind of person do you want to be: one who hears the rush of the waterfall in the distance, or one who doesn't?

Public Service Announcement
Flipping channels today, I saw 20 agonizing seconds of the Tyra Banks Show. I was paralyzed by the horror. She has the worst television presence of any host I've ever seen. And the most awful/stupid things come out of her mouth, and the mouths of her guests. If you have ever been curious about what might be the worst television, the most terrifying way to spend your time (and not the bad kind of television that you can actually enjoy for its badness), Tyra is it. Please, please don't let yourself, or anyone you care about, have that experience. Staring into the sun is better for you. Shocking that Tony Danza would be cancelled while this show remains.

The Whole World Is Going Mad Nevermind
W.T.F.
Thank goodness...Juan Cole lets us know (via TPM guest blogger Matthew Yglesias) that the story was, as he says, a "steaming crock."

More Gore
From Franklin Foer (The New Republic):

I went to a screening of the Al Gore movie. And I found myself walking out in a strange mood. I had just seen a movie featuring a politician ... and there wasn't a trace of snark or cynicism coursing through my body. The film has genuine rhetorical power. It builds an incredibly frightening case without hints of fear-mongering or over-wrought moments
...
I walked out of the movie and decided to sell my car and begin otherwise preparing for our planet's impending doom. I know this praise isn't so unexpected coming from TNR. But I think the movie has the potential to become a seminal political document--a cinematic Silent Spring.

Digging
Wonder if they really will find Hoffa this time. We've heard this story before.

"Gore Watch"
Via Atrios.

I'm fascinated by this story
More Rove-y stuff at TalkLeft. Hard to understand what the long-term strategy is of whoever is lying in this case. If Rove has been indicted we will eventually know about it. Why deny so forcefully? If he hasn't, who-close to the investigation-would benefit from floating a story saying he has? All I can think is that Rove would desperately want to retain his seat of power within the administration and clearly can't do that once he's been indicted. Doing everything he can to get it rescinded, claim every technicality to hold on to the position that he has not actually yet been indicted? Or just wants to control when the story gets out there? None of it makes any sense to me. But then, what does these days?

Phone Call Patterns
Via Kevin Drum, this Washington Post op-ed is the best explanation I've heard yet as to how a database of all domestic calls even *could* aid law enforcement through pattern analysis. But that's not saying much.

Let's take a hypothetical problem: An al-Qaeda operative decides to switch cellphones to prevent the National Security Agency from monitoring his calls. How does the NSA identify his new cellphone number? How does it winnow down a haystack with several hundred million pieces of straw so that it can find the deadly needle?

The problem may seem hopelessly complex, but if you use common sense, you can see how the NSA has tried to solve it. Suppose you lost your own cellphone and bought a new one, and people really needed to find out that new number. If they could search all calling records, they would soon find a number with the same pattern of traffic as your old one -- calls to your spouse, your kids, your office, your golf buddies. They wouldn't have to listen to the calls themselves to know it was your phone. Simple pattern analysis would be adequate -- so long as they had access to all the records.

But this still falls way short of passing the most basic test. If the NSA is monitoring a cell phone (thanks to a court order properly received) suspected of being used by a criminal and they suddenly realize it's no longer being used, then they can quickly get the proper subpoena required to look into the phone call patterns of the numbers the suspect has called in the past, and they can perform *exactly* the same analysis without ever having to have on file the calls I made or received this week. This is simply ridiculous. The idea that some super computer somewhere is going to gargle every phone call made in the US and then spit out the numbers of terrorists, in a way that it couldn't if it didn't have my records, just doesn't make any sense.

And all of that disregards, as the piece (and Kevin Drum) points out, one other glaring issue with all this mass data mining. It's illegal.

Sopranos Thread/Speculation
Tim Goodman thinks it will be Janice.

Update
Curious about the Rove-indictment-story weirdness? TalkLeft has more here, and makes a compelling argument that we may have a case of a source misunderstanding legal procedure and just what may have happened at this point.

Harder than it looks
I guess at Fox News, Mr. Snow wasn't accustomed to being called on his lies and racial slurs. The honeymoon is already over. I'm predicting it will be a short-lived relationship. Tony, have you really been spending enough time with your family lately? We may be hearing him explain his need to do just that soon. Heckuva job, Snow.

Maybe Not
So now everyone is denying the report that Rove has been indicted. And the reporter in question has vowed to out his source if the story should turn out to be false. I don't believe Rove's spokespeople would deny the story so completely if he has in fact been indicted. Wouldn't make any sense. So, assuming the story is false, we either find out what a crappy source truthout considers to be so good, or we find out what kind of person would try and sabotage reporter Jason Leopold. Or maybe a little of both.

Gore on SNL
Funny. I think.

YaaaaHooooooooo!!!!!!!
Happy Fitzmas everyone.

29
Drinks are on me.

QWest, anyone?
The only company to refuse Bush's warrantless spying scheme. How do we switch phone service to QWest?

According to sources familiar with the events, Qwest's CEO at the time, Joe Nacchio, was deeply troubled by the NSA's assertion that Qwest didn't need a court order — or approval under FISA — to proceed. Adding to the tension, Qwest was unclear about who, exactly, would have access to its customers' information and how that information might be used.
...
Trying to put pressure on Qwest, NSA representatives pointedly told Qwest that it was the lone holdout among the big telecommunications companies. It also tried appealing to Qwest's patriotic side: In one meeting, an NSA representative suggested that Qwest's refusal to contribute to the database could compromise national security, one person recalled.

In addition, the agency suggested that Qwest's foot-dragging might affect its ability to get future classified work with the government. Like other big telecommunications companies, Qwest already had classified contracts and hoped to get more.

Unable to get comfortable with what NSA was proposing, Qwest's lawyers asked NSA to take its proposal to the FISA court. According to the sources, the agency refused.

Open Thread Time
It's grading day here in the #1 city in America. Needless to say, I'm behind. No time to even read the news, let alone post my favorites. So, use this thread today. What's happening? Outrages, peculiarities, poignant statements of something or the other, it's all welcome here.

All I've got is the bizarre history of the graham cracker.

#1 City in America
Kiplinger's Magazine surveyed the cities of America searching for the things their readers said mattered most to them in deciding where to live: cost of living, housing value, quality education, access to health care, growing economy, low crime, cultural/recreational opportunities and variety among a few others. And guess which city came out number one?

Those of you that left years ago - don't you feel silly now?

Insane
Bush's posse are so accustomed to his dictator schtick they don't even recognize when they're behaving illegally, let alone just plain unethically. Now they just brag about it. You have to at least act like government contracts aren't dependent on being a fan of the President. The HUD secretary should be fired immediately. Probably will get a medal of freedom instead.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

Especially looking for recommendations this week. Exams end tomorrow; grading will be done by Wednesday and by Thursday I want to have an overly ambitious reading list to get excited about for the summer. Read anything lately that should go on it?

Interruption
Sorry to break in to today's Media Monday but thought you might want to hear the number for the day: 31.

Commit to see the Al Gore Movie
At the film's website (warning: the site plays music...if you're annoyed about that like me, you may want to turn the volume off first.), you can sign up to commit to see the Gore film in its first weekend, and can see the trailer if you haven't already.

Politics
Lots of talk going around lately about potential Presidential picks for 2008. I hadn't wanted to talk about it so early but I just can't resist today. So here's a roundup of some of my thoughts - curious about yours.

GOP
The very idea that Sam Brownback, or Bill Frist, or George Allen have even the slightest hope of getting the Republican nomination seems ludicrous to me. These are small men with demonstrable flaws and little to no stage presence. Brownback and Frist especially, a fanatic and a criminal, will be trounced, and early. And since I don't regard Allen as much of a political heavyweight, I didn't care much that it turns out he's something of a racist. But that doesn't help him either.

My money's still on Giuliani. I see him as virtually unbeatable, and think the people who say he's not conservative enough are missing the big picture. Though McCain still shows promise, and is sucking up to the right crowds. If I had to wager, I'd say a Giuilani-Powell ticket looks pretty solid. (Now Powell is a guy who probably couldn't get the nomination but would beat either guy in a general election). I'm not even sure why they should go to all the trouble of a big field. Let's just put Giuliani and McCain in a race and see what happens. I look forward to being able to point back to this post someday and see just how completely wrong I was.

[random GOP question: is Dan Quayle still alive?]

Democrats
Your guess is as good as mine. Edwards and Clark will both make another charge, and it's hard to see how either will do any better than last time. Kerry will no doubt suit up again but I can't see him doing too well.

That leaves a couple of options: 1) an establishment candidate in Hillary Clinton. Markos of Daily Kos fame has an op-ed in the Washington Post detailing his current opposition to her candidacy--I think he's a bit too hard on her, and I think he over-estimates the influence of the netroots, as much as I hate to say it, but I agree with the thrust of his complaint. How can she criticize the war effort she essentially still supports? I just have to believe, with Markos, that third-way politics may have gotten her husband elected, but at the expense of health of the Democratic Party.

or 2) an insurgent candidate, like anti-war, anti-wiretapping Senator Russ Feingold, or little-known Virginia Governor Mark Warner. As for Warner, I know him only by reputation. In fact, being little-known may be his greatest asset at this point. Obviously, that's not in itself a winning campaign strategy; he'll have to become known, and impress, eventually. As for Feingold, I'll believe it when I see it. He'll likely gain an early boost from anti-war protesters, but like Dean and McGovern before him, I don't see it lasting, or translating into broad support.

Ok. So as far as I'm concerned that would leave the Democratic Party open for one Al Gore. I've been against it, and anyway believed him that he just isn't going to do it. But, the more I think of it, the more I think he just might waltz to the nomination if he decided he wanted it. He's spent the last 4 years developing all the grassroots and liberal wing bonafides of Feingold or Dean, and he spent the 12 years before that developing all the establishment, inside the beltway qualifications anyone could want. And he's got this summer to become a movie star and connect with the growing concern over the environment. The problem, of course, is what happens after the nomination.

At the Huffington Post, Robert Elisburg asks an important question, after reminding us that Gore received more votes than did Bush in 2000: who would have voted *for* Gore in 2000 that would now vote against him? Haven't the last 6 years only vindicated Gore's policies and his predictions of Bush's? Doesn't Gore already come into the race with all those votes, plus most of Nader's, just for starters? It's an interesting way of looking at it, but I suspect that if Gore believed that for one minute, he would run in a heartbeat. So, what is the argument that a former Gore supporter would use now to oppose him? What is Elisburg's flaw?

Will be interesting to see if Gore's movie is well-received and acclaimed as something beyond partisanship or if the GOP/Fox News can Michael Moore him. If the summer makes an issue-based star of him, and legitimately raises concern over the environment, how could he not think of parlaying that into one more run?

Constitution Party?
One other potential factor in the news these days, with the immigration debate in full swing, is a Constitution Party run from one of those build-a-wall minutemen guys. If he's a decent candidate at all, he could seriously pull some far-right votes from the GOP over dissatisfaction with their Party... big if.

Best I can tell, the 2008 race will come down to Clinton v. Giuliani - still my prediction, with Giuliani winning. But I can also see Clinton v. McCain, Gore v. Giuliani or Gore v. McCain happening. With the wild card being Warner. Of those, which would the Democrats have the best chance of winning? What is wrong with my analysis in general? Who am I missing?

Wow
Goss is gone. Bribery? Hookers? Nobody's talking, but we need to find out.

[UPDATE: If you want a primer on the poker-bribery-hooker scandal that may in fact have engulfed Goss, Think Progress has a handy summary in their second update to this post.]

[UPDATE 2: Zachary Roth at Washington Monthly reminds us that Goss was always just a political hack anyway, and used his CIA post to that end. He concludes: "Looks like we've got another candidate for the Presidential Medal of Freedom." Sounds about right. Will be interesting to see how Fox News The White House spins this over the weekend, having dumped this on a Friday afternoon.]

Typecasting...
Local story, but too funny to pass up. Comedian Gallagher was in town and did a 20-minute studio interview with a local sponsoring radio station that has sports talk all day. So, what do you ask about if you're basically a wanna-be jock and you have 20 minutes with Gallagher. Hell, if you're anybody what do you ask about? Watermelons, of course. That's just what Mark Howard did...that's when all hell broke loose and Gallagher went on a tirade:

Gallagher accused Howard of not doing his research and said that type of question was akin to what a high school newspaper reporter would ask. He said his fans know that he no longer smashes stuff. Seems he's more into political humor these days.

"You would have thought I was asking the president about stem-cell research,'' Howard said. "It was like I was asking about a really controversial subject. I had the nerve to ask Gallagher about watermelons.''

Maybe the ol' Sledge-o-matic backfired on Gallagher one too many times.

Howard kept his cool attempting to salvage the interview since Gallagher was scheduled to be in the studio for 20 minutes or so. But it didn't get much better.

"I basically let the guy beat me up for 20 minutes,'' Howard said. "We were sponsoring his deal (with Zanies), so I wasn't going to go on the attack. At one point he said, 'Who paired you two guys up?' intimating that we were just awful.''

The 58-year-old funnyman wasn't intimating when he returned the next day seeking a meeting with Citadel officials. His agenda was crystal clear.

"He wanted people fired, and he was very upset," said Nashville Citadel Market Manager Dave Kelly. "Apparently, he is a comedian who likes to pick on people but doesn't like to be picked on himself. He was in my office about 30 minutes, making it clear that he does not want to be known as the guy who smashes watermelons."

No word on whether the radio guys got wet from spittle during the attack. But, really, I think it's a little too late to be trying not to be known as the melon-smasher.

Mission Accomplished?
Well, this is just disgusting....can we pleeeze get Bush to fly down to New Orleans and make an announcement with a banner and everything? Wouldn't really be that different from when he did it in Iraq, would it? (and oh by the way, did you hear Laura Bush clear up what that was all about?)

It all makes sense now...
See, he didn't know it was the Star-Spangled Banner they were singing at all his campaign events.

President Bush likes to drop a few words of Spanish in his speeches and act like he's proficient in the language. But he's really not that good, his spokesman said Thursday.

"The president can speak Spanish but not that well," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "He's not that good with his Spanish."

(thanks LE)

Drug Cartels
If you can't beat 'em, legalize 'em?

Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign a bill that would legalize the use of nearly every drug and narcotic sold by the same Mexican cartels he's vowed to fight during his five years in office, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The list of illegal drugs approved for personal consumption by Mexico's Congress last week is enough to make one dizzy — or worse.

Cocaine. Heroin. LSD. Marijuana. PCP. Opium. Synthetic opiates. Mescaline. Peyote. Psilocybin mushrooms. Amphetamines. Methamphetamines.

And the per-person amounts approved for possession by anyone 18 or older could easily turn any college party into an all-nighter: half a gram of coke, a couple of Ecstasy pills, several doses of LSD, a few marijuana joints, a spoonful of heroin, 5 grams of opium and more than 2 pounds of peyote, the hallucinogenic cactus.

The law would be among the most permissive in the world, putting Mexico in the company of the Netherlands.

I suppose they're hoping that lifting this ban will do for the fight against drug cartels what lifting the alcohol prohibition did to organized crime; either that, or they're hoping it will have the same positive effect on tourism that the "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" campaign does for Nevada.

Attempted Hijacking of Multiculturalism

This from Lamar Alexander's recent remarks:

“I worry, Mr. President, that translating our national anthem will actually have the effect of dividing us. It adds to the celebration of multiculturalism in our society which has eroded our understanding of our common American culture." (bold italics added)

Is it just me, or are there others who associate "celebrating multiculturalism" with only positive things? And what will they hijack next? Ice cream?

[Update by Don--sorry the comments box won't let me put lots of links in, so adding it here. Not only has the Banner been translated before, it is in Spanish on the Gov's own website, and you'll never guess who joined in the singing of the Banner in Spanish on the campaign trail while courting the Hispanic vote...George W Bush...McClellan was asked about it today and I don't think he liked it. What a phony Bush is...]

[UPDATE 2--More of Bush being for the Spanish Star-Spangled-Banner before he was against it...haaaaaa. this is getting hilarious. Something tells me we heard the last of him on that...]

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

Barenaked Lady on Copyright
Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies has a sensible op-ed about copyright and music. I want to point out - in hopes of following Doug's footsteps, creating a massive Canadian readership - that Mr. Page is Canadian. And his piece is in a Canadian newspaper. In Canada.

We know that record companies and music publishers are not our enemies. They are often run by people who love music and are passionate about the promotion of Canadian culture.

Much of their lobbying, however, is not about protecting artists or promoting Canadian culture. It is about propping up business models in the recording industry that are quickly becoming obsolete and unsustainable. It is about preserving foreign-based power structures and further entrenching the labels' role as industry gatekeepers. Their lobbying efforts are focused on passing laws that restrict artists' ability to take control of their own music, reach their fans in more direct ways and earn a decent living from music without sacrificing their autonomy.

--Don

IL Dem isn't just TALKING about impeachment
She's done something about it. Karen Yarbrough has introduced a bill in the Illinois General Assembly based on Section 603 of Thomas Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice and Rules of the House of Representatives, which stipulates that state legislatures may initiate federal impeachment proceedings by way of joint resolution.

Weekend Box Office
1 RV
2 United 93
3 Stick It
4 Silent Hill
5 Scary Movie 4

The Sopranos Thread
Episode #73: Johnny Cakes

- warning: may contain spoilers -

Colbert
Why oh why would they get Colbert to perform at the White House Press Dinner if they didn't want both the press and especially the Bush Administration to get thrashed? Playing his O'Reilly-style conservative fool, Colbert took it to them. Here's the transcript, and one of my favorite bits...

The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday. Events can change; this man's beliefs never will. As excited as I am to be here with the president, I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal media that is destroying America, with the exception of Fox News. Fox News gives you both sides of every story: the president's side, and the vice president's side.

But the rest of you, what are you thinking, reporting on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason: they're super-depressing. And if that's your goal, well, misery accomplished. Over the last five years you people were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.

But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

HookerGate
It wouldn't be a second term without rip-roaring sex scandal. Looks like that's just what we might get. Did you, like me, wonder why Congressman "Duke" Cunningham was so quick to plead guilty, scurry out of Congress, and cry on TV? Admitting all kinds of heinous bribe-taking? It could be because he desperately wanted to keep out of the news the fact that his lobbyist buddies didn't just give him cash for votes...sometimes he wanted prostitutes too. And he wasn't alone...this could be more fun to watch than Rove getting indicted...especially if TPM Muckraker speculation bears out.

Just what Washington needs, a good old fashioned prostitution ring!

"Impeach the President"
Lyrics to the new Neil Young song have found their way onto the Internets. Apparently, it could become quite the anti-Bush anthem when it's released on Friday.

Let's impeach the president for lying
And leading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door

He's the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors
And bend the facts to fit with their new stories
Of why we have to send our men to war

Let's impeach the president for spying
On citizens inside their own homes
Breaking every law in the country
By tapping our computers and telephones

What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees
Would New Orleans have been safer that way
Sheltered by our government's protection
Or was someone just not home that day?

Let's impeach the president
For hijacking our religion and using it to get elected
Dividing our country into colors
And still leaving black people neglected

Thank god he's racking down on steroids
Since he sold his old baseball team
There's lot of people looking at big trouble
But of course the president is clean
Thank God

What will it take to get this song on corporate radio? Is 60% disapproval not enough?

Unbelievable
Republican Senators have a plan for the high gas prices: bribe the public. Seriously--they want to send all taxpayers $100 each to offset the high price of gas. Because that's really the energy problem--taxes are too high. Isn't that their answer to everything? Lower taxes! When you're just a hammer, everything see is a nail.

[UPDATE: Plus, attached to the bill is authorization to drill in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. Hoping for $100 we will turn the other way?]

Meanwhile, let alone the fact that it won't help that much...where is the money going to come from?
(thanks to reader LE for the tip)

Now That's a Fast Decline
So, a Senate panel will be recommending that FEMA be totally dismantled and replaced by something new, as a part of yet another Homeland Security revamping. Why? It's just too screwed up:

Crippled by years of poor leadership and inadequate funding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot be fixed, a bipartisan investigation says in recommendations to be released Thursday.

Taken together, the 86 proposed reforms suggest the United States is still woefully unprepared for a disaster such as Katrina with the start of the hurricane season a little more than month away.

"The United States was, and is, ill-prepared to respond to a catastrophic event of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina," the recommendations warn. "Catastrophic events are, by their nature, difficult to imagine and to adequately plan for, and the existing plans and training proved inadequate in Katrina."
...
Describing FEMA as a "shambles and beyond repair," Collins said the overall report "will help ensure that we do not have a repeat of the failures following Hurricane Katrina."

I have to agree with Kevin Drum's response:

FEMA was a fine organization for eight years under Bill Clinton, widely recognized as one of the best run agencies in the federal government. But after a mere five years of George Bush's stewardship there's now a bipartisan consensus that it's so rundown that the only choice is to get rid of it and build a completely new agency in its place.

Meanwhile, hurricane season is upon us.

This should be passed on.

Do you get emails that forward things someone famous supposedly wrote or said -- Andy Rooney, Robin Williams, Ben Stein -- on patriotism, the good ole days, immigrants, Katrina, etc.? More often than not, these offend me and have been falsely attributed, and I either delete without response or email back with a Snopes link.

This, however, is a letter truly written by the person it is attributed to. Jeff Whitty, a NY playwright, wrote Jay Leno this letter/email which is circulating on the net and was featured on a CNN story this morning. He is gay, he is tired of being joke fodder, and he is spot on with this letter.

Some snips here, but read it all for yourself.

"When you think of gay people, it's funny. They're funny folks. They
wear leather. They like Judy Garland. They like disco music.
They're sort of like Stepin Fetchit as channeled by Richard Simmons. . .

"When I think of gay people, I think of the gay news anchor who
took a tire iron to the head several times when he was vacationing in St.
Maarten's . . . . I think of a countless list of people who took their own lives
because the world was so toxically hostile to them . . . . I think of
a silent holocaust that is perpetuated by people like you, who seek to minimize
us and make fun of us and who I suspect really, fundamentally wish we would just
go away."

A gay friend of mine was badly beaten in a McDonald's parking lot and, as stupid as this sounds, he wasn't doing, saying, or wearing anything to have provoked it. Probably too many of us can relate. It would be nice if more of us circulated messages like this.

When Incompetence Knows No Bounds
Once you read the entire article by the New York Times, I think you will agree that the following statement is, ... uhhhm, how do you say in dramatic fashion -- the understatement of the year? The funniest part is how this dude still feels the need to say "probably."

"In hindsight, knowing what I know today, I would have probably said we need more geology information before we start drilling those holes," Colonel Du Bose said.

Moron
The Earth, obviously, could care less whether or not humans exist. It's going to be here until a giant asteroid blasts it or the sun burns it into oblivion. When we complain that we're damaging the Earth we just mean we're screwing with our chances (not to mention those of lots of other life forms) of existing here happily. Of course we don't mean that global warming is going to make the planet explode, disintegrate, melt, whatever, idiot.

Lower Still
32.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

New Pollan Book
Michael Pollan's Botany of Desire is one of my favorite books ever. Beautifully written and a tremendously interesting idea. I'm thrilled that he has a new book out: The Omnivore's Dilemma; and even more happy that I've had this exact idea! Only mine was for a TV show, one that each week would take a meal and trace its origins: how/where the food was grown/transported/slaughtered/preserved/prepared/whatever. So, for those of you that laughed back then, HA! Now, it's a book by a bestselling author! I'm glad somebody did it. Can't wait to read it.

UPDATE: I just read the introduction, which is available online for free as a pdf. Here is an excerpt. Sorry, a little long, but I think you'll like it:

[T]here exists a fundamental tension between the logic of nature and the logic of human industry, at least as it is now organized. Our ingenuity in feeding ourselves is prodigious, but at various points our technologies come into conflict with nature’s ways of doing things, as when we seek to maximize efficiency by planting crops or raising animals in vast monocultures. This is something nature never does, always and for good reasons practicing diversity instead. A great many of the health and environmental problems created by our food system owe to our attempts to oversimplify nature’s complexities, at both the growing and the eating ends of our food chain. At either end of any food chain you find a biological system—a patch of soil, a human body—and the health of one is connected—literally—to the health of the other. Many of the problems of health and nutrition we face today trace back to things that happen on the farm, and behind those things stand specific government policies few of us know anything about.

Benkler Book
Professor Lessig says this is a must-read. I believe him. Plus, it's available for free download.

Music on TV
This week, you can catch Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, The Flaming Lips, and Neil Young on network tv! (Has anyone heard the new Neil Young or the new Flaming Lips? I am still absent both) But you should check the handy schedule, because turn on the wrong night and you could accidentally hear Mandy Moore, Jennifer Love Hewitt or Brooks and Dunn.
--Don

Not my first, or last, meaningless vote, but.
I guess I missed this story because my local TV stations' portion of our satellite service was out for several days, but apparently MY township voted recently to put a referendum on the November ballot that calls on bush to withdraw our troops from Iraq:

"Shall President George W. Bush and Congress commence a humane, orderly,
immediate and comprehensive withdrawal of all U.S. military personnel and bases
from Iraq?"

That's right, I will get to answer that question on my ballot in November. Maybe there's time to get an impeachment referendum on there too, as long as we're "voting".
- Deb

Weekend Box Office
1. Silent Hill
2. Scary Movie 4
3. The Sentinel
4. Ice Age: The Meltdown
5. The Wild

The Sopranos Thread
Episode 72 - "Luxury Lounge"

- warning - may contain spoilers -

Ignorance
I submitted a comment at Chris Mooney's great blog, The Intersection. It pretty well sums up my occasional frustration having to depend on experts.

Chris, do you have any thoughts (or have you seen any good ones..) about the recent Duke study that questions the seriousness of global warming impact?..or at least that's how the Washington Times presented it today.

One difficult thing about being a (complete) non-scientist is not really having the tools to critically read scientific reports. The rest of us have to wait for the peer review process to play its way out..and with something like climate change/human existence i'm not sure how smart waiting is! So, I turn to thinkers I trust...like you in this case...and ask the question: should this study make me less afraid of the effects of global warming...and if so, how much? and if not, why not? What do you think?

I can't really believe that we're suddenly supposed to breathe easy over global warming. But, since I likely wouldn't know how to read the report even if I tried, I don't know all the good reasons to not pay attention to it, or at least to the Washington Times' version of it. My first reaction is to find little comfort in a conclusion that says that the imminent destruction of most lifeforms on Earth as we know it is not as likely as we thought. I mean, just falling a little shy of that dire prediction is still pretty bad, right? But I'd like to know what a real scientist, or a smarter person than I, thinks.

One thing I am sure about...isn't it just like the Washington Times to try and throw cold water on global warming just ahead of Earth Day?

33
And a Fox poll at that. Drinks are on me once the first poll is released that puts Bush's approval rating in the 20s. Meanwhile, Rummy and Congress are both disapproved of, but Secretary Rice gets an approval rating. My theory on that? Nobody knows what she's doing. The HHS Secretary would probably get a good rating too.

Squandered
When our President took over in 2001, we had a record surplus--on our way to paying down the national debt, to the relief of future generations; we were at peace--on our way to cooperating with the rest of the world to address worldwide problems.

That combination--national prosperity and peace--seems a million miles away today. What could we have done with it? How about this: we could have focused our energies and resources to attack some truly horrendous problems. Here's just 2 that are pissing me off today:

1. The environment--is it too late? A growing majority of Americans care about the problem of global warming, but can we convince the Congress and the White House to cooperate with the UN, and spend the resources necessary to address it? And is there a megaphone big enough to raise this issue over the drumbeats of war in Iraq and now Iran?

2. Genocide in Darfur. We used to care about genocide. There will be a rally in DC on April 30 to try and draw attention to the fact that the systematic murder of the black Sudanese has resulted in nearly half a million deaths and 2 million refugees. And, oh yeah, there's no food, water or medical service there. I wonder if the news on April 30 or May 1 will be able to fit it in?

And instead of having the focus/time/money to demonstrate some leadership on these problems, we gutted our economy with tax cuts for the rich, and squashed our military resources/national attention span by going to war with Iraq.

President Bush has made hundreds of horrendous mistakes, but has any President ever made 2 decisions any worse than those 2--tax cuts and war with Iraq?

What things are you annoyed that we can't or won't address thanks to our President's poor judgment?

Worst President Ever?
Rolling Stone has an article that begins this way:

George W. Bush's presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace.

How To Help?
We're less than 7 months away from mid-term elections. What can you do to help? I recently signed up to volunteer for an important Senate candidate, but another option is coming up April 29, when the DNC is hosting a national door-to-door day with new fancy door hangers. Click here to find an event in your area, and if there's not one, start one.

Find candidates in your area through the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. MyDD also has links to political blog/news for every state (scroll down and look in the far left column).

The Sopranos Thread

Episode 71: what did you think? (warning: probably some spoilers in the comments)

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

By Popular Demand
In the comments, Scott requests a Neko Case review. I caught her show in Memphis at the HiTone Saturday. She was really incredible - and the band was just right. Her legendary voice is every bit as good live, all the more impressive since she sings so hard. How to do that while on tour? Her pitch and tone were solid.

Best of all though was the intimate venue. I don't know if everyone enjoys those tight-fitting, standing room only, hot and sweaty shows like I do. But I don't think there's any better way for an artist and an audience to share energy. If it hadn't been for the truly horrendous sound--and not sure who to blame for that--it would have been an unbeatable night. But the constant feedback while they plied the reverb as high as they could, was a constant disappointing distraction.

Like I linked last week, if you want to hear a live show of hers from DC earlier this month, NPR has it online!
--Don


Would this be a metaphor?

I missed this story Friday, in which the US military has reportedly admitted to having trampled all over the cradle of civilization in Iraq. The money quote, from the Marine in charge of winning hearts and minds by destroying priceless artifacts:

“If it wasn’t for our presence, what would the state of those archaeological ruins be?”

Maybe less ruined.
- Deb 3:04 pm


Weekend Box Office
1. Scary Movie 4
2. Ice Age: The Meltdown
3. The Benchwarmers
4. The Wild
5. Take the Lead

An Inconvenient Truth
The trailer has been released for the Al Gore film. Not sure i'm crazy about the marketing approach--see what you think. But it looks like the kind of demonstration that says all the things that need to be said about global warming and the future of the planet.

I'm a small-minded, naive person. So for at least a few minutes after seeing it I'd like to believe that lots and lots of people could be convinced to see it. And that if they do---and if it doesn't have political jabs to hang their fear on ("just a bunch of Bush-bashing!")---it could fundamentally change the debate here over environmental protection and global warming. An infusion of regular movie-going people suddenly determined to address that issue would do it.

But then, I thought Super Size Me might bring down McDonald's.

One thing is for sure - if this film doesn't do well at the box office, Republicans and right-wingers will use that fact to laugh at Al Gore and say he's a failure and doesn't resonate with the people. But if it does well...they will do everything they can to ridicule the substance and will attack him viciously every way they can. If Inconvenient Truth makes 80-100 million this summer, he will become the dirty word Michael Moore is.

The Cruel Alphabet
I've often wondered if there's much societal bias that benefits last names early in the alphabet. In the academic publishing world there's a (weird) reason for it.

But, really, why are there so many B's and C's in my music collection, compared to P's, R's, S's or T's? Hmmm.

Classy
Britney Spears dropped her baby on his head. Sort of.

Politics of the immigration issue
Republicans have made no secret of their efforts to make political inroads within the Hispanic community the last 6 years. But I can't help but think this immigration debate could reverse all of those gains and more all at once.

This a civil rights issue. And if Democrats step forward and show real leadership in championing opportunity and fairness for immigrants, truly embracing their contributions as a part of America, we may have paved the way for 2 generations of Hispanics to identify themselves solely with the Democratic Party. Sure, many immigrants can't vote. But their children can. And those young citizens, living through this civil rights experience will hear their parents and community bad-mouthing Republicans for years, and rightly so. If Democrats do the right thing in the right way, an entire generation of Hispanic Americans might live the rest of their lives as likely to vote for Republicans as African-Americans whose parents marched through the 60s: not very.

Republicans may not be that politically suicidal. Looks like they may be backing off the most egregious elements of the bill. And Democrats might not be either that smart or honorable. But for a couple weeks at least, the fastest growing segment of American population has witnessed with the GOP really thinks immigrants and the working poor. That kind of honest moment in today's age of pandering feels pretty rare.

Atrios is Right: Press should say "unpopular President"
I'm not so impressed as georgia10 at Kos, about the part of the new Washington Post poll that shows 63% thinking Bush has acted *either* illegally or unethically. I assume you could get a pretty high number in any poll about virtually any politician if one of the choices is "unethical." People love to question elected officials' ethics. But...60% job disapproval is pretty darned high. And like Atrios says, the height of Clinton's job disapproval was only 53.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

Too Soon
Movies about September 11, but they're coming.

A movie theater on New York's Upper West Side pulled the trailer after complaints from audience members, including a woman who burst into tears. And at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, the trailer provoked audience cries of "Too soon!"

Wrong
On ESPN now....paintball.

Neko Case
and Martha Wainwright are on tour together. NPR's All Songs Considered (which offers free concert webcasts almost weekly) has the audio of last night's show in DC. I'm going to hear Case in Memphis on Saturday--woohoo!

Weekend Box Office
1. Ice Age: The Meltdown (What? Teaching Children that the Earth is more than 6,000 years old?)
2. The Benchwarmers
3. Take the Lead
4. Inside Man
5. Lucky Number Slevin
-Don

The Sopranos Thread
What did you think? (warning: probably some spoilers in the comments)

Leaking
My first question when I heard about Bush's leaking/declassification argument is that if this information was in the interest of national security, rather than simply selective misleading information picked to further a political advantage (built on a lie), why didn't he come right out in public and present it himself, instead of sneaking it to a New York Times reporter?

It's Josh's question too, leading him to summarize Bush's security view this way: "Classification is a tool of my political strategy."

Kevin Drum/Andrew Sullivan have more.

"in over his head"
Bush approval at 36%

Give 'em hell, Harry!
(watch on crooksandliars, read on CNN, Huff Post, etc.)

Harry Taylor, my brand new hero, stood up at bush's North Carolina closed appearance yesterday and said:

"Okay, I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that in
my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my
leadership in Washington, including the presidency . . . "

I am amazed someone who would even think that was allowed within a mile of w, and I have great respect for his ability to deliver an articulate message without the shrieking slobbering fury I would exhibit were I in his shoes.

Sealing His Fate?
Ok so now he may have won my heart. That's not a good sign for his political future.

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a prospective 2008 presidential candidate, said yesterday that he thinks bans on same-sex marriages have no place in the nation's

Feingold called the amendment "a mean-spirited attempt" to single out gay men and lesbians for discrimination and said he would vote against it. But he went further, announcing that he favors legalizing same-sex marriages.

Immigration and Terrorism
I've stayed away from the larger issues of the immigration topic out of, frankly, ignorance and not having given it much thought. I remember in college arguing against the entire system, saying that we should just let whoever in that wants in whenever they want in and encourage citizenship, and that we could then focus on the real challenge, which is pressuring other countries, especially Central American ones, to change the way they provide for opportunity and hope among their own citizens, diminishing the incentive they would have for leaving in the first place.

Isn't this really the problem? For all the advances Mexico may have made, they still want to essentially encourage their poor to leave so they don't have to deal with the extreme situation of poverty with reasonable services.

My teenage solution--like most of them from back then--seems a bit, um, impractical of course now.

But I still believe that is the biggest problem and challenge. And until and unless it is addressed--no, I'm not sure how to do it--whatever illegal immigration woes we have will continue no matter what the policy.

So, to be clear, I'm a fan of programs that invite and allow workers to become citizens. But guest worker programs smell a bit fishy to me, and I worry that we will trade in our present woes for much bigger ones. What could be worse you ask? How about the official creation of an entire second class of non-citizen? I'll leave the rest of that track to Fareed Zakaria, who says what I've also been thinking, but much better than I could, and with an added dimension I hadn't thought of, in the form of a reasonable answer to this important question: Why has there been no attack in the US since September 11, 2001? We know it's not because the Bush Adminstration's security apparatus is so on the ball. No, Zakaria suggests the answer may lie in our present immigration policy, and that we should think twice before changing it in the direction it seems headed. Like I say, I have never thought of it before, but he makes a convincing case.

I'm kind of a sucker though. What do you think?

Great Moments in Casting
Read this. Then insert joke below.

Christmas Comes Early This Year
Enjoy.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

The Sopranos Thread
What did you think? Warning: These comments will likely have Sopranos plot spoilers!

Rice Does Britain
Things didn't exactly go according to plan.

Hopes of meeting former Beatle Paul McCartney fell through, a mosque withdrew its invitation and a local luminary lined up to host a concert in nearby Liverpool pulled out as a political statement.

She visited a school in this community that is 25 percent Muslim, but many of the children were kept home for the day by protesting parents. Others cut classes to join the protests.

Rice was supposed to watch Straw's beloved Blackburn Rovers football team play but their match was moved to Monday night for better television coverage. So a brief ceremony to present her with a jersey took place in an empty 32,000-seat stadium.

16 Minutes of Jonah
If you haven't been following the details of released hostage reporter Jill Carroll's last couple of days, including her video statements which--obviously said under duress and coercion--claimed opposition to Bush and said positive things about her captors, you're probably better for it. Some of the responses to her have been disgusting. And one who jumped in to question her was Jonah "Yeah Iraq War! But I ain't goin to fight" Goldberg.

Today at 4:52 he posted:

It now looks like she was coerced into making those statements -- though we still need to know a lot more. If that's the whole story, that's fine with me. I don't think anyone can fairly begrudge someone saying what they feel they must under such trying circumstances in order to survive. But, most of the lefty emailers -- and many bloggers -- took her initial statements at face value. I didn't. So far, it seems to me that I was right and they were wrong. I see no need to apologize.

Then at 5:08

I take Carroll at her word and hope nothing but the best for her. I'm sure it was a terrible ordeal and I think, barring some major revelation, this should put an end to the criticism of her. Leave her be. I'm sorry for suggesting that she might have believed what she said.

Of course, at 4:52 he already acknowledged that it looked like she was coerced but he saw no reason to apologize. Here is Carroll's statement.

Blogs were made for this
The Great Taco Hunt (via Kos)