My first entry. Welcome. I suppose the question is... If a blogger blogs and no one is there to read it, does he have an impact? My answer would be... [More]
July 22, 2004
What WERE They Thinking?
Slate's Chatterbox has a great piece today on something I've been wondering about for awhile now. Just what the hell were the Dairy Queen people thinking when they named their... [More]
He Owns The Mountains
Lance is on his way to a 6th consecutive title. Unbelievable. Then again, what's a mountain if you've stared down death? --------... [More]
9/11 Commission Reports In
Since the coverage of the recommendations of the 9/11 panel has so far been extremely poor, I was going to spend some time reading it myself and then writing up... [More]
July 23, 2004
Inspired Beyond Sleep
I was going to head off to bed when I decided to give one last look to what my Tivo had saved for the day. In it, I found Bill... [More]
3AM - Still Can't Sleep
This Moyers' speech really got to me. Over the past few days, I've been doing A LOT of thinking about the direction I'd like to head with my studies this... [More]
Openness
E.J. Dionne (one of my favorite columnists) has an excellent piece in the Washington Post today about the example the 9/11 Commission sets for openness in government. The entire thing... [More]
9/11 Families
A shining example of how a small group of individuals can still make a huge difference in this world. --------... [More]
The Iraq Al Qaeda Connection
The 9/11 report goes into great detail on the alleged contacts/connection/collaboration between Iraq and al Qaeda, and Spencer Ackerman provides some interesting analysis of it in his Irad'd blog over... [More]
Like A Rolling Stone
Interesting interview with Clinton dealing with Iraq, the election, his legacy, and more. --------... [More]
New England Patriots
Just watched a great piece on PBS' News Hour on security in Boston for the week of the convention. Definitely made me feel a bit safer. But in ended with... [More]
Too Good Not To Share
I realize I'm posting like crazy today, but oh well. A second item from News Hour too good not to pass on. After discussing the historic implications of the 9/11... [More]
July 24, 2004
They Noticed!
In their lead editorial today, the Washington Post makes most of the points I made a few days back regarding the Army Inspector General's report on the prison detainee scandal.... [More]
More American
Lance is a day away from wrapping up a record sixth straight Tour De France. In an article discussing how his level of preparation far exceeds his rivals, race director... [More]
Myth vs. Reality
I'm definitely leaning more and more towards the myth vs reality of American history and politics angle for my upcoming studies. Here's a great piece in today's NY Times about... [More]
Power to the... Corporations?
I'll let the first few paragraphs from this NY Times article speak for itself: The Bush administration has been going to court to block lawsuits by consumers who say they... [More]
I Know What Will Fix This!
More tax cuts! Ugh. Good thing the Congress just expanded the child tax credit for famillies making $250k+ per year. Definitely an excellent use of limited fund. NEW YORK (Reuters)... [More]
What IS He Thinking
From ABC News: Consumer advocate Ralph Nader's quixotic presidential campaign says it submitted about 5,400 signatures to get on the Michigan ballot, far short of the required number of 30,000.... [More]
July 25, 2004
My Pet Goat
Because I still don't have a copy of the Report myself, I'm relying on others to find key nuggets. Here's one courtesy of Maureen Dowd of the NY Times: He... [More]
July 26, 2004
New Blog Site
Allright.... So I decided to get serious about this blogging thing and use a real blog editor rather than do it myself every time in HTML. Aside from aa minor... [More]
I can't Believe I'm Saying This, But...
... I'm actually agreeing with something that William Saffire is writing. With great fanfare, the 9/11 commission amplified that call for a super-spymaster. This rush to "reform" is stampeding otherwise... [More]
A Quote Within A Quote
Two great quotes courtesy of Sen. Kennedy: "I think you've got two strains in our society," he said. "One, sort of Horatio Alger-like, says I'm doing well and let me... [More]
Convention Schedule
These people aren't making it easy to find a schedule of speakers. Democrats.org has a daily list but no times. CSPAN has names and a time range, but nothing exact.... [More]
Bizarro World
Just saw a seriously strange commercial for BP during CNN's coverage of the convention: Narrator: Are oil companies thnking of the future? Man on the Street: You can't go from... [More]
The Convention, Take One
Missed the Gore speech (I was in training for my new tutoring job), but got home in time to catch former Pres. Carter's speech. I have to say, this was... [More]
July 27, 2004
The Convention, The Clinton Hour of Power
For those of you who missed President Clinton's speech, whew... you missed a good one. Talk about someone at home in front of an audience! Whether you love him or... [More]
The Convention - No Wood To Be Found
Just watched a re-airing of the Gore speech on CNN (my Tivo failed me! Ack!). Pretty impressive - why didn't this Gore show up 4 years ago? If he had... [More]
Day One - A Summary
One final post, sans quotes. All in all, I have to say it was a very strong start for the Dems. They hit the issue of 9/11 and terrorism dead... [More]
Spawn of Satan?
Just how insane is Ann Coulter? Check out this ridiculous article she submitted today to USA Today. I'm sure she'll spin their rejection of it as partisan, but geez, can... [More]
What Was HE Thinking?
I've always wondered a bit about CNN commentator Tucker Carlson, but this is just ridiculous. On Clinton's speech tonight: I thought he was harshly partisan. I was kind of shocked... [More]
July 28, 2004
Kennedy + Coldplay = ???
Not a big deal, this one, but... What's up with Coldplay's "Clocks" being the music used to introduce Teddy Kennedy? Anyone else notice that, or is that just the DJ... [More]
The Shirt Heard Round the World?
Sorry, I can't help this one... Just watching CNN's reairing of the first half of the convention that I missed, and near the beginning of Kennedy's speech, there was this... [More]
A Close Call
After watching Dean's awful speech, I must say, the Dems should breathe a huge sigh of relief that he wasn't nominated. He did an amazing service for his party this... [More]
A Star Is Born
For months now I've been reading articles in political magazines and on web sites singing the praises of Barak Obama, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Illinois. From literally everything... [More]
O Bama Rama!
Seems like even people on the right thought his speech was amazing. Check this piece from the always conservative National Review. --------... [More]
July 29, 2004
Obamarama, Part 2
Doing some background reading tonight on Obama, and I came across a great piece in The New Republic Online. You have a to have a subscription to read it (at... [More]
Andrew Beat Me To It
Damn... That's what I get for not blogging right away. Andrew Sullivan, in his post entitled "Bush Versus Unity" nailed something I was just about ot say myself. Ah well,... [More]
July 30, 2004
A Historic Shift Has Begun
All throughout this campaign, Vietnam has been a central issue, and for many months I've been wondering why. Sure, there are some comparisons that can be made between Vietnam and... [More]
The Speech, Part One
Let's talk about the speech in general. No worries, I will come back to these points, because they are critical to understanding the historic shift we're seeing in today. But... [More]
Speaking of the NY Post
One of the most shocking points of the night for me came after the event was over, during the conversation Aaron Brown was having with the above mentioned George on... [More]
But Don't Take My Opinion On It
First it was David Brooks discussing on the PBS coverage how this would now force the GOP to stay positive and begin a more substantive discussion of the issues. Then,... [More]
Reporting For Duty, Sir!
Amazing how many military people made appearances tonight. As I'll explain in a minute, I think what we've seen this week is a historic shift in the Democratic Party. But... [More]
Joe Biden Tore It Up!
Honestly, I thought he gave one of the best speeches of the convention. Unfortunately, since it wasn't covered by any of the major networks, and since CNN decided to go... [More]
And let's not leave out C-SPAN
Of course, if you want totally unfiltered coverage, C-SPAN is the only choice. If it were not for them, I would have missed... --------... [More]
OK, OK. Aaron Brown Ain't Bad Either
I know I just got through slamming most of the media, but I do have to say I really like Aaron Brown's show on CNN. He's totally laid back, yet... [More]
Public TV vs. The Networks
There was one network that covered the convention properly, and not surprisingly it was PBS. It was amazing to watch the contrast between them and the networks. Not surprising, of... [More]
The Cynical Media
As I think on it, perhaps this is one of the reasons Americans have become so cynical about politics. Think about it. The speaker introduces the movie, and then ABC... [More]
The Liberal Media?
I was switching channels tonight during the run up to Kerry's speech and I noticed something odd. In the interest of being "balanced", ABC news declined to show the Steven... [More]
Did The Major Networks Blow It...
...By not covering the convention more? In one sense, yes. As I said, even if these are scripted, planned out "infomercials", they are infomercials for and about democracy. I certainly... [More]
From the "You Know You've Made It When" Category:
George Stephanopoulous quoted John Stewart during a very serious conversation about the role of political conventions in elections today. I think John's one of the best political satirists this country... [More]
Day 4, Random Thoughts
OK, so Day 4 is complete and the convention is over. Time for some random thoughts and observations... --------... [More]
Will Ferrel Is God
Check out this hilarious parody of a Bush Campaign ad from Will Ferrel and ACT. Priceless. My new dream? Make the Daily Show an hour long and add Will Ferrel... [More]
July 31, 2004
Who Said This?
Politics only works if it connects up with sometihng you do. I mean, don't just vote just cause somebody told you to vote. That ain't gonna work, cause you'll... [More]
About Bill Mahr
Can I just say.... his show is brilliant. And.. thank God for Tivo. Apparently last night was the first night of the new season, and my Tivo picked up the... [More]
One Last Bill Mahr Item
I'm not going to take the time to transcribe it myself, but as soon as it comes up on his sit eI'll post it here. His closing monologue on "Why... [More]
Convention Ratings...
They were down all week until the last night. But then... an estimated 24.4 million people watched Kerry's speech, approximately 3.3 million more than watched Gore in 2000. Are they... [More]
US Shifts Stance on Nuclear Treaty?
Another brilliant moment from this insane administration.: In a significant shift in U.S. policy, the Bush administration announced this week that it will oppose provisions for inspections and verification as... [More]
Poll Results Coming In!
OK people, the first post-convention polls are starting to arrive. Pollingreport has partial results from a Newsweek poll done Thursday and Friday, and the numbers are significant. Very significant. *... [More]
I Lied. Newsweek Has Already Published
Newsweek story is already up. Read the entire thing, please. But just in case, two highlights: Still, Kerry and Edwards have gained ground on several key election issues. For the... [More]
The Bush Rebuttal. Sort of.
Kos has a great post today on Bush's lame counter-attack at Kerry. I can't figure out how to direct link to the post, so look for the one entitled Bush... [More]
Now With Bill Moyers, Part Three
A segment with political theorist Benjamin Barber, author of Fear's Empire: War, Terrorism, and Democracy, a book which I'm now going to have to read: Theres' a good way to... [More]
Now With Bill Moyers, Part Two
Moyers led with a great quote from Joseph Campbell. "If you want to change the world, change the metaphor." That's precisely what the Democrats are trying to do this election,... [More]
Now with Bill Moyers, Part One
Just watching this week's show now. As always, each segment will probably spark a post. Segment One: Voting Rights Issues and the State of Florida First off, a great mini-site... [More]
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