In 35 years of newspapering and teaching, I developed a quiet amusement over the general public's almost total ignorance of how the news media does its job. Then, last year, I received the following email from a reader, one Stuart Jewell, complaining about media content: “It’s strange to me, that almost all columnists and reporters assume the talent of being able to define what … [Read more...] about The GOP Takes Aim at the First Amendment
A 9/11 Break From Rancor
For an instant next Thursday, the election-year tide of acrimony and attack ads will be rolled back as Barack Obama and John McCain come together at Ground Zero to mark the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 2001. “All of us came together on 9/11--not as Democrats or Republicans--but as Americans,” the candidates said in a joint statement today. “In smoke-filled … [Read more...] about A 9/11 Break From Rancor
Stupid, Unpatriotic, Wrong and Stupid (NOT?) (YES?)
SEE THE UPDATE BELOW: It is now claimed that the story below resulted from a some dirty tricks and the flags were destined for other events, but stolen. UPDATE AGAIN: Sources from Fox News (Yes... I know) are disputing the claims in the update and say that the flags were definitely found "stored" in Hefty Bags "near a dumpster." Odd storage if true, but apparently the game … [Read more...] about Stupid, Unpatriotic, Wrong and Stupid (NOT?) (YES?)
The difference between Palin and Bush? Lipstick.
I know, Sarah Palin is a Washington outsider with no direct ties to the current administration. In that sense, she does represent a clean break from George W. Bush. But when you get past the narrative and look at her positions on actual issues, she's much closer to Bush ideologically than McCain is. The Palin pick was designed to fire up the segment of the Republican party … [Read more...] about The difference between Palin and Bush? Lipstick.
Random Observations from an Absentee Amateur Pundit
My last post was dated August 21. Slightly more than two weeks ago. I'm amused (and somewhat dazed) at how much things have changed since then. Sean Quinn phrased it well, last night, at FiveThirtyEight: For all the drama it generated back in March, Jeremiah Wright feels like so long ago that it might as well have happened in the 1988 election. Even the text message VP … [Read more...] about Random Observations from an Absentee Amateur Pundit
Where’s Waldo? errr… Obama?
It has been noted by some that there have been a plethora of items here about Sarah Palin and not much else. I'm clearly guilty of the same sin of omission, but not for lack of searching. It's just that not only does the entire country seem focused on the fresh, red meat of the Alaskan Governor, but the Democratic ticket doesn't seem to be doing very much of note this week. … [Read more...] about Where’s Waldo? errr… Obama?
Sarah Palin’s Incredible Lightness Of Being
He got invited to the convention because he had pre-marital sex with her. John McCain proclaims that he is for open government. Palin, meanwhile, is for closed government. Palin's handlers say she and her family have nothing to hide. But fisherman husband Todd Palin's former business partner filed an emergency motion to have his divorce papers sealed, surely a coincidence … [Read more...] about Sarah Palin’s Incredible Lightness Of Being
McCain’s Next Task: Win Undecideds And Moderates
Republican Presidential nominee Sen. John McCain has now accomplished several major tasks: he was last-man-standing in the GOP primaries, he moved enough to the right to satisfy many Republicans and he hit -- to use the now-tiresome cliche -- "a home-run" among the party's conservative base by picking conservative red-meat serving Gov. Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential … [Read more...] about McCain’s Next Task: Win Undecideds And Moderates
Kicking the Palin “Experience” Meme Around (Again)
As we march on through day nine of the Sarah Palin Cone of Silence Watch, my old friend Ed Morrissey has offered to share a recent Fox News piece, featuring Greta van Susteren, which purports to highlight a few of the various aspects of Palin's background which speak to her experience and readiness to possibly lead our nation. I dislike nitpicking with Ed, but we do it enough … [Read more...] about Kicking the Palin “Experience” Meme Around (Again)
Indecision 2008 GOP Convention Sampler
The Comedy Central gang had fodder for a terrific week. As a freshly-minted small town guy, I'll start with their "best news team on the planet" finding out what small town values really mean at the RNC: … [Read more...] about Indecision 2008 GOP Convention Sampler
Who is Sarah Palin?
After we heard that AK governor Sarah Palin had been chosen as McCain's running mate, I wrote that I am "anxious to see how Palin handles the klieg lights of the national media circus." Well, it seems that the McCain campaign may simply see to it that she doesn't have to face the national media anytime soon. Marc Ambinder reports that a "senior McCain campaign official" told … [Read more...] about Who is Sarah Palin?
Sarah Palin will change the way government does business
And let's face it, she has some experience in this area. In fact, Sarah Palin has apparently made some major changes in the way Sarah Palin does business, and has done so in only six months. Buried at the very end of this Washington Post article on Palin's somewhat-dubious history as a champion in fighting the "old boys network" regarding pork-barrel spending comes this … [Read more...] about Sarah Palin will change the way government does business
‘With Palin, U.S. Right Revisits Dan Quayle and ‘Murphy Brown’: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
What lessons - if any -can one glean about the direction of the Republican Party from its embrace of an ultra-conservative working mother with a daughter pregnant out of wedlock? According to Jordan Mejias of Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, it may indicate a change in course best highlighted by harkening back to the infamous Dan Quayle-Murphy Brown episode of … [Read more...] about ‘With Palin, U.S. Right Revisits Dan Quayle and ‘Murphy Brown’: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Here Comes Sarah
What's the difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama?” “One is a well turned-out, good-looking, and let's be honest, pretty sexy piece of eye-candy. “The other kills her own food.” ... so jokes The Times (U.K.) in its piece, Sarah Palin: it's go west, towards the future of conservatism One might also ask, (albeit much less amusingly), "How do you know … [Read more...] about Here Comes Sarah
How to Combat Textbook Sales Woes
Amid reports this week that textbook sales are down at university presses while students flock to web sites offering pirated textbooks, there's this: If professors make chapters of a book available as e-reserves in the library, or get that material to their classes via Blackboard, students don't need to buy the book, and the professors may get out of having to pay a permission … [Read more...] about How to Combat Textbook Sales Woes
Joe Biden’s Take On The Republican Convention
Yesterday we ran the embed of Republican Presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech and this long roundup of news and weblog opinion on it. Now, Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden has given his take on the GOP convention. Biden certainly doesn't waste any time. He zeroes-in on what the convention left out (echoing comments from some … [Read more...] about Joe Biden’s Take On The Republican Convention
ArchBishop of SanFran “Invites” Nancy Pelosi 3rd in Line To Be POTUS, to “A Conversation”
Catholicism is rife with euphemisms, and ...following the Pope's actual intentions and motives is often reduced to a kind of Pope-omancy, interpreting a gesture or a smile as carrying volumes of unspoken information about the actual skivvy. The Church is not known for revealing the roots of its choices and decisions; nor its back-room gamblings and gambolings, so to … [Read more...] about ArchBishop of SanFran “Invites” Nancy Pelosi 3rd in Line To Be POTUS, to “A Conversation”
Palin Plane Not Sold on e-bay, not for a profit, sold to GOP contributor
Just today, for one of the few brief minutes we got to see Sarah Palin in public, John McCain enthusiastically related the story of how she took the former Governor's plane and sold it on e-bay "and she made a profit on it." Apparently... not so fast. One of the compelling anecdotes about Sarah Palin is that she auctioned off the Alaska governor's jet on eBay after taking … [Read more...] about Palin Plane Not Sold on e-bay, not for a profit, sold to GOP contributor
How much do Obama and McCain know about each other’s policies?
Ezra Klein raises an interesting point in response to McCain's assertion that Obama's health care plan "will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor." Money quote: I should say, of course, that not only isn't this true, but it's nonsensical ... here's … [Read more...] about How much do Obama and McCain know about each other’s policies?
“Right” Convention, Wrong Country?
Listening to the various speakers during the Republican Convention, I got the distinct and very uncomfortable feeling that this event was taking place in some other country. A country where about one-half of its people are unpatriotic, disloyal, defeatist, “do not support the troops.” A country where only the ruling party believes in the culture of life, personal … [Read more...] about “Right” Convention, Wrong Country?