Thursday Morning News and Note to the DSCC

Before we get to the cafe au lait and croissants, I’d like to relate an encounter with the remnants of what *used* to be my party.  A few days ago, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, the DSCC, called me at home to hit me up for a donation.  Almost immediately, I told them to save [...]

Vacation Journal: As our journey comes to an end, it’s all about the grapes

Our west coast adventure has culminated in the beautiful Napa Valley.  What a gorgeous landscape.  Vineyards of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and other lucious grapes line the roadways and hillsides in meticulous rows dotted by olive, orange, lime, and Meyer lemon trees.  Nearly 500 wineries exist in the Napa Valley, a place many consider [...]

They’re contenders

This morning: Rookie Joe Martinez has pitched in two major-league games, better known as the ecstasy and the agony. On Opening Day he got a win. Two days later, a Mike Cameron line drive fractured his skull. Martinez finally gets a third big-league game today. This afternoon: Where do you start, with the rookie who [...]

Mobs of old ladies?

The above video is a DNC web ad.  Contrast the language of the narrator with the images you see.  The “mob” you hear described appears to be mostly women, many of them with gray hair.  There are many people carrying signs, but I didn’t see any torches or pitchforks.  I also didn’t see any party [...]

Olberman’s Obfuscation Can’t Obscure Truth: GE Controls MSNBC’s News Reporting

Yes, Keith. We know you weren’t “party to any deal,” because you were quoted as saying so in the original New York Times story on GE’s control of your joke of a “news” show, “Countdown.” As Glenn Greenwald pointed out in his latest update on this tale of Corporate control of “journalism,” it is utterly [...]

The Big Dawg gets it done

From the New York Times: Former President Bill Clinton arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday morning after a dramatic 20-hour visit to North Korea, in which he won the freedom of two American journalists, opened a diplomatic channel to North Korea’s reclusive government and dined with the North’s ailing leader, Kim Jong-il. [...] “Thirty hours ago, [...]

Two Dudes and a Webcam

(h/t Violet Socks) This is an open thread – or talk about whatever you want.

Timmy’s Tantrum vs. the Mosuo Matriarchy

While reading Dakinikat’s post on Geithner’s profanity-laced rant against Sheila Bair and Mary Shapiro I could not help but wonder how the dynamic would have been changed had either Bair or Shapiro been in Geithner‘s position and vice versa. This lead me to wonder if their gender might have influenced his performance tactic or if [...]

That’s why he’s the Big Dawg

From CNN: North Korean President Kim Jong Il has pardoned and released two U.S. journalists, state-run news agency KCNA said Wednesday. The announcement came after former U.S. President Clinton met with top North Korean officials in Pyongyang to appeal for their release. “Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile [...]

Geithner and Summers: Economic Disaster Deja Vu

Timothy Geithner’s profanity-laced rant against Sheila Bair and Mary Shapiro for their rational, reality-based concerns about increasing the power of Federal Reserve Bank, as opposed to increasing oversight of the system, should elicit a kind of déjà vu because the scenario has been played before. (Note: Increasing oversight does not mean policy disclosure.) In 1997-8, [...]