Movies and Politics

The folks on the Right are doing some movie-watching.  Actually, they’re watching box office receipts and trying to link them to politics.  The problem is, the equation is more than a little bit flawed…

The political implications of box-office receipts (or the lack thereof)

I tend not to pay too much attention to Hollywood news, better yet the details of box-office receipts, but apparently, conservatives have been closely following opening-weekend numbers for politically-themed movies. And they want to gloat. According to the AP, “Bee Movie” was #1 this week, followed by “American Gangster,” and “Fred Claus.” Coming in fourth was [...]

Iraq Today

Quite simply, the best explanation of a story I’ve been seeing all over the place; one that didn’t make full sense to me, until now.

Iraq is a Sovereign Nation?

Iraq is a sovereign nation according to statements made by President Bush and countless of his officials in countless speeches. Except Mr. Bush doesn’t understand the concept of sovereignty very well. This isn’t how a sovereign nation is supposed to be treated: “BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. forces on Monday rebuffed demands from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for three former high-ranking members of Saddam Hussein’s government and military to be handed over so they could be hanged. The U.S. military said it would continue to keep the men in its [... ]

These Are Dismal Days

So, AMERICAblog gets a bit snarky, talking about the housing bubble..

Republican trickle down economics – it really works!

Interesting. A few decades after Reagan and we are finally seeing trickle down economics work. Who would have guessed?  “As the housing market crumbles, homeowners are worried about [...]

Getting it All Wrong

Federal agencies must opperate out of some handbook that says you can create any “evidence” that you want, and the American media and the public will buy it.  Hook. Line. Sinker.

What FEMA knew and when they knew it

FEMA responds at their website to the CBS news story on how emails show the agency prohibited their employees from entering trailers due to dangerous formaldehyde levels. It is a great example of truthiness as FEMA focuses on unoccupied trailers [...]

Say What?

Give me a break!  Not serious, are they?

Lou Dobbs For President?

Is populist CNN broadcast Lou Dobbs mulling a political future? Writing at CNN.com last week, Dobbs said, “One year from now, we will have elected a new president. As eager as I am for that reality, I can’t imagine any one of the current candidates for their party’s nomination being chosen by the American people to lead this nation for the next four years. I believe the person elected a year from now will be [...]

Social Security

It’s still not in a crisis.  Surprised?  You probably are if you’re coming from the right.  Or pay close attention to Obama.  That’s right.  This story has gotten so confused, so mixed up, that even smart people can’t keep things straight.

Senator Obama, Please Stop Echoing Right-Wing Lies About Social Security!

Barack Obama is echoing the right’s destructive narrative about Social Security being in crisis. The crisis is that Reagan and then Bush took all the money from the Social Security Trust Fund to use for tax cuts for the rich. (Clinton’s surpluses were paying it back, Bush reversed that.) And now the Trust Fund is going to need some of that money back  The right’s line is that this means Social Security is in crisis, is “not going to be there” for the next generation, and “tough choices” are required. The audacity [...]

Piling On

You knew it would happen as soon as/if he started climbing in the polls.  The critics are going after Mike Huckabee, digging up some old videotape, and not pulling any punches.  The Chicago Tribune blog takes note:

Conservatives target a once tax-happy Huckabee

Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, has gotten into contests with Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, about who cut more taxes in their time. That’s a strong currency in the campaign for the Republican Party’s nomination for president. But the Club for Growth, a conservative, anti-tax organization that likes to target candidates it accuses of liberal and big-spending ideas, is having some fun today with videotape of Huckabee addressing the Arkansas assembly in May 2003 with an invitation to raise taxes – seemingly any tax – to fill [...]

It’s Not Just Bookeeping

It’s good old common sense.  You don’t just drop all these weapons into the middle of a war and not expect something to happen.

Today’s Must Read

How did more than 190,000 weapons sent to Iraq for the Iraqi security forces disappear almost as soon as they were unloaded off the C-17s? [...]

Money to Burn

It’s almost beyond comprehension.  The fact that one man has this much money to spend on something so extravagant.  I guess the question that comes to mind (as it always does in thinking about stories like this) is “how much good work could that much money have done?”

Saudi buys world’s largest plane

A Saudi billionaire was named today as the first private buyer of an A380 superjumbo, the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who is at No 13 on the Forbes list of global billionaires, is already the only private owner of a Boeing 747-400, the top-of-the-range jumbo, but has apparently decided that he needs just a little bit more legroom. The A380, which entered service with [...]

Confession? Apology?

Richard Armitage was on CNN yesterday and what he said is being widely reported today as an admission that he leaked Valerie Plame’s name AND an apology for doing so.  Some bloggers are thinking it wasn’t quite that full of an admission.

Reason No. 384 Why I Love Our Commenters

Richard Armitage was a guest on CNN’s Late Edition yesterday.  Crooks and Liars has the full clip of his appearance where, surprisingly, he was asked about his betrayal of Valerie Plame Wilson (to both Bob Novak and Bob Woodward, just to be clear on all the facts, since only Novak comes up).  Armitage’s response was [...]

Flying Saucers

And other strange stories…

Area 52: The Other Secret Site

Tired of staring at grainy images of Area 51? There’s also, Area 52, another secretive Nevada range alleged by some to house vast underground facilities. Local Las Vegas television reports on these controversial claims: “[John] Lear alleges that a clean [...]

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

It seems to have taken a couple of days for the blogosphere to come up with reaction to the J-J Dinner in Iowa Saturday night.  Maybe I just didn’t stumble on it during my infrequent chances to skim bloglines Sunday.  Whatever the reason, I’ll defer to Andrew Sullivan for links to some reviews.  Overall, not good for Clinton.  Pretty darn good for Obama.

Email From Iowa

A caucus-goer writes: “It’s almost 4AM Iowa time. I got home from the Jefferson-Jackson dinner and tuned in C-SPAN to watch it replayed. A couple of things were clear to anyone in the hall that did not translate to C-SPAN [....]

And, more showing up in the papers today:

Behind the Scenes at Iowa’s Jefferson Jackson Dinner

From technical glitches to sign wars, the New York Times has a good behind the scenes look at the making of Saturday night’s Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa. [...]

Where, Oh Where, Did the Weekend Go?

I went into the weekend thinking it was going to provide a bit more free time than most. Nice thought, but not the way it worked out.  I’m not sure why, but the two days flashed by at supersonice speed.  And, here we are, already at Monday evening.

First off, let me share a most interesting piece I stumbled on a few moments ago.  A piece on the outspoken Norman Mailer.  I didn’t realize he had been so stridently anti-Bush Administration.

PEEK: Norman Mailer Brawled With Bush to the Bitter End

John Nichols: Mailer did not hesitate to suggest that Bush and his compatriots were setting up “a pre-fascistic atmosphere in America.” [...]

If you’re just getting up to speed on Mr. Mailer’s works, here’s a wonderful tribute piece…

Norman Mailer 1923 – 2007

Respecting the adage that no one wants to speak ill of the dead, Cook compiles impressions of Norman Mailer written while he was alive. As a result this tribute piece paints a marvelous portrait of the legendary writer. From Arthur Miller’s assertion that their personalities “could hardly mesh” to Mailer’s rather vulgar but literary performance as a dinner guest at a gathering thrown by Christopher Isherwood, this article is full of warm, genuine anecdotes. With contributions from [...]