Ted Baiamonte.
His Amazon Reviews.
His Book (sadly, no longer exists at Amazon. Never mind.)
His profile by the Farmer.
Ted's great burden is that no woman will ever touch him, no matter how much he offers to pay them.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Travel Day
Apologies, was in the belly of the beast for a bit. Normal blogging will resuming tomorrow...
Grand Old Police Blotter
Gonna plead guilty:
Tony Rudy, a former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, has agreed to plead guilty to charges in the widening federal investigation of lobbyist fraud, a law enforcement official said Friday.
A hearing was scheduled Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, where Rudy was expected to enter his plea.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been filed with the court.
Project 354 Has Become Project 83
Lots of overnight Nedrenaline apparently, though not all through this site of course. Nearing the goal of 3000 online donations.
I've got a fever! And the only prescription is... more cowbell!
I've got a fever! And the only prescription is... more cowbell!
They Ask Questions
Koppelman:
Good question.
So here’s the question: Given her use of racist code language, given her spreading of a myth propagated otherwise by white supremacists, given her public links with a hate group, why is Michelle Malkin given the mainstream forum I would not be were I to have been serious in quoting the Protocols of the Elders of Zion earlier?
Good question.
Joementum!
Even an Obama appearance can't help this guy. From Obama's speech at the Connecticut fundraiser:
As the article reminds us, that's a reference to this:
One of Obama's speechwriters stuck a little stink bomb in there.
But Obama later mocked Lieberman, most likely inadvertently, when he described Bush as measuring progress in Iraq in terms of the increasing number of cellphones in use there, but ignoring the number of flag-draped coffins arriving at Andrews Air Force Base.
As the article reminds us, that's a reference to this:
One of those who has seen that progress is Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman. Senator Lieberman has traveled to Iraq four times in the past 17 months, and the article he wrote when he returned from his most recent trip provides a clear description of the situation on the ground. Here's what Senator Lieberman wrote -- Senator Lieberman wrote about the Iraq he saw: "Progress is visible and practical. There are many more cars on the streets, satellite television dishes on the roofs, and literally millions more cell phones in Iraq hands than before." He describes an Iraqi poll showing that, "two-thirds [of Iraqis] say they are better off than they were under Saddam Hussein."
One of Obama's speechwriters stuck a little stink bomb in there.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Project 354
The blogosphere is vast. Gazillions of people read liberal bloggers.
Lamont only needs 354 more donations to meet the goal of 3000. $10 all you can give? No problem.
Lamont only needs 354 more donations to meet the goal of 3000. $10 all you can give? No problem.
Fundraising Deadline Tomorrow
If you have a favorite candidate who you want to get some love from the big boys at some point now would be a good time donate. For better or for worse the ability to raise money is a key indicator of whether or not you can be a good candidate, so making that a bit easier for your favorites is the way to send the right signal.
Rummy Rumors
Obviously for the good of the country and the military he should go, though probably the political upside would be for Bush.
Minute of Hate
I hope Jill Carroll stays in Iraq long enough for her position as the latest public enemy #1 of the right to end. As I said, her crime is apparently helping Iraqis.
What are we doing there again?
What are we doing there again?
More Cowbell
Email from Lamont:
You can donate through those links or this one.
(.mp3)
Dear Duncan,
It's coming down to the wire. During the past 48 hours our campaign has grown to over 2,520 contributors. We only need 480 more to reach our goal of 3,000 by the first filing deadline, March 31.
Take us over the top:
https://secure.nedlamont.com/page/contribute
We can make a stand right now and show that this campaign is here to stay. Our challenge is to demonstrate we have the fortitude and drive to win, but we only have one day left.
https://secure.nedlamont.com/page/contribute
Please forward this email to friends and family who care about the future of our country, and ask them to contribute.
Your support now will make the difference in August.
Thank you,
Ned Lamont
You can donate through those links or this one.
(.mp3)
Whiner
A Hartford Courant columnist discovers that Lieberman is a whiny ass titty baby.
So far the Lieberman campaign has been a dream for Lamont. They've played it exactly wrong, providing the media with exactly the campaign frame that the Lamont people want.
...
It started the first day. The day Ned Lamont announced his run for the Democratic Senate nomination, Sen. Joseph Lieberman's campaign put out a blistering press release.
"Attacking Senator Lieberman's character and integrity was a predictable but dishonorable way to begin this campaign," it started. "Mr. Lamont is clearly going to run a very negative and angry campaign where the truth doesn't get in the way."
Can't you imagine the sparks flying as they typed that bad boy? What could Lamont have done to poor Joe?
He called him "Republican Lite."
He said he was "George Bush's favorite Democrat."
Vicious stuff, huh?
...
Smith says Lieberman's campaign has been put in a corner: If they ignore Lamont's digs, Lieberman gets accused of being out of touch. If they engage, Smith said, he's accused of overreacting.
But the Lieberman campaign isn't engaging, it's whining. And there's another way to counter Lamont.
What strikes me about Lieberman's thin skin is how unnecessary it all is. He's a decent guy with a good record in many areas - someone who can hold his own in any debate about Democratic goals and values.
But unless his campaign strategy is to position himself as a coddled incumbent with an overgrown sense of entitlement, he ought to do just that.
So far the Lieberman campaign has been a dream for Lamont. They've played it exactly wrong, providing the media with exactly the campaign frame that the Lamont people want.
...
Busby
If you're in the area make sure you do what you can to help Francine Busby. If you're not, consider donating a bit.
She's polling as high as she has, and a good last minute push/ground game could get her over 50...
She's polling as high as she has, and a good last minute push/ground game could get her over 50...
More Baghdad Photos
Our media sure is covering up the reconstruction work. We're even building a recycling center!
Droopy Dog Makes a Threat
Trust me, there's probably nothing funnier than hearing George Bush's favorite senator, Droopy Dog Lieberman, say "I'm not going to let them get away with it."
Someone needs to work this into a club song.
Someone needs to work this into a club song.
Carroll
Glad she was released. As far as I can tell the wingers hate her because she actually cared about the Iraqi people.
What are we doing there again?
What are we doing there again?
Red America
I wonder if Neal Boortz qualifies as a proper representative:
BOORTZ: ...The United Nations and the Euro-weenies, who have their own immigration problem with their own "M" word; It's Muslims for them. They will start screaming about human rights violations like you've never heard them screaming before. They are not going to be shipped back. I mean, Royal, think about -- Mexico doesn't want 'em back, first of all. Think what happens if we round -- first of all, where do we store 11 million Hispanics just waiting to ship 'em back to Nicaragua, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico. Where do we store 'em?
ROYAL MARSHALL (show engineer and occasional co-host): That's a good point.
BOORTZ: You know, the Atlanta Coliseum? I know --
MARSHALL: Superdome!
BOORTZ: The Superdome! Exactly. And the Astrodome in Houston. That's where we'll put 'em. We've got practice. Got practice. But where are we -- and then, what happens if Mexico says, "We ain't taking 'em back"?
ARMs
CNN's doing a little bit about the impact of rising interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages. I'm guessing we're hitting the point where a fairly big wave of ARMs are becoming untethered from their initial loocked-in rates. Also, interest rates on variable rate home equity loans are heading up...
Somewhat related, the real danger to the economy going forward is the softening construction market.
Somewhat related, the real danger to the economy going forward is the softening construction market.
Fristed
My videotape diagnosis tells me that Frist's presidential campaign is brain dead and should have its feeding tube removed.
Not Red Enough
At some point I figured out that a primary reason The Washington Post chose Domenech was that despite his many flaws he wasn't much of a homophobe. The wankerific TNR says it's because he wasn't Red enough. They might be the same thing.
Vaffanculo
Boston Herald:
Despite Scalia’s insistence that the Sicilian gesture was not offensive and had been incorrectly characterized by the Herald as obscene, the photographer said the newspaper “got the story right.”
Smith said the jurist “immediately knew he’d made a mistake, and said, ‘You’re not going to print that, are you?’ ”
Scalia’s office yesterday referred questions regarding the flap to Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg, who said a letter Scalia sent Tuesday to the Herald defending his gesture at the cathedral “speaks for itself.”
...
“The judge paused for a second, then looked directly into my lens and said, ‘To my critics, I say, ‘Vaffanculo,’ ” punctuating the comment by flicking his right hand out from under his chin, Smith said.
The Italian phrase means “(expletive) you.”
In other words, he didn't just make the sign for "fuck you" he said "fuck you." In church. What will we tell the children.
...My vast research into Sicilian obscenities reveals that while the word/sign is used as we would use "fuck you" or similar it actually means something along the lines of "go take it in the ass."
ITMFA
While I'm certainly happy to welcome all fellow travellers did I miss ITMFA creator Dan Savage's mea culpa over the Iraq war and his denunciations of those who opposed it?
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
The Internets
NPR:
Yes, it was really an example of things going right and not simply because I think the final ruling was great. It's true that people on both sides learned. I learned far more about campaign finance law than I ever wanted to (and which I hope to quickly forget) and the FEC commissioners also really seemed to take the time to "get it." That people involved in the process understood campaign finance law was important because when you're lobbying Congress you can ask for a pony, but when you're trying to influence a body like the FEC you have to understand that the legal framework they're operating under doesn't necessarily let them give you a pony, or at least that you're going to have to offer up a complex rationalization for why they should, in fact, give you a pony.
NPR's political money-tracker Peter Overby was floored by the ruling and the process by which it came about. He says it was a stunning example of everything going... right.
The process was characterized by a tone of civility not usually seen inside the Beltway. Granted, that's a pretty low standard. But Overby says initially when talks began, the FEC and good-government groups had no understanding of bloggers -- or much else about the Internet for that matter. Bloggers had no clue how campaign financing rules and regs worked. But somehow the two sides actually began to understand each other.
The core of the decision is a recognition that the Internet is a unique medium. In traditional politics, money buys influence. On the Internet, influence raises money. And a bunch of a little bloggers, each with a million readers, can have a big influence. But the FEC isn't worried about the little guy. As long as you aren't being paid by a campaign, nothing you do online will be considered a contribution. Only traditional paid political ads on Web sites are subject to the old campaign rules.
Yes, it was really an example of things going right and not simply because I think the final ruling was great. It's true that people on both sides learned. I learned far more about campaign finance law than I ever wanted to (and which I hope to quickly forget) and the FEC commissioners also really seemed to take the time to "get it." That people involved in the process understood campaign finance law was important because when you're lobbying Congress you can ask for a pony, but when you're trying to influence a body like the FEC you have to understand that the legal framework they're operating under doesn't necessarily let them give you a pony, or at least that you're going to have to offer up a complex rationalization for why they should, in fact, give you a pony.
Ripping Us Off
Josh Marshall has a right to be pissed. Look, personally I've never cared about getting credit for stuff other media types might happen to lift from this site. I was anonymous for a couple of years and I know that a good way to undercut the validity of a story is to credit its origin to "some anonymous dude on the internet" even if the reporter has verified the information independently. A few times I've told reporters/editors/columnists to run with stuff they find here without crediting me. I've always been interested in just getting the good stuff out there and not really caring how it's done or where it comes from, and it's silly to try to take credit for stuff which is often highly collaborative between readers, other blogs, me, etc., just because I have a big megaphone.
Most of all, original reporting isn't the focus here and even if occasional acts of reporting happen I'm not trying to establish Eschaton as credible news outlet the way that Josh and Raw Story are. While journalism doesn't have the same citation standards of academia, and it generally shouldn't, reporters shouldn't feel entitled to rip things off just because they were originally reported on the internets.
I'm sure Alt Weekly reporters are chuckling to themselves, "welcome to our world..."
Most of all, original reporting isn't the focus here and even if occasional acts of reporting happen I'm not trying to establish Eschaton as credible news outlet the way that Josh and Raw Story are. While journalism doesn't have the same citation standards of academia, and it generally shouldn't, reporters shouldn't feel entitled to rip things off just because they were originally reported on the internets.
I'm sure Alt Weekly reporters are chuckling to themselves, "welcome to our world..."
Let's Engage Her In Debate
Let's make her deny it.
Palm Beach County's elections supervisor has given the right wing's unofficial mouthpiece 30 days to explain why she voted in the wrong precinct.
In a registered letter scheduled to be sent to her this week, Coulter is asked to "clarify certain information as to her legal residence," elections boss Arthur Anderson said.
"We want to give her a chance," Anderson said. "She needs to tell us where she really lives."
Or else? He could refer the case to State Attorney Barry Krischer for criminal charges, Anderson said.
Baghdad's Safe!
Hilarious. This is apparently the best picture Kaloogian could obtain from his visit to Iraq to illustrate his point:
Love the last sentence.
Downtown Baghdad
We originally posted a photograph not of Baghdad, Iraq but from Istanbul, Turkey where our delegation traveled on the way home to the United States. We apologize for this mistake. We have corrected it with a photograph we took from Baghdad. We took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq. Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it - in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism.
Love the last sentence.
The Ben Follies
Wonkette has some information which may or not be true. I have no idea. Caveat lector, yada yada.
Pseudonymity
With respect to this issue, it's my strongly held belief that one of the great features of the internet is that it lets anybody participate in the public discourse without having to be concerned with how it impacts your life otherwise. In addition, the potentially VERY PUBLIC nature of the internet makes the choice to hide one's identity the smart thing to do for most people. Not everyone has career in which current or future employment wouldn't be affected by what they post on a blog. Not everyone lives in an area with tolerant neighbors.
Any reporter who passes along without verification something they found on some random website somewhere is an idiot, but that has little to do with whether the identity of the person running the website is known or not.
...just adding, there's a difference between simply quoting an anonymous blog, as in "Internet commentator AlGoreRox asserts 'Bush is a big weenie'" and passing on unverified or unverifiable information from a blog, such as "AlGoreRox say Bush is a child molester." The latter is what reporters shouldn't do, but of course it's something they should be hesitant to do whether that's an anonymous blogger, a named blogger, or Karl Rove.
Any reporter who passes along without verification something they found on some random website somewhere is an idiot, but that has little to do with whether the identity of the person running the website is known or not.
...just adding, there's a difference between simply quoting an anonymous blog, as in "Internet commentator AlGoreRox asserts 'Bush is a big weenie'" and passing on unverified or unverifiable information from a blog, such as "AlGoreRox say Bush is a child molester." The latter is what reporters shouldn't do, but of course it's something they should be hesitant to do whether that's an anonymous blogger, a named blogger, or Karl Rove.
Don't Talk About Iraq
Judd Ledum has the right take on what's missing from the Democrats' national security plan. This is what happens when you have to keep Joe "lost the plot" Lieberman on board.
The real issue isn't what Democrats are saying about Iraq now. The real issue is knowing what they're going to say in October, and laying the foundation now to do that. In the plan:
Early November is pretty near the end of 2006 and at that time, I imagine, Iraq will still be shit. If 2006 fails to be "a year of significant transition" what will Democrats be saying then? Forget the unified message now, what will be the unified message then?
Through the miracle of time travel I've recevied an advance copy of their 2010 national security plan:
(linked post seems to have disappeared. maybe it will return.)
The real issue isn't what Democrats are saying about Iraq now. The real issue is knowing what they're going to say in October, and laying the foundation now to do that. In the plan:
Ensure 2006 is a year of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with the Iraqis assuming primary responsibility for securing and governing their country and with the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces.
Early November is pretty near the end of 2006 and at that time, I imagine, Iraq will still be shit. If 2006 fails to be "a year of significant transition" what will Democrats be saying then? Forget the unified message now, what will be the unified message then?
Through the miracle of time travel I've recevied an advance copy of their 2010 national security plan:
Ensure 2010 is a year of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with the Iraqis assuming primary responsibility for securing and governing their country and with the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces, and a pony.
(linked post seems to have disappeared. maybe it will return.)
Victory
Attempts to seriously regulate the internets are finally dead for the moment. HR 1606 will provide a weapon to use against zombie reform efforts which will keep coming back to life.
To make something clear I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea that some day we might be confronted with problems with politics/internets which require a legislative solution. But those problems will only be an issue if they're problems with money and the internet and not simply, as many seem to see it, a problem with letting all sorts of crazy people say whatever they want!
...just wanted to add one more thing which I think has been largely left out of the discussion. The person most likely to have gotten nicked by various reform proposals would've been Markos because he spends a lot of money to run his site. But Markos does't spend that money specifically to promote federal candidates, or for bandwidth for his endorsements, he spends it on the community features of his blog. You need a bunch of servers to power the diaries, comments, etc... and not simply to push a message out over the internets. Basic bandwidth without any real database power is still free or cheap. Markos spends a lot of money to empower others to speak, not to give himself a mightier personal platform.
To make something clear I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea that some day we might be confronted with problems with politics/internets which require a legislative solution. But those problems will only be an issue if they're problems with money and the internet and not simply, as many seem to see it, a problem with letting all sorts of crazy people say whatever they want!
...just wanted to add one more thing which I think has been largely left out of the discussion. The person most likely to have gotten nicked by various reform proposals would've been Markos because he spends a lot of money to run his site. But Markos does't spend that money specifically to promote federal candidates, or for bandwidth for his endorsements, he spends it on the community features of his blog. You need a bunch of servers to power the diaries, comments, etc... and not simply to push a message out over the internets. Basic bandwidth without any real database power is still free or cheap. Markos spends a lot of money to empower others to speak, not to give himself a mightier personal platform.
The Problem In America
According to Senator Cornyn:
(tip from Pere Ubu)
Well, you know, that's the problem in America, we're always having elections.
(tip from Pere Ubu)
Baghdad, Turkey
Josh Marshall stayed up a bit late to get more on this. And the General goes to Baghdad, CA.
...and don't forgot to throw a few dimes to Francine Busby, the non-liar candidate in the race.
...and don't forgot to throw a few dimes to Francine Busby, the non-liar candidate in the race.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Personal Responsibility
Lying freak, and regular reader, Rick Santorum doesn't think the concept applies to him.
The Matrix
This is one of those posts which people are going to assume is about me complaining, but it really isn't. Sometimes I get the sense that people think I'm Neo of the blogosphere, downloading the entire matrix into my noggin in real time at all times. That's not the case. If I don't link to your brilliant post/blog/whatever there's a good chance that I'm simply unaware of it.
Sensible blogwhoring is encouraged, though despite much commentary suggesting otherwise I'm not the "Instapundit of the Left." I generally read through and fact check stuff I link to, and don't simply link to whatever random stuff might support my worldview that day. That takes time and I'm only human so depending on whatever else is in the queue that day you might simply be overlooked...
Sensible blogwhoring is encouraged, though despite much commentary suggesting otherwise I'm not the "Instapundit of the Left." I generally read through and fact check stuff I link to, and don't simply link to whatever random stuff might support my worldview that day. That takes time and I'm only human so depending on whatever else is in the queue that day you might simply be overlooked...
Send in the Media Critics
Good idea. I'd love Howie Kurtz's nuanced views of reporting from Iraq.
Send some of the Pajamliners too.
Send some of the Pajamliners too.
Got His Back
Jane's going to make sure Ramesh has lots of support whenever he promotes his new book.
Olbermann Beats CNN
In the 25-54 age demo which determines advertising rates.
Maybe there's a message there for CNN and MSNBC.
Maybe there's a message there for CNN and MSNBC.
Latino Alert
Via Rox, this open letter to the media is good.
The "foreignization" of all Latinos in this country has been strange. Not that it's entirely new of course, but it seems to be strengthening.
The "foreignization" of all Latinos in this country has been strange. Not that it's entirely new of course, but it seems to be strengthening.
More 1606
From Allison Hayward:
This is right I think, and by being on the trickier-to-defend side of this debate could end up leading the debate somewhere we don't want it to go...
I believe that the original Internet exclusion was proper, and it is too bad that we had to go through all this. Having said that, what 1606 advocates may find is that they are in the tricky position of asserting dissatisfaction with a decent rule. They will have to make the case that paid Internet advertising is not “general public political advertising” and I think they will be vulnerable to the accusation that their “true” agenda - “allowing soft money into the system” blah blah blah, could be the only logical reason for their dissatisfaction.
I’m not saying that this accusation is fair or accurate, but it seems to me that’s how the argument unfolds in the face of today’s vote, and it puts the 1606 folks in a bad spot. The “perfect” can be the enemy of the “good” - and not just when it is the CDT doing the pushing. Maybe I am wrong and you should feel free to comment if I’m neglecting an important angle.
This is right I think, and by being on the trickier-to-defend side of this debate could end up leading the debate somewhere we don't want it to go...
1606
HR 1606 which I had supported in the past due to concerns about what the FEC was going to do may still come up for a vote. The bill would basically exempt the internet entirely from campaign finance law. While I don't think the bill itself is bad, I also don't think it's necessary at this point. More importantly, if itcomes up it could get loaded up with amendments which would pave the way for more meddling. Or, if it fails it could provide grist for the "reform" community as a signal of congressional intent regarding internet regulation if they decide to run back to court.
From my perspective the current status quo, established yesterday, is just fine and it would be best to embrace it for the moment. I don't think 1606 is a bad Bill but I don't think it's necessary either. And bringing it up for a vote could potentially end up causing the problems it's designed to avoid. The FEC action yesterday has already achieved what we wanted.
From my perspective the current status quo, established yesterday, is just fine and it would be best to embrace it for the moment. I don't think 1606 is a bad Bill but I don't think it's necessary either. And bringing it up for a vote could potentially end up causing the problems it's designed to avoid. The FEC action yesterday has already achieved what we wanted.
The McCain Strategy
Two-faced McCain is relying on the fact that his good buddies in the media won't bother to notice who his new friends are, or that he's "flip-flopped."
He's probably right.
He's probably right.
Feel the Nedrenaline!
In my inbox:
You can contribute through the links above or through the Eschaton Act Blue page.
Contrary to Lieberman's attempts to claim otherwise, this isn't about "one issue" or even just about Lieberman's hostility to Democrats. Remember this:
Short ride.
Dear Duncan,
We have something to prove. On Friday at midnight our campaign faces its first quarterly fundraising deadline. More than 2,355 of you have already stepped up and contributed online - help us hit 3,000 by our deadline.
https://secure.nedlamont.com/page/contribute
This campaign has gone farther in one month than I ever imagined. Just this week, 16 of the 22 delegates elected to the State Party convention from Greenwich have pledged their support to my campaign. Not a single delegate endorsed Joe Lieberman.
Don't let anyone fool you - Joe Lieberman is worried. His campaign is continually making the ludicrous claim that this is a single-issue campaign. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Of course I oppose Joe Lieberman's stand on the War in Iraq, as do 60% of Americans. I also believe that the $ 250 million a day we spend in Iraq would be better spent ensuring that everyone have quality, affordable health care, and that the war is distracting us from developing real solutions for our future energy and education needs. I would have lead the fight against Samuel Alito' lifelong appointment to the Supreme Court and will hold the Bush administration accountable for any illegal wiretapping.
https://secure.nedlamont.com/page/contribute
This quarterly deadline is important for so many reasons. Right now our campaign needs to show Connecticut we are for real. We need to show real broad base of support to show how our grassroots campaign can win against the Washington DC lobbyist money on August 8th. With a strong first quarter report, we can show them we are here to stay.
Help us reach 3,000 contributors:
https://secure.nedlamont.com/page/contribute
Thank you,
Ned Lamont
You can contribute through the links above or through the Eschaton Act Blue page.
Contrary to Lieberman's attempts to claim otherwise, this isn't about "one issue" or even just about Lieberman's hostility to Democrats. Remember this:
Lieberman said he believes hospitals that refuse to give contraceptives to rape victims for "principled reasons" shouldn't be forced to do so. "In Connecticut, it shouldn't take more than a short ride to get to another hospital," he said.
Short ride.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Sovereign
Whether or not the underlying charge has merits, if a sovereign nation tells us to piss of aren't we supposed to, you know, piss off?
And, yeah, I know that since they haven't quite successfully formed a government no one is really in charge...
IRAQ'S ruling parties have demanded US forces cede control of security as the government investigated a raid on a Shiite mosque complex that ministers said involved "cold blooded" killings by US-led troops.
US commanders rejected the charges and said their accusers faked evidence by moving bodies of gunmen killed fighting Iraqi troops in an office compound. It was not a mosque, they said.
As Shiite militiamen fulminated over Sunday's deaths of at least 16 people in Baghdad, an al-Qaeda led group said it staged one of the bloodiest Sunni insurgent attacks in months. A suicide bomber killed 40 Iraqi army recruits in northern Iraq.
The Iraqi Defence Ministry said a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt also wounded 30 at a base near Mosul.
After 24 hours of limited communication, US commanders mounted a media offensive to deny Shiite accounts of a mosque massacre and portray instead a bold and disciplined operation by US-trained Iraqi special forces that killed 16 fighters and freed a hapless Iraqi hostage being held to ransom for $US20,000 ($28,400).
Three gunmen were wounded and 18 people detained.
"After the fact, someone went in and made the scene look different from what it was," Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli said of footage aired extensively on state television showing the bodies of apparently unarmed civilians in a mosque.
And, yeah, I know that since they haven't quite successfully formed a government no one is really in charge...
On the Religion Thing
Digby writes:
This is an issue I fave all of the time. It's really not in my business to promote the "Religious Left" as it's not really my job to choose sides in religion. But when it intersects with something I do have a comment on - unfair treatment by the media - then of course I'm happy to bring attention to it.
We've had quite a few discussions about religion on this blog lately, which led me to believe that there is a serious need for the religious left to assert itself and make a case for Democratic religiosity. The Republicans simply do not own the church and they have no right to claim they do.
but I, being a non-believer, cannot make that case effectively. I can't even discuss it in terms other than dry pragmatic political language. So, I'm thrilled to read through Street Prophets that the United Church of Christ has teamed up with Media Matters to "fight the pronounced tilt toward the Religious Right in mainstream media news."
This is an issue I fave all of the time. It's really not in my business to promote the "Religious Left" as it's not really my job to choose sides in religion. But when it intersects with something I do have a comment on - unfair treatment by the media - then of course I'm happy to bring attention to it.
Religion in the Media
Only in upside down universe could tolerance be controversial and intolerance embraced.
Street Prophets has more.
Street Prophets has more.
Manners
Republican Jesus wholeheartedly approves of flipping the bird in church.
I love how Scalia thinks he gets to order the press around.
A Boston Herald reporter asked the 70-year-old conservative Roman Catholic if he faces much questioning over impartiality when it comes to issues separating church and state.
"You know what I say to those people?" Scalia replied, making the obscene gesture and explaining "That's Sicilian."
The 20-year veteran of the high court was caught making the gesture by a photographer with The Pilot, the Archdiocese of Boston's newspaper.
"Don't publish that," Scalia told the photographer, the Herald said.
I love how Scalia thinks he gets to order the press around.
6-0
I didn't think there was any doubt, but the FEC held their vote and unanimously approved the new regs.
Ellen Weintraub deserves special credit. She was the Dem commissioner who really came around to our view of the issues and I think really got what our primary point was -- that regulations which make total sense in the "real world" can't easily be reapplied to the internet in a way that makes any sense and that the money/power link is largely absent in the virtual world.
And, also kudos to the Republican commissioners, including Chairman Toner and former commissioner Brad Smith, for being on board the whole time. This could have been an utter disaster, but it appears to have all worked out in the end...
The Federal Election Commission decided Monday that the nation's new campaign finance law will not apply to most political activity on the Internet.
In a 6-0 vote, the commission decided to regulate only paid political ads placed on another person's Web site.
The decision means that bloggers and online publications will not be covered by provisions of the new election law. Internet bloggers and individuals will therefore be able to use the Internet to attack or support federal candidates without running afoul of campaign spending and contribution limits.
"It's a win, win, win," Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said, adding that the rule would satisfy concerns of campaigns, individuals and the Internet community about whether the campaign finance law applies to Internet political activity.
Ellen Weintraub deserves special credit. She was the Dem commissioner who really came around to our view of the issues and I think really got what our primary point was -- that regulations which make total sense in the "real world" can't easily be reapplied to the internet in a way that makes any sense and that the money/power link is largely absent in the virtual world.
And, also kudos to the Republican commissioners, including Chairman Toner and former commissioner Brad Smith, for being on board the whole time. This could have been an utter disaster, but it appears to have all worked out in the end...
Howell on Box Turtle
Glad to see wilting flower Debbie is gone and potty mouth Debbie has returned.
It just happens that former Pioneer Press editor Deborah Howell, now the Post's ombudsman, was in our newsroom today for a Q&A session on journalism topics. I asked her about the Domenech affair.
Her reply: "I can't defend it. It's a f****in' disaster."
Anne Dicker for PA State House
I know it's too much to ask my mostly national audience to care much about a state race, though I will say that moving ahead to 2000 the most important races in the country will in fact be state elections. Still I hope local people consider helping out and getting involved in Anne's campaign. I went to the launch party last week and she did a great job. One of her opponents bowed out and endorsed her, which was nice to see. Anne's one of those people who everyone pretty much warms to right away and she's definitely someone we want in government.
Most importantly if you live in her district make sure to go vote. There are two traditional machine candidates in the primary and this is a test of whether the new machine - Philly for Change - can get the votes out.
Most importantly if you live in her district make sure to go vote. There are two traditional machine candidates in the primary and this is a test of whether the new machine - Philly for Change - can get the votes out.
Bush Lied
Fortunately congress is considering legislation which would bring his lying back under the umbrella of truth.
The Good News
I know this has been said by others and no matter how many times it is restated paste-eaters like Jeff Goldstein will faily to comprehend but I'll give it one more try.
Imagine if 30 people were killed every day by car bombs in US cities. Monday, 30 dead in Denver. Tuesday, 30 dead in San Francisco. Wednesday, 30 dead in Philadelphia. You get the idea.
Now scale that roughly relative to population size. Make that 300 dead per day. Every day. Would the lead story on the evening news be about all the people who weren't blown up that day? No. The country would be completely hysterical.
Imagine if 30 people were killed every day by car bombs in US cities. Monday, 30 dead in Denver. Tuesday, 30 dead in San Francisco. Wednesday, 30 dead in Philadelphia. You get the idea.
Now scale that roughly relative to population size. Make that 300 dead per day. Every day. Would the lead story on the evening news be about all the people who weren't blown up that day? No. The country would be completely hysterical.
Where's the Report?
It's not as pressing an issue as it was last year when blogging seemed to be all about Social Security, but I'm wondering when the annual Social Security Trustees Report is going to arrive. Last year it came out on March 23.
We Won
I'll let Adam B explain below, but the short version is that the FEC has basically done nothing but bring in paid advertising on someone else's website under their current regulatory blanket. They've done nothing which could jeapordize the kinds of activities that go on in the blogosphere generally. I imagine there's a good chance the regulators or the reform community will sue the FEC again, but let's hope not. Here's Adam B:
(Normally this would've just gone up on Kos, but Markos is in the middle of the book tour and Adam is on the road so I thought I'd get it out there now. Might be repeated on Kos later)
The netroots have won.
Not an election, mind you - though those victories will come - but an official governmental recognition that what you all do is a valuable part of the democratic experiment, and one which should not be thwarted by the incursion of the federal government.
Today, the Federal Election Commission will vote to approve its final regulations regarding political activity on the Internet. As you know, we had dreaded these regulations for a year and did everything we could to influence or stop them altogether - submitting our own comments to the FEC and encouraging you to do the same (and you did, in the thousands), testifying before the FEC and Congress, and pressuring Capitol Hill to pass legislation protecting the medium.
Congress punted, but something remarkable happened -- though it's not something which ought to be remarkable: the Federal Election Commission reviewed all the comments, asked pointed questions during two days of hearings, deliberated for months . . . and ended up with the only logical conclusion that the facts, technology and law could warrant:Through this rulemaking, the Commission recognizes the Internet as a unique and evolving mode of mass communication and political speech that is distinct from other media in a manner that warrants a restrained regulatory approach. ...
As a whole, these final rules will make plain that the vast majority of Internet communications are, and will remain, free from campaign finance regulation. To the greatest extent permitted ...the Commission is clarifying and affirming that Internet activities by individuals and groups of individuals face almost no regulatory burdens under the Federal Election Campaign Act. The need to safeguard Constitutionally-protected speech allows no other approach.
Over the next few weeks, I'll try to outline how the regulations will work, but here's the details:
What will be regulated: Paid advertising. If a communication is placed for a fee on someone else's website, the FEC rules regarding disclosure and coordination will apply.
What's protected: So much. It starts with explicit, broad protections for uncompensated individual or group activities for the purpose of influencing a federal election. In short, if you're using the Internet and aren't being paid by a campaign or party to do so, nothing you do will be considered a contribution to a campaign on an expenditure on its behalf. Even if you're in a group. Even if it's not a "blog" but some other form of internet participation, even ones that have yet to emerge. Even if it's not "news, media, or commentary" but just activism and organizing. Even if you've incorporated for liability purposes. Even if you're doing all that and are selling advertising space on your site to defray its costs. Even if you're making a profit. Even if you're using someone else's computer. Even if you're republishing a campaign's materials on your own site. All explicitly protected.
Oh, yeah: and websites are eligible for the same media exception available for print/radio/tv sources engaging in news, commentary and editorial activities. No matter how partisan, biased or imbalanced the site is. No matter - and they say this explicitly - if encourages readers to make donations to various candidates.
To be sure, there are still some details worthy of focus. For instance, the ad disclaimer requirements apply even to the tiniest Google AdWords purchase, though the FEC has promised that they will not seek enforcement against ads placed for a "nominal" fee.
Read the document, and don't be intimidated by its length. Most of it is a thoughtful review of each issue by the Commissioners, where they indicate the comments on each side, and explain their reasoning for each conclusion. This is how government agencies are supposed to function, and given the equal Republican/Democratic split on the FEC, its commissioners can.
Much thanks are due to our friends in Congress who raised and pressed these issues, and forced our opponents to show their hand; to the other committed advocates on our side, from Bob Bauer and Marc Elias at the Perkins Coie firm to John Morris and Leslie Harris at CDT, who did so much great organizing and advocacy from the early days (regardless of our differences on HR 4900); to Mike Krempasky of RedState, who despite what you might think is truly a decent guy (regardless of our differences on basically everything but this issue.)
Congress is set to reconsider HR 1606, the Online Freedom of Speech Act, this week. Honestly? I don't believe it's necessary now. These FEC regulations give as strong a set of legal protections as we could reasonably expect, and the best thing Congress can do now would be to find ways in the Record to simply affirm that the FEC approach reflects their beliefs, and that the regulations should be interpreted with a bent towards freedom.
As to those who opposed us along the way, know that we have long memories and vigilant friends. Nevermore will we abandon this turf to the "experts" who fear and criticize what they do not understand.
Markos, Duncan, Matt and I have fought this battle for a year because we believe that our ideas are better than our rivals', and that we will ultimately win in the ballot box so long as we're able to advocate freely on behalf of the candidates and positions we hold dear. Mike Krempasky and his conservative friends believe the same thing. Today's FEC vote allows us to prove it.
(Normally this would've just gone up on Kos, but Markos is in the middle of the book tour and Adam is on the road so I thought I'd get it out there now. Might be repeated on Kos later)
Immigration
Sadly I guess Congress is going to muck around with immigration. Not that the system shouldn't be changed, but there's no reason to trust the people running the show to do the right thing. I think sentiments like Oliver's make a lot of intuitive sense to people, but they're still basically wrong as a practical matter. A lot of illegal immigrants have been here a long time, have kids who are citizens, etc. Yes they broke the rules by coming here, and yes other people who come here legally did it the right way, but I can't get behind tearing up otherwise law-abiding families and sending people back to places where they may no longer have a home or a means of supporting themselves.
I understand what motivates people to be against amnesty programs. "Rewarding bad behavior" sounds like an unappealing thing to do. But the practical thing and the compassionate thing to do is to put large numbers of these people on the path citizenship.
Any kind of guest worker program is just awful. The creation of a permanent legal underclass will have numerous adverse consequences, even aside from the basic immorality of it.
Genuinely good immigration reform will require courageous political leadership and sensible politicians. We currently lack both.
I understand what motivates people to be against amnesty programs. "Rewarding bad behavior" sounds like an unappealing thing to do. But the practical thing and the compassionate thing to do is to put large numbers of these people on the path citizenship.
Any kind of guest worker program is just awful. The creation of a permanent legal underclass will have numerous adverse consequences, even aside from the basic immorality of it.
Genuinely good immigration reform will require courageous political leadership and sensible politicians. We currently lack both.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Red America
Sadly, No! researches Jim Brady's possible hires for him as apparently Jim doesn't even own a computer.
Finally Some News About the Schools
oy:
Their visit came as more violence was reported across Iraq, including a terrifying incident earlier in the week in the western city of Ramadi. On Wednesday, armed insurgents burst into the classroom of Khidhir al-Mihallawi, an English teacher at Sajariyah High School, accused him of being an agent for the CIA and Israeli intelligence and beheaded him in front of his students, according to students, fellow instructors and a physician at a local hospital.
One teacher, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because he feared retaliation from insurgents, said that most students ran from the classroom but that some stayed to watch. Many stopped coming to school after the incident, he said. Another teacher, who said he moved his mathematics class to his home to accommodate frightened students, said Mihallawi had earlier been threatened because he worked as a translator for U.S. forces in Ramadi, a hotbed of the Sunni Arab insurgency.
Mihallawi "looked at us just like he was telling us that we do not have to be scared. Even as we were running out of the door, his looks were still telling us that nothing will happen and we do not have to be scared," said a student, whose father asked that his name not be used. "I heard him screaming for a few seconds, then stop screaming."
What About the Schools?
Iraq:
American and Iraqi government forces clashed with Shiite militiamen in Baghdad tonight in the most serious confrontation in months, and Iraqi officials said the fighting left at least 17 Iraqis dead, including an 80-year-old imam.
The fighting erupted at a very combustible moment in Iraq, with sectarian tensions rising, leadership problems deepening, and dozens of mutilated bodies continuing to surface on Iraqi streets today.
Another concern is that the clash could open an old wound, because the militiamen who were killed worked for Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric who has already led several bloody rebellions against American forces.
Security in Baghdad seems to be deteriorating by the hour, and it is increasingly unclear who is in control. Earlier today, the Iraqi Interior Ministry reported that American forces raided a secret prison and arrested several Iraqi policeman.
American officials have been more overt in the past week than ever in blaming Shiite militias, in particular Mr. Sadr's Mahdi Army, for a wave of sectarian bloodshed that seems to have no end. This morning, authorities in Baghdad discovered the corpses of 10 more men, all bound, blindfolded and shot.
West Wing
Watch NBC make me look like an idiot, 8pm ET...
...ideally it would star me, as me, the dashing young blogger who smites evil, saves the world, and gets the girl, but in reality it's just a brief bit with an actor playing "Atrios."
...not quite as bad as I thought - Jon Bon Jovi did a really convincing Atrios.
...ideally it would star me, as me, the dashing young blogger who smites evil, saves the world, and gets the girl, but in reality it's just a brief bit with an actor playing "Atrios."
...not quite as bad as I thought - Jon Bon Jovi did a really convincing Atrios.
Merkin Patriot Writes a Letter
To Jim Brady:
Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:53:49 -0800 (PST)
From: "Merkin Patriot"
Subject: PLEASE LET ME BLOG YOU
To: [email protected]
DEAR MR BRADY
FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RECOVERY IT CAN TAKE MANY YEARS TO COME BACK FOR AN INJURY LIKE THAT SO IM HAPPY YOUR DOING OKAY AND EVEN THOUGH I VEMENTLY DISAGREE WITH YOUR STANCE ON GUN CONTROL I DONT BLAME YOU FOR THINKING FROM THE "LEFT" SIDE OF THE BRIAN SOMETIMES
I HEARD THAT YOU HAD A N OPENDING FOR A BLOG THAT WOULD CONTRACT THE TRASONOUS LEFT WING COMMIE BIASS YOU GUYS HAVE AT THE POST - SORRY FOR THE BLUNT LANGUANGE BUT FACTS ARE FASCT EVEN IF I HAVENT READ YOUR PAPER SINCE YOU MADE NIXON - ONE OF OUR MOST HORONABLE PRESIDENTS - STEP DOWN FOR WHAT HE DID IN WATERGATE SURE YOUR IDEA OF HORNABLE IS SOMEBODY LIKE BILL CLINTON BUT IF I MAY SPEAK IN YOUR TONGEU LET ME SAY WHAT THE FRENCH SAY: "LA VIE"
THEIRFORE TO GET BACK TO MY POINT I HUMBY OFFER MY SERVICES TO YOUR ONCE GREAT NEWSPAPER EVEN THOUGH I DONT HAVE A BLOG MY FINGER IS ON THE PULSE OF THE AMERICAN BODY POLITIC AND ITS BEATING TRUE BLUE RED WHITE AND BLUE IF YOU GET MY DIRFT
HERE ARE MY CONDITIONS
1. NOBODY GETS TO EDIT WHAT I WRITE. PEROID. THIS ISNT CUBA OR SOME OTHER COMMIE COUNTRY WHERE THEY TELL YOU HOW TOW RITE
2. YOU NEED TO PAY ME AND PAY ME GOOD (HEAR ME OUT) I BET YOU CAN AFFROD IT - I NEED MONEY TO FEED MY KIDS AND GET MY FIANCY OFF MY BACK ABOUT MY CURRENT LACK OF EMPLOYMENT YOU WOULD THINK SHED BE GREATFUL FOR MY TAKING HER OUT OF ONE OF THOSE EX-SOVITE QWERTYSTANS BUT I DIGREST - THE WAY I SEE IT SIX FIGURES SHOULD DO THE TRICK. IN DOLLARS OF COARSE.
3. YOU NEED TO BACK ME A HUNDERD PERCENT - I DONT WANT TO GET TOSSED UNDER A BUS LIKE SOME SOCIAL(IST) SECURITY RECIPEINT IN 2030 OR DEATH TAX VICTIM THE WAY BENDOMENITCH WAS - ITS HARD ENOUGH FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT HERE IN AMERICA - IM 100% AND 5000 MILES BEHIND OUR TROOPS (OKAY I BORRWED THAT BUT ADMITTING IT ISNT PLAGUERISM) WITHOUT DEALING WITH THE FEVER SWAPS OF THE LEFT
PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR DECISION AT YOUR EARLIETS CONVENIENCES
SINCERELY
A HUMBLE AMERICAN WHO GOES BY THE MONICA "MERKIN PATRIOT"
P.S. ILL GIVE YOU MY RAEL NAME WHEN ITS TIME TO SING THE PAPERS
P.P.S. PLEASE KEEP THIS CONFIDENTUAL
P.P.P.S. SERIOUSLY THOUGH - I NEED A JOB
Recruiting the General
There is only one possible replacement for Ben. When you write Jim Brady make sure your emails are largely gibberish filled with random word capitalizations and multiple accusations of "treason" against top Democrats like Barbra Streisand and Ward Churchill. That way he'll know you're a genuine conservative.
Jane has more.
Jane has more.
Next Step
Tristero on Ben:
While there's some snark in all of these suggestions I actually think they're genuinely good ideas. Young adult screws up and takes hit to career and reputation. It isn't going to ruin his life but it will be harder to climb back up in the game. Strap on a gun or a camera and go to Iraq, either way it'll be the quickest possible route to rehabbing his rep.
Many bloggers have suggested that the recently unemployed Ben Domenech should seriously consider signing up for service in the military (but not, presumably, as a blogger for the Army Times). Far be it for me to disagree, but I would like to suggest an equally worthy alternative.
Ben can grab himself one of those groovy new digital videocams, catch the next plane to Iraq, and hitch-hike around, carefully filming all the good news in the country. You know what I'm talking about, Ben: All the schools opening, the pipelines flowing, the new businesses being generated (terrorism insurance not included; that's been covered), the overstaffed hospitals, the fearless Iraqi policemen, and the many public squares all over Iraq's villages and towns renamed in honor of George W. Bush.
While there's some snark in all of these suggestions I actually think they're genuinely good ideas. Young adult screws up and takes hit to career and reputation. It isn't going to ruin his life but it will be harder to climb back up in the game. Strap on a gun or a camera and go to Iraq, either way it'll be the quickest possible route to rehabbing his rep.
The Good News
It's ridiculous that anyone in our media is entertaining the notion seriously the charge that they're underreporting all the great stuff that's happening in Iraq. As someone who experienced the civil war in Lebanon, Peter Daou understands that while life goes on in the midst of such things the news it not in fact that "life goes on" - it's that 30 people were beheaded.
At least there was a little sense on Howie's show today, though it's still awful that the media has to deal with any pile of wingnut horseshit that gets entered into the discussion:
At least there was a little sense on Howie's show today, though it's still awful that the media has to deal with any pile of wingnut horseshit that gets entered into the discussion:
Oh, yes. Absolutely. And, I mean, our own -- you know, our own editors back in New York are asking us the same things.
They read the same comments. You know, are there positive stories? Can't you find them?
You don't think that I haven't been to the U.S. military and the State Department and the embassy and asked them over and over again, let's see the good stories, show us some of the good things that are going on? Oh, sorry, we can't take to you that school project, because if you put that on TV, they're going to be attacked about, the teachers are going to be killed, the children might be victims of attack.
Oh, sorry, we can't show this reconstruction project because then that's going to expose it to sabotage. And the last time we had journalists down here, the plant was attacked.
I mean, security dominates every single thing that happens in this country. Reconstruction funds have been diverted to cover away from reconstruction to -- they've been diverted to security.
Soldiers, their lives are occupied most of the time with security issues. Iraqi civilians' lives are taken up most of the time with security issues.
So how it is that security issues should not then dominate the media coverage coming out of here?
Saturday, March 25, 2006
A Very Special Blogger
Jeff Goldstein:
Stephen Ambrose died in 2002.
Jeff Goldstein, Artist's Conception
Ben has owned up to his mistakes. He has, as I anticipated he would, taken that most difficult first step to rehabilitating his credibility. Now it's time for other folks to do the same: Molly Ivins; Larry Tribe; Stephen Ambrose; Dan Rather; Jason Leopold; Joe Biden; Micah Wright; Ward Churchill; Eason Jordan; CNN's agreement with Saddam's Iraq; Joe Wilson; Steve Erlanger—we're looking at you.
Stephen Ambrose died in 2002.
Jeff Goldstein, Artist's Conception
Conservative Blogger
Since Jim Brady is intent on his mission to hire a conservative blogger (specifically a social or cultural one) I've been thinking hard about who it should be.
I honestly can't think of one. I don't mean that there aren't any decent conservatives. But Brady doesn't want a "conservative even liberals like" or a soft-pedalng David Brooks clone. He wants a hardcore "Red Stater."
I really can't think of any who would fit that bill who won't embarrass the hell out of them.
I honestly can't think of one. I don't mean that there aren't any decent conservatives. But Brady doesn't want a "conservative even liberals like" or a soft-pedalng David Brooks clone. He wants a hardcore "Red Stater."
I really can't think of any who would fit that bill who won't embarrass the hell out of them.
Where We Are
I have no idea how to wake the slumbering press.
Put another way, the Administration has seized the power of Congress to make the laws, they have seized the power of the judiciary to interpret the laws, and they execute them as well. They have consolidated within themselves all of the powers of the government, particularly with regard to national security. This situation is, of course, exactly what Madison warned about in Federalist 47; it really is the very opposite of everything our Government is intended to be:
...
As usual, the most amazing aspect of all of this is not that the Administration is claiming these powers. It is that even as it claims them as expressly and clearly as can be, the Congress continues to ignore it and pretend that it still retains power to restrict the Administration by the laws it passes. And the media continues to fail in its duty to inform the country about the powers the Administration has seized, likely because they are so extreme that people still do not really believe that the Administration means what they are saying. What else do they need to do in order to demonstrate their sincerity?
Ouch
PJ:
Yah, look, this was ridiculous from the beginning. I'm sure it's quite possible Ben chatted with O'Rourke and said "Dude I wanna update your party description for my college!" and O'Rourke said "yeah, great idea!"
But that isn't permission to rip off most of it while changing just a few words.
17-year-olds do dumb stuff, their 24-year-old versions shouldn't be trying to justify that stuff.
He explained the passage that appeared to be copied from Mr. O'Rourke's book by saying that Mr. O'Rourke gave him permission.
Contacted at his home in New Hampshire, Mr. O'Rourke said that he had never heard of Mr. Domenech and did not recall meeting him.
"I wouldn't want to swear in a court of law that I never met the guy, Mr. O'Rourke said of Mr. Domenech, "but I didn't give him permission to use my words under his byline, no."
Yah, look, this was ridiculous from the beginning. I'm sure it's quite possible Ben chatted with O'Rourke and said "Dude I wanna update your party description for my college!" and O'Rourke said "yeah, great idea!"
But that isn't permission to rip off most of it while changing just a few words.
17-year-olds do dumb stuff, their 24-year-old versions shouldn't be trying to justify that stuff.
Flat Hat Speaks
Flat Hat (Ben's college newspaper) on some issues.
It confirms one thing I knew was true and which wasn't really controversial, but which both the Post and Salon got wrong - Ben never graduated college. I emailed Salon about it but I couldn't provide solid enough evidence (by my own admission) and the college offices were closed so they couldn't confirm it.
And, again, note I don't give a shit if people have college degrees. I welcome a changed world where such things have diminished importance.
It confirms one thing I knew was true and which wasn't really controversial, but which both the Post and Salon got wrong - Ben never graduated college. I emailed Salon about it but I couldn't provide solid enough evidence (by my own admission) and the college offices were closed so they couldn't confirm it.
And, again, note I don't give a shit if people have college degrees. I welcome a changed world where such things have diminished importance.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Even More Ben
National Review finds more stuff.
Not all of it's tremendously galling, some of it's understandable sloppy practices from a young writer which in isolation would be no big deal. I think it's made a bit worse, contra Red State mutterings, that he was doing movie reviews and the like where my first thought would be to, you know, watch the movie and write a review. Maybe do some internet research about some basic biographical facts, or whatever, but it wouldn't occur to me to research my review by reading the reviews that others had done.
Not all of it's tremendously galling, some of it's understandable sloppy practices from a young writer which in isolation would be no big deal. I think it's made a bit worse, contra Red State mutterings, that he was doing movie reviews and the like where my first thought would be to, you know, watch the movie and write a review. Maybe do some internet research about some basic biographical facts, or whatever, but it wouldn't occur to me to research my review by reading the reviews that others had done.
Regulating the Internets
The FEC has released its draft regulations which they'll vote on Monday. On advice of counsel I'll withhold public comment for the moment, but said counsel has the details.
Digby has some comments on the general issue, though not the specifics.
Digby has some comments on the general issue, though not the specifics.
Sunday Guests
Notable for the inclusion of an actual progressive pundit:
Meet the Press hosts Sec/State Condoleezza Rice and a roundtable of Washington Post's David Broder, New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller, Cook Report's Charlie Cook, and Wall Street Journal's John Harwood.
Face the Nation hosts NSA Stephen Hadley and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
This Week hosts Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) and a roundtable of George Will, Fareed Zakaria and Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel.
Fox News Sunday hosts Rice and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI).
Late Edition hosts Rice and Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Pat Roberts (R-KS).
As Inspired
In his excuse making Box Turtle Ben implied that when he ripped off PJ O'Rourke that it was labelled with "as inspired by O'Rourke's original." I'm not entirely sure if he intended to make that claim or if it was just sloppy writing (as this was something he wrote himself it's hard to tell). Either way no such disclaimer was on it.
Why It Matters
I know there are those who understandably wonder why the Box Turtle Affair is of any real importance. In and of itself it isn't but it speaks volumes about how our conservative establishment media sees itself and what its role is and should be.
More from the Wanker
Brady is such a tool.
Brady said the site picked Domenech for two reasons: he's conservative and provocative. Brady denied that the paper hired Domenech as a way to deflect criticism from the right that Dan Froomkin, one of its most popular columnists, is too liberal. "That's not true and it never was," he said.
...
And the site still wants someone on the right. "A conservative columnist, a conservative blogger, whatever it ends up being. Certainly we're looking, but I don't know the timeframe," Brady said.
Asked if the site is looking for a liberal, he said, "Potentially, potentially."
Even the Corner
Link:
As the previous links on the matter mention, at least one of the pieces Ben Domenech is accused of having plagiarized was a movie review for National Review Online. A side-by-side comparison to another review of the same film speaks for itself. There is no excuse for plagiarism and we apologize to our readers and to Steve Murray of the Cox News Service from whose piece the language was lifted. With some evidence of possible problems with other pieces, we're also looking into other articles he wrote for NRO.
Tweety
The transcripts really don't do this justice. Matthews practically sounded like he was crying during parts of this. From the Imus newsletter:
Imus speaks to MSNBC's Chris Matthews about the decision to go to war in Iraq:
Imus: "I forgot who said this, it could have been Tom Friedman or, and I always thought that after September 11th, the administration wanted, maybe they always wanted to go to war with Iraq or whatever, but they wanted to demonstrate to the Muslim community and the Muslim world that we were not going to take that and that we were going to strike back at somebody and they picked what they thought was going to be the easiest target, they thought as that moron at the CIA said that it was a slam dunk. They went in there and instead of being greeted as liberators as the Vice President told Tim Russert a week before this thing started, they got in there and the thing blew up on him and they have been there three years trying to get out."
MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "Well I am just going to stick to this point that the president led us in there with the background music of American culture. Everybody was led to believe that we were getting payback, we were avenging what happened on 9/11 and that we are going to get them. Vice President Cheney said we are going to attack terrorism at its base. Over and over the language was, this is where it came from, in fact most recently the President suggested that it was always the hot pursuit, like a new York police chase, we chased them back into their country. We pursued the terrorists back to Iraq and it's all nonsense. The reason there are terrorists in Iraq today like Zarqawi is we created the opening by blowing the country apart. From the beginning it's been not true. Now you can't prove motive and you can't prove somebody lies, but from the beginning everything about how they've got WMD's, they are a threat to us, they are going to bomb us with a nuclear weapon, this country is going to be an easy liberate, it's going to be a cake walk. As Cheney said as recently as ten months ago the insurgents are in their last throws. Everything that is said is not true. And right to the end here, here we are now and it's not a civil war and when Allawi the prime Minster is saying it is a civil war and here is the president quoting his own people that it's not a civil war. I mean the denial has been continuous. So you really can't count on the administration to tell you what is going on. That is just the fact. You've got to check it out. By the way, the president said this week that he wants the whole truth about what is going on in Iraq, the whole truth and that the media isn't telling the whole story. I'll tell you what we are not telling. We are not showing pictures of the twenty five hundred bodies coming back because they won't let us show the pictures. They don't want the whole truth out and that's the fact."
NEWS QUOTE OF THE DAY #2
MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "I think the president made a big mistake this week, and maybe I'm the only one that caught it, but when he came out and said he never said that we went to Iraq because of what happened on 9/11, that Saddam was never involved in 9/11, that whole mentality, the whole culture, the country music, everything, was saying this was payback. We are getting them in Iraq because of what they did to us on 9/11, and now they come out and say I never claimed that. Well you know it's in the actual language of when he said to congress, I'm now going to pick you up on that authorization to go to war, but we are going to war tomorrow, this is in 2003 in March, we are going to war tomorrow and the reason we are going is because we are going to get the countries attacked us on 9/11 we are going to get them. He clearly said all along. The Darryl Worley song remember how you felt, and you know all that stuff, the Vice President saying that Saddam was involved in 9/11 again and again. To come out now and say I never said this was payback is B.S."
Imus: "Didn't they actually say, because we were talking about that as well, because the way they left it out... didn't he actually say that they harbored terrorists, and as I pointed out the way that people pay attention to the news, which is not as much as you and I do, it was easy for Americans to infer that he meant... and by the way they did these polls, as you well know, in which the majority of the American people actually thought that the people who flew the airplanes into the World Trade center, the Pentagon and then the field in Pennsylvania actually came from Iraq, so while they didn't specifically say that they said that they harbored terrorists and the implication was... well you are right, but did he actually say that?"
Chris Matthews: "He said in the statement he gave to Congress when he said ok boys we are going to war tomorrow morning, in that statement he said I'm operating under the authorization that allows me to go after organizations or countries that attacked us on 9/11. Many times he said we can't distinguish between the people who attacked us on 9/11, we can't separate the two. The vice president was very clear, continually talking about coordination between the Iraqi intelligence and Muhammad Atta, who was the chief hijacker, it's right there in the tapes, and then Cheney comes out and denies it even though it's right on tape. Remember Gloria Borger interviewed him, I'm not sure if she was CBS at the time, but she interviewed him and he directly lied about it, and said that he did not say that. A number of times we have showed the tape and when he actually said exactly what he was denying on tape, we got the tape of what he was denying."
Wanker of the Day
Jim Brady, for thinking a man who would write the following line:
belonged in the Washington Post.
As for Box Turtle Boy, it sounds like he didn't plagiarize the Crosswalk music bit, he just copied from himself. Not such a sin.
Other than that, it appears he's rewritten the Led Zeppelin song:
A former editor of Box Turtle Boy wrote in:
And Kurtz chimes in.
To my enemies: I take enormous solace in the fact that you spent this week bashing me, instead of America.
belonged in the Washington Post.
As for Box Turtle Boy, it sounds like he didn't plagiarize the Crosswalk music bit, he just copied from himself. Not such a sin.
Other than that, it appears he's rewritten the Led Zeppelin song:
Tryining to save my soul tonight
It's everybody's fault but mine
A former editor of Box Turtle Boy wrote in:
Hi --
This all seems to have happened really fast. I hadn't really checked the news til midday today when I saw all of this happened. It might be kind of moot now, but I was Domenech's editor at The Flat Hat when he was writing the reviews. Four people, including me, would have handled his copy, the others being my assistant section editor, the managing editor and the editor.
This should seem obvious, but no one on the editorial staff was going into Salon (or wherever) and pasting whole sections into his reviews. We were more concerned about getting the paper done so we could get home at 2 in the morning instead of 5. We may have put additional words in the story, but it would never have been completely foreign content. It was just editing.
And Kurtz chimes in.
ARGH! STOP IT!
I'm all for the media policing their own and drawing sharper and clearer distinctions between the various hats worn by people, but this is totally unrelated to regulating online activity. Deal with Fox News and Rush Limbaugh before you deal with me (not that I think they should be dealt with by regulation either). They, too, are Media, and can say what they want except for, in Limaugh's case, what the FCC defines as obscenity.
Jeff Goldstein Is A Very Special Blogger
He wrote:
After which he went back to eating paste. I had no idea Ben Domenech's real name was "Augustine."
Jeff Goldstein, Artist's Conception
Ben, for what ever mistakes he may have made, at least appended his own name to whatever he posted or wrote publicly.
After which he went back to eating paste. I had no idea Ben Domenech's real name was "Augustine."
Jeff Goldstein, Artist's Conception
Missing the Point
As he often does Vaughn Ververs misses the point. The Post does not have to provide balance in its opinion section any more than the Wall Street Journal does. What the Post should not do is hire a conservative for the purpose of balancing journalists in order to bow to the pressure of conservatives. The former is an editorial decision, the latter is fundamentally dishonest as it tacitly admits something which isn't true.
Serial Violations of the Law
How many times is the president going to declare his right to break the law before someone in that damn town gives a shit?
The Morality of Box Turtle Ben
It's important to remember that to try to keep his job Ben hung his nameless former editor, Jim Brady, Howie Kurtz, and his pals/colleagues at Redstate.org out to dry as they sat there to defend him. The Redstaters have to be pissed, as they don't just see themselves as a blog, but as the nexus of the conservative political movement online. They're even organized as a 527.* They're not going to like having their reputations tarnished. And poor Ticky Tacky Tacitus.
*Correction. They did organize as a 527 but I don't believe they're running under its umbrella.
*Correction. They did organize as a 527 but I don't believe they're running under its umbrella.
The Moral of Box Turtle Ben
It's very simple. Stop trying to appease conservatives. You never will. Stop worrying about "bias." Continue worrying about doing good journalism.
I said on Air American just now that if the Post had announced a "Blue America" along with "Red America" Ben's plagiarism likely would've never been discovered. The outrage was over the fact that once again conservatives had succeeded in mau-mauing a mainstream media outlet into balancing reporters with conservatives.
I said on Air American just now that if the Post had announced a "Blue America" along with "Red America" Ben's plagiarism likely would've never been discovered. The outrage was over the fact that once again conservatives had succeeded in mau-mauing a mainstream media outlet into balancing reporters with conservatives.
Hacks
I do appreciate the commitment to spin and obfuscation we've gotten from Posties in recent months.
In More Important News
Pension Bill allows corporations to underfund their pensions by an even greater amount.
Look, this is all just part of the greatest heist ever imagined. It begins with the attempt to steal the Social Security trust fund. The next step is to allow theft from corporate pension funds. And then finally they'll remove protections from 401(k) funds to allow creditors to take those funds.
Look, this is all just part of the greatest heist ever imagined. It begins with the attempt to steal the Social Security trust fund. The next step is to allow theft from corporate pension funds. And then finally they'll remove protections from 401(k) funds to allow creditors to take those funds.
Rehab
Fortunately for Box Turtle he's young enough to recover and rebound from this. I'd like to suggest that this would be just the way to rehab his reputation.
Malkin Runs Away
But man, who knew an entire political movement could be centered around constant whining.
Connections
The question which will never be answered is just how Box Turtle Ben got his job at the Post. There was no "Wanted: Blogger" sign posted, and nor were they under any requirement to do so. But, as with all cronyism and wingnut welfare generally, there were connections, and people who knew people, and the general network in place. Young Box Turtle has had good PR from the beginning in Washington circles, as this 2000 article in the Post demonstrates:
heh indeedy.
Not every 24-year-old college dropout gets to have an opinion column backed by the institutional grandeur of the Washington Post. Note I have nothing against people who lack pieces of paper certifying their completion of formal education, but that doesn't change the fact that given the current rules of the education game such pieces of paper are in fact an entrance requirement for people not named Box Turtle Ben.
It's also important to note that this is all just a continuing trend. Once upon a time newspapers handed out columns to seasoned journalists as an end of career bonus. Then, in part to satisfy screeching wingnuts crying about liberal bias, and in part to save money, they bought up syndication packages of mostly talentless wingnuts with little or no experience in journalism to balance the so-called "liberals" in the op-ed pages. And, as with Froomkin, whatever the "liberal" leanings of the existing columnists, their entire careers were based around a respect for objectivity and balance, for truth and reason, and were in no way part of a "grand liberal movement" the way that the conservative columnists are. In other words, they weren't hacks and propagandists.
I have nothing especially wrong with a bit of hackery, as long as it is fairly honest hackery, but it would never occur to the Post to hire the liberal equivalent of Box Turtle. And the hack gap persists...
At 18, Benjamin Domenech, of Round Hill, has landed himself a plum assignment in the world of inside-the-Beltway journalism. He writes a column, "Any Given Sunday," recapping the political talk television programs for the World Wide Web site of the conservative National Review magazine.
If there was a Top 10 list of young Loudoun County people to watch, he’d be on it. And agree with him or not, you would be hard pressed to deny that Domenech is a sharp writer with an obvious command of his national politics beat–especially considering that this is the first year he is eligible to vote.
"He really shows maturity beyond his years," said Richard Lowry, editor of the National Review.
Lowry said he runs into a lot of George Will-wannabes trying to break into national journalism circles at a very young age, but "few of them can actually pull it off. [Domenech] just seems to be just a couple steps in front of everyone else."
heh indeedy.
Not every 24-year-old college dropout gets to have an opinion column backed by the institutional grandeur of the Washington Post. Note I have nothing against people who lack pieces of paper certifying their completion of formal education, but that doesn't change the fact that given the current rules of the education game such pieces of paper are in fact an entrance requirement for people not named Box Turtle Ben.
It's also important to note that this is all just a continuing trend. Once upon a time newspapers handed out columns to seasoned journalists as an end of career bonus. Then, in part to satisfy screeching wingnuts crying about liberal bias, and in part to save money, they bought up syndication packages of mostly talentless wingnuts with little or no experience in journalism to balance the so-called "liberals" in the op-ed pages. And, as with Froomkin, whatever the "liberal" leanings of the existing columnists, their entire careers were based around a respect for objectivity and balance, for truth and reason, and were in no way part of a "grand liberal movement" the way that the conservative columnists are. In other words, they weren't hacks and propagandists.
I have nothing especially wrong with a bit of hackery, as long as it is fairly honest hackery, but it would never occur to the Post to hire the liberal equivalent of Box Turtle. And the hack gap persists...
Stealing and Lying
From Echidne:
Stealing is a sin in Christianity, and plagiarism is stealing. Ben Domenech, the Washington Post's new conservative blogger, tells us that he takes pride in his fundamentalist Christianity, including in a literal belief in the Genesis. This makes me think that he would also take pride in following the ten commandments of Christianity which include the command "Thou Shalt Not Steal".
If this is true he must feel pretty bad right now, given that he has been found to have plagiarized countless pieces of writing, including work that he has published since college years.
Plagiarizing is stealing. It is also lying, because a plagiarist pretends to have written or produced something that is someone else's work. Thus, Domenech appears guilty of both stealing and lying. He believes that his party is the party of moral and ethical values. Well, I guess we have found out what these values mean to him.
Enough sermonizing about this young wingnut. It's time to sermonize about the Washington Post who hired him without using the miraculous Googling tool. Either wingnuts get a free pass in the Post or whoever was supposed to have checked Domenech out was sleeping on the job. Or perhaps the whole thing was designed as a great revenge against the horrible liberal blogosphere. Whatever the explanation, the Post is not smelling very good right now.
Who It Hurt
Aside from the fact that plagiarism is, you know, wrong and greater figures in journalism than Box Turtle have had their careers ended and slapped down it's important to remember that this wasn't a victimless crime. Box Turtle's plagiarism allowed him to do a lot more and better (in some sense) work for the student newspaper than his peers, which is presumably what led to his getting a regular column at the paper. From what I've read his column was mostly sophomoric whining with writing of a much lower quality than the critics and others he stole from (I haven't yet found any examples of plagiarism in that column). But he outcompeted one or more of his peers to get the slot.
"Michelle. Hugh. Rush. Glenn. This is the moment. Where will you stand?"
(Note the quotes around the title! I'm quoting someone!)
I hope when I'm 96 years old and about to die someone hands me a printout of this so I can, one last time, laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh....
Where do Michelle and Hugh stand? Will they continue to literally defend anything and anyone as long as it's in service to Dear Leader? Box Turtle Ben edited Malkin's book, remember...oh, and Hewitt's latest, too.
I hope when I'm 96 years old and about to die someone hands me a printout of this so I can, one last time, laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh....
Where do Michelle and Hugh stand? Will they continue to literally defend anything and anyone as long as it's in service to Dear Leader? Box Turtle Ben edited Malkin's book, remember...oh, and Hewitt's latest, too.
The Editor Did It!
This is silly. The plagiarism examples keep rolling into my inbox:
...and, let me add, as someone who has graded plenty of papers I know the difference between "inadvertent plagiarism" where a good faith but failed effort is made to restate something found elsewhere and wholesale lifting of paragraphs.
...and, as james notes, it would be truly bizarre for an editor to lift an entire column from PJ O'Rourke and put his name on it. (Yes, I know this defense doesn't even pass the giggle test but for some reason it's convincing the the country's most prominent media critic Howard Kurtz).
Late yesterday, the liberal Web sites Daily Kos and Atrios posted examples of what appeared to be instances of plagiarism from Domenech's writing at the William & Mary student paper. Three sentences of a 1999 Domenech review of a Martin Scorsese film were identical to a review in Salon magazine, and several sentences in Domenech's piece on a James Bond movie closely resembled one in the Internet Movie Database. Domenech said he needed to research the examples but that he never used material without attribution and had complained about a college editor improperly adding language to some of his articles.
...and, let me add, as someone who has graded plenty of papers I know the difference between "inadvertent plagiarism" where a good faith but failed effort is made to restate something found elsewhere and wholesale lifting of paragraphs.
...and, as james notes, it would be truly bizarre for an editor to lift an entire column from PJ O'Rourke and put his name on it. (Yes, I know this defense doesn't even pass the giggle test but for some reason it's convincing the the country's most prominent media critic Howard Kurtz).
Digby Speak
Everyone listen.
There are days I want to yell at Digby: Bad blogger! Lazy blogger not post enough! Ditto the Poor Man and the Mighty Reason Man who I think made five posts, all brilliant, over his entire blogging career before disappearing.
But, speed ain't everything, and usually about the time I've come up with a coherent larger critique Digby comes through. I've long joked that if Digby posted more often I'd have to quit blogging. If we managed to clone Digby into 3 that would be the case.
The Horse once flattered me by saying something along the lines of "Atrios+Media Matters=The Horse." I got the point, but a more accurate version would be "Digby+Media Matters=The Horse."
There are days I want to yell at Digby: Bad blogger! Lazy blogger not post enough! Ditto the Poor Man and the Mighty Reason Man who I think made five posts, all brilliant, over his entire blogging career before disappearing.
But, speed ain't everything, and usually about the time I've come up with a coherent larger critique Digby comes through. I've long joked that if Digby posted more often I'd have to quit blogging. If we managed to clone Digby into 3 that would be the case.
The Horse once flattered me by saying something along the lines of "Atrios+Media Matters=The Horse." I got the point, but a more accurate version would be "Digby+Media Matters=The Horse."
Portrait of a Wanker
Conason:
The Post may be deaf to complaints about overheated rhetoric and insults to a civil rights hero, but the plagiarism and quote-fabrication charges can't be ignored. It's hard to imagine Domenech will survive this, but whatever happens next, the Post's failure to adequately vet its new hire in its fretful search for "balance" could damage its credibility substantially. For now it looks like the paper hired the love child of Janet Cooke and Donald Segretti.
Ticky Tacky
The wankosphere's most pompous twit, Tacitus, is back for some funny stuff:
True, ripping off movie reviews was a favorite. But we also have news articles, portions of humor books, and even music reviews.
And tomorrow's another day...
Assume, for a moment, that the plagiarism charge is true. For the sake of argument, assume that.
Now, having accepted this, what are we left with?
It is the sole critique of Domenech by the left with any objective merit.
It does not have much merit, as the profferred examples are:
-- Old, dating wholly from Domenech's teen years.
-- Confined wholly to movie reviews.
True, ripping off movie reviews was a favorite. But we also have news articles, portions of humor books, and even music reviews.
And tomorrow's another day...
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Fresh Thread
Try not to shoot anybody, including yourself, in the face while reading this.
Meanwhile, all good patriots will shun Thersites for his nasty plagiarism.
Meanwhile, all good patriots will shun Thersites for his nasty plagiarism.
Even More
Plagiarized stuff for the National Review.
The basic sense I'm getting is the guy couldn't write for shit, which is evident if you read his non-plagiarized opinion columns for his student newspaper. So, to puff up his cred he stole stuff. Presumably being lazy had something to do with it.
...and stealing from the WaPo itself. Bit behind apparently, was out seeing Buried Beds and Anne Heaton.
...and more. Frankly at this point the challenge is finding articles written by him that weren't plagiarized.
...some high comedy here.
...more here and here thanks to AB.
...Thersites adds his own unique view.
The basic sense I'm getting is the guy couldn't write for shit, which is evident if you read his non-plagiarized opinion columns for his student newspaper. So, to puff up his cred he stole stuff. Presumably being lazy had something to do with it.
...and stealing from the WaPo itself. Bit behind apparently, was out seeing Buried Beds and Anne Heaton.
...and more. Frankly at this point the challenge is finding articles written by him that weren't plagiarized.
...some high comedy here.
...more here and here thanks to AB.
...Thersites adds his own unique view.
Even More
Athenae finds more.
Box Turtle:
Salon:
I suppose we should acknowledge the possibility that all of these reviewers were ripping off Ben [/snark].
Box Turtle:
At its best, "The Bachelor" skews the absurdity of any human relationships ‹ even the successful ones. As terrified as Jimmie is of losing his freedom, Anne is equally worried about becoming like her parents ‹ who, it turns out, are an older couple nauseatingly and demonstratively still in love with each other.
Salon:
At its best, it skews the absurdity of any human relationships -- even the successful ones. As terrified as Jimmie is of losing his freedom, Anne is equally worried about becoming like her parents -- who, it turns out, are an older couple nauseatingly, demonstratively, still in love with each other.
I suppose we should acknowledge the possibility that all of these reviewers were ripping off Ben [/snark].
Even More
Epidemic. Box Turtle.
Steve Rhodes:
The most important co-stars in the Bond movies are the spy's toys. These films usually have the audience applauding for the stunts and this episode of the superspy saga is no different. There's plenty of action and vehicles to enjoy, like the helicopter with a super-sized chainsaw attached, which cuts through cars and buildings, and a sleek, one-man boat with jet afterburners that looks like something custom-made for Batman.
Steve Rhodes:
The most important costars in the Bond movies are the spy's toys. These films usually have the audience applauding for the stunts, and this episode of the superspy saga is no different.
The best of the bunch in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH is a sleek, one-man, black boat complete with jet afterburners, which looks like something custom-made for Batman. The vehicle even has the ability to dive underwater briefly while the driver holds his breath. It can turn into a car as well, all the better to engage in a typical Bond demolition derby.
More Plagiarism
Oh Lordy. Box Turtle Ben:
Zacharek in Salon:
Box Turtle:
Zacharek:
etc...
(discovered by silence at kos)
One night, Frank meets Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette), whose father has suffered a heart attack. Mary, a former junkie, hasn't spoken to her father in three years, but she becomes deeply troubled when she realizes he's so close to death. Frank is even more concerned for her than he is for her father. He begins to fall deeply in love with her, checks up on her at her apartment, invites her to have a piece of pizza at the hospital with him. He's as gentle as a lamb with her, but he's an exhausted one, all bruised and battered.
Zacharek in Salon:
In the line of duty one night, Frank meets Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette), whose father has suffered a heart attack. Mary is a former junkie who seems to have just barely pulled her life together. She hasn't spoken to her father in three years, but she becomes troubled when she realizes he's so close to death. Frank is just as concerned for her as he is for her father. He begins to fall deeply in love with her, checking up on her at her apartment, inviting her to have a piece of pizza at the hospital with him. He's as gentle with her a spring lamb, but he's an exhausted one, all bruised and buffeted.
Box Turtle:
Rhames gives the most delightful and energized performance in the movie. His scenes, particularly his sassy flirtation with a honey-voiced dispatcher (Queen Latifah) let some much-needed light leak into the picture. Arquette is charming but neurotic as the dazed, soft-spoken Mary. She seems to walk around in a haze of confusion half the time, but when she smiles, the air around her seems to clear miraculously. Her scenes with Cage (her husband in real life) have an emotional quality that sets them apart from the rest of the film, but they are sometimes overlong.
Zacharek:
Rhames gives the single most delightful and energized performance in the movie. His scenes, particularly his sassy flirtation with a honey-voiced dispatcher (no wonder: it's Queen Latifah) let some much-needed light leak into the picture. Arquette, as usual, is charming, here as the dazed, soft-spoken Mary. She seems to walk around in a haze of confusion half the time, but when she smiles, the air around her seems to clear miraculously. Her scenes with Cage (her husband in real life) have a strange, arrhythmic underwater quality to them that's vaguely maddening but fascinating at the same time.
etc...
(discovered by silence at kos)
Oh No Not Again
Please follow this man's advice and stop having these elite media/politician lovefests. Here's a screen cap of Joe Lieberman laughing it up when Bush was joking about not being able to find weapons of mass destruction.
Plagiarism?
I saw the humor column in question before and while it seemed a bit out of character for the 17 year old Box Turtle it didn't really seem relevant.
...more here.
...more here.
Best. Movie. Ever.
And it's going to get even better.
If you can't understand why a movie with Samuel L. Jackson killing snakes on plane will in fact be the greatest movie ever made no matter how bad it is then there's no hope for you.
If you can't understand why a movie with Samuel L. Jackson killing snakes on plane will in fact be the greatest movie ever made no matter how bad it is then there's no hope for you.
Nedrenaline!
Great, you all blew past my goal of 225 donations and got it up to 238.
Sam Seder's going to be talking about Joe soon.
Sam Seder's going to be talking about Joe soon.
Looking Good
I have no idea if Mara Liasson is correct that people get all upset when those reporters actually ask the preznit hard questions, but what I do know is that such considerations should not even enter the picture. It's not a popularity contest between the preznit and the press.
Great Moments in Earmarking
Jeebus, do these people ever stop being corrupt?
Tax deductible "charitable" contribution which goes directly into your son's pocket.
Tax deductible "charitable" contribution which goes directly into your son's pocket.
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