The Life Raft

Julie and Julia: A Review

2009-07-28T07:41:00.004-04:00

We caught a preview of the new film, Julie & Julia, last week.

A combo platter based on two books, one by blogger Julie Powel, the other My Life in France by Alex Proudhomme and Julia Child, the movie is mostly a delight. Meryl does a slightly toned down Julia impersonation, while Amy Adams tries valliantly to make the drab, depressed Julie interesting.

The Julia sequences are excellent, with Stanley Tucci superb as a smart, funny and oh-so supportive Paul Child. He and Streep have scenes that are master classes of understated comedy, and succeed beautifully in suggesting a world of intimacy through gently overlapping dialouge and some subtle (and some quite overt) suggestions of sexual attraction. Watch out for Jane Lynch in a too brief but luminous portrayal of Julia's even taller sister. There's a delicious scene where the two women are reunited after a long time apart over lunch in a Paris restaurant, which is both laugh-out-loud funny and at the same time a touching mini-portrait of two ugly ducklings, finally and utterly comfortable in their own skins.

When the scene shifts to a drab apartment over a pizzeria in Queens where the admitted narcisist Julie Powel labors over her "Julie & Julia" project, cooking her way through the entire battery of recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, inerest and empathy drop like a poorly-tossed omlette onto the kitchen floor. Compared to the luminously photographed sequences of Julia's life in 1950's Paris, the Julie portions are simply a bore. And when Julie dresses up as Julia for her 30th birthday party, you can be forgiven for wondering if our blogger friend is just a little bit nuts, and in a dreary and sad way to boot.

Still, the film manages to come off. It's funny, compelling and, like the wonderful Julia, ultimately utterly loveable. Here's the trailer:

Yeats Speaks!

2009-07-28T07:35:00.002-04:00

The animation is a cheesey for sure, but the poem...and the voice!!

You're Still There? We're Still Here!

2009-07-28T07:32:00.002-04:00

It came to out attention this weekend that people actually used to read this blog, and that some of them even still have it bookmarked!

We're touhced!

So, we've decided to give it another one of intermitent college tries. A little later we'll consider the etomology of the word "moneytize", but for now we have a couple of fun things to throw up for you.

Blossom Dearie: RIP

2009-02-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

None like her.

The Creepy Sense of Urgency

2008-11-22T21:53:00.003-05:00

Granted, it is the New York Times. Granted, Gail Collins is hard to take seriously, and Tom "Richard Pearle is Right" Friedman is...hard to forgive. But two columnists in as many days call for an immediate end to the Bush Administration (vivid subtext: W is hitting the bottle again.) And they quote Norm Ornstein, the true Man for All Seasons of the interregnum.

It is true that the lack of a man at the helm is palpable. And it is also true that still, still, the public and the media don't really seem to get just how dire is this economic situation.

So, we have hyperbole among the columnists.

Obviously Bush shouldn't go early - the integrity of the constitution is more important than even this economic tsunami -- but Obama does need to keep doing what he started doing today (a little late, by the way). He needs to be specific, compelling and absolutely rhetorically vivid about what he is planning to do to deal with the crisis.

Creating a legislative plan to have it all ready for signature between the inauguration itself and the parade seems beyond the ability of Nancy Pelosi to imagine.

This is not enough, to be sure, but it is his limit at the moment, and it is worlds more than the enfeebled, unimaginative and utterly irresponsible current president can do.

Gone Sailing!

2008-11-22T19:32:00.003-05:00

Very very early tomorrow we're heading off to Virgin Gorda for a week of sailing school. Exciting, but more than a little intimidating since we're overweight, uncoordinated and weak. But who knows, maybe a week at the above will make a man of us (a men of us? the limits of the precious first-person-plural-blog-tone are more obvious every day.)

Assuming we can access the internet on the Bounding Main, we'll try to post, but only if we have something funny or sad to say.

It's Just Not Funny Anymore

2008-11-22T11:05:00.000-05:00

...Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear.

The Strange Case of Shelby Steele

2008-11-22T10:21:00.002-05:00

or "A Boring Man: Why We Are Tired of Shelby Steel and Why He Can't Change."

This interview from the Hoover Institution is very long, but worthwhile. Here the prominent black conservative intellectual twists himself into a variety of ever less attractive knots to avoid internalizing the obvious.

You remember that Steele -- author of many books including the very important "A Dream Deferred" (1999) -- took a very strong and highly visible anti-Obama position throughout the campaign. Amazingly for a previously thoughtful and provocative thinker, his argument in this case took the form of a flimsy polemic that labeled Obama a Louis Armstrong/Bill Cosby like accomodator (or "bargainer" in Steele's vocabulary), who, to put it crudely, would Uncle Tom his way to certain defeat in November.

Despite the abundant evidence undermining his premise -- not the least of which is every single exit poll -- here he is, a couple of week after the election, holding fast to his belief that Obama is nothing more (literally nothing more) that a racial cipher elected exclusively on the basis of race as a mighty assuagement of white guilt.

Among the many weird ideas supporting a manifestly out-of-date thesis are these:

1. We still don't know who Obama is. We don't know the content of his character. (Cue Margot Channing: There's that word again! I don't even know what it means)

2. We only voted for him because he's black. There was no other compelling reason to vote for Barack Obama other than his race (he says this often; I guess he believes it. Is the converse then true -- John McCain lost solely because he is white?).

3. He attended a black nationalist church that his mother couldn't attended and never explained how he reconciled that. (Note to Shelby: the Philadelphia speech on race is easily found on YouTube. You might not agree, but its an explanation.)

4. He grew up in an era of identity politics, which necessitated his needed to reinforce his identity as an African-American in his early days in Chicago politics, only to later abandon that identity to assume another identity as a "black bargainer" so that he could run a campaign free of racial identity. I am not making this up.

And it goes on.

It is sad to see a previously intellectually honest conservative so out of touch with contemporary cultural dynamics that his is blinded to anything that does not support (at least inversely) his ideology.

Did Barack gain traction and capture attention because of his race? Of course. Did he win because of his race in a vast spasm of electoral reverse discrimination? Of course not. I think its safe to say that youth, progressive positions in sync with times, latent anti-dynasticism among Democratic voters, early opposition to the Iraq way (which was very important at the beginning of the primary season -- remember?), solid and clearly explained foreign policy positions, the utter collapse of the opposition party, an economic crisis and The Queen of Alaska (as Gore Vidal calls You Know Who) played a part too.

But Steele can only see the world through the identity-driven lens of his own creation; he assumes the exact position of intransigent racial stasis so articulately decried in his early work.

People are saying...

2008-11-21T17:13:00.002-05:00

...that Bill Clinton will make a big push to take over Hillary's senate seat.

More on the Unacceptable Mr. Brennan

2008-11-21T12:29:00.001-05:00

Andrew Sullivan says it all, with clarity and force.

Ouch! Economist Looks at GOP, Sees "Idiocy"

2008-11-20T10:26:00.002-05:00

This analysis of the collapse of the Conservatives -- from the Econmist, no less -- is as trenchant, stinging and spot on as any.

The Beat Goes On

2008-11-19T19:00:00.002-05:00

Poor Nicole Wallace continues to deny that the Bush Adminstration tortured human beings. Think of the moral stain -- the personal moral stain -- the lower level adminstration people will have to carry with them for the rest of their lives. Do they know that now, one wonders, or will it dawn on them a month or a year after they are out of office?

Uh-oh. Deflation is Rearing It's Spectacularly Scary Head

2008-11-19T18:38:00.002-05:00

The Consumer Price Index dropped 1% today, the largest single drop in more than 60 years. That means that the costs of goods and services are getting cheaper fast. Good news? Not at all.

Here's the Times article on today's news. Not the use of the word "deflation" in the headline, and this paragraph:

In a speech Wednesday at a Washington conference, the vice chairman of the Fed, Donald L. Kohn, said the risk of deflation remained slight but was increasing. “Whatever I thought that risk was, four or five months ago, I think it is bigger now even if it is still small,” Mr. Kohn said. The Fed, he added, needs to be aggressive, if necessary, to prevent a drop in prices.

Now this whole thing seems a little counter-intuitive, no? Prices dropping is a good thing for an economy in trouble, right? Well, no. Not if they drop a lot, over a sustained period of time. What happens then is manufactuers keep droping prices, until prices become lower than the costs of goods to make...factories close...more job losses...less money available...prices drop further. The intrinsic value of things begins to erode because there is not enough money to keep an economy going. Everything becomes worth a lot less...gasoline, milk, your house, your job, your education.

Last time this happend in the US in a big way? You got it. The Great Depression.

Getting to Know Mr. Brennan

2008-11-19T08:25:00.004-05:00

Glenn Greenwald has a good introductory overview to a very important person: John Brennan.

Who he? He is Barack Obama's transition chief for inteligence policy. His wiki bio is here. He's also widely rumored to be at or near the top of the list for CIA director (I don't quite buy that -- Jane Harman call your office.)

He's also something of an appologist for the "enhanced interogations techniques" used by the bush CIA to torture detainees in the war on terror. In Jane Myer's must read book, The Darkside, he's identified as a "suppoter" of those techniques.

Where will Barack go on the torture question? Too soon to say, but accumulating buzz is that he is less likely to take a hard line against Bush policies than many supporters might have hoped.

Quote of the Day

2008-11-19T08:05:00.001-05:00

The Attorney General-apparant on the lawlessness of the Bush Adminstration:

“Our needlessly abusive and unlawful practices in the ‘War on Terror' have diminished our standing in the world community and made us less, rather than more, safe,” Holder told a packed room at the ACS 2008 Convention on Friday evening. “For the sake of our safety and security, and because it is the right thing to do, the next president must move immediately to reclaim America's standing in the world as a nation that cherishes and protects individual freedom and basic human rights.”

We're Back. Torture THIS!

2008-11-18T09:07:00.003-05:00

So the Life Raft capsized during the election. It turned out being all a little bit too much for us, and who wants to seem like one more amatuer blogger with a Barack crush? Not us!

But now that the whole thing is over -- with a happy ending yet -- we'll be making more posts as we watch the Obama adminstration come together. And our first flag is a red one.

Get this from the AP via Talking Points Memo.

Barack!! You can name all the Clintons you want -- make Chelsea Treasury Secretary if that feels good. But don't, don't get on the wrong side of history on torture.

We'll watch the torture story closely. It matters more than almost anything else.

Elitists Abandon Obama, Elegantly Flock to McCain

2008-09-17T08:55:00.003-04:00

Prominent Hillary Clinton supporter, socialite and hostess Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild is today abandoning the democratic party to endorse John McCain.

Why, Lady de Rothschild, why?

Because, says Lady de Rothschild, Barack is an elitist.

Oh.

Last week, in an op-ed moment beyond paradoy, the WSJ published a piece by her nibs actually entitled as follows:

Democrats Need to Shake to Elitist Tag by Lynn Forster de Rothschild.

As one prominent blogger said, you lost me at "de."

The Incredible Shrinking Hillary

2008-04-01T09:40:00.002-04:00

Here's some good news from PA.

Now -- Rasmussen doesn't have the best predicitve track, but who does, this year?

What's good is that we're seeing some evidence of the "Obama effect." In every major state contest he has started very low in the poll, and as the electorategets to know him better (and here worse?), he Clinton lead narrows and sometimes vanishes.

The Speech

2008-03-18T12:35:00.001-04:00

The prepared text is here.

The Danger of Arrogance

2008-03-18T07:29:00.002-04:00

The indespensible Ron Fournier hits an unpleasant nail on the head.

This is exactly what will get Obama in trouble, and why getting on right on Wright is crucial.

Obama's Checker's Speach

2008-03-18T07:13:00.002-04:00

It's happening today. If Dick could do it, so can Barack. Maybe.

If Obama's message is that we are at a moment where we can get past the divisions of the past, then being forced to confront the incendiary rhetoric of his pastor in and of itself catapults down to the level he has so successfully risen above to date.

And this is the problem when you run a campaign as elevated as Obama's has been. When you're as inspirational and "different" as Obama claims to be, any taint or controversey that makes you like other polticians stains and stings all the more.

If Obama gets through this one, hurray. But it will happen again. He has to find away to go through the wringer of presidential politics, ready for the scandals, shock and mud, in a way that doesn't in and of itself invalidate the rationale of his candidacy. The mere fact of having to explain Wright's comments does threatens that rationale, perhaps fatally.

Quote for the Morning

2008-03-18T07:01:00.001-04:00

From a spooky article in today's Post:

"Last week, the position of the Bush administration was to let markets correct themselves and to allow no bailouts and no subsidies," said William W. Beach, senior fellow of economics at the Heritage Foundation. "Somewhere over the last four days, that policy changed. They discovered the rules of the road just didn't apply."

The Nationalization of an American Bank

2008-03-17T09:26:00.002-04:00

The historic nature of the effective nationalization of Bear Sterns is hard to underestimate.

We've said before, we ain't no economists here. But, we've never -- not once -- seen anything like it. And neither has anyone else. If only on this level:

The American Government does not nationalize. And technically, the Fed didn't -- it just gave JP Morgan the credit line to do it, and is taking control of Bear's operation as part of its secruitization process. And JP Morgan says its costing them $6B to doe the deal. Yikes!

This reveals a level of concern at the government level that we haven't seen in more than 60 years. The question is will this action help stem the panic, and fuel it. The bottom line is the Fed and Treasury see the possibility of a financial system collapse. The system probably will not, but we've gotten to the point where it could.

Who'll Flip One More Blue?

2008-03-14T10:41:00.003-04:00

Excellent round-up by Chris Cillizza on which red state might go blue this fall, depending on who the nominee is.

If you count 'em up and take in the whole thing, the answer is clearly Obama. But doesn't that seem intuitive. Remember 2000, 2004? Which of those states, after a long campaign, is really going to flip for Hillary Clinton? I don't buy that there is even one.

Big Bank Failure on the Way?

2008-03-14T10:01:00.003-04:00

What we don't know about economics could (and does) fill books. But, we have friends.

And one particularly smart smarty-pants, about a month ago, warned that the current economic crisis could well reach epic proportions. The bell-weather that would tell us that this more than a business cycle recession? The failure of a big American bank.

And that's what seems to be happening right now. And that bank is Bear Stearns.

The move today -- a highly unusal loan from JP Morgan to Bear, secured by the Fed -- has the air of desperation to it. Get this quote from Bear's CEO:

"Bear Stearns has been the subject of a multitude of market rumors regarding our liquidity," said Alan Schwartz, president and chief executive in Bear Stearns, in a written statement. "We have tried to confront and dispel these rumors and parse fact from fiction. Nevertheless, amidst this market chatter, our liquidity position in the last 24 hours had significantly deteriorated. We took this important step to restore confidence in us in the marketplace, strengthen our liquidity and allow us to continue normal operations."

So, without this loan, Bear Stearns would have been unable to continue normal operation -- translation: failure. They have a month, if panic doesn't do them in sooner. And perhaps they will merge or structure their way out.

But my smarty-pants friend's warning seems especially grave this morning.

Sadam/Osama: Still No Link...And That's Final

2008-03-13T15:27:00.003-04:00

You'l be shocked to learn that there absolutely positively was no link between Sadam and Al Queda. No Way!

Anyhow, the Pentagon has made it official. They reviewed a billion documents or something to arrive at the glaringly obvious. But they won't have a breifing, put on the Ineternet or talk about it over cocktails. Apparantly you can send a SSAE and they'll drop it in the mail.

Dinah Washington: Pundit

2008-03-12T13:14:00.003-04:00

This one is for Elliott. Or maybe Silda. Why not BOTH!

Ferraro Plagarizes Self on Racism

2008-03-12T12:55:00.001-04:00

Good catch Politico.

Geraldine Ferraro is no more racist today than she was 20 years ago. That's nice.

Arrogant to the End

2008-03-12T12:40:00.004-04:00

Here's the text of Client 9's resignation statement.

Does it strike anybody else as extra-arrogant? For example:

I also know that as a public servant I, and the remarkable people with whom I worked, have accomplished a great deal. Absolutely! It's been an amazing run as Guv. Really, super-duper.

I go forward with the belief, as others have said, that as human beings, our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Yes, Elliot, yes! This is really a glorious moment for you, your wife and just everybody. Rise, Elliot, rise!

As I leave public life, I will first do what I need to do to help and heal myself and my family. Me first! Catch the video on youtube to get the emphasis here.

Then I will try once again, outside of politics, to serve the common good and to move toward the ideals and solutions which I believe can build a future of hope and opportunity for us and for our children. Thanks for the heads-up, Client 9. Glad you have your eye on the future.

The Cruel Inconsistency of PETA

2008-03-12T10:41:00.002-04:00

We love animals. We don't love PETA. This article in today's Times captures the organization often-masked utilitarian inhumanity. This quote puts its succinctly:

“I don’t think PETA’s argument is with us, I think it’s with themselves,” said [Michael Mountain, founder of Best Friends Animal Rescue] from Utah in a telephone interview. “It’s really difficult as an animal-rights, animal-protection, animal-whatever-you-want-to-call-it organization to explain away the fact that pretty much all the animals you rescue, you kill. It doesn’t make logical sense; it doesn’t make emotional sense.”

You Know He Wanted It!

2008-03-12T10:00:00.003-04:00

So, we've read the Esquire piece.

It's very strange in itself, and reading the whole thing makes Fallon's resignation even stranger. A few observations:

First, it's a terrible piece of journalism. In a minor miracle of haigography, Barnett paints Fallon as part George Marshall, part George Kennan and part George Washington. He's tough, handsome, an oasis of calm in a terrifying world, he's...beautiful. It's also chock-a-block with patently silly statements (thanks to a successful diplomatic dinner in China there was "peace in our time." We hadn't noticed.) And lots of authorial clairvoyance that allows Barnett to translate direct quotes into what the Admiral really means. When Fallon declares that "Iran should be playing a contructive role...I hear this from every country in the region", Barnett channels this translation: "I've got you surrounded."

Well, its been a long time since Vidal and Mailer were writting for Esquire, so let's kindly move on.

More interesting is why a man reportedly as smart as Fallon (and there's no reason to doubt his smarts at all) would give access and quotes that anybody who knows the press knows would lead to this sort of article.

When an article like this comes out, you don't have a choice...you resign because you've effectively fired yourself. Fallon must have wanted it, or is woefully naive about media and magazine profiles; hard to believe.

So was this his final, tell-all self-inflicted coup de grace? Or a terrible media miscalculation? Read it for yourself, and consider the implications.

Oh, Gno...Gnomes!

2008-03-11T10:48:00.002-04:00

The Sun has it

"Creepy Gnome" terrorizes South American town! People wo afraid of this little guy has better avoid some of the seedier gay bars of E. 58th Street -- he's Justin Timberlake compared to Gnomes I Gknow.

Ferarro on Obama: It's Just 'Cause He's Black

2008-03-11T09:12:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe she really said this. What -- exactly -- does that mean?

Who is David Paterson?

2008-03-11T08:26:00.005-04:00

The next Governor of New York (assuming, of course, that he doesn't turn out to be client 8). Here's the Times helpful people in the news section on New York's Lt. Gov.

Aside from being legally blind -- as opposed to the merely morally blind current occupant of the governor's mansion (Sophocles: call your office) -- he would also be the first black governor of New York State. Cool!

There's a delicious irony in the media coverage of Paterson to date. The overall narative seems to be one of bemused wonder...why would the promising State Senate minority leader Paterson give up his seemingly inevitable path to Senate majority leader (one of the "three men in a room") to become the Lt. Governor...a job with "no power and little prestige."

Seems like it was a good move.

Goodbye Governor Spitzer

2008-03-10T14:08:00.001-04:00

Unbelieveable.

Today! Fresh Sins!! ALL NEW!!!

2008-03-10T11:40:00.001-04:00

The Vatican has some brand new sins for you to commit. So, hurry up and be the first on your block to trangess with finesse!

PA not OH...

2008-03-10T10:25:00.003-04:00

We were almost convinced otherwise. But it turns that the two different states are in fact...two different states. Smart Dick Polman at the Philly Inquirer points out:

"For all the glib comparisons to Ohio, its rust-belt neighbor, there are significant differences that could aid [Barack] Obama. Pennsylvania has a larger black population than Ohio, larger cities, and a larger student population. In contrast to Texas, it has a small Latino population. It has populous white liberal suburbs around Philadelphia."

He goes on to outline the advantages for Hillary, but we skipped that part.

Great News From Pravda!

2008-03-10T10:20:00.002-04:00

Headline: Orgasams May Work Unimaginable Miracles with Human Body.

Go Pravda!

In what one can only call the money quote:

During orgasm women may experience insufferable tortures. This is what sadomasochists use when they whip and spank each other.

Hot!

Obama Swings Back at Clinton...Sorta

2008-03-10T10:05:00.002-04:00

The WaPo headline is promising...Obama Accuses Clinton of Deception.

Ah, but read on. This a timbre campaigns take on when the are losing, and the Obama campaign is right on key with it. Half hearted "attacks" (she's saying awful things about me) don't change the topic, friends; the simply sound as though they are coming from the ropes.

Clearlyno important superdelegates are buding anytime soon. All the policy positions are out there. He has to find a way to fight back to prominence...and he has to do it without Andrew Sullivan.

What's needed here is some attack dogs -- not the cnadidate himself -- letting loose on Hillary and Bill. The need to be constantly coupled, painted as part of the past and demonstrated to be grasping for power at any cost...in other, he needs to find a way to do for the Clinton's what they did to themselves in South Carolina.

Couple that with the candidate giving three major, serious policy speechs over a very short time fram. One on foriegn policy, one on the economy and globalization and one civil liberties and security. They don't even need to be new or enhanced policies....just strong loud speeches that say" competent." Its up to the Obama press team to get the media to give them prominence, which they will.

Gus Van Sant's Latest Can Only Be Great

2008-03-07T11:11:00.003-05:00

The typicaly myopic yet verbose Manohla Dargis has an uncharacteristicaly clear eyed review here. The trailer:

The Pensylvania Chainsaw Massacre

2008-03-07T10:20:00.001-05:00

Jonathan Chiat sums up nicely -- not completely fairly, I think, but pretty much gets it right. For example:

"...superdelegates are going to be extremely reluctant to overturn an elected delegate lead the size of Obama's. The only way to lessen that reluctance would be to destroy Obama's general election viability, so that superdelegates had no choice but to hand the nomination to her. Hence her flurry of attacks, her oddly qualified response as to whether Obama is a Muslim ("not as far as I know"), her repeated suggestions that John McCain is more qualified."

Qoute for the Morning

2008-03-07T10:08:00.002-05:00

"It's Iowa on steroids," said T.J. Rooney, chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and a Clinton backer. "There are a lot of Democrats today who are like the dog who caught the mail truck. They finally caught it; now they don't know what to do."

From a WaPo article on Pennsylvania campaigning. An article that captures an Obama campaign still down-in-the-dumps, playing expectations games and doing nothing to restablish some competeing momemtum versus the Clintons. They sound exactly like the Hillary campaign two weeks out of Texas and Ohio -- the role reversal is stunningly complete and rapid.

Second Quote for the Morning

2008-03-06T09:57:00.001-05:00

Is from Gail Collins:

"The Texas primary results were much closer. The white male vote, which keeps shifting, was split. I’m beginning to suspect that the white males have realized that they’re either going to be accused of racism or sexism and have therefore made a secret pact to take turns."

New Instrument...It's Art, But Is It Cool?

2008-03-06T09:18:00.003-05:00

For everybody who's been waiting for the next ever since the Moog Synthesizer, here it is...the Tenori-ON.

Quote of the Morning

2008-03-06T09:08:00.001-05:00

“Everybody is sort of taking a deep breath right now,” said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts and an Obama supporter.

From this article in this morning's NYT summarizing the growing confusion in the Democratic establishment over who to support, and how.

Tooth and Nail

2008-03-05T19:21:00.002-05:00

Despite the fact that Obama will maintain a delegate lead, the Clinton camps plans to use new momemtum and strong arms to accumulate enought super delegates to swing her the nomination.

In other words, if Obama enters the convention with more pledged delegates, they'll use the discredited machinery of old time democratic back rooms to get the party politicos to go with them and onto power.

Of course, that will destroy the moral of the Obama supporters, generate ill will among the faithful, divide the party and help McCain win.

But who care? The nomination will be theirs. Will the supers go along?

McCain's Stepford Victory Speach

2008-03-05T14:49:00.003-05:00

This candidate can't read the teleprompter. This may seem minor, but guess what...it's not. His communication people need to tell him this won't fly in a race with Obama, or even Clinton. The solution is simple: McCain needs to memorize his speeches.

If he doesn't its either because a) he can't memorize them or b) no one has told him he must. If its "a" its bad, though not a sign of old age only. If it's "b" he's out of touch wiht campaign reality -- which is bad.

Predicition...watch this spring and summer. If he puts in the effort to improve speaking skills, he's confident and on his beam. If he keeps being this bad, he's either too old or arrogant to adjust, and will loose. Swear!

Tripping on Mt. Sinai

2008-03-05T12:28:00.002-05:00

Moses was a druggie! That explains covetting your neighbors ass!

Not New But Just Stunning

2008-03-05T10:43:00.001-05:00

Has Anyone Seen This Movie?

2008-03-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

The Danger of Momemtum

2008-03-05T10:03:00.002-05:00

When its all about momemtum -- which, to be fair, is what it has been all about -- the challenge is that it stops faster than it starts. From today's NYT:

"Yet the spirit of his supporters who gathered in the chilly air outside the San Antonio Memorial Auditorium, seemed shaken by his defeats. The crowd was a fraction of the size of those that assembled in giant rallies across Texas and Ohio in the past two weeks. "

If it was hard for Hillary to get back on top, we fear that it will be even harder for Obama. He has a lot of advantages still, but the one thing he can't survive is a drop in enthusiasm.

Clinton to Superdelegates...FREEZE!

2008-03-05T09:44:00.005-05:00

So, Politico says the Clinton camp is trying to put wavering superdelagates (one word?) on ice. How, exactly? A sinister ray gun...or threats of a very very cold shoulder once Clinton II is duely installed?

More interesting, however, is whether Barack's plan for a day-after announcement have put away in the fridge. He really needs to do something big...today. Announcing 50 super-delegates (hyphenated?) would be delicious, but they are politicians, and after Hilary's big win, it seems very unlikely. If he doesn't dosomething to turn or adjust the story today, however, he will seem off his beam and the narative will steam roll ahead.

He must show fight and a viable plan to staynot just in, but on top...and show it fast and strong. Delgate math alone won't do the trick. A big symbol is required.

It's Alive! And its a ...DIVA!

2008-03-05T09:31:00.003-05:00

Well, Andrew Sullivan is hungover.

Ron Fournier says the math is still impossible for Hillary.

The Washington Post continues the rampant stereotyping binge begun by Charlotte Allen in an article stating that gays support Hillary because:

"She's been picked on, ridiculed, bullied. Those haircuts, that laugh, the clothes. Oh, and Monica. But she never gives up. She's got good policy positions. She bullies when she needs to. She's "a diva."

Call it identity-politics-in-drag I guess.

Toyota's Teeny-Weeny CarCar

2008-03-04T15:58:00.002-05:00

It holds three adults and one kid. And the MiniCooper just got 8" longer --wrong direction Mini People!

Fail Dogs

2008-03-04T15:53:00.002-05:00

Someone's very funny idea. Their rules: it must be a dog. It must be failing. It must be funny

The Winner: The Kitchen Sink

2008-03-04T15:35:00.005-05:00

It certainly feels and even looks like the Clinton "kitchen sink" strategy of throwing everything negative into the feild over the last week has had an effect.

The campaigns are, of course, looking at early exit polls and adjusting their messages accordingly. It must look pretty good for Clinton so far. Read-on in that story, however, and you'll notice that turnout numbers are amazing:

"A record 180,000 voters cast Democratic ballots in early voting in Harris County and some 300,000 more were expected today, far surpassing the 75,000 in the 2004 presidential election."

Say that again, please: 480,000 votes cast in today's primary, vs. 75,000 in the last presidential election. That's not a trend up...its a social phenomenon. And that level of turn out would -- you'd think -- help Obama.

Ohio Going For Hillary...

2008-03-04T09:07:00.001-05:00

...at least according to the University of Cincinatti.

But remember how wrong polls of have been. It will come down to turnout, turnout and turnout.

If Hillary Clinton Can Make A Come Back, Why Not ME?????

2008-03-04T08:57:00.003-05:00

After an inexcusible hiatus, the Life Raft makes a come back.

What have we been up to? Oh, nothing.

But things are getting interesting again as you may have noticed, so we'll just jump in as though we've never left.

The Clinton will likely threaten legal action against God is the Ohio weather forecasts are right.

Andrews Sullivan -- in a down-cycle of his Obama cruch -- is nearly abandoning hope.

Brits Urinate on Locals

2008-03-04T08:48:00.002-05:00

Who knew that "Naked Bar" was a common pass time among british commandos? Apparently pissing is going to far, even for Prince Harry.

WalMart: Always Big Lies. Always.

2007-06-20T10:04:00.000-04:00

Remember when WalMart scarily tried to open a bank? They said it was simply to process credit card and other transaction and that they would not seek to compete in financial service.

Well, PANTS ON FIRE!

What is wrong with this picture is two fold.

On a basic level, the financially under-serviced (WalMarts acknowledged target) are ever rip for exploitation and are daily subject to usurious interest rates. Attempting to tie-up the funds of its customers and capturing the often enormous fees paid out by them to marginal services such as check cashers, pay-day advancers and wire services is to tap into the depths of the misery market. WalMart will crow that they reduce costs to consumers, but...is reduing a 30% interest rate to a 21.7% rate really helping the cosnumer, or is it simply redefining profit parameters based on economies of scale?

On the other level...Walmart doing mortgages? Owning homes? Foreclosing? ENOUGH! Who ever thought that along iwth Big Oil and Big Pharma we'd one day have the dreaded Big Retail?

Supreme Court Wanna Be Subpoenaed!

2007-06-13T11:44:00.001-04:00

Well! That'll show you, Harriet Miers.

The withdrawn (and withdrawing) erstwhile Supreme Court Nominee has been subpoenaed by Sen. Patrick "Go Fuck Yourself" Leahy.

The whitehouse screams confrontation -- which of course it is. They are so reckless and out there that I bet you dollars to donuts they attempt to defy the subpoena and drive it into the courts.

Bombs A-Gay!!

2007-06-13T11:27:00.000-04:00

You have to read this to believe it.

I'ts not a joke, it's...THE GAY BOMB!

More Splintering on the Far Right

2007-06-06T09:30:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe there's anybody to the right of James Dobson?

Think again.

As the above LA Times article makes clear, there are splinter group within the rabid anti-abortion movement that think Focus on the Family and National Right to Life are not extreme enough.

The rub is over whether to take an incremental or absolutist approach to the elimination of abortion (and diminshment of women's rights). The distinction between extremeist strategies is interesting: will absolutism self-distruct? Probably -- it usually does.

But more interesting is the not-so-sub text captured in the Times. "Money Grubbing Phonies" is what the splinters call the big groups. The resentment within the ranks of the far right building toward the groups that have grown too fat, too powerful, and too arrogant can -- hopefully -- only gain strength.

Akways the Answers, Never the Questions

2007-06-05T22:08:00.000-04:00

Here's AP's take on tonight's Republican debate.

Notice anything? It's a small but perfect example of media manipulation. The entire article is a litanny of individual candidate's talking points -- those pithy, quotable statements created by handlers well in advance of any actual questioning. AP carries the candidates' water by quoting what they said -- in almost every instance without even the context of the questions theses stamements obstensibly refer to.

In this case, little harm done. And you could argue that what candidates say -- not what they are asked or how they differ -- is the news out an event like tonight's.

But they why call it a "debate"? Why not just aknowledge it a publicity vehicle for third party dissemination of competitive messages?

A Scene Not In America's Top Comedy

2007-06-05T15:58:00.000-04:00

Why deleted? Its very funny...

Violence Unsurprsiningly Persistent in Iraq

2007-06-05T15:49:00.001-04:00

While all of Washington is content to wait until September to pass jusdgement on the SURGE, vairous Iraqi fighters are showing now signs of taking a day off. Isn't the Irqi president in the US for three weeks...for what exactly?

Larry King: Killer! Watch Out Anderson Cooper...

2007-06-05T15:44:00.001-04:00

Summer Reading!!

2007-06-05T08:57:00.001-04:00

Have you read Michael Chabon's wonderful new book "The Yiddish Policemen's Union"?

It's wonderfully strange and maybe his best yet. Film Noir Detective Story cum Alternate History Fantasy that's simultaneously a love note to the Yiddish and English languages as well as a beautiful and funny mediation on memory and belonging.

Oh, is that all?

And how about the graphics on the cover -- ultra gorgeous and the work of a designer named Will Staehle. Here's his website, too. Very nice!

Chickens in the News!

2007-06-05T08:49:00.001-04:00

Chickens have gotten such a bad rap since all this bird flu hulabaloo that we've decided to dedicate a regular little feature to good chicken news.

Here's the latest on chickens. We'll call it poultrantropology.

Ick! Dems Pander to the Christian Semi-Left.

2007-06-05T08:44:00.000-04:00

Do not read on an empty stomach.

What's more distasteful? Hillary's acknowledgement that faith got her through Monica (oh, really?) or John Edwards continuing to openly discuss his child's death and wife's cancer for poltical advantage?

Expletives Undeleted!

2007-06-05T08:30:00.000-04:00

Here's the Times's piece on yesterday's ruling on obsensity by a Federal Appeals panel in New York. Interesting enough, and a sly and choiceful rebuke to Cheney to boot! (Senator Leahy, call your office.)

However, seems the gist of a larger story resides in one sentance from the descions quoted by the Times:

“We find that the F.C.C.’s new policy regarding ‘fleeting expletives’ fails to provide a reasoned analysis justifying its departure from the agency’s established practice,” said the panel.

The fact is that the adminstration has proved precious little "reasoned analysis" justifng its departure from a vast array of established practices -- from torture to environmental policy to food safety regulation to...oh, you name it. Did we mention war and peace? They consistently replace long standing federal policy with ideological imperatives of the far right.

This case will go to the Supreme Court...will the court, with Roberts and Alito, give the adminstration the authority to change federal policy on ideogical whim? Or will we see the begining of court rollback of executive over-reaching?

The headline we're waiting for? "Supremes To Cheney: Go Fuck Yourself."

We're Off for the Weekend! Here's a Little Nina...

2007-06-01T12:11:00.000-04:00

Let Go, Peggy, Let Go

2007-06-01T12:02:00.000-04:00

Peggy "Morning in America" Noonan has finally had it Bush.

Over torture, the war, gross undermining of the constitution, law breaking? Nope. Immigration. Oh, who cares?

BUT get this revealing quote:

The beginning of my own sense of separation from the Bush administration came in January 2005, when the president declared that it is now the policy of the United States to eradicate tyranny in the world, and that the survival of American liberty is dependent on the liberty of every other nation. This was at once so utopian and so aggressive that it shocked me. For others the beginning of distance might have been Katrina and the incompetence it revealed, or the depth of the mishandling and misjudgments of Iraq.

Notice what's missing? Torture. Even as they flee the sinking ship, ideological conservatives are choosing the baggage to salvage, and among the refuse dragged to shore, keep watching, will be "enhanced interrogation techniques."

Bye Bye Bartlet

2007-06-01T09:42:00.000-04:00

Here's the Times's news break. So Dan Bartlet is goin to spend some more time with his family. Just had a new baby, it seems, who has been christened "Exit Strategy."

Couple of observations:

Old fashioned PR ploy: announce annoying news on a Friday (other rule: announce disasterous news on a Saturday). Unsurprsining.

But, not to be agesist...Dan Bartlet, conisistently referred to as one of the Presidents most important and senior advisors, was all of ...36?!? Meaning when they came to the White House he was 30? Isn't that little young? But he's been with Bush for ever, loyalty has it rewards, and wet behind the ears Texas politicos hold top advisory posts in a nationa at war.

Well, he's gone.

It's Just a Kooky, Though Deadly, Coincidence

2007-05-31T19:47:00.000-04:00

That's what the CDC says anyhow.

Let's hope the small pox expert's son-in-law doesn't like to fly.

Good Gracious Guinness!

2007-05-31T14:52:00.000-04:00

Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan

The Slowly Shifting Wind

2007-05-30T12:44:00.000-04:00

The palpable sense that the public -- more specifically the elctorate -- is slowly waking up to the follies, failures and falsehoods of the Bush administration continues to crystalize. And its taking hold in a strange and widespread swath of the public.

Two very different articles -- this one on Falwell in New York Magazineby John Heileman, and this one in today's Times. Both show movements away from Bushism across a wide swath of the right and middlge.

Cats Sleeping With Dogs!

2007-05-30T12:36:00.000-04:00

The WaPo has it here.

But who's the feline, and who the canine? Is the immigration embroligio -- among many other things -- a sign that bipartisanship is dead, its just infeesible to an overly polarized electorate?

Welcome To the USSR, 1951

2007-05-30T12:24:00.000-04:00

How much traction will this story in today's Times get?

Here's the crux of it in one paragraph...the US in 2007 has something ugly in common with late Stalinist Russia:

While billions are spent each year to upgrade satellites and other high-tech spy machinery, the experts say, interrogation methods — possibly the most important source of information on groups like Al Qaeda — are a hodgepodge that date from the 1950s, or are modeled on old Soviet practices.

The whole subject of torture and interogation surprsingly still seems to create little outrage or concern in the general public, and arguable, much of the mainstream media, particularly television. Two years after Abu Gahrib, it's still expert panels, hearings and shocklingly small -- though diverse -- chorus of dissent.

Burgers, Burgers EVERYWHERE!

2007-05-23T15:42:00.000-04:00

Its the Wednesday before Memorial, so food sections are helpfully telling everybody how to make that rare and exotic treat: the hamburger. Look here, here and here.

Of course, those in the know know what we know...the way to make the real deal exceptional flavored hamburger. But out secrets shall not be revealed.

Awwwwwww....

2007-05-23T15:27:00.000-04:00

New Baby Elephant at the Berlin Zoo.

They sure know how to market the baby mammals in the Fatherland.

Just What Are They Up To?

2007-05-23T12:21:00.000-04:00

AP has this report on an increasing show of US naval strength off the Iranian coast.

Combined with Cheney's battle ship threats to Iran and his creepy shuttling around the region, they couldn't be planning anything. They'd rattle sabres more and more publicly before just going ahead and bombing Iran. Right? Right???

Follow The Money

2007-05-23T09:48:00.001-04:00

The Financial Times has a story that is being covered, but covered very little, in US press.

You might have heard about it -- the missing billions of dollars in Iraq. To be fair, it could be shoddy bookkeeping, and would you really expect buttoned up bookkeepping from this Bush-Cheney Junta?

But really kids, why suspect anything other than corruption -- especially when the White House is -- as usual -- loathe to be accountable. Keep watching this story...

Really...who cares?

2007-05-23T09:15:00.000-04:00

This article in today's Times is a perfect example of the danger facing the current crop of '08 presidential candidates. How can this level of interest possibly be maintained through primary season and into the general election -- more than a year away?

We still believe that there is a very strong chance that the major party nominees are not yet in the race....

Dems to Bush: See You in September!

2007-05-22T17:36:00.001-04:00

Well, Senate democrats today threw in the towel and are prepared to drop timelines or troop withdrawl from the next funding bill.

However, if the situation in Iraq continues as is or worsens, come September, then overide will be the order of the day. This is a battled whose lines have FINALLY been drawn, but the real battle is yet to come.

Anoying lefties and moveoners will do anything but move in, as they claim that the '06 midterm was a mandate for Iraq withrawl -- which of course it wasn't.

Leonard Cohen. Who's Cooler?

2007-05-22T15:03:00.000-04:00

Will He? Won't He? Does He Really, Really LIKE us?

2007-05-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

Politico works it all out for you. Now you can be Al Gore-smart at all those chic Memorial Day cocktail parties coming up.

Pitty General Patreaus

2007-05-22T14:27:00.001-04:00

Its perfectly clear that his "plan" or the "surge" simply cannot work. Its getting worse than ever.

What American Muslims Believe Just May Shock You

2007-05-22T13:21:00.000-04:00

The Pew Center today released a public opinion poll conducted among American Muslims. You can see the complete report here.

Interesting thing: the results are either banal or extremely disturbing, not much in between. For example, a signifcant majority of US muslims (60%) refuse to believe that a group of Arabs perpetrated the attacks of 9/11. Now, this is not Muslims in a Palestinian refugee camp or under the thumb of Egyptian dictatorship. These are American Muslims with access to our (degenerating) marketplace of ideas.

But that's nothing compared to this: one out of four (26%) of American muslims between the ages of 18 and 29 believe that suicide bombing can be justified! 15% -- not a neglible percentage -- believe that suicide bombing is often or sometimes justified.

It's All About Al!

2007-05-22T12:08:00.001-04:00

Quote for the day from E.J. Dionne's good collumn on Al Gore in today's WaPo:

Gore, to his credit, won't talk about Florida, but I will. Whatever flaws he has, Gore suffered through an extreme injustice with great dignity. His revenge is to have been right about a lot of things: right about the power of the Internet, right about global warming and right about Iraq.

Well put, but, oh! the consequences of that "extreme injustice." We've bought the book and will let you know what we think. Have you bought it yet?

Planet Earth: Movie Star

2007-05-21T16:27:00.001-04:00

Did you see this amazing series when it ran on the Discovery Channel this spring? Animal documentary nut that I am, I somehow missed it... and what a big miss that was.

This is really super spectacular stuff, that easily elevates the nature documentary to the level of cinematic art. The cinematography (done in ground breaking high definition) alone is jaw dropping, but there's more than mere spectacle. Structurally, the series approaches the planet with a orgainzed holiticism that is utterly new -- at least to this viewer. And the narration -- always litterate, occasionally soaring -- is delivered by the incomporable David Attenborough in a tour de foce of voice over.

Stop reading!! Order it at once, right here.

Subpoena Showdown?

2007-05-18T11:02:00.000-04:00

Very little main stream media coverage of letters from Senator Leahy to Gonzalez. Isn't the AG not being in compliance with a Senate subpoena and an absolutely threatening letter from the Judiciary committee chairman newsworthy? I guess not, or not until this showdown goes to its next level. Or maybe the level after that. Or after that...

The Boyfriend

2007-05-18T08:52:00.000-04:00

"I have been caricatured as a boyfriend who used his position of power to help his girlfriend."
Mr Wolfowitz said this was why he had been "fighting so hard to defend myself".

Called a boyfriend! Imagine!

Ah! Jacques Brel...

2007-05-17T16:17:00.000-04:00

To Be Young, American and Not White

2007-05-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

Collapse

2007-05-17T15:35:00.000-04:00

According to this article, Iraq is on the brink of collapse. This piece in today's Times says pretty much the same thing, just a tad less definatively.

What's interesting is the mass media and aparatchiks in Washington have pretty much sold the "See You in September" line into conventional wisdow...come the end of summer, we'll know if Gen Petraeus's plan has worked.

Right. Has anybody told that to the various insurgent factions in Iraq, I wonder? They seem to be getting more and more violent every single day. Gen. Petreaus can try to surge all he wants, these reports paint a picture of a society in the midst of apparantly irreversible melt down.

Senate Sounds Gonzalez Death Knell. Again.

2007-05-17T15:07:00.000-04:00

Arlen Specter openly predicting the demisre of Gonzalez:

''I have a sense that when we finish our investigation, we may have the conclusion of the tenure of the attorney general,'' Specter said during a committee hearing. ''I think when our investigation is concluded, it'll be clear even to the attorney general and the president that we're looking at a dysfunctional department which is vital to the national welfare.''

The whole story, including pending no confidence vote, is here.

How long can the President continue to ignore the clear and justified lack of confidence of his own party? It will be quite telling to see -- indefinitley is doubtful; but not impossible.

Julie Christie...

2007-05-17T12:10:00.000-04:00

...impossibly magnetic and beautiful at 67!

Al Gore's New Book

2007-05-17T10:15:00.000-04:00

Another (big) step forward into the ring?

A succinct, strong and dead serious summary of present danger?

Both. An excerpt is here. Pre-order here or buy it next week.

And, yup...he lost the weight.

A Really Stunning Web of Lies

2007-05-17T09:51:00.000-04:00

The Washinton Post has this.

Apparently, the rule of law set at the Justice Department wanted to fire about 25% of all US attorneies more than 3 times the number the attorney general has said, under oath, were considered for dismissal.

This story is a hard one for people to get. There is no question of any laws being broken, none were. Its not unheard of, although the "Clinton Did It, Too" argument put forward but the few remaining Republicans in America odd. Did they really elect George Bush to do the kinds of slimy political tricks they love to pillory Bill for? Guess so.

No, what's awful here is:

1. The attempt to weed out the ideologically impure from a conrnerstone beaurocracy on a wholesale level. Does anyone doubt they would have eventually replaced all US attorneys?

2. The thuggish indifference to being caught. The president still thinks highly of his AG. The AG, caught in lie after lie after lie, and with virtually no support on the hill continue to hold on to his job. In the face of this tempest, like mobsters, the Bush Adminstrations ugly stance is "Fuck 'em! They can't touch us."