John Kerry, outsider.
Wed May 11, 2005 at 09:05:26 AM PDT
From the Note, via
Eric Alterman's blog:
Seen at last night's cocktail reception for new Bryan Cave Strategies superlobbyists Jack Oliver and Steve Elmendorf: Rep. Steny Hoyer, Sen. Kit Bond, Reps. Mark Foley and Melissa Bean, White House Political Director Sara Taylor, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, OMB director Josh Bolten, Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor, Sen. John Kerry, David Plouffle, Mary Beth Cahill, Jenny Backus, Stephanie Cutter, Erik Smith, John Lapp, Phil Singer and Kim Molstre. And journalists like Tom Curry, Dan Balz and Jeff Birnbaum.
This is the future (2008) of our party? Sigh. Thanks for the fund-raising pitch, JK. It's time I fixed that shredder.
More-on Lawrence Summers
Sun Feb 20, 2005 at 09:52:42 AM PDT
With all the talk about Summers and his lack of sensitivity and understanding on issues of gender, I think the core problem is being overlooked. Summers, in his short tenure as president of one of the world's most venerable institutions, manages to display a lack of sensitivity on a
broad range of issues, not just women in science. I came across this column written by a local commentator for North Jersey's
Bergen Record, my mother's local paper. Summers' battles with Cornel West are well-known by most here, but this column highlights Summers' more recent conduct which is in danger of dismantling Harvard's Africa American Studies Department, once the best in the country.
RNC Volunteer's Diary (last in an occasional series)
Thu Aug 26, 2004 at 04:40:54 PM PDT
Wherein I learn first-hand the risks of blogging...
Well, it appears my services are no longer required as a volunteer for the Republican National Convention. No e-mails with my assignments for next week, and seemingly blocked access to the volunteer-only web forum. Gee, you think this had anything to do with it?
RNC Volunteer's Diary (first in an occasional series)
Mon Aug 16, 2004 at 07:25:14 PM PDT
Day One, wherein my confidence in a Kerry victory is restored.
Last week I found myself at a general training session for Republican Convention volunteers. I had originally applied months ago as a lark, certain that my application would be summarily rejected due to my political registration and affiliations, not to mention posts to blogs like this one. As the weeks passed, however, I came to realize that this could be an incredible opportunity to witness the empty pomp and pageantry of an empty campaign, bereft of all vision save stagecraft.
Air America's finances -- WSJ article
Mon Jun 21, 2004 at 12:25:36 PM PDT
For those of you who follow the progressives' favorite soap opera that is
Air America, there's an
interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal that purports to explain some of the in-fighting. Did you know Franken gets a million a year?
Bill Keller continues to miss the point.
Wed May 26, 2004 at 11:13:03 AM PDT
The following is the memo, apparently distributed by Bill Keller and Jill Abrams, to the Times staff regarding today's "Editor's Note" (again, courtesy of my favorite journalism website,
Romanesko):
Sontag in NY Times Mag
Fri May 21, 2004 at 02:31:33 PM PDT
I apologize in advance if this has already been "blogged." Susan Sontag
writes on the Iraq torture photos and what it says, not only about our Administration, but about
us as a culture, as a society, as collective pretenders to civility and morality.
Some excerpts below (I don't know how to do "blockquotes," so deal with it):
Volunteers Wanted for GOP Convention
Wed Apr 21, 2004 at 07:32:51 PM PDT
Not sure if I really want to do this, but I felt compelled to at least apply. I think polite, articulate progressives could have a
lot of fun volunteering at the Republican convention in September. :-P I note that the application does not inquire as to one's political affiliation or beliefs.
Volunteer application for NYC Host Committee
K. Phillips Convinces Me to Give to Kerry
Mon Mar 15, 2004 at 11:22:32 AM PDT
I'm reading Kevin Phillips' incredible chronology of the dubious dealings of the Bastards Bush. All I can say is, "Wow. These guys are even worse than I ever imagined."
NY Times has now sunk to the "Gore" depths
Tue Jan 13, 2004 at 02:06:04 PM PDT
At first I thought it a bad joke, then realized they were serious:
"Dressed for Hoped-for Success" analyzes the wardrobe habits of the major candidates.
It must be Iowa soon, 'cause we're now in the silly season.
Rosen and Rich on the Press and Dean (or "why they don't get it')
Wed Dec 24, 2003 at 09:36:11 PM PDT
Oddly, I find myself in front of a computer, nursing a headache triggered by the cacaphony of 3 TVs and a computer game all being watched/played simultaneously. I missed Frank Rich's column on Dean and the Internet, but I stumbled across this take on the column and the topic by Jay Rosen, via Romanesko's Media News (Poynter). I suppose the "vaunted DC press" is a favorite peeve of mine, and I found refreshing Rosen's (and by extension, Rich's) take on the DC media elite "cluelessness." Anyway, have a
gander.
Koppel (and the Media) Still Don't Get It
Thu Dec 18, 2003 at 12:12:25 PM PDT
I found this transcript of NPR's
On the Media interviewing Ted Koppel on his debate performance.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: But is a debate the place to put the story of the day? Do you think process questions are more likely to keep people awake?
TED KOPPEL: A) I think it is more likely to keep people awake, and B) have you seen any debates yet? I mean I remember a debate being between two people arguing about a particular subject. When you have nine people on a stage, and then you have two moderators -- and remember this is a format that was picked, not by us, but by the Democratic National Committee and by staffers from the nine candidates -- you're not going to have a debate. You're lucky to have a conversation.
Why do liberals prostrate themselves before the conservative media?
Sat Oct 25, 2003 at 04:01:49 AM PDT
This question was triggered by an earlier Diary that mentioned Lieberman's appearance on Don Imus' s program, as well as Kucinich's refusal to appear on Hardball. Why do liberals, or Democrats in general, feel the need to legitimize conservative media by appearing on these shows. It's one thing to appear on MTP with Tim Russert; while his audience may be somewhat small compared to "American Idol" or "Friends," it can set the political agenda for the week. The reach of Imus or Hardball, or any other various cable shows is laughingly limited, so what's the rationale? Are they THAT influential?
Who will save us from ourselves?
Sat Oct 18, 2003 at 05:33:58 PM PDT
I know we have a tough road ahead of us in convincing independents and thoughtful Republicans to vote for Democrats. I didn't know we may have to convince our fellow Democrats as well. I strongly believe in voting one's conscience, and as a New Yorker I can see myself voting to re-elect my Republican mayor Mike Bloomberg. But this is ridiculous:
http://nytimes.com/2003/10/19/national/19CALI.html
Top California Democrat Makes a Surprising Revelation: He Voted for Schwarzenegger
From the article: "On the subject of accusations of sexual misconduct against Mr. Schwarzenegger, Mr. Lockyer said that he had no doubt that the basic accusations against Mr. Schwarzenegger were true, but that Mr. Schwarzenegger had learned from his mistakes and should be given a second chance.
That was a stark contrast to Mr. Lockyer's remarks several days before the election, when, campaigning with Governor Davis, he called for an official investigation of the accusations.
"I'm convinced Arnold really didn't understand that he was caught up in this frat-boy behavior, and it was accepted too frequently in that industry," Mr. Lockyer said on Saturday. "So it is part of the culture. And I think he really genuinely means to not do that. So I give him the benefit of the doubt."
Oy vey.
"Gee, can someone monitor OUR elections?
Thu Oct 16, 2003 at 09:13:13 AM PDT
This is the most informative artcile I've read on the
electronic voting scandal (from Tuesday's Independent (UK)) (sorry, don't know how to make links):
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=452972
Found it through Eric Alterman's site. I'd quote the "money grafs," but frankly, there are too many. Just read the whole thing.
Blinded By Science
Tue Oct 14, 2003 at 09:18:24 AM PDT
Well, here goes. I'm going to be honest -- with all the options for "comment preferences" and "ratings" and "display preferences," I'm not sure I'll be visiting this site as often as I used to (my boss would say "good!"). As a non-techie I find this new site to be extremely intimidating; and I hope it won't deter people like me who were "just passing by" a few months ago and decided to drop in on the conversation. Because that's exactly what dailykos is, and why I look forward to logging on in the morning. The long thoughtful posts by both newbies and regulars, the gut-busting oneliners that have made me do coffee spit-takes -- I fear these will be made obsolete with relative complexity of registering and posting. I've tried my hand at rating a few posts just to see how it works, and I see I haven't managed to bring the entire site down to a grinding halt, so perhaps there's hope for me. I'll keep working at it, but for now I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the simplicity of the old.
