Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa

Yours in the Spirit of the Lord and Servant on Earth,
Barney Frank

(""I should not have put out a statement late in the evening last night when I was upset because I didn't really--I think I overstated the pessimism," Frank told me. "I really was worried--I put out a new statement--I was worried about some Democrats doing crazy things, like 'don't seat him', 'let Kirk's vote go.' I was worried about that.")

Erm, About That Reconciliation Thingie

Another commenter, Fonsia at Daily Kos, says the same thing I saw from another over at TPM last night:

Notice that Bush's tax cuts are quietly going away this year. Why? Because they were passed through reconciliation.
Large chunks of this bill didn't have anything to do with the budget, so they couldn't have been included. Also, Kent Conrad is chair of the budget committee, and has always opposed things like the public option. He would be the one in charge of basically writing anything that went through reconciliation.
You'll get your reconciliation and lots of good things will be added, but you have to have an established law to add them to.
The House will pass the Senate bill. Obama will sign it. Then, the House will get right to work on a bill intended for reconciliation (the House has to designate that before a bill goes to the Senate). In that bill will be all the compromises worked out over the last few weeks and perhaps some other nice things (although probably not the public option because Kent Conrad has always opposed it--and I hope I'm proved wrong about that).
Congress is going to be adding to and amending this bill for decades to come.

Still haven't seen any mention about whether they still have to face procedural cloture votes over in the Senate. I sort of suspect not, because then it couldn't work.
Frank's still saying it's dead.

Cynicism Is NOT Always Boring

Sometimes it's mildly amusing as in this quote labelled "stolen content" by one of my FB friends. Unsourced.

"Tough break for Inept Political Party A. How will it get nothing done now that Inept Political Party B will have considerably more say in how nothing gets done? This is an historically unsubstantial day that no doubt will be in Wikipedia bibliographical footnotes for years to come (or until Wikipedia r...uns out of money later this year). Will you remember where you were when nothing changed?"

Quote O' Teh Day

From Taplin's blog:

Elaine Richardson, who is in her 50s, is divorced and owns a health care consulting firm in Westchester, said that men “call you high maintenance if you look like you don’t need anyone to take care of you.”

Okay, Maybe Health Care Reform Is Not Dead

As I understand it, the unmoveable liberal/progressives in the House could get some of what they want through a reconciliation bill passed before the Senate bill, then sent to the Senate. Then they pass the Senate bill.
I haven't seen any comment that says they'd still face procedural cloture votes on such a reconciliation bill.

Health Care Reform Is Dead

says Lawrence O'Donnell, who I used to call "my man" O'Donnell.
Howard Dean's reconciliation solution with a Medicare expansion Hail Mary can't get past the procedural cloture vote problem, which still needs 60 votes.
Not only do the Dems not have 60 any more, but it's not likely Lieberman or possibly even Nelson will go for it. Certainly no Republicans.
As for the House, Barney Frank just said it ain't gonna happen. Guess what, it looks like it's all up to Nancy and her boys. Oy!

Think I'll Just Keep The Shibas Here

Guess not today, embed not working.
If you need a little newborn puppies mostly sleeping, here's a link.

9:42 pm Coakley Concedes

So, what's next?
Rachel Maddow had Howard Dean on and he inexplicably decried the "circular firing squad" among Democrats, given that he was a big contributor to that behavior just weeks ago.
But he also said we should go to reconciliation, needing only 51 votes in the Senate, and just pass Medicare expansion, which won't cover everybody but could then be worked on to expand.
Hmmm, and we're back to where we started. Unless Pelosi thinks she's got the House votes to pass the Senate's bill, which Dean doesn't like and said so just, oh, weeks ago.
I feel oddly detached, more bewitched by the drama of this whole thing as it's played out over so many months.

Strangely Mezmerizing Deaths

from the coroners records in Monroe County, Ill., 1896-1935.
Surprising number of deaths due to train. Predictable alcohol related. Baby dies after circumcision. A lot of deaths, really.

This Just In

From Nate Silver, who's up awfully early. And I'm up awfully late. Again.

The White House's announcement yesterday that it will schedule its State of the Union address for next Wednesday, January 27th, an earlier date than most insiders expected, is surely not coincidental and reflects a desire to pressure the House into voting for the Senate's version of the health care bill almost immediately, assuming that Scott Brown defeats Martha Coakley in Massachusetts tonight.

Barack Obama As George Bailey

Jonathan Chait in the Atlantic tells the Dems not to panic if Coakley loses in Massachusetts.

Even if Coakley loses, the House could pass the Senate bill as is, avoiding the need to break a filibuster, and tinker with it in a reconciliation bill that can’t be filibustered. The only thing preventing the Democrats from following through would be sheer panic.
Remember the classic scene in It’s a Wonderful Life? Facing a run on his building and loan, George Bailey tries to explain to his frantic customers how to look after their self-interest. “Don't you see what's happening?” he pleads, “Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying! And why? Because we're panicking and he's not.” President Obama’s great challenge right now is to be his party’s George Bailey.

Thought For The Day

Low-information voter: Is there any other kind in this country. Even some of my most admired friends are appallingly ignorant, consumed with personal life, feeling free to vote their gut.

Gitmo Ad Infinitum

Scott Horton is the kind of man — writer, lawyer, humanitarian and civil rights activist — that we desperately need in these still dire times. This one's a long one.

According to the NCIS, each prisoner had fashioned a noose from torn sheets and T-shirts and tied it to the top of his cell’s eight-foot-high steel-mesh wall. Each prisoner was able somehow to bind his own hands, and, in at least one case, his own feet, then stuff more rags deep down into his own throat. We are then asked to believe that each prisoner, even as he was choking on those rags, climbed up on his washbasin, slipped his head through the noose, tightened it, and leapt from the washbasin to hang until he asphyxiated. The NCIS report also proposes that the three prisoners, who were held in non-adjoining cells, carried out each of these actions almost simultaneously...All four soldiers say they were ordered by their commanding officer not to speak out, and all four soldiers provide evidence that authorities initiated a cover-up within hours of the prisoners’ deaths. Army Staff Sergeant Joseph Hickman and men under his supervision have disclosed evidence in interviews with Harper’s Magazine that strongly suggests that the three prisoners who died on June 9 had been transported to another location prior to their deaths. The guards’ accounts also reveal the existence of a previously unreported black site at Guantánamo where the deaths, or at least the events that led directly to the deaths, most likely occurred.

Top Movies You Don't Want To See

according to some 43 serious critics.
I especially liked two who went out on a limb, although they're probably big enough to get away with it.
David Edelstein called It's Complicated "affluence porn." But I'll probably see it anyway. On Netflix.
Jim Emerson, who I am proud to say I went to j-school with, called out Avatar. Good on, Jim.

Hey, it's a guide, just a guide. That's all.
I would like a list of most underappreciated movies.

Conspicuously absent, Capitalism, A Love Story. But that's probably because it was released in September. It's hard to remember that bad, that far back. I mean, half of it was inexplicably bad vintage footage and he decided we'd be interested in his meandering conversations with Wallace Shawn as if My Dinner With Andre was something we could all relate to in 2009. I'm beginning to suspect that maybe 2009 was the worst year for movies in a long time and may well be accorded honors for such at some time in the future.

Don't Donate Any More To Haiti? WTF?

A think piece — with facts! — worth a read.

The last time there was a disaster on this scale was the Asian tsunami, five years ago. And for all its best efforts, the Red Cross has still only spent 83% of its $3.21 billion tsunami budget — which means that it has over half a billion dollars left to spend. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that’s money which could be spent in Haiti, if it weren’t for the fact that it was earmarked.

...Earmarking your funds for Haiti in particular is not helpful. But that’s no reason to give nothing at all.

You And Your Disease

Keep a copy of this handy in your bookmarks, contrariennes, chances are you're going to need it.
She is a powerful writer, and I highly recommend this.

The other 20% chance was that it was metastisized cancer from another primary location.

JFC! I never heard of heart cancer.

Coakley Will Win In Massachusetts. Or Not.

TPM's got some anecdotal on-the-ground reports from readers here and here. GOTV appears to be working the way it should. If she comes out ahead by more than a squeak, the rehash after the panic of the last few days will be interesting if you like that kind of thing.
I was going to make more calls for her, but they're not asking me to do that anymore, which makes me conclude that they've saturated the call list and any more would just irritate the hell out of undecideds. They asked me for money, but Coakley has all kinds of money and I can think of better things to do with mine. Like eat.

Commentary Magazine : Sometimes I Forget That I Am Also A Good Writer

and then something comes along to remind me. Like this.
So, I wrote a letter to Commentary Magazine:

When I began reading Peter Loatin’s review of Rebecca Goldstein’s new novel 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, I realized I had to start a list. A list of new words I’d never heard or read before and words I’d seen before but never bothered to define. This is a task I’ve been postponing for quite some time, probably since I learned to read some 59 years ago. I’ve always sort of trusted that unusual words would eventually work themselves into my conscious vocabulary over the years if it seemed important.
The words are apodictic, tropism, fustian, adumbrate and asymtotic. Well, I don’t strictly need to educate myself on adumbrate, it’s self-explanatory in context, and I still have no intention of ever using it in a sentence. As for tropism, I long ago decided it can stay in the undefined file forever. So can the others, come to think of it. So much for the list.
But I have to ask Mr. Loatin and Mr. Loatin’s editor if those words were really necessary to the review or whether it’s possible they may interfere with its purpose. Why, by the way, is fustian associated with academia? Guess I’ll have to look that one up.
I still want to read the book, though, which is where I was when I started to read the review. I am not so easily discouraged.

Yours truly,

Do you think they'll publish it? Do they notify you when they publish a letter? Who cares? Well, I'd like it if they published it. Maybe they'll ask me to do the next book review. Oh, stop it.

McSweeney's. Also. You Betcha.

here

Surprise Sunday: Deep Thought Dept.

Andrew Sullivan refers me to a wonderful blog post by writer and writing teacher Chris Bachelder who writes about the importance of surprise in human existence and the importance of literature in that equation and I, of course, immediately feel an empty space has been filled in, I feel self-satisfied. This is why we read news, I easily conclude. We are addicted to surprise, I think, with none of the negative connotations usually associated with the news in my mind.
Bachelder, of course, is making a point about literature, and leads me along casually. I forget he is a writer, and waiting in the bushes to spring out at me with that knife, aimed at my throat.
And I am reminded again why it's good to read something besides news. Something by Denis Johnson:

A man has died a terrible death. He’ll never live again. His wife, now a widow, is notified in the hospital. Says Fuckhead, our narrator: “What a pair of lungs! She shrieked as I imagined an eagle would shriek. It felt wonderful to be alive to hear it! I’ve gone looking for that feeling everywhere.”

Score! Er, bookmarked.

UPDATE: Fun fact. Bachelder writes for an online magazine called The Believer, which I suspected might prove to be religious. Not so. It describes itself thus:

The Believer is a monthly magazine where length is no object.
There are book reviews that are not necessarily timely, and that are very often very long.
There are interviews that are also very long.
We will focus on writers and books we like.
We will give people and books the benefit of the doubt.
The working title of this magazine was The Optimist.

Women Getting Ahead

should be more aggressive, lie a lot and generally embrace their inner asshole. Or something.
From Clay Shirky, something of an icon among the techno pundits, or at least the ones who play one on the intertubes.
MetaFilter has great discussion going, all over the map. And I learned a new word, "mansplaining." Heh.

Tonight's Movie Review: In The Loop

I unexpectedly got real TV back again this week and tonight's choice was between the Las Vegas card-counting caper movie 21, which so far is pretty lame, and a zombie movie I didn't even know Tarantino made and with my man Clooney, but I passed.
Nothing can surpass In The Loop, which I watched earlier tonight and which one Rotten Tomatoes reviewer described aptly:

It's as if Jane Austen and Monty Python collaborated on an episode of The West Wing.

I couldn't find my favorite scene, so here's the official clip from about the only clean scenes in the movie.


UPDATE: I should mention that you will need to listen very carefully to this movie because these people are mostly British, and speak a lot of very funny words very quickly. The language is scandalous. And hilarious.

Health Care Reform: A Little Perspective

Rick Hertzberger has a short essay based on some guy named Ruskin's observations about the pathetic fallacy. Honestly, I didn't have the patience for it, but here's what I will remember:

On May 20, 1962, at Madison Square Garden, John F. Kennedy spoke to some twenty thousand people at a rally in support of a bill to provide hospital care for the aged, one of forty-five such rallies around the country. In his speech, President Kennedy acknowledged that his bill would fall short of meeting every need. “We’ve got great unfinished business in this country,” he said, “and while this bill does not solve our problems in this area, I do not believe it is a valid argument to say, ‘This bill isn’t going to do the job.’ It will not, but it will do part of it.”
Two months later, Kennedy’s bill was defeated in the Senate. It took his assassination, a huge Democratic victory in 1964, and the legislative talents of President Lyndon Johnson to get Medicare enacted. The health-care bill now being kicked and prodded and bribed toward passage will not “do the job,” either—only part of it. Are Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress doing enough? No. But they are doing what’s possible.

Satan Writes A Letter To Pat Robertson

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Dear Pat Robertson, I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll. You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract. Best, Satan

LILY COYLE, MINNEAPOLIS

Martha Coakley, Sen — Mass.

I admit I was going for Coakley early on merely because she is a woman. And a Democrat, of course.
So now progressives looking into the real Martha find the chinks. They say she's just another Mass. Dem. political hack, likening her to John Kerry. I say, so?
They say she's run a horrible, insider campaign and didn't even look like she was trying. Well, it also looked from the get-go that she had it wrapped. Dino Rossi v. Chris Gregoire comes to mind, remember that?
And she's not as liberal as Teddy. Well, who is? As for the great Kennedy icon, anybody here old enough to remember his attempt to get the nomination away from Carter?
And there's also this little embarrassment when Boston became a laughing stock after the authorities overreacted big time to a silly prank.
But besides the fact that we absolutely must have her vote on health care, I still want her as the next woman Senator, on the absolutely pragmatic feminist position that incompetent or otherwise dismally disappointing women have as much right to power as their similarly afflicted male counterparts.
Would probably rewrite and put a little snap into that if I had time. But there.

Massachusetts Is Burning

or something like that. When Nate Silver says it, it's pretty much so.
Martha Coakley doesn't need your money, send it to Haiti.
But she could use an hour of your time to call a few voters and get them to commit. It's Get Out The Vote politics, and it works. Honest. I'm gonna do some more before Tuesday.

Haitian History, But You Might Not Want To Know

From AlterNet

In the 1820s, the former President proposed a scheme for taking away the children born to black slaves in the United States and shipping them to Haiti. In that way, Jefferson posited that both slavery and America’s black population could be phased out. Eventually, in Jefferson’s view, Haiti would be all black and the United States white.

Conan vs. Zucker

In case you haven't heard, the head of NBC reportedly said he'd keep O'Brien off the air for 3 1/2 years because Conan refused to let Leno have the 11:30 time slot back.
I know, I know, we've got Haiti and Massachusetts and the banks to worrry about. But I'm kinda getting into this stuff. So is Andrew Sullivan.

"I remember thinking that Jeff is a different species than I am. That species could easily rip my throat open," - Conan O'Brien, about Jeff Zucker and their relationship at Harvard.
Conan ran the Lampoon; Zucker ran the Crimson. I knew neither. I just remember that everyone hated Zucker and thought Conan was some sort of comic deity.

Rachel Maddow: Obama's First Year

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Erm, About This Excise Tax Thing

Looks like the White House brought labor on board.
Here's Ezra's take.

'The Bodies Stopped Bothering Me After A While'

Blogger in Haiti:

The bodies stopped bothering me after a while, but I think what I will always carry with me is the conversation I had with Jacqueline before I left her. How could I leave someone who was dying, trapped in a building! That’s so wrong! At the very least, she needed someone to sit and comfort her in her last hours. But if I hadn’t found my way home last night, then today I wouldn’t have been able to bring the CWH crew in. Still, leaving her was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. She seemed so brave when I left! I told her I was going to get help, but I didn’t tell her I would be gone until morning. I think this is going to trouble me for a long time.

Sitting Bad, Standing Good

I once thought I'd set up the ironing board in my living room and blog while standing. Reading this, I am reminded to do that maybe, uh, tomorrow.

Credit Card Companies: Makin' Out Like The Bandits They Are

Capitol One, Mastercard, Visa, Bank of America, American Express. You name, they're pocketing it with every online donation you send to Haiti. Or anyone.

UPDATE: According to later news, some of them committed to drop the transaction charges.

Prop. 8 Before Court

and it's the third day of argument.
Of note, from Andrew Sullivan:

The defense is citing Brokeback Mountain and Will & Grace as proof gays are no longer discriminated against.

Haitian Relief

Go here.
Vetted by better informed people than me.

Action Alert: Call For Coakley

Health care reform may depend on it. Easy, fun, I did 21. (I have a phone card, took about an hour.)

Harry Reid Is Not Stupid

Full portrait in the NYT:
Nugget:

By suddenly inserting a public-insurance option into his bill — catching the White House and some of his colleagues by surprise — he demonstrated to supporters of the public option that they did not have the votes for it. He got credit from Democrats like Harkin for doing what he could to try to pass it. Lieberman took the blame for killing it. And Reid got his 60 votes.

Young@Heart

is the name of the over-80 chorus from Massachusetts and also the name of the documentary about them. It was on PBS tonight, but you can get it from Netflix.
I'd post my favorite, which was Forever Young, performed at a state prison. It had the guys crying. But it's been disabled on YouTube.

Of The Top Ten Netflix Favorites For My Area

I have seen only three — The Wrestler - eh, Slumdog Mr - sure, once - Rachel Getting Married, great but no second viewing — wouldn't accept payment to watch the others I've heard of and two I haven't heard of.
Kind of fun little trivia game for those of you interested.
Thanks, Mardie, and thanks for the Twitter idea, although I forget to check it.

The Beaver Now Only Part of Canada's History

I'm sorry, but some days you just need a laff.
Um, that would be every day.

Sushi Etiquette

Here it is for those of you who care. I do not. Sashimi, maybe.

Prediction: Sarah Palin

will crash and burn on national television. Are they doing delayed broadcast on this? Will the screen suddenly go black? Oh, the possibilities.
I know, I believe it because I want to believe it. Still, it warms me.

Legalize Marijuana New GOTV Strategy?

If the Democrats are worried about voter turnout in this year's off-year elections, especially the apparrent dissatisfaction and disappointment of its progressive base, maybe they should try getting marijuana legalization measures on the ballot in as many blue states as possible.
Genius, julimac, pure genius.

What (Some) Ex-Presidents Must Do To Make A Living

Okay, so Clinton's post-presidential activities have been both laudable and questionable, and we all know G.H. went all Moonie on us while Jimmy's out there pounding nails for Habitat and, um, trying to make peace and assure fair elections.
But this, this is just priceless:

The former leader of the free world will be joined by such top-notch acts as comedian Frank Caliendo, Three Dog Night, the Bellamy Brothers, a country music group, Dennis Miller, and a Beach Boys cover band, "Papa Doo Run Run."

I wanna see him play a little air guitar with the Beach Boys cover band.

Chillaxin'?

Missed out on that one. Must have been hanging out with the wrong crowd.
The other nine words and phrases you must stop using. Now. It's official.

I Didn't Know That

So I must sheepishly admit that all along I've bought into the Military Industrial Complex bogeyman, believing that the U.S. is basically supporting the defense of its allies because they won't do it themselves and we're such pushovers or good guys or whatever that we just pay the bills and keep on keeping on and besides that it's good for business. Really good for business, those fuckers.
Then along comes the data, out of the blue, that sort of bursts that bubble. This is all in the context of Krugman countering a current conservative wave of argument against evidence of the economic success of more socialistic countries in Europe.

Yes, we spend more on defense than the major European countries. But it’s on the order of 1 or 2 percentage points of GDP. That’s not nearly enough to explain why they can afford such big welfare states.

Of course, Krugman's chart may not include all the equipment they buy from us and all the money we loan them to do that. He's as capable of being disingenuous as any human being, but I think he's cute. A little wimpy, but cute. But not as cute as Rahm Emanuel.

UPDATE: One of Krugman's commenters checked it out, and no, he's not being disingenuous, it is all defense expenditures, not just NATO. The countries listed are just NATO members, that's all.
So, bullshit, you conservative idiots. You could at least learn to Google.

The Next New Thing: Bood Dept.

Huffpo's got this up for Jeremy Rifkin's newest book. I likee. No, I no readee yet.

Er, Book Dept., Book Dept. I need staff.

Well, Then

“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin … “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”
The Once And Future King, T.H. White

Oscar Time

Katherine Bigelow

Nominations are due out, um, soon.
The three NYT critics list of "should be's" agree on only one, The Hurt Locker, coming to my house next week.
I think that any critic who names Julie and Julia, Public Enemies or Funny People should also be arguing for shorter lists.
The Hurt Locker's director, Katherine Bigelow (briefly married to James Cameron, I love this kind of trivia) is also on all three lists, again the only one to make all three.
I'm now suspicious. If the Oscars turn out this way, the film could actually make money.
Whoaa, Mama, it takes screenplay, too.
Wait, if Bigelow gets it, she'd be the first woman, right? And with a best picture, wowza!
No, wait, did Sophia Coppola get it for Lost In Translation? Dunno. Too late to check.

UPDATE: Wiki Answers

Three women were nominated in the Best Director category. The last two won an Oscar for the screenplay of the movie they directed.

1976 Lina Wertmuller, Seven Beauties

1993 Jane Campion, The Piano

2003 Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation

Crunch Time On Health Care Reform

All about the numbers, give a little here, take a little there. But a quick and interesting read if you're a health reform nerd.
In the meantime, there's one poll that shows Martha Croakley behind her Republican opponent for Teddy Kennedy's old seat. Election is Jan. 19!
Zounds! Her loss would kill the bill.
The progressive blogs are full of exhortations to make calls and ring doorbells.
Josh Marshall sort of reassures us that polling in these kinds of races is notoriously unreliable, and another equally credible poll has her up by 15.
All depends on who goes to the polls. Some say she relied too heavily on consultants and didn't really start campaigning until quite late, like two weeks ago.
Seems to me I remember Gregoire being legally constrained in the gubernatorial race because she was still AG, as is Croakley.
I want another woman senator. And I want health care reform.

This Is Nice

Thanks, REEUQ.

Don't Be Evil

Is this good for you or is the Internet changing the way we think and making us stupid? You know the answer, you old test-taker you. I don't even have to give you a selection of answers. All of the above, right?
Anyhoo, The Edge has a bunch of distinguished folks responding to this question, and if you want a flavor of it, Newsweek offers a remarkably uninteresting discussion. But short.
I know the Net (in Germany, they call it the Network although I can't remember if they capitalize it. I have taken to capitalizing Internet like I capitalize God.) has excited me ever since we got instant desktop access at work and didn't have to go into the special room with the special computer after having convinced the gatekeeper our research was worth those old by-the-minute AOL charges. Boy, those were the days, huh? No, I was not around for hot type, though.
There are a whole bunch of essays and I won't get around to them, but be my guest.

Issue O' Teh Day

On MetaFilter: Are pantsless subway riders in NYC passe now? Or too conformist? Or something? Or are critics just dicks in pants? You be the judge.

NEXT UP: Mashups in general. Yes or No?

It's All Going To Hell In A Handbasket. Or Not.

Andrew Sullivan recommends James Fallows' assessment of America and our future.
It's well worth your time.
Nugget:

Ralph Nader, for whom I worked as a researcher in my teens and early 20s, and from whom I became estranged after his 2000 run for the presidency, made a similar upbeat point in a recent reconciliation conversation in Washington. First he elaborated the ways that Congress, the media, the regulators, and both political parties were more in thrall to corporate power than ever before in his memory. But, he said, “you’ve got to be very careful about thinking things can’t rebound. My favorite phrase is ‘America is a country that has more problems than it deserves, and more solutions than it applies.’ We don’t want to be Pollyannas, but we really should believe that we can turn things around.”

Another nugget:

The simplest measure of whether a culture is dominant is whether outsiders want to be part of it.

Jump To The Chase

Fix Congress:

Now the most populous state, California, has 69 times as many people as the least populous, Wyoming, yet they have the same two votes in the Senate. A similarly inflexible business organization would still have a major Whale Oil Division; a military unit would be mainly fusiliers and cavalry. No one would propose such a system in a constitution written today, but without a revolution, it’s unchangeable. Similarly, since it takes 60 votes in the Senate to break a filibuster on controversial legislation, 41 votes is in effect a blocking minority. States that together hold about 12 percent of the U.S. population can provide that many Senate votes. This converts the Senate from the “saucer” George Washington called it, in which scalding ideas from the more temperamental House might “cool,” into a deep freeze and a dead weight.

LOL

“The Senate is full of ‘rotten boroughs,’” said James Galbraith, of the University of Texas, referring to the underpopulated constituencies in Parliament before the British reforms of 1832. “We’d be better off with a House of Lords."

CONCLUSION: Even the government we have is better than less of it.
Isn't that pretty much what Nader said? Oh, Jim, you librul media scum.

Avatar: Okay, I'm Going Out On A LImb Here

Avatar was unimpressive. There, I said it. The second bad thing I've said this week, if you ignore all the F words.
Yeah, Avatar was really pretty and charming. Like Fantasia was pretty and charming, so it's got that going for it, although a bit pricier. And it had lots of really, cool action, so my inner 14-year-old boy, Chad, liked it a lot.
The plot and the characters were ridiculous — that Gireen, c'mon, that kind of constant state of rage and any real person would have had a massive coronary about five minutes in — which I would have forgiven had it locked me in.
But it didn't. It just didn't. I tried to explain to a movie-loving friend what I felt about it and tried to recall what other movie was just great until I got home and realized I had forgotten everything about it. Then this reviewer reminded me. It was The Matrix.

"I think there are aspects of being human that a movie like Avatar wants to collude with its viewers in denying—aspects of need and of unfixable brokenness."

He puts way too much weight on the movie, in my opinion. I can live without unfixed brokenness. If I have to. Cameron didn't have to make Children of God, for G's sake.
Avatar is about as harmless as any contemporary entertainment can be these days. I don't have to get all philosophical about it. (I bet James Cameron isn't either.) I liked Nemo and whatever those other ones were about the New York zoo animals and Ice Age (not Ice Age Two).
And it really pissed me off that Cameron stole the buff, vaguely Hispanic female copter pilot right out of Alien, I or II, I can't remember. He stole Sigourney Weaver, too, but she's way past the underwear stage that would have pleased Chad.
I'd probably go see it again at IMAX, cuz the visuals are really marvelous and I missed a lot of detail.
I dunno, maybe it's just because I didn't get those cool 3-D glasses. Or maybe it is because I was supposed to just love it when, really, it registered at about a WallE.
Hope Where The Wild Things Are works better for me when we get around to it. I expect it will.

Second thought: After reading Filthy Critic's review, I think I'll just rent District 9 again.

Third thought: Of course you should go out on a limb, that's where all the fruit is.

Fourth thought: I am revising my Netflix list based on Filthy Critic because whoever's list I was using gave me two losers in a row, Goodbye, Solo and something else about two uninteresting people who have one night stand in San Francisco and bike around together afterwards, saying little and revealing nothing.

10 Places You Can't Ever Go

From the Web's premiere listmaker Listverse.
Fun read, especially all the commenters arguing with him about the British spy palace.

Violette!

NOT, repeat NOT, honorary Contrarienne.

Born the niece of French General Gouraud, Violette Morris was a naturally gifted and strong athlete who excelled at sports. She was an accomplished boxer who regularly competed against and beat men. Morris also went on to become a cycling champion, later graduating to riding motorcyles and racing cars. She was so committed to auto racing that she actually had an elective double mastectomy (yes, she had her breasts removed!) so she’d be more comfortable behind the wheeled of the tight-fitting cyclecars she raced back in the 1920s. Wow.

During WWII when France was occupied by the Nazis in the 40s, Morris joined the Parisian Gestapo and worked with the notoriously brutal “rue Lauriston” interrogation squad. In 1944, while she was traveling with military colleagues by car from Normandy back to Paris, the French Resistance bombed Morris’ vehicle, killing her along with everyone else. Yup, she definitely lived life to the full and died with her boots on.

Gestapo, eh. Takes all kinds. From The Selvedge Yard, where there are more women in racing.

Another Action Alert: Net Neutrality

Warm up your keyboard, cuz this is all about you and teh intertubes.

BONUS:
You get a cool little acknowledgement of your comment and request from none other than THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!
Like this:
ECFS Received your Submission/Request at Sat Jan 9 19:13:26 EST 2010
Eastern Time.

Your filing will be available for viewing online one (1) business day after the receipt of this confirmation. Filers are encouraged to retrieve and view their filing by going to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs and clicking on the "Search for Filed Comments" link. For any problems contact the Help Desk at ecfshelp@fcc.gov or 202-418-0193.

Crotch Bomber, Crotch Bomber, Crotch Bomber

There, I said it. And I was !Frist!
Somebody besides me wonders why no one has picked up the obvious term for Mr. I-Am-Not-A-Dinner-Jacket, known tamely even on Gawker as The Christmas Bomber.
(I'm actually not sure about the Gawker reference. Yeah, I just made it up. So I guess I really am a journalist.)
And that astute someone, unlike me, has actual credibility. I mean he sounds like a real journalist, not just someone who plays one on the intertubes.

UPDATE: Okay, the Village Voice was !Frist! But they hyphenated it (which technically, is proper.)

Mr. Smirky

Time mag's Mark Halperin has written another book. This time he took the high road. Instead of like last time, telling America how Democrats should be more like Republicans so they could win the White House and lamenting that neither would happen, the new one goes behind the scenes of the presidential race and:
1. Reveals Elizabeth Edwards to be the harridan we always knew she was (and who the fuck cares?)  and
2. Discloses Bill Clinton still letting it all hang out and
3. Shows Harry Rein understands him some white voters (although he has apologized for using the word Negro, gasp!)
This new book is bound to make piles of money and Mr. Smirky will be at long last, richer than most people in America even dream about. But sadly not richer than Sarah Palin. I hate that.
Also not as rich as he'd hoped, because the wall around Obama apparently has prevented Halperin and his co-author from proving once and for all that Obama is worse than even teabaggers' nightmares.  That's a lot of worse, baby, but still out of reach. We can only hope Halperin has another book in him.
I'm not going to tell you that Halperin and his nobody-you-ever-heard-of co-author, some sort of journalist again (I'm looking at you, John Harris. How'd your gig with Halperin work out? Remainder much?), will be on 60 Minutes tomorrow because then you might watch.
No, wait a minute, I want you to appreciate the smirk, go ahead and tune in.

Honorary Not A Contrarienne

Ah, the Irish Christianists.
Wasn't so surprised by the recent clergy pedophile scandal in Dublin. Sickened, saddened, but not surprised.
Nor this Iris Robinson person.
Patrick Sullivan is positively eloquent today, each word as if lit by flame.

Where there is Christianism, there is usually hypocrisy, corruption and abuse. From Haggard to Maciel, from the Vatican to the Swaggarts, from Rove to Limbaugh, the sheer gulf between their public moralism and their private failings is vast. That's because they're human; and they deserve compassion and understanding, the compassion and understanding they always, always deny to others.

Quote O' Teh Day

There is something delicious and reckless about the pessimism of being 21. And when you get older you feel maybe a little more delicate and hope that things will flourish. You don't want to take a stick to it.

        Ian McEwan

It's All About Messaging

Bob Somerby over at The Daily Howler spends his days ranting about Republican idiots and the Democrats who enable them (along with the media that passes it all along without a thought).
He seems to think that if only Americans were better informed, they would get it. And it's the Democrats' fault.
He's a tough read and I don't often go there anymore, but he's usually got good points because he's, erm, obsessive. And accurate.
Here's a summary:

But do voters know how much extra money we spend for health care, as compared to other developed nations? Do they know that those other nations get health results that are much like ours?
We’d be amazed if voters knew such things. In large part, this is due to the way two tribal groups have behaved in the past forty years.
One tribe has spread disinformation around, through familiar sound-bites. Voters have heard these bites again and again. After that, they’ve heard them some more:

• We have the best health career in the world!
• Socialized/national/European health care has failed everywhere it’s ever been tried!
• Big government never did anything right!
• Good God! Those waiting lines in Canada!

In response, our tribe has tended to say the following—and has tended to say little more:

• 47 million remain uninsured!

UPDATE: Somerby likes the OECD data, but I can't download their Excel file. Probably because I don't have Excel, huh?
Anyhoo, here's the UN's numbers. Apparently, we're a lot like Luxumberg, only 20 percent higher. Two to three times higher than any country you ever heard of. Yes, France!
So go for it. Amaze your friends, impress your enemies. Or stun them into silence. Wishful thinking, I know.

Action Alert: Honorary Contrarienne Needs Your Support

Haven't done one of these in a long time. There's this woman named Dawn Johnsen, see, and she's, well, impressive.
So impressive that the R's held up her nomination. So Obama, that wimp, renominated her rather than knuckle under.
You can read all about her here.
And please sign the petition.

Discouraged? You And 1.7 Million Others

About 1.7 million Americans opted out of the workforce from July through December, representing a 1.1 percent drop that marks the biggest six-month decrease since 1961, the Labor Department report showed.

More cheerful job news here.

So I had to go to Google News to find that. Other top stories:

I know, I know, what you really want to know is what Conan's going to do. Stay tuned. Me, I switched to Letterman and found him remarkably entertaining. Course now I'm going without. Early Lenten ritual.

You will be happy to learn, however, that Obama will not, I repeat, will not, give his State of the Union on Feb. 2, during the season premiere of the last season of Lost. I know I was. Sorry, no likey de linkie today. And all the non-peanuts are gone again. Time for bed. Oh, wait, time to get up, I mean. 6:27 a.m. Over and out.

Dorm Sex

1. Dormitory residents may not have sex in their rooms when the roommate is present.

Wait. Sex with another person? How about sex with yourself. I mean, I'm quiet. I can do it under the covers.
How about vibrators? How about sex with the roommate?

What, you didn't want to go there? Well, I did and it's my blog.

The new stipulation to the campus guest policy not only prohibits sex when a roommate is present, but sex that interferes with the roommate's sleeping, studying, and privacy -- an addition that, presumably, is intended to address "sexiling," or compelling someone to leave a shared room.

This story is great on so many levels, makes me yearn for my old job and the wonderful newsroom conversation while reporting and writing it.
Oh, wait. She's a blogger. No, that's right. We never would have written this story.

"I will never forget the look on my roommate's face the next morning," Daley said. "I could see that he felt his privacy had been violated ... He transferred schools after our freshmen year and has spent the rest of his life living in Asia. I am not saying this experience is what caused him to do this. Just saying.

More Facts Not Fit To Print. Or Broadcast

George Stephanopoulos tries to walk it back. And stumbles again. Richard Reid, anyone?

Through his spokesman, Rudy Giuliani has clarified the remarks he made this morning on GMA regarding terrorist attacks on the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama.
The Mayor’s spokesman says that the remark “didn't come across as it was intended” and that Giuliani was “clearly talking post-9/11 with regards to Islamic terrorist attacks on our soil.”
Whatever the Mayor meant, it’s not what he said.  All of you who have pointed out that I should have pressed him on that misstatement in the moment are right.  My mistake, my responsibility.   

Random Thought

Since the hyped-up reaction to the crotch bomber seems to have no end, we have been treated to Joan Rivers being kept off a return flight from Costa Rica, somebody shutting down a California airport over three jars of honey, and on and on. Daily silliness. Today they evacuated Union Station in NYC for some false alarm.
So all the sudden it begins to sound oh-so-familiar. Post 9/11 2001 and I was writing at least a story a week about another search on a ferry or at a school cafeteria in Nowheresville, WA, searching for the elusive news about suspicious white powder (spilled sweetener).
One sheriff's deputy gave me a hard time after he was called out to some old lady's house because there was something in her driveway that wasn't supposed to be there. As she watched from behind the curtains, he picked up a copy of my employer's product, rolled in plastic, which had been delivered gratis that day in an attempt to increase subscriptions by giving away copies.
Why are we doing this? Balloon boy, where are you when we need you? And who's taking care of you while the folks are doing their time?
Please, attractive young blond girl,go missing.
We can't keep this up forever.
Oy.

Jon Stewart On Bruce Springsteen

Only Blogs Report The Truth

Reporter at interminable government event: “This is horrific. I have to pee. My butt is asleep. And there is no news here.”

From Overheard in the Newsroom, only available on Facebook. (I think).

Quote O' Teh Day

Tagline from the head bartender at The Violet Hour, a chi chi joint in Chicago.

WRECHED EXCESS IS BARELY ENOUGH 

I think he means WRETCHED.

Terrorism Can Be Hilarious

They did not think he had a visa because of a spelling error.
A-b-d-u-l-m-u-t-a-l-l-a-b. Oh, hell, just put down I-am-a-dinner-jacket. That usually works.
Okay, that's one way to play it. Or how about "sounds like nuke-a-lab," "mute-a-lab?"
C'mon, help me out here.
And while I'm thinking about it, how come nobody's calling him the crotch bomber except Contrarienne? Huh, answer me that!

No Comment

Yes, Men!

Cyberstreet theater strikes again.
Trouble is, sooomebody doesn't think it's funny (I'm looking at you, Canada, the same size as my ego).
I love these guys, I seriously do, and they got two bangs for the buck, revealing Canada's government for the climate change hypocrites they are, and also for the authoritarian bullies they are willing to be.
Couldn't happen here, though. Heh.

Quote O' Teh Day

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist in any other medium and it will be lost. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open."

A Martha Graham quote kept and referred to often by Ursula Nordstrom, longtime children's book editor at Harper Collins. A book is just being published of her wonderful letters. She was definitely a contrarienne.
You can read some of the letters from the book and more about her here.

It Snowed In Beijing

More here.

Science Has Proven A Positive Attitude Doesn't Change Anything

so we might as well man up and admit we're in shit city.
Excerpt:

It's hard for anyone from Texas to find the chutzpah to complain
about California's state politics. For instance, Enron, a Texas company,
basically decapitated California by illegally gaming the natural gas pipelines,
and then getting surprised and hapless Gray Davis run out of office. Ever since
then, they've been stuck with Schwarzenegger, who's a cartoon figure. California's
never done anything half that wicked to Texas.

As soon as I finish this, I'm going to bed because I have picked all the non-peanuts out of the mix and eaten them.
That last sentence sounds like the germ of a new political movement or religion or something.

UPDATE: Oh, in case you're wondering who this guy is, there are lots of comments on MetaFilter to kind of fill you in. I like this one:

Wow, I think he comes off as perfectly cynical and smart. Plus, he invented vat-grown political consultants in Distraction over 10 years ago

I learn a lot on MetaFilter, which is sort of my only goal in life these days. Maybe ever, come to think of it.

You Can Eat A Meal At Ikea

Or make a feast there. That is, if you like their meatballs. I personally do not. I liked my mother's meatballs. She made sour cream by buying cream and letting it sit at room temperature for a day or so. She called them Swedish meatballs. I don't think there were any Swedes or Scandinavians of any sort in our mutt-mix of a family.

Quit Worrying, You ARE Healthy. Mostly.

Some of my friends have resolved to get more sleep this year. I admire that. I have resolved to read about sleeping.
The NYT says that I'm probably okay. I haven't mentioned the smoking.

Amanda Simpson

may be the first transgender person to receive a Presidential appointment.

At Raytheon, Simpson -- a former test pilot who had worked for the company for more than a generation -- transitioned from male to female and was instrumental in convincing the military contractor to add gender identity and expression to its equal employment opportunity policy.

Of interest: the usually vitriolic commenters at the ABC site where this news is discussed seem to be at a loss for words in this instance because the talk is all about the legality of gay marriage for some reason.

'Revolting Hag' Dies. RIP Mary Daly

A bit of bio.
I'll see if I can find a NYT obit.

Web Tutorial: Cat Humor Division

UPDATE: Erm, don't know why the entire picture doesn't post. Click to see full caption.

They call them pooties (dogs are woozles) over at Daily Kos and people write whole diaries, post many pictures and people comment and kibbitz. Often more entertaining than Andrew Sullivan's mental health breaks. Certainly more sentimental and cozy.

Then there's always the old standby, icanhascheezburger.

Erm, About Those Resolutions

From Jonah Lehrer:

...the prefrontal cortex has many other things to worry about besides New Year's resolutions. For instance, scientists have discovered that this chunk of cortex is also in charge of keeping us focused, handling short-term memory and solving abstract problems. Asking it to lose weight is often asking it to do one thing too many.

They Have Babies Come Out Of Their Bodies

and that is expensive and also...Wowzie!

Are Economists Cheapskates?

Yes, say two University of Washington economists who did a study, which the Wall Street Journal wrote about.
I doubt the validity, having acquired a strong bias against behavioral economics after learning more about the Freakonomics guys' work, but the story had this funny line:

"You might be an economist if you refuse to sell your children because they might be worth more later."

You Can't Pay Rent With Food Stamps

From the NYT:

About six million Americans receiving food stamps report they have no other income, according to an analysis of state data collected by The New York Times. In declarations that states verify and the federal government audits, they described themselves as unemployed and receiving no cash aid — no welfare, no unemployment insurance, and no pensions, child support or disability pay.
Their numbers were rising before the recession as tougher welfare laws made it harder for poor people to get cash aid, but they have soared by about 50 percent over the past two years. About one in 50 Americans now lives in a household with a reported income that consists of nothing but a food-stamp card.

The Lord Of The Rings

was supposed to offend your liberal sensibilities for some reason not quite clear to me.
A conservative Brit offers up the ten best conservative-satisfying movies made in the last 10 years, none of them by conservatives unless you count Mel Gibson, who is just crazy. Oh, wait.

And I say, what about Inglorious Basterds, an overrated piece of crap I actually sat through last week? I mean, they scalped Nazis. And they were led by a Southern, non-Jew. What could be better than torture and revenge?

Happy New Year From The Big Picture

From the Red Shoe Drop in Key West to the kids setting off fireworks in an African slum, the whole world celebrated 2010.
I spose it's like that every year, but tonight it just brought tears to my eyes, thanks to the fabulous folks at The Big Picture.
Hat tip MetaFilter.

Ooh, Interpol Is Coming

to et all yr cheezbgrs!
I saw an interesting comment on a local paper's blog asserting Obama had just given Interpol the right to search American homes and arrest American citizens, but thought nothing of it.
So, thanks to the Internet, the savior of Western all civilization as well as its curse, it has become necessary for the New York Times to put one of its Pulitzer winners on the story.
Yep, that's right, folks, nothing to see here. Move along. And STFU!

Dear Washington Post: I Am Stunned

WARNING: Inside baseball alert. If you're not a news junkie, you probably don't give a shit. And I don't blame you.

The Wapo's editorial page — and often its choice of freebie slots to right-wing liars like Sarah Palin as well as other questionable space choices — has come in for some deserved and frequently severe criticism from progressives, especially when it comes to President Obama.
I won't list them all here, I don't want to do the research, but Media Matters probably has run it down pretty well. If you're curious, just Google them.
So tomorrow's editorial knocked my socks off, so to speak. (I am wearing slippers.)
They actually took the right-wing nutjobs to task in a harshly critical editorial for their ridiculous criticism of Obama's record on terror.
Haven't looked to see if any bloggers have picked it up yet, but it's certainly worth mentioning. Maybe the slow ship that is the Village — the term used to identify the highly incestuous D.C. press corps and various pundits — is slowly turning around under all this heat from progressive.
I'm thinking that maybe the White House and other Dems are also fighting back hard, but not publicly, because in D.C., access is everything and it's a lot of hooey Kabuki.
Only today, Dkos commenters were expressing similar astonishment that Politico's Mike Allen, known as Cheney's stenographer by many who regularly read him, had called out Newsweek's stupid headline about Obama's terror briefing, which made it sound as if he had forewarning of the Detroit incident when the story said no such thing.
Allen is currently negotiating with Wikipedia for its entry on him for actually mentioning the Cheney criticism and Wiki's page was frozen to further tinkering.
Anyhoo, the concluding WaPo sentence:

A groundless campaign to portray Mr. Obama as soft on terror can only detract from that effort.

Cringe Comedy

I had forgotten what fun whatwhitepeoplelike can be. I don't take it personally. It's good to laugh at yourself, said the espresso-drinking, public-market shopping jazz fan. Did I tell you I love TV? But not Survivor.

Historically speaking, the music that white people have kept on life support for the longest period of time is Jazz.  Thanks largely to public radio, bookstores, and coffee shops, Jazz has carved out a niche in white culture that is not yet ready to be replaced by Indie Rock.  But the biggest role that Jazz plays in white culture is in the white fantasy of leisure. All white people believe that they prefer listening to jazz over watching television.  This is not true.

Quote O' Teh Day

I was mad at these guys for awhile because they quoted somebody I knew to be a tool and failed to even interview anyone with any expertise. I hope they've changed.
Anyhoo:
Any economic forecast that you see that includes a decimal point should be considered a guess at best.

"...Excel doesn't recognize a twoish or threeish."
Simon Johnson from Planet Money today on This American Life

The Worldwide Recession

Japan has its problems, too, as if its infamous dead decades  lost decade — the result of government policy error, Krugman says, too tentative — weren't wasn't enough.

The rent is surprisingly high for such a small space: 59,000 yen a month, or about $640, for an upper bunk. But with no upfront deposit or extra utility charges, and basic amenities like fresh linens and free use of a communal bath and sauna, the cost is far less than renting an apartment in Tokyo, Mr. Nakanishi says.

The Contrarienne's Dilemma

is all about...oh, wait, I forget.
Um, rhymes with pain.
Oh, yeah. The brain.

Brains in middle age, which, with increased life spans, now stretches from the 40s to late 60s, also get more easily distracted. Start boiling water for pasta, go answer the doorbell and — whoosh — all thoughts of boiling water disappear. Indeed, aging brains, even in the middle years, fall into what’s called the default mode, during which the mind wanders off and begin daydreaming.

But there's a positive aspect to all this:

The brain, as it traverses middle age, gets better at recognizing the central idea, the big picture. If kept in good shape, the brain can continue to build pathways that help its owner recognize patterns and, as a consequence, see significance and even solutions much faster than a young person can.

So what you need to do is...wait for it...challenge yourself. I think meeting new people, talking to them and, most importantly, listening to them, has been a rejuvenating experience.

Jack Mezirow, a professor emeritus at Columbia Teachers College, has proposed that adults learn best if presented with what he calls a “disorienting dilemma,” or something that “helps you critically reflect on the assumptions you’ve acquired.”

The article is not very detailed, but the writer has a book coming out soon.

Time For Geitner To Go, Honorary Contrarienne To Take Over

Some guy named Joe Costello talking about Yves Smith.

Four other heroes of what he calls Feminomics are (of course) Elizabeth Warren, Meredith Whitney, Gretchen Morgenson and Sheila Bair.

Elizabeth Warren

 

Meredith Whitney

Gretchen Morgenson

Sheila Bair

Internet Aughts

is what Ezra Klein, a pretty good reporter/blogger for the Washington Post, thinks it will all come down to in time.
Time will tell, as they say. See ya in a decade, Ezra.

Our future will have a lot more to do with the internet than with Iraq. At least, so I hope.

Coming Up

100th anniversary of the biggest natural disaster in Washington State (recorded) history.
March 1, 1910:

"White Death moving down the mountainside above the trains. Relentlessly it advanced, exploding, roaring, rumbling, grinding, snapping -- a crescendo of sound that might have been the crashing of ten thousand freight trains. It descended to the ledge where the side tracks lay, picked up cars and equipment as though they were so many snow-draped toys, and swallowing them up, disappeared like a white, broad monster into the ravine below" (Roe, 88).

Nov. 8, 1910 52,000 male voters grant Washington women the right to vote, ten years before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

A Dreamy 2010

From Huffpo writer Gerald Sindell:

Justice Antonin Scalia is showing signs of serious judicial burnout -- ever more sarcastic and intemperate. He's not enjoying the court and the prospect of having to outlast Obama's second term, which will end in January of 2017 when Antonin will be 81, grates on him. He'll be thinking of resigning all this summer, and when the court returns in the fall, he'll announce. Two weeks later, Justice Clarence Thomas will also resign and the two will make public their plans for a joint memoir and tour via Thomas's motor home, both to be named, "None of your damn business."

He invites reader participation. I liked this one:

Dick Cheney's heart will attack him for the last time and Obama will send his dog to his funeral as a White House representative.

I would add one myself, but Dave Barry said the value of the dollar dropped below the lentil in 2009.

I Can't Watch Glenn Beck

Even when he's played by Jon Stewart. That and nine other top comedy videos of the last year.

10:39 AM Best Thing About 2010 So Far

No football on TV. Because no TV. I know I'm gonna miss some stuff but, look, I haven't even reached the Mad Men DVDs on Netflix yet.