I'm sitting here watching Meet the Press and they were talking about the run up to the Iraq War with William Safire, Maureen Dowd, & Thom Friedman, and Russert mentions the faulty intelligence. Safire says that is what they all believed to be true, and Russert says something to the effest of "Isn't that want you wanted to believe. You didn't want to know otherwise?" To which safire replies "Of course not," and they all share a hearty laugh. Laughing that they all wanted the war, no matter what the evidence said.
When I get a transcript I will post the actual quote.
Fuck them all.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Friday, February 25, 2005
Red State/Blue State
From what I can remember, before the 2000 election, the whole red state/blue state map was a fluid thing. Being a new father who gets no sleep, I am too tired to do actual research right now other than a link here, but I distinctly recall seeing an article that the colors changed from network to network, election to election. In one election the democrat states would be red, the GOP blue. The article linked mentions that before 1992 the dems were red, GOP blue.
My idea is that the networks should change the colors in the 2008 election. They could even try it for the 2006 midterm elections. The Democrats could become red again (although that would give the Republicans ammo for labelling them communists again. And the Repubs could become the bluebloods again).
The reason I suggest this is because of a post I read today on the internets best blog, by Digby. One of the things I took from the post was regarding the North/South divide from the civil war. It got me thinking about how this red/blue thing has helped propogate the divisiveness between the parties and states. It has allowed for the easy demonization of the other side. But if all of a sudden I lived in a Red State, then that demonization wouldn't take hold as easy. I'm actually exhausted right now and will work on a more coherent explanation in the near future, but what I am trying t0 get at is that by allowing the media to continue this lazy shorthand, we will, in a small way, continue to see those in the "red" states as others, and vice versa.
I loathe everything the Republican Party is doing to this country right now, but I am directing my anger at a party, not a collection of entire red states. If we change the colors in the next election, the wholesale demonization of entire states will be less attractive. It's only a symbol, but as we all know, symbols matter.
If you have any opinions on this, please feel free to add them.
My idea is that the networks should change the colors in the 2008 election. They could even try it for the 2006 midterm elections. The Democrats could become red again (although that would give the Republicans ammo for labelling them communists again. And the Repubs could become the bluebloods again).
The reason I suggest this is because of a post I read today on the internets best blog, by Digby. One of the things I took from the post was regarding the North/South divide from the civil war. It got me thinking about how this red/blue thing has helped propogate the divisiveness between the parties and states. It has allowed for the easy demonization of the other side. But if all of a sudden I lived in a Red State, then that demonization wouldn't take hold as easy. I'm actually exhausted right now and will work on a more coherent explanation in the near future, but what I am trying t0 get at is that by allowing the media to continue this lazy shorthand, we will, in a small way, continue to see those in the "red" states as others, and vice versa.
I loathe everything the Republican Party is doing to this country right now, but I am directing my anger at a party, not a collection of entire red states. If we change the colors in the next election, the wholesale demonization of entire states will be less attractive. It's only a symbol, but as we all know, symbols matter.
If you have any opinions on this, please feel free to add them.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Grace...Baby Genius
The smallest thing can get me excited these days.
This morning Grace was sitting on the bed and I asked her, "Grace, where is the fan?" She immediately looked to he ceiling at the ceiling fan. Then I asked her "Grace, where is the cat?" and she immediately looked at our cat Frank on the bed.
For a split second I felt like I was treating her like a trained monkey but that ended when I realized that I WAS COMMUNICATING WITH MY DAUGHTER!!!!
Tomorrow I move on to communicating with her about Born to Run & London Calling.
This morning Grace was sitting on the bed and I asked her, "Grace, where is the fan?" She immediately looked to he ceiling at the ceiling fan. Then I asked her "Grace, where is the cat?" and she immediately looked at our cat Frank on the bed.
For a split second I felt like I was treating her like a trained monkey but that ended when I realized that I WAS COMMUNICATING WITH MY DAUGHTER!!!!
Tomorrow I move on to communicating with her about Born to Run & London Calling.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Curious about reaction to "Finding Neverland"
Just finished watching "Finding Neverland" with my wife and we were both moved by it. (gotta love those Academy Screening DVDs)
I am curious, as this is the first real tear-jerker we have seen since the birth of Grace, but is my (and her) blubbery reaction to it heightened because I am a new parent (if you haven't seen it, it features several children in very important roles) or was it simply a great movie? I am worried that I will now fall apart at any sentimental offering from Hollywood. My initial feeling is that it was simply a fine movie and I haven't become like that girl who used to work for me that lost it nearly every day.
The movie kind of reminded me of Shadowlands, an extremely underrated movie about CS Lewis starring Anthony Hopkins & Debra Winger.
I am curious, as this is the first real tear-jerker we have seen since the birth of Grace, but is my (and her) blubbery reaction to it heightened because I am a new parent (if you haven't seen it, it features several children in very important roles) or was it simply a great movie? I am worried that I will now fall apart at any sentimental offering from Hollywood. My initial feeling is that it was simply a fine movie and I haven't become like that girl who used to work for me that lost it nearly every day.
The movie kind of reminded me of Shadowlands, an extremely underrated movie about CS Lewis starring Anthony Hopkins & Debra Winger.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Here is the ad I was referring to in the previous post
If they think this is going to work, then I have a quote for them:
"You're dumber than you think I think you are."
Let's sick Wilford Brimley on them
Apparently, the folks who brought you the Swift Boat Veterans have set their sights on the AARP.
According to today's NY Times, the President of USANext, (whose spokesman is Art Linkletter, and yes, I too thought he was either dead or stuck in one of those recliner beds in Scottsdale) speaking about the AARP, was quoted thusly:
"They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts," said Charlie Jarvis, president of USA Next and former deputy under secretary of the interior in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. "We will be the dynamite that removes them."
I am by no means the first to make the connection, but this is the thanks they get for backing Bush's bloated Medicare drug prescription bill. This is furhter proof that these folks need to be opposed on EVERYTHING they propose.
And how do they plan on smearing the senior citizens of America? By claiming that the AARP doesn't support our troops, but does support gay marriage.
I'm not kidding. If I was smarter, I could figure out a way to post the ad of theirs, but it's an animated GIF file and I'm stupid. So CLICK HERE to see the ad. Truly mind-boggling.
According to today's NY Times, the President of USANext, (whose spokesman is Art Linkletter, and yes, I too thought he was either dead or stuck in one of those recliner beds in Scottsdale) speaking about the AARP, was quoted thusly:
"They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts," said Charlie Jarvis, president of USA Next and former deputy under secretary of the interior in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. "We will be the dynamite that removes them."
I am by no means the first to make the connection, but this is the thanks they get for backing Bush's bloated Medicare drug prescription bill. This is furhter proof that these folks need to be opposed on EVERYTHING they propose.
And how do they plan on smearing the senior citizens of America? By claiming that the AARP doesn't support our troops, but does support gay marriage.
I'm not kidding. If I was smarter, I could figure out a way to post the ad of theirs, but it's an animated GIF file and I'm stupid. So CLICK HERE to see the ad. Truly mind-boggling.
Friday, February 18, 2005
You read it here first
The White House is readying their defense for when this Jeff Gannon Jim Guckert story explodes. It's buried in the last sentence of an article on Page A22 of today's NY Times:
"The credentialing is all handled at the staff assistant level," Mr. McClellan.
It will all be laid at the crotch of some low level staff person, sort of like Abu Ghraib.
"The credentialing is all handled at the staff assistant level," Mr. McClellan.
It will all be laid at the crotch of some low level staff person, sort of like Abu Ghraib.
Monday, February 14, 2005
2 names
Recent people in the news with more than one name:
Jeff Gannon=James D. Guckert
Mahmood Abbas= Abu Mazen
Jeff Gannon=James D. Guckert
Mahmood Abbas= Abu Mazen
The challenge of parenting
There is a sobering article in today's New York Times about Christopher DiMeo, the young man accused in a string of jewelry store robbery/murders in the New York area. This passage was especially jarring:
Ms. Taylor and Christopher's father married, but their relationship was bitter and strained by drug and alcohol abuse, relatives said. Ms. Taylor taunted her husband by threatening to cheat on him while he committed petty thefts and started fights for sport, acquaintances said.
Scott DiMeo left when Christopher was a toddler, was arrested for armed robbery in Florida and saw little of his son. He drifted across the country and died in Iowa in 2002, said his mother, Ms. Cummings.
Ms. Taylor remarried, this time to a man who woke Christopher up at 4 a.m. to walk the family dogs, forced him to kill raccoons and sometimes beat him, said Barbara Jaklitsch, Ms. Taylor's mother.
Ms. Taylor continued using drugs and often lost track of her son. Ms. Cummings said she once visited to find Ms. Taylor strung out on drugs at home and 9-year-old Christopher fishing on a pier, alone.
I have no illusions about this kid and what he's done. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail. But that old saying that killers aren't born, they're made, seems sadly appropriate with regards to DiMeo.
Ms. Taylor and Christopher's father married, but their relationship was bitter and strained by drug and alcohol abuse, relatives said. Ms. Taylor taunted her husband by threatening to cheat on him while he committed petty thefts and started fights for sport, acquaintances said.
Scott DiMeo left when Christopher was a toddler, was arrested for armed robbery in Florida and saw little of his son. He drifted across the country and died in Iowa in 2002, said his mother, Ms. Cummings.
Ms. Taylor remarried, this time to a man who woke Christopher up at 4 a.m. to walk the family dogs, forced him to kill raccoons and sometimes beat him, said Barbara Jaklitsch, Ms. Taylor's mother.
Ms. Taylor continued using drugs and often lost track of her son. Ms. Cummings said she once visited to find Ms. Taylor strung out on drugs at home and 9-year-old Christopher fishing on a pier, alone.
I have no illusions about this kid and what he's done. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail. But that old saying that killers aren't born, they're made, seems sadly appropriate with regards to DiMeo.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
The End is Near
When you think it can't get any worse, it does.
If you ever wanted to actually eat trivia,
the wait is over.
If you ever wanted to actually eat trivia,
the wait is over.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Why this blog is aptly titled
For the 6 of you who read this little corner of the internets, Grace had a little surgery this morning. A 4:45AM wake up and soon we were off to NY Cornell Hospital. I must say here that the facilities were much better than our recent stay at NYU Hospital, and they paid for our parking. Very swish indeed.
Grace's surgery was a quick one, a scope surgery to remove a small cyst at the jucture of her bladder and ureter (if you don't know where this is, try google, there are even pictures). We were on the road home by 10:30AM and all was well...
Until Grace woke up from her nap and spiked a fever of 101.5 and then threw up all over her mother (and I mean ALL OVER). Luckily, there is this wonder drug called "Infant Tylenol" and literally within 30 minutes of taking it she was right as rain.
UPDATE: 9:03PM
Well, the fever is gone but Grace clearly does not like anasthesia. She has vomited 4 times now and finally is getting some much needed rest. Hopefully she will keep down some of that baby gatorade later.
Parenting: The True Love Rollercoaster.
UPDATE Friday 1PM
Got through the night by, among other things, feeding Grace 2 oz. of diluted apple juice a half an oz at a time though a syringe (took about 90 minutes). She kept that down and slept until 5:30, when she woke up very hungry. Sarah breastfed her for quite a while and she hasn't thrown up, but the fever cam back for a time, but seems to have gone again (if the rectal thermometer is to be believed). She seems to be in some sort of constant discomfort, but hopefully that will eventually subside.
Grace's surgery was a quick one, a scope surgery to remove a small cyst at the jucture of her bladder and ureter (if you don't know where this is, try google, there are even pictures). We were on the road home by 10:30AM and all was well...
Until Grace woke up from her nap and spiked a fever of 101.5 and then threw up all over her mother (and I mean ALL OVER). Luckily, there is this wonder drug called "Infant Tylenol" and literally within 30 minutes of taking it she was right as rain.
UPDATE: 9:03PM
Well, the fever is gone but Grace clearly does not like anasthesia. She has vomited 4 times now and finally is getting some much needed rest. Hopefully she will keep down some of that baby gatorade later.
Parenting: The True Love Rollercoaster.
UPDATE Friday 1PM
Got through the night by, among other things, feeding Grace 2 oz. of diluted apple juice a half an oz at a time though a syringe (took about 90 minutes). She kept that down and slept until 5:30, when she woke up very hungry. Sarah breastfed her for quite a while and she hasn't thrown up, but the fever cam back for a time, but seems to have gone again (if the rectal thermometer is to be believed). She seems to be in some sort of constant discomfort, but hopefully that will eventually subside.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Super Nanny
Just watched the first segment of "Super Nanny", the show where an English nanny comes to the rescue of hapless Americans who can't raise their children properly.
How happy am I that I am married to a Brit!
How happy am I that I am married to a Brit!
Is it just me or..
Has the President not actually proposed anything yet?
What it seems like he is doing is floating a bunch of half baked ideas, then after seeing what sinks and what floats (very small rocks?), he'll go back to the drawing board, call in Frank Luntz for the right words to use and then finally come out with the official GOP Approved Social Security plan.
My opinion is that these assholes couldn't get a five year budget projection right. We went from a huge surplus to hundreds of billiions in deficit in something like two years. What makes you think that we can trust their projections for the US economy in the next 40 years?
What it seems like he is doing is floating a bunch of half baked ideas, then after seeing what sinks and what floats (very small rocks?), he'll go back to the drawing board, call in Frank Luntz for the right words to use and then finally come out with the official GOP Approved Social Security plan.
My opinion is that these assholes couldn't get a five year budget projection right. We went from a huge surplus to hundreds of billiions in deficit in something like two years. What makes you think that we can trust their projections for the US economy in the next 40 years?
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Thank God I'm Not Irish, or I'd be pissed off!
Fox just played "Sunday Bloody Sunday" as an intro. to the 2nd half of the Super Bowl. Nice going guys.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Shit...
Left for work at 5:55AM. Grace still asleep.
Walked back through the door at 8PM on the dot. Grace was already in bed for the night.
A day without spending time with my child sucks. And I will never get it back.
Walked back through the door at 8PM on the dot. Grace was already in bed for the night.
A day without spending time with my child sucks. And I will never get it back.
Food for Thought
At work yesterday, someone showed me this new product, which could basicaly be described as "pudding in a tube," thereby eliminating the need for a spoon.
Have we become that lazy as a society that we can't even take the time to eat pudding properly? We're not astronauts.
And while I'm on the subject of pudding, any pudding that can be eaten a room temperature should be avoided at all costs.
Have we become that lazy as a society that we can't even take the time to eat pudding properly? We're not astronauts.
And while I'm on the subject of pudding, any pudding that can be eaten a room temperature should be avoided at all costs.
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