Saturday, November 30, 2002
us hopes to shake djibouti
trouble in kenya? well, what better place for the us to set up camp than neighboring djibouti, which is so poor it can't even afford a joke for this space?
"but djibouti is also a telling example of a problem that has bedeviled the bush administration's war on terror" says the new york times: "the struggle to harmonize its own military goals with the needs of the countries in which it is operating. put simply, the administration seems to be better at taking the fight to its enemies than helping its friends."
djibouti is close to yemen and somalia, as well as kenya, so it's a perfect place for the us to send 800 special ops and other troops, and for the cia to get involved with. however, mr. bush's administration has only allocated $8.7 million in assistance to this poverty-stricken african country, even though they have become our newest ally in the war against terror. " 'it is a small country with huge problems,' said jorge mejia, the head of the unicef office in djibouti."
one would think a launching place to fight the war against terror would be worth more than $8.7 mill.
trouble in kenya? well, what better place for the us to set up camp than neighboring djibouti, which is so poor it can't even afford a joke for this space?
"but djibouti is also a telling example of a problem that has bedeviled the bush administration's war on terror" says the new york times: "the struggle to harmonize its own military goals with the needs of the countries in which it is operating. put simply, the administration seems to be better at taking the fight to its enemies than helping its friends."
djibouti is close to yemen and somalia, as well as kenya, so it's a perfect place for the us to send 800 special ops and other troops, and for the cia to get involved with. however, mr. bush's administration has only allocated $8.7 million in assistance to this poverty-stricken african country, even though they have become our newest ally in the war against terror. " 'it is a small country with huge problems,' said jorge mejia, the head of the unicef office in djibouti."
one would think a launching place to fight the war against terror would be worth more than $8.7 mill.
posted by skippy at
6:13 PM |
0
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it takes big bells to prop up the holiday economy
you can tell skippy still has some residual flu symptoms by the very badly wrought pun in the headline, but it's good news for the economy as the traditional "busiest shopping day of the year" saw huge crowds chasing bargains the day after thanksgiving.
"retailers, hoping for a green christmas, anticipated crowds of people lining up for big pre-dawn discounts at stores nationwide on friday," said cnnmoney.
"in omaha, neb., a 52 year-old woman was knocked to the ground when hundreds of people rushed the doors at the early morning opening of the nebraska furniture mart. diana mckeever received several stitches to her knee and was released from the hospital," says yahoo news.
"now, in a surprise to many economists, those asphalt lots are starting to fill up - just in time for the holiday season. the catalysts for the turnaround seem to be relief that the us is not at war with iraq, a better tone to the stock market, and the perception that layoffs are slowing down. and those clever marketers are luring americans with sales - big sales - on almost everything in the store," says the christian science monitor.
an independent survey found retail sales were up 12.3% on friday, compared to last year, according to shoppertrak. and wal-mart reported the biggest one day sales ($1.43 billion) ever yesterday.
indeed, reuters is suggesting that the "data suggest weak spot may be ending," although we will believe it when our out-of-work friends all have jobs again. consumer confidence is up slightly, durable goods orders are up, jobless claims are down, and the manufacturing index rose a bit. even the stock market posted its eighth straight week of gains.
let's all hope santa will bring us a real economy for christmas.
you can tell skippy still has some residual flu symptoms by the very badly wrought pun in the headline, but it's good news for the economy as the traditional "busiest shopping day of the year" saw huge crowds chasing bargains the day after thanksgiving.
"retailers, hoping for a green christmas, anticipated crowds of people lining up for big pre-dawn discounts at stores nationwide on friday," said cnnmoney.
"in omaha, neb., a 52 year-old woman was knocked to the ground when hundreds of people rushed the doors at the early morning opening of the nebraska furniture mart. diana mckeever received several stitches to her knee and was released from the hospital," says yahoo news.
"now, in a surprise to many economists, those asphalt lots are starting to fill up - just in time for the holiday season. the catalysts for the turnaround seem to be relief that the us is not at war with iraq, a better tone to the stock market, and the perception that layoffs are slowing down. and those clever marketers are luring americans with sales - big sales - on almost everything in the store," says the christian science monitor.
an independent survey found retail sales were up 12.3% on friday, compared to last year, according to shoppertrak. and wal-mart reported the biggest one day sales ($1.43 billion) ever yesterday.
indeed, reuters is suggesting that the "data suggest weak spot may be ending," although we will believe it when our out-of-work friends all have jobs again. consumer confidence is up slightly, durable goods orders are up, jobless claims are down, and the manufacturing index rose a bit. even the stock market posted its eighth straight week of gains.
let's all hope santa will bring us a real economy for christmas.
posted by skippy at
6:03 PM |
0
comments
say hello
to the blog driver's waltz.
also, let it be known that south knox bubba has a new url. mark it well.
to the blog driver's waltz.
also, let it be known that south knox bubba has a new url. mark it well.
posted by skippy at
5:42 PM |
0
comments
happy belated thanksgiving
so sorry we weren't around to wish all of our readers and friends in blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!) a happy thanksgiving. skippy was sick in bed for 3 days (actually, only in bed for part of it, but mostly asleep in his recliner chair). some sort of sleeping laryngitis flu caught hold of skippy, and there was nothing to do but rest and drink plenty of fluids.
well, even though some would say the world is going to hell in a hand basket, there are still plenty of things to be thankful about. skippy is particularly thankful for mrs. skippy, and he recommends that everyone who has family take care of them, and be nice to them this holiday season. family is always more important than you'll ever realize, and you can never get from the rest of the world what your family can give to you, whether you want it or not.
also, even though the wrong person might be in office (whatever office you are thinking about at this juncture) we are still in a democracy as of this morning, so that is also something to be thankful for.
and let's even give thanks for the little things, like our own personal blogs, and all our blog buddies out there. with the upcoming troubles in the world, it is good to have friends.
we hope you had a great thanksgiving, and have plenty of leftovers (skippy will finish off the last slice of pumpkin pie tonight after he signs off the internet), and we hope you gave thanks to whatever deity you pray to, and if you don't pray, we hope at least you were humble.
so sorry we weren't around to wish all of our readers and friends in blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!) a happy thanksgiving. skippy was sick in bed for 3 days (actually, only in bed for part of it, but mostly asleep in his recliner chair). some sort of sleeping laryngitis flu caught hold of skippy, and there was nothing to do but rest and drink plenty of fluids.
well, even though some would say the world is going to hell in a hand basket, there are still plenty of things to be thankful about. skippy is particularly thankful for mrs. skippy, and he recommends that everyone who has family take care of them, and be nice to them this holiday season. family is always more important than you'll ever realize, and you can never get from the rest of the world what your family can give to you, whether you want it or not.
also, even though the wrong person might be in office (whatever office you are thinking about at this juncture) we are still in a democracy as of this morning, so that is also something to be thankful for.
and let's even give thanks for the little things, like our own personal blogs, and all our blog buddies out there. with the upcoming troubles in the world, it is good to have friends.
we hope you had a great thanksgiving, and have plenty of leftovers (skippy will finish off the last slice of pumpkin pie tonight after he signs off the internet), and we hope you gave thanks to whatever deity you pray to, and if you don't pray, we hope at least you were humble.
posted by skippy at
5:20 PM |
0
comments
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
carnival!
hey, the latest carnival of the vanities is up, and you can see it at silflay hraka or blogcritics! as usual, there's plenty of fine blogging involved, and good writing too, including some new cyberfaces, so please go check it out!
our entry was rather lame this week, as we have been busy with real life (finishing up the polish on the second draft of our screen play, thank you very much!) but we especially like amish tech support's emulation of mad kane with the little mermaid salute to stomach virus on disney cruise ships.
also of note: occam's toothbrush on poll data
hey, the latest carnival of the vanities is up, and you can see it at silflay hraka or blogcritics! as usual, there's plenty of fine blogging involved, and good writing too, including some new cyberfaces, so please go check it out!
our entry was rather lame this week, as we have been busy with real life (finishing up the polish on the second draft of our screen play, thank you very much!) but we especially like amish tech support's emulation of mad kane with the little mermaid salute to stomach virus on disney cruise ships.
also of note: occam's toothbrush on poll data
posted by skippy at
11:44 AM |
0
comments
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
say hello
to them durn lib'ruls and ideas etc. and mean mr. mustard and negro please and starship tim and crinkle cutz and plum crazy and t.c. mitts and jerry brito
to them durn lib'ruls and ideas etc. and mean mr. mustard and negro please and starship tim and crinkle cutz and plum crazy and t.c. mitts and jerry brito
posted by skippy at
12:34 AM |
0
comments
yikes! censorship is alive and well
little did we realize that weblocker, no relation to dan blocker, will not allow anyone to access any of the blogspot blogs. slacktivist tells us the whole sordid story.
we know we have actually used the word "penis" once in a while, (as in, "that darn john ashcroft really wrinkles my penis") but we never thought of ourselves as pornographic (at least, not under this screen name.)
ah well, that is too bad. anyone with any suggestions as to how to fix this problem, or at least funnier jokes than ours, please email us and share.
little did we realize that weblocker, no relation to dan blocker, will not allow anyone to access any of the blogspot blogs. slacktivist tells us the whole sordid story.
we know we have actually used the word "penis" once in a while, (as in, "that darn john ashcroft really wrinkles my penis") but we never thought of ourselves as pornographic (at least, not under this screen name.)
ah well, that is too bad. anyone with any suggestions as to how to fix this problem, or at least funnier jokes than ours, please email us and share.
posted by skippy at
12:20 AM |
0
comments
mild to light blogging...with real life intruding
sorry, kids, we have been busy living our real lives out there, and have had very little time to blog.
off hand, we've been busier than a security guard at the nigerian miss america pagent.
we hope to resume regular blogging schedule later this week.
in the meantime, may we suggest visiting any one of the many fine blogs on our pemanent blogroll? they are all good, except for one. and you know which one that is.
sorry, kids, we have been busy living our real lives out there, and have had very little time to blog.
off hand, we've been busier than a security guard at the nigerian miss america pagent.
we hope to resume regular blogging schedule later this week.
in the meantime, may we suggest visiting any one of the many fine blogs on our pemanent blogroll? they are all good, except for one. and you know which one that is.
posted by skippy at
12:13 AM |
0
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Friday, November 22, 2002
grunge vs. bush
pearl jam apparently (along with the rest of us) has a bone to pick with mr. bush. their new album riot act contains a song entitled bush leaguer. it's a not very subtle condemnation of mr. bush:
he's not a leader/ he's a texas leaguer . . . drilling for fear/ makes the job simple/ born on third, thinks he got a triple.
woah! try to keep an evenflow, eddie!
pearl jam apparently (along with the rest of us) has a bone to pick with mr. bush. their new album riot act contains a song entitled bush leaguer. it's a not very subtle condemnation of mr. bush:
he's not a leader/ he's a texas leaguer . . . drilling for fear/ makes the job simple/ born on third, thinks he got a triple.
woah! try to keep an evenflow, eddie!
posted by skippy at
5:39 PM |
0
comments
Thursday, November 21, 2002
wtf is always good
maru the crankpot consistantly provides accurate, if colorful commentary on the state of the nation, and more importantly, the state of the media reporting the nation.
there are too many good posts on her blog to single them out. we recommend you just take your time and peruse the whole thing.
maru the crankpot consistantly provides accurate, if colorful commentary on the state of the nation, and more importantly, the state of the media reporting the nation.
there are too many good posts on her blog to single them out. we recommend you just take your time and peruse the whole thing.
posted by skippy at
4:46 PM |
0
comments
top story tonight: the ecomony sucks!
forbes.com reports that the organization of economic cooperation and develoment is warning that a new gulf war could be disastorous on the world's economy. not to mention the folks standing in front of the bullets.
according to forbes:
"if an oil price shock were to occur, it would come at a very different stage of the (business) cycle, ie during a weak recovery, rather than at the tail-end of a boom," the oecd said. the u.s. military have to shoulder much more of the financial burden of fighting -- estimated at $1 billion per day -- since its allies are either unwilling or unable to pay. plus, the potential for further stimulus from monetary and fiscal policy in the united states, the world's largest economy, is already limited. rate cuts have taken borrowing costs to a 40-year low and public finances are heading into deficit.
and we love spin! economic indicators in october were flat, and that's good news! because, it's better than going down, right? right? we mean, it's not losing any ground, so treading water is much better than drowning, right? sounds good, till you read this paragraph: "only consumption has consistently fueled the recovery through the first 10 months of this year," conference board economist ken goldstein said, adding that the leading indicators "are not pointing toward a more positive outlook."
but hal r. varian at the new york times puts a lot of faith in the federal reserve's sunny outlook for the economy: "in the case of output forecasting, [berekely economists christina and david] romer suggest that the Fed's advantage may in fact be, at least in part, a result of better access to data since the fed manages the collection of information used to compute the index of industrial production." and then mr. varian ends with a resounding "let's hope the rate cut works." that's the spirit!
but if you're still confused at to mr. bush's economic policy, don't worry; brad de long's post wile e. coyote explains bush administration fiscal policy should clear up all questions.
forbes.com reports that the organization of economic cooperation and develoment is warning that a new gulf war could be disastorous on the world's economy. not to mention the folks standing in front of the bullets.
according to forbes:
"if an oil price shock were to occur, it would come at a very different stage of the (business) cycle, ie during a weak recovery, rather than at the tail-end of a boom," the oecd said. the u.s. military have to shoulder much more of the financial burden of fighting -- estimated at $1 billion per day -- since its allies are either unwilling or unable to pay. plus, the potential for further stimulus from monetary and fiscal policy in the united states, the world's largest economy, is already limited. rate cuts have taken borrowing costs to a 40-year low and public finances are heading into deficit.
and we love spin! economic indicators in october were flat, and that's good news! because, it's better than going down, right? right? we mean, it's not losing any ground, so treading water is much better than drowning, right? sounds good, till you read this paragraph: "only consumption has consistently fueled the recovery through the first 10 months of this year," conference board economist ken goldstein said, adding that the leading indicators "are not pointing toward a more positive outlook."
but hal r. varian at the new york times puts a lot of faith in the federal reserve's sunny outlook for the economy: "in the case of output forecasting, [berekely economists christina and david] romer suggest that the Fed's advantage may in fact be, at least in part, a result of better access to data since the fed manages the collection of information used to compute the index of industrial production." and then mr. varian ends with a resounding "let's hope the rate cut works." that's the spirit!
but if you're still confused at to mr. bush's economic policy, don't worry; brad de long's post wile e. coyote explains bush administration fiscal policy should clear up all questions.
posted by skippy at
12:39 PM |
0
comments
don't drop the baby!
tom daschle is getting a lot of flack for holding baby rush limbaugh over a 4th floor hotel railing...oh wait, that was michael jackson, sorry.
no, senator daschle's complaint is that threats against his family have increased, and he puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of talk radio in general, and rush limbaugh in particular.
of course, mr. limbaugh had something to say about it: ''it's not just against me, but it's against you folks, the entire audience,'' limbaugh said. 'you all now are being characterized as unsophisticated barbarians. you don't know the difference between politics and entertainment."
well, if the animal pelt fits, wear it.
we do wonder about talk radio's inability to let the left engage in the same vitrol the right thinks it has the patent on. as soon as a leftist goes overboard, it's like they committed pedarasty or something. but when the right does it, it's just good "entertainment."
well, we are certainly not one to point this out, but it's never good to feed the energy vampires.
tom daschle is getting a lot of flack for holding baby rush limbaugh over a 4th floor hotel railing...oh wait, that was michael jackson, sorry.
no, senator daschle's complaint is that threats against his family have increased, and he puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of talk radio in general, and rush limbaugh in particular.
of course, mr. limbaugh had something to say about it: ''it's not just against me, but it's against you folks, the entire audience,'' limbaugh said. 'you all now are being characterized as unsophisticated barbarians. you don't know the difference between politics and entertainment."
well, if the animal pelt fits, wear it.
we do wonder about talk radio's inability to let the left engage in the same vitrol the right thinks it has the patent on. as soon as a leftist goes overboard, it's like they committed pedarasty or something. but when the right does it, it's just good "entertainment."
well, we are certainly not one to point this out, but it's never good to feed the energy vampires.
posted by skippy at
12:38 PM |
0
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the little twit responds
lynn sislo, who for some reason took such great umbrage at our recent tip jar rant that she began her post about it by calling skippy a little twit (there's some damn fine writing!) has responded to our (we thought) calm and reasoned discourse on her blog comments section. aside from her claim that she's a better writer than skippy (could be) and at least a good a writer as instapundit (not sure), she pretty much rambles, without actually addressing our points.
we will not bother our readers of skippy's main blog with the ongoing debate of fred allen-jack benny proportions. but if you'd like to read our response to her response to our response...yada yada yada...please go to our sister blog skippy junior.
also, we'd like to point out that conrad of the gweilo diaries has kindly directed his readers into the fray with this clever post.
lynn sislo, who for some reason took such great umbrage at our recent tip jar rant that she began her post about it by calling skippy a little twit (there's some damn fine writing!) has responded to our (we thought) calm and reasoned discourse on her blog comments section. aside from her claim that she's a better writer than skippy (could be) and at least a good a writer as instapundit (not sure), she pretty much rambles, without actually addressing our points.
we will not bother our readers of skippy's main blog with the ongoing debate of fred allen-jack benny proportions. but if you'd like to read our response to her response to our response...yada yada yada...please go to our sister blog skippy junior.
also, we'd like to point out that conrad of the gweilo diaries has kindly directed his readers into the fray with this clever post.
posted by skippy at
11:37 AM |
0
comments
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
it takes one to know one
al gore says mr. bush is ineffective. specifically, on the war against terror.
mr. gore was vp during the 8 of the most prosperous and peaceful years in recent american history, and he still managed to lose the election. guess he knows ineffective when he sees it.
however, we must admit, we agree with what he says:
afghanistan "is falling back into chaos," mr. gore said. "osama is back. al qaeda has reconstituted itself and, according to the director of central intelligence, possesses just as severe a threat to us right now as it did during the weeks leading up to sept. 11. meanwhile, the president has been out on the campaign trail, beating the drums of war against saddam hussein."
when the guy's right, he's right.
al gore says mr. bush is ineffective. specifically, on the war against terror.
mr. gore was vp during the 8 of the most prosperous and peaceful years in recent american history, and he still managed to lose the election. guess he knows ineffective when he sees it.
however, we must admit, we agree with what he says:
afghanistan "is falling back into chaos," mr. gore said. "osama is back. al qaeda has reconstituted itself and, according to the director of central intelligence, possesses just as severe a threat to us right now as it did during the weeks leading up to sept. 11. meanwhile, the president has been out on the campaign trail, beating the drums of war against saddam hussein."
when the guy's right, he's right.
posted by skippy at
11:24 PM |
0
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posted by skippy at
11:19 PM |
0
comments
too wet to build
forbes magazine says the wet weather last month was probably the cause for housing starts to be down in the biggest drop since january (because apparently last february and march weren't wet).
but all the news isn't bad. "ground breaking for new homes had posted its biggest gain in seven years in september as buyers seized on low mortgage interest rates to snap up homes in droves. the october rate was still 4.7 percent higher than the 1.531 million level in october 2001."
so as long as it doesn't snow this winter, things'll be fine.
forbes magazine says the wet weather last month was probably the cause for housing starts to be down in the biggest drop since january (because apparently last february and march weren't wet).
but all the news isn't bad. "ground breaking for new homes had posted its biggest gain in seven years in september as buyers seized on low mortgage interest rates to snap up homes in droves. the october rate was still 4.7 percent higher than the 1.531 million level in october 2001."
so as long as it doesn't snow this winter, things'll be fine.
posted by skippy at
11:16 PM |
0
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as creedence clearwater revival said, there's a bathroom on the right
are there any more obnoxious commercials on tv than catherine zeta jones hawking t mobile? what the hell is t mobile anyway, and why does she care if we use it or not?
although we admit we like the "ivory toad of shanghai" spot, the one where the couple are arguing over the lyrics "pour some sugar on me" until they call the library to get it straight, is just plain ridiculous. is there anybody in the world who doesn't know what def leppard was saying? (the guy in the commercial insists that they are singing "pour some shook up raman" - "you know, soup"). it's not that hard to understand.
but that brings us to one of our favorite pass times: indecipherable, or misunderstood, rock lyrics.
mrs. skippy's inability to understand the old group the hollies "all i need is the air that i breathe and to love you" is one of our personal favorites. she swears when she was a teeny bopper in the 60's she heard them say "all i need is some lsd and to love you." of course, context is a major factor here.
but some lyrics are just down right impossible. who knows what aretha franklin is saying after she spells out the word in "respect"? she says, "r e s p e c t, tell me what it means to me, r e s p e c t" and then what? we swear it sounds like "take some pcp!" (again, context).
anyone else with good, wrong lyrics are encouraged to email them to us, and we will print them in this space.
are there any more obnoxious commercials on tv than catherine zeta jones hawking t mobile? what the hell is t mobile anyway, and why does she care if we use it or not?
although we admit we like the "ivory toad of shanghai" spot, the one where the couple are arguing over the lyrics "pour some sugar on me" until they call the library to get it straight, is just plain ridiculous. is there anybody in the world who doesn't know what def leppard was saying? (the guy in the commercial insists that they are singing "pour some shook up raman" - "you know, soup"). it's not that hard to understand.
but that brings us to one of our favorite pass times: indecipherable, or misunderstood, rock lyrics.
mrs. skippy's inability to understand the old group the hollies "all i need is the air that i breathe and to love you" is one of our personal favorites. she swears when she was a teeny bopper in the 60's she heard them say "all i need is some lsd and to love you." of course, context is a major factor here.
but some lyrics are just down right impossible. who knows what aretha franklin is saying after she spells out the word in "respect"? she says, "r e s p e c t, tell me what it means to me, r e s p e c t" and then what? we swear it sounds like "take some pcp!" (again, context).
anyone else with good, wrong lyrics are encouraged to email them to us, and we will print them in this space.
posted by skippy at
5:50 PM |
0
comments
more on tip jars
heavens! little did we suspect that our little rant about bloggers who ask for donations via paypal would start something. great, we can't get bush out of office but we can sure piss off blogtopia (yes, i coined that pharse, and pissed it off en toto, as well)!
not only did it appear in this week's carnival of the vanities, but it has inspired laurence simon of amish tech support into his own rant as well. and then we find this screed (calling skippy a "little twit" and believe us, mrs. skippy is happy to report that skippy is anything but little!) from some blogger named lynn sislo, who has been blogging since march and gets about 80-100 hits a day, and then accuses us of trolling for hits.
my my, we had no idea people would take this so personal! it's just a blog, folks; if you want to get worked up about something, as we said in our original screed, go volunteer some where or do charity work or make an actual difference. don't get mad because we point out that begging for pennies is simply that: begging for pennies.
luckily, we have some supporters as well as detractors. kevin holstberry over at ideas, etc. agrees with our basic premise. also, sisyphus shrugged (who apparently doesn't have permalinks, sorry) and easy bake coven have rallied to our defense. we thank everyone, both who agree and disagree, for participating in the great communications experiement we like to call blogging.
we try to have no regrets as we go through life, but we must admit that we are sorry if our little diatribe upset talkleft in any way, for she has not responded to our email. talkleft is a fine blog, even with a paypal link on it [ed. note: it is actually an amazon honor system link], and we highly recommend it to all. and, we'd even recommend lynn's blog, even though she had the bad manners to call skippy a little twit (also, check out her comments section to see our response).
and, while we're at blogname-dropping, thanks to the gambling gringo for the link, and thanks to madeleine kane for furthering our use of the word "blogtopia" all the way over to corante tech news daily!
heavens! little did we suspect that our little rant about bloggers who ask for donations via paypal would start something. great, we can't get bush out of office but we can sure piss off blogtopia (yes, i coined that pharse, and pissed it off en toto, as well)!
not only did it appear in this week's carnival of the vanities, but it has inspired laurence simon of amish tech support into his own rant as well. and then we find this screed (calling skippy a "little twit" and believe us, mrs. skippy is happy to report that skippy is anything but little!) from some blogger named lynn sislo, who has been blogging since march and gets about 80-100 hits a day, and then accuses us of trolling for hits.
my my, we had no idea people would take this so personal! it's just a blog, folks; if you want to get worked up about something, as we said in our original screed, go volunteer some where or do charity work or make an actual difference. don't get mad because we point out that begging for pennies is simply that: begging for pennies.
luckily, we have some supporters as well as detractors. kevin holstberry over at ideas, etc. agrees with our basic premise. also, sisyphus shrugged (who apparently doesn't have permalinks, sorry) and easy bake coven have rallied to our defense. we thank everyone, both who agree and disagree, for participating in the great communications experiement we like to call blogging.
we try to have no regrets as we go through life, but we must admit that we are sorry if our little diatribe upset talkleft in any way, for she has not responded to our email. talkleft is a fine blog, even with a paypal link on it [ed. note: it is actually an amazon honor system link], and we highly recommend it to all. and, we'd even recommend lynn's blog, even though she had the bad manners to call skippy a little twit (also, check out her comments section to see our response).
and, while we're at blogname-dropping, thanks to the gambling gringo for the link, and thanks to madeleine kane for furthering our use of the word "blogtopia" all the way over to corante tech news daily!
posted by skippy at
5:18 PM |
0
comments
carnival!
ok, kids, carnival of the vanities number 9, the popular feature on silflay hraka's blog, is up and running! lots of good writing there, check it out. or if you can't make it all the way over there, it's also posted on blog critics!
ok, kids, carnival of the vanities number 9, the popular feature on silflay hraka's blog, is up and running! lots of good writing there, check it out. or if you can't make it all the way over there, it's also posted on blog critics!
posted by skippy at
4:54 PM |
0
comments
Monday, November 18, 2002
freedom of information act? we don't need no stinkin' freedom of information act!
congress looks set to pass the homeland security bill, which promises to give the administration even more authority to keep secrets from the public than it has now.
" 'this unnecessary blanket authority,' said sen. robert byrd, d-w.virginia, a vociferous opponent of the legislation, 'will give the president carte blanche to expand the culture of secrecy that now permeates this administration'."
"the house language, said the ACLU's [tim] edgar, 'is a disaster for the public's right to know' about issues that could directly affect lives, ranging from defects in railroad tracks to problems in blood supplies. The broadened language, said the associated press managing editors' bill felber, 'is not necessarily a good thing for public knowledge'."
oh well. we didn't want to know what the government really know about 9/11 before hand, anyway, did we?
congress looks set to pass the homeland security bill, which promises to give the administration even more authority to keep secrets from the public than it has now.
" 'this unnecessary blanket authority,' said sen. robert byrd, d-w.virginia, a vociferous opponent of the legislation, 'will give the president carte blanche to expand the culture of secrecy that now permeates this administration'."
"the house language, said the ACLU's [tim] edgar, 'is a disaster for the public's right to know' about issues that could directly affect lives, ranging from defects in railroad tracks to problems in blood supplies. The broadened language, said the associated press managing editors' bill felber, 'is not necessarily a good thing for public knowledge'."
oh well. we didn't want to know what the government really know about 9/11 before hand, anyway, did we?
posted by skippy at
4:20 PM |
0
comments
meteor update
folks, we have just learned that tonight, not tomorrow night, will be the best time to watch the leonid meteor shower in the skies. it looks like the peak will hit here in north america about 5:30 eastern, 2:30 pacific, so set your alarms!
here's a few more tips for viewing, and here's a page to help you figure out what time is best for your location.
look to the skies!
folks, we have just learned that tonight, not tomorrow night, will be the best time to watch the leonid meteor shower in the skies. it looks like the peak will hit here in north america about 5:30 eastern, 2:30 pacific, so set your alarms!
here's a few more tips for viewing, and here's a page to help you figure out what time is best for your location.
look to the skies!
posted by skippy at
4:19 PM |
0
comments
Sunday, November 17, 2002
hootie and the blowhards
there now rages a current debate in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) as to whether or not liberals get away with more crap than conservatives are allowed to by the pc police when it comes to writing satire.
here's calpundit's view.
here's instapundit's view.
here's what atrios has to say.
for the record, here's a funny liberal, and here's a funny conservative.
there now rages a current debate in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) as to whether or not liberals get away with more crap than conservatives are allowed to by the pc police when it comes to writing satire.
here's calpundit's view.
here's instapundit's view.
here's what atrios has to say.
for the record, here's a funny liberal, and here's a funny conservative.
posted by skippy at
12:15 AM |
0
comments
Saturday, November 16, 2002
blogging around
here's such a good idea, we are considering stealing it for our own blog. devra at blue streak has a link category called "blogs of the week" (which, we assume, changes every week; if not, get donkey! and journal of doubt are in for some great advertising this year...)
sciatica links us to yesterland, a web version of the discontinued rides once found at disneyland...
and somebody came to our blog from a translated version of jeanne d'arc's body and soul (aus deutche, no less!)
wow, dr. menlo has gotten into the act, along with the unablogger and good sh*t! really, we read these blogs for the articles, no, we do!
we found out from ampersand that letters from gotham, one of our fav conservative blogs, has called it quits! what is there something going around?? goodbye, diane e., you will be missed!
here's such a good idea, we are considering stealing it for our own blog. devra at blue streak has a link category called "blogs of the week" (which, we assume, changes every week; if not, get donkey! and journal of doubt are in for some great advertising this year...)
sciatica links us to yesterland, a web version of the discontinued rides once found at disneyland...
and somebody came to our blog from a translated version of jeanne d'arc's body and soul (aus deutche, no less!)
wow, dr. menlo has gotten into the act, along with the unablogger and good sh*t! really, we read these blogs for the articles, no, we do!
we found out from ampersand that letters from gotham, one of our fav conservative blogs, has called it quits! what is there something going around?? goodbye, diane e., you will be missed!
posted by skippy at
11:30 PM |
0
comments
finally, the homework is done!
as promised, we finished an essay for blogcritics this weekend. it details our disappointment over the willy-nilly writing on the otherwise-excellently conceived fox tv program 24. please head on over to blogcritics to check it out.
as promised, we finished an essay for blogcritics this weekend. it details our disappointment over the willy-nilly writing on the otherwise-excellently conceived fox tv program 24. please head on over to blogcritics to check it out.
posted by skippy at
5:50 PM |
0
comments
Friday, November 15, 2002
another reason not to go to war
thanks to body and soul, we found this at negro, please, which pretty much sums up our feelings.
thanks to body and soul, we found this at negro, please, which pretty much sums up our feelings.
posted by skippy at
4:55 PM |
0
comments
no war? think again, folks
don't get too comfortable just because saddam said yes to the u.n. weapons inspection resolution. or should we say, mr. bush is not getting too comfortable, and we bet saddam isn't either.
just a quick look around the headlines make it pretty apparent that war is inevitable:
usa today - iraq: failure to comply may spark invasion
business week - an iraq attack: the odds now
sydney morning herald - lit emerges over what triggers war
cbs news - u.s. warns iraq: don't 'play games'
toronto star - u.s. has doubts as iraq allows checks
icwales - bush Still looks for showdown
canadian globe and mail - deception won't be tolerated, hussein warned
fox news (there's a surprise!) - rumsfeld: saddam would 'like to see' terrorist attacks if u.s. goes to war
rather than reporting the news, these headlines seem to be preparing the world for an inevitable war (and the consequences of an increase in terrorists attacks during and afterwards).
say your prayers to whatever god you believe in, folks.
(this post can also be found on stand down and american samizdat
don't get too comfortable just because saddam said yes to the u.n. weapons inspection resolution. or should we say, mr. bush is not getting too comfortable, and we bet saddam isn't either.
just a quick look around the headlines make it pretty apparent that war is inevitable:
usa today - iraq: failure to comply may spark invasion
business week - an iraq attack: the odds now
sydney morning herald - lit emerges over what triggers war
cbs news - u.s. warns iraq: don't 'play games'
toronto star - u.s. has doubts as iraq allows checks
icwales - bush Still looks for showdown
canadian globe and mail - deception won't be tolerated, hussein warned
fox news (there's a surprise!) - rumsfeld: saddam would 'like to see' terrorist attacks if u.s. goes to war
rather than reporting the news, these headlines seem to be preparing the world for an inevitable war (and the consequences of an increase in terrorists attacks during and afterwards).
say your prayers to whatever god you believe in, folks.
(this post can also be found on stand down and american samizdat
posted by skippy at
12:17 PM |
0
comments
now we can get some real work done in congress
spurred on by the republican victories in the election this month, the congress has decided to finally knuckle down and do some important work for the country.
your elected representatives have just approved a bill making it illegal to insert pornographic material into packaged food products.
thank goodness. we were tired of opening our jello pudding pops and finding ron jeremy staring at us. and we were sick of unpeeling a banana only to find an anatomically correct picture of johnny the wad holmes.
now finally mothers can feel safe about that box of mrs. paul's fish sticks for their children's lunch. and no more embarrassment when putting out the clam dip at parties! this problem has been so wide spread over the country, it's about time someone did something about this. who says the republicans are misguided sanctimonious blow hards with no real concern for actual problems of the country?
spurred on by the republican victories in the election this month, the congress has decided to finally knuckle down and do some important work for the country.
your elected representatives have just approved a bill making it illegal to insert pornographic material into packaged food products.
thank goodness. we were tired of opening our jello pudding pops and finding ron jeremy staring at us. and we were sick of unpeeling a banana only to find an anatomically correct picture of johnny the wad holmes.
now finally mothers can feel safe about that box of mrs. paul's fish sticks for their children's lunch. and no more embarrassment when putting out the clam dip at parties! this problem has been so wide spread over the country, it's about time someone did something about this. who says the republicans are misguided sanctimonious blow hards with no real concern for actual problems of the country?
posted by skippy at
11:48 AM |
0
comments
blogging around
jay zilber has a very personal look at the rising costs of health care.
thanks to susan of easy bake coven for linking to our rant about bloggers' tip jars.
dr. tom of thinking it through muses on arianna huffington's screed against pollsters (also, while you're at the fine thinking it through blog, check out the latest report on how homeland security will make it harder for parents of autistic children to sue vaccine manufacturers...huh? that's right. then go over to pla and see what dwight meredith has to say on the subject. it will probably make you angry, as it did us.
jay zilber has a very personal look at the rising costs of health care.
thanks to susan of easy bake coven for linking to our rant about bloggers' tip jars.
dr. tom of thinking it through muses on arianna huffington's screed against pollsters (also, while you're at the fine thinking it through blog, check out the latest report on how homeland security will make it harder for parents of autistic children to sue vaccine manufacturers...huh? that's right. then go over to pla and see what dwight meredith has to say on the subject. it will probably make you angry, as it did us.
posted by skippy at
11:29 AM |
0
comments
Thursday, November 14, 2002
there must be something going around
first ted barlow, now james capozzolla of the rittenhouse review is going on hiatus.
nobody said blogging was easy.
first ted barlow, now james capozzolla of the rittenhouse review is going on hiatus.
nobody said blogging was easy.
posted by skippy at
11:45 PM |
0
comments
the more things change, the more things stay the same
before you all break out the bubbly to celebrate a new direction of house democratic leadership under nancy pelosi, you might want to read this.
the la weekly article by doug ireland asserts that rather than being a new populist liberal leader, ms. pelosi is just another moneybags politician who got elected the old fashioned way: she bought her way into it.
"unlike paul wellstone, who had an organic connection to the issue-oriented citizen activism whence he came, pelosi's career is a classic example of checkbook politics. she married money — her husband, paul, is a former banker who became a wealthy real estate developer — and the pelosi fortune makes her the richest member of california's house delegation."
ireland goes on to comment that ms. pelosi's most controversial "populist" votes in the house - favoring aids research/gay issues, and opposing president bubba on china as a most-favored-nations-status - were less about taking a stand than about garnering votes back home in asian and gay steeped san francisco, which pelosi represents.
and after the lump that was gephardt, if you were hoping for a media savy speechifier to charm the camera, well, sorry, charlie, nancy ain't the gal for you:
"...says a senior liberal democratic strategist today, 'pelosi is simply not very articulate. she tends to talk too much — like many people who have limited confidence in their intelligence and tend to make up in verbosity what they lack in veracity.' [ed. note: sounds like some bloggers we know] "that's why the san francisco chronicle recently commented tactfully that in her noteless speeches pelosi 'tends to get sidetracked,' that she has a reputation for avoiding the press, and in her infrequent tv appearances she lacks the spontaneous authenticity of, say, barney frank or john mccain."
still, we are hopeful that at least the change in leadership will light a fire under the democrats, and we do admit that it's about time (the 21st century...took ya long enough!) that a woman was elected to leadership in the congress. good luck, ms. pelosi and the dems!
before you all break out the bubbly to celebrate a new direction of house democratic leadership under nancy pelosi, you might want to read this.
the la weekly article by doug ireland asserts that rather than being a new populist liberal leader, ms. pelosi is just another moneybags politician who got elected the old fashioned way: she bought her way into it.
"unlike paul wellstone, who had an organic connection to the issue-oriented citizen activism whence he came, pelosi's career is a classic example of checkbook politics. she married money — her husband, paul, is a former banker who became a wealthy real estate developer — and the pelosi fortune makes her the richest member of california's house delegation."
ireland goes on to comment that ms. pelosi's most controversial "populist" votes in the house - favoring aids research/gay issues, and opposing president bubba on china as a most-favored-nations-status - were less about taking a stand than about garnering votes back home in asian and gay steeped san francisco, which pelosi represents.
and after the lump that was gephardt, if you were hoping for a media savy speechifier to charm the camera, well, sorry, charlie, nancy ain't the gal for you:
"...says a senior liberal democratic strategist today, 'pelosi is simply not very articulate. she tends to talk too much — like many people who have limited confidence in their intelligence and tend to make up in verbosity what they lack in veracity.' [ed. note: sounds like some bloggers we know] "that's why the san francisco chronicle recently commented tactfully that in her noteless speeches pelosi 'tends to get sidetracked,' that she has a reputation for avoiding the press, and in her infrequent tv appearances she lacks the spontaneous authenticity of, say, barney frank or john mccain."
still, we are hopeful that at least the change in leadership will light a fire under the democrats, and we do admit that it's about time (the 21st century...took ya long enough!) that a woman was elected to leadership in the congress. good luck, ms. pelosi and the dems!
posted by skippy at
11:31 PM |
0
comments
look to the skies
one of the greatest spectacles of nature is coming up soon, and apparently it will be the last time for quite awhile that it will appear so spectacular.
we are talking about the leonid meteor shower, a magnificent display of astronomical fireworks that we like to watch every year in november.
for reasons too complicated for this bush kangaroo to interpret, next week's version of this yearly meteor display will be the biggest and brightest for some time to come (at least three decades, perhaps ever for a hundred years). so we heartily recommend your setting the clock for the wee hours of the morning to get up and watch this magnificent show in the sky, as it is predicted to be one of the better meteor shows in a while, in spite of the full moon shining that night.
the leonid meteor shower happens every november when the earth passes through the trail of space rocks left by the comet tempel-tuttle as it swings around our sun on its 33-year voyage. the rocks will enter the earth's atmosphere and burn up in a firey path across the sky sometime between 2:30 and 4:00 am early tuesday morning.
here's a complicated chart for telescope users letting you know when the best time and on what part of the earth the best place to watch will be.
we watched the leonids shower last year, and found it to be a truly beautiful and humbling experience. set your alarms, you will not regret it!
(offer void where prohibited by clouds).
one of the greatest spectacles of nature is coming up soon, and apparently it will be the last time for quite awhile that it will appear so spectacular.
we are talking about the leonid meteor shower, a magnificent display of astronomical fireworks that we like to watch every year in november.
for reasons too complicated for this bush kangaroo to interpret, next week's version of this yearly meteor display will be the biggest and brightest for some time to come (at least three decades, perhaps ever for a hundred years). so we heartily recommend your setting the clock for the wee hours of the morning to get up and watch this magnificent show in the sky, as it is predicted to be one of the better meteor shows in a while, in spite of the full moon shining that night.
the leonid meteor shower happens every november when the earth passes through the trail of space rocks left by the comet tempel-tuttle as it swings around our sun on its 33-year voyage. the rocks will enter the earth's atmosphere and burn up in a firey path across the sky sometime between 2:30 and 4:00 am early tuesday morning.
here's a complicated chart for telescope users letting you know when the best time and on what part of the earth the best place to watch will be.
we watched the leonids shower last year, and found it to be a truly beautiful and humbling experience. set your alarms, you will not regret it!
(offer void where prohibited by clouds).
posted by skippy at
11:15 PM |
0
comments
posted by skippy at
5:06 PM |
0
comments
the market is rallying
as of this writing, the dow is up 136 points. so the economic news is good.
unless you work for advanced micro devices which is going to cut 15% of its labor force by june.
or unless you're in retail sales, which were flat last month (including a steep decline in auto sales)
or unless you listen to alan greenspan, who says the economy hit a soft patch.
otherwise, things are great!
as of this writing, the dow is up 136 points. so the economic news is good.
unless you work for advanced micro devices which is going to cut 15% of its labor force by june.
or unless you're in retail sales, which were flat last month (including a steep decline in auto sales)
or unless you listen to alan greenspan, who says the economy hit a soft patch.
otherwise, things are great!
posted by skippy at
12:28 PM |
0
comments
documentarian's mother gets a job
alexandra pelosi's mother nancy was voted in as house minority leader today, 177-29, becoming the first woman to lead any party anywhere in congress. we will see exactly where she will lead the democrats, but wherever it may be, at least it will be somewhere other than up mr. bush's butt, which is where the former leadership had been taking the party.
rep. pelosi will be going head to head with tom delay, who is the house majority whip (and believe us, he likes the term "whip.") it will be interesting to watch.
"pelosi too said democrats will try to find common ground with republicans, but on issues where they differ, 'we must stand our ground'."
what? stand her ground? is she sure she's a democrat?
alexandra pelosi's mother nancy was voted in as house minority leader today, 177-29, becoming the first woman to lead any party anywhere in congress. we will see exactly where she will lead the democrats, but wherever it may be, at least it will be somewhere other than up mr. bush's butt, which is where the former leadership had been taking the party.
rep. pelosi will be going head to head with tom delay, who is the house majority whip (and believe us, he likes the term "whip.") it will be interesting to watch.
"pelosi too said democrats will try to find common ground with republicans, but on issues where they differ, 'we must stand our ground'."
what? stand her ground? is she sure she's a democrat?
posted by skippy at
12:09 PM |
0
comments
some housecleaning
bill sherman has some thoughts on our favorite comic strip, zippy the pinhead.
we'd like to announce that we're adding the blogs highwater and thoughts on the eve of the apocolypse and progressive gold to our permanent blogroll.
also added to our roll, the commonweal institute, "the heritage foundation of the left," which is created and maintained, in part, by our good friend issues guy over at seeing the forest.
since the election came and went, and the san fernando valley did not succeed in seceding, we are now taking down the link to secession watch, a fine blog relating to news media stories about the valley's drive to split into a separate city. however, kevin roderick, the man behind the blog, informs everyone that that blog will remain on line for about another year, so bookmark it if you are doing research or something. and, we are happy to add kevin's other fine blog, america's suburb, which is about the history and lore of the valley.
and heads up to everyone: tim dunlop has moved his fine blog the road to surfdom. now it looks quite nice and easy to read, and doesn't look like the cheap-o blogger crap that we're using.
plus, we'd like to give a shout out to sisyphus shrugged for mentioning our silly rant against bloggers with paypal buttons. really, it was late, we were hungry, and we just got ticked off. sorry.
bill sherman has some thoughts on our favorite comic strip, zippy the pinhead.
we'd like to announce that we're adding the blogs highwater and thoughts on the eve of the apocolypse and progressive gold to our permanent blogroll.
also added to our roll, the commonweal institute, "the heritage foundation of the left," which is created and maintained, in part, by our good friend issues guy over at seeing the forest.
since the election came and went, and the san fernando valley did not succeed in seceding, we are now taking down the link to secession watch, a fine blog relating to news media stories about the valley's drive to split into a separate city. however, kevin roderick, the man behind the blog, informs everyone that that blog will remain on line for about another year, so bookmark it if you are doing research or something. and, we are happy to add kevin's other fine blog, america's suburb, which is about the history and lore of the valley.
and heads up to everyone: tim dunlop has moved his fine blog the road to surfdom. now it looks quite nice and easy to read, and doesn't look like the cheap-o blogger crap that we're using.
plus, we'd like to give a shout out to sisyphus shrugged for mentioning our silly rant against bloggers with paypal buttons. really, it was late, we were hungry, and we just got ticked off. sorry.
posted by skippy at
11:48 AM |
0
comments
the tip jar - a skippy rant
woah! we were perusing talkleft's fine blog, and came upon this extension of a discussion that's making the rounds in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!)
"there's been a lot of discussion this week about financial contributions to bloggers, starting with small-l libertarian william quick of daily pundit threatening to quit if he doesn't get donations, and instapundit's agreement with arthur silber's article encouraging readers to contribute to bloggers they read regularly."
ok, i'm going to piss off a lot of my blogger friends here and say, hey, you! if you can't afford a computer and an on line browser to accesss one of the many free bloggging software programs available, maybe you should get a pen and piece of paper.
sorry (and my apologies especially talkleft, for she is a fine blogger and one of my first supporters) but i strongly suspect that everyone who blogs, with the exception of that homeless guy, has a day job which pays for every other d*mn hobby they participate in (and we wonder about the homeless guy, 'cause when we take a look at his blog, there's a picture of him in front of a computer sitting in what looks suspiciously like...a home!)
so to us, it's a bit like asking people to pay to watch our pick-up game of basket ball so we can buy better sneakers to play in.
if you want to write for a living, then do it the hard way...write and submit and get rejected and write some more and get rejected some more and keep writing because you have a burning desire to share your point of view until finally some schmuck with a checkbook likes what you do and then pays you for it. (ps, then you can write off your computer and monthly on-line browser fee on your taxes!)
but don't expect the world to support your own diary (which is, after all, what a blog is), no matter how pithy your prose. and if do wind up writing for a living, don't ask people to donate money to you so you can keep on blogging, norah!
and espcially in light of the level of sophistication that is apparent from the vocabulary, not to mention the arguments that we read on the blogs every day (as well as all the about the author links which reveal bloggers' mostly high-paying day jobs), we find it particularly galling to be asked to support them all. blogging folks are obviously well-educated, and probably middle-or-above class, so we doubt strongly that they are worrying about rent or dinner or clothing their babies. until they actually are about to get evicted and live in their cars, they shouldn't be asking people for money. seriously, it's a bit beneath us all.
can't afford the free blogging software out there? fine. stop blogging. go volunteer at the homeless shelter or become a big sister or big brother, or do something worthwhile that won't cost you a cent.
william quick stopped blogging because he couldn't afford it? great. that's the free market system at work, kids. and besides, nobody asked him to start blogging in the first freakin' place. nobody asked any of us.
jesus h. christ on a rubber pogo stick, there are about a billion more things far more deserving of charity than bloggers who don't want to shell out the extra bucks for more band width. children are dying out there, and these folks want us to click on pay pal? puh-lease!! pardon us if we send the extra money we make to the la mission instead.
we love john lescroart's books, but we ain't buying him anything on his amazon wish list. the bottom line is, one must use the money from whatever one does make a living at to support one's activities that keeps one sane, including exercises in blogging. excuse us if we're a bit miffed when we hear about lawyers and professors and professional journalists and such asking for money to support their hobby.
we say, if you like skippy's work, then please donate some money to a charity of your choice in skippy's name. send us an email telling us which charity, and we will proudly list and link it on this page.
sorry. we are done now. we know we have probably insulted most of our supporters. if so, that's the risk we take for speaking our mind. just leave us alone. we're grumpy and tired. we're going to bed now.
woah! we were perusing talkleft's fine blog, and came upon this extension of a discussion that's making the rounds in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!)
"there's been a lot of discussion this week about financial contributions to bloggers, starting with small-l libertarian william quick of daily pundit threatening to quit if he doesn't get donations, and instapundit's agreement with arthur silber's article encouraging readers to contribute to bloggers they read regularly."
ok, i'm going to piss off a lot of my blogger friends here and say, hey, you! if you can't afford a computer and an on line browser to accesss one of the many free bloggging software programs available, maybe you should get a pen and piece of paper.
sorry (and my apologies especially talkleft, for she is a fine blogger and one of my first supporters) but i strongly suspect that everyone who blogs, with the exception of that homeless guy, has a day job which pays for every other d*mn hobby they participate in (and we wonder about the homeless guy, 'cause when we take a look at his blog, there's a picture of him in front of a computer sitting in what looks suspiciously like...a home!)
so to us, it's a bit like asking people to pay to watch our pick-up game of basket ball so we can buy better sneakers to play in.
if you want to write for a living, then do it the hard way...write and submit and get rejected and write some more and get rejected some more and keep writing because you have a burning desire to share your point of view until finally some schmuck with a checkbook likes what you do and then pays you for it. (ps, then you can write off your computer and monthly on-line browser fee on your taxes!)
but don't expect the world to support your own diary (which is, after all, what a blog is), no matter how pithy your prose. and if do wind up writing for a living, don't ask people to donate money to you so you can keep on blogging, norah!
and espcially in light of the level of sophistication that is apparent from the vocabulary, not to mention the arguments that we read on the blogs every day (as well as all the about the author links which reveal bloggers' mostly high-paying day jobs), we find it particularly galling to be asked to support them all. blogging folks are obviously well-educated, and probably middle-or-above class, so we doubt strongly that they are worrying about rent or dinner or clothing their babies. until they actually are about to get evicted and live in their cars, they shouldn't be asking people for money. seriously, it's a bit beneath us all.
can't afford the free blogging software out there? fine. stop blogging. go volunteer at the homeless shelter or become a big sister or big brother, or do something worthwhile that won't cost you a cent.
william quick stopped blogging because he couldn't afford it? great. that's the free market system at work, kids. and besides, nobody asked him to start blogging in the first freakin' place. nobody asked any of us.
jesus h. christ on a rubber pogo stick, there are about a billion more things far more deserving of charity than bloggers who don't want to shell out the extra bucks for more band width. children are dying out there, and these folks want us to click on pay pal? puh-lease!! pardon us if we send the extra money we make to the la mission instead.
we love john lescroart's books, but we ain't buying him anything on his amazon wish list. the bottom line is, one must use the money from whatever one does make a living at to support one's activities that keeps one sane, including exercises in blogging. excuse us if we're a bit miffed when we hear about lawyers and professors and professional journalists and such asking for money to support their hobby.
we say, if you like skippy's work, then please donate some money to a charity of your choice in skippy's name. send us an email telling us which charity, and we will proudly list and link it on this page.
sorry. we are done now. we know we have probably insulted most of our supporters. if so, that's the risk we take for speaking our mind. just leave us alone. we're grumpy and tired. we're going to bed now.
posted by skippy at
12:40 AM |
0
comments
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
blogging around
the hamster reports on jesse ventura's talks with msnbc, plugs an upcoming tap v. tnr debate, quotes rage against the machine (good one, hamster!), reflects on the menningitis death of the usc student, and then runs around the net (and giving us a link, thanks!)
media whores on line, which seems to be on vacation again (!!!) has a great idea: why don't all the people on the left buy eric alterman's new book "what liberal media? the truth about bias and the news" ? here's what the horse has to say about it:
"until now, not a single journalist has undertaken an investigation, let alone a refutation, of the myth that the mainstream media slants the news to the left, thereby duping the american public and keeping it ignorant of the truth about the world in which we live. in what liberal media? eric alterman takes these accusations seriously and in brisk, light-hearted prose exposes the fallacy of the vast left-wing conspiracy that never was."
we haven't read it ourselves, but we are a big fan of eric's msnbc column, and are sure his book will be as entertaining and enlightening as his pull-no-punches blogging.
the hamster reports on jesse ventura's talks with msnbc, plugs an upcoming tap v. tnr debate, quotes rage against the machine (good one, hamster!), reflects on the menningitis death of the usc student, and then runs around the net (and giving us a link, thanks!)
media whores on line, which seems to be on vacation again (!!!) has a great idea: why don't all the people on the left buy eric alterman's new book "what liberal media? the truth about bias and the news" ? here's what the horse has to say about it:
"until now, not a single journalist has undertaken an investigation, let alone a refutation, of the myth that the mainstream media slants the news to the left, thereby duping the american public and keeping it ignorant of the truth about the world in which we live. in what liberal media? eric alterman takes these accusations seriously and in brisk, light-hearted prose exposes the fallacy of the vast left-wing conspiracy that never was."
we haven't read it ourselves, but we are a big fan of eric's msnbc column, and are sure his book will be as entertaining and enlightening as his pull-no-punches blogging.
posted by skippy at
11:40 PM |
0
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never let it be said we are not open to all views
we are quite unsure why we received the following email, but we share it with you:
"fear, false accusations, and slanted polling data have always seemed to work for minnesota's left - but not this november. institute chairman bruce sanborn writes on the local victory. we invite you to link to the piece at: http://www.claremont.org/writings/021112sanborn.html. please let us know if you do. --kevin"
well, we took a look at mr. sanborn's piece. we were in the middle of writing a query letter to kevin - wondering if kevin has even bothered to ever read our blog. we then decided to go ahead and post the link, and share our thoughts about mr. sanborn's writing with everyone.
in the beginning of his essay, mr. sanborn writes,
"woebegone in minnesota? in their one and only debate, on the day before tuesday's election, walter mondale addressed norm coleman as 'norman.' that didn't work. on the next day the voters made norm senator-elect coleman."
we wonder exactly how calling mr. coleman "norman" was supposed to "work." mr. sanborn implies that it was some sort of dirty democratic trick to fool the minnesotan voters, but we can't think how. either it was supposed to make people hate mr. coleman for having a name resembling that of the serial-killer proprietor of the bates motel, or just confuse everyone at the polls ("hey, i can't vote for this guy 'norm coleman!' i want to vote for norman coleman! damn! i guess i'll have to vote for mondale!")
mr. sanborn implies that mr. mondale's incorrect salutation "didn't work," as if it was a "lie, false accusation, and false polling data" that was mentioned in the subheading of the link. yet he failed to address the myriad of conservative pundits on television in the days before the election implying that walter mondale was too old to do the job. we'd call it a wash, ourselves.
if you would like to read the rest of our deconstruction of mr. sanborn's essay, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
we are quite unsure why we received the following email, but we share it with you:
"fear, false accusations, and slanted polling data have always seemed to work for minnesota's left - but not this november. institute chairman bruce sanborn writes on the local victory. we invite you to link to the piece at: http://www.claremont.org/writings/021112sanborn.html. please let us know if you do. --kevin"
well, we took a look at mr. sanborn's piece. we were in the middle of writing a query letter to kevin - wondering if kevin has even bothered to ever read our blog. we then decided to go ahead and post the link, and share our thoughts about mr. sanborn's writing with everyone.
in the beginning of his essay, mr. sanborn writes,
"woebegone in minnesota? in their one and only debate, on the day before tuesday's election, walter mondale addressed norm coleman as 'norman.' that didn't work. on the next day the voters made norm senator-elect coleman."
we wonder exactly how calling mr. coleman "norman" was supposed to "work." mr. sanborn implies that it was some sort of dirty democratic trick to fool the minnesotan voters, but we can't think how. either it was supposed to make people hate mr. coleman for having a name resembling that of the serial-killer proprietor of the bates motel, or just confuse everyone at the polls ("hey, i can't vote for this guy 'norm coleman!' i want to vote for norman coleman! damn! i guess i'll have to vote for mondale!")
mr. sanborn implies that mr. mondale's incorrect salutation "didn't work," as if it was a "lie, false accusation, and false polling data" that was mentioned in the subheading of the link. yet he failed to address the myriad of conservative pundits on television in the days before the election implying that walter mondale was too old to do the job. we'd call it a wash, ourselves.
if you would like to read the rest of our deconstruction of mr. sanborn's essay, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
posted by skippy at
6:10 PM |
0
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willing to relocate?
how sure is the bush administration of a successful invasion of iraq? check out this letter to the editor of the raleigh, n.c. news & observer, directing our attention to a classified for a halliburton subsidiary looking to hire for various positions soon to opening in...central asia. (do we get travel expenses?)
thanks to dr. menlo's for providing the link!
how sure is the bush administration of a successful invasion of iraq? check out this letter to the editor of the raleigh, n.c. news & observer, directing our attention to a classified for a halliburton subsidiary looking to hire for various positions soon to opening in...central asia. (do we get travel expenses?)
thanks to dr. menlo's for providing the link!
posted by skippy at
12:58 PM |
0
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more on veterans
we posted our veterans day piece on the wonderful co-op blog stand down ("where the left and right come together to make the exact center!") and we were pleased to find in the comments section, a link to this great page veterans for peace. their mission statement:
"veterans for peace, inc. (vfp) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war. vfp was founded in 1985 by ex-service members committed to sharing the horrors they experienced."
it's a fine page, please check it out. and we want to say thanks and a big tip of the bush kangaroo hat to natasha of the watch, which itself is a good blog.
we posted our veterans day piece on the wonderful co-op blog stand down ("where the left and right come together to make the exact center!") and we were pleased to find in the comments section, a link to this great page veterans for peace. their mission statement:
"veterans for peace, inc. (vfp) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war. vfp was founded in 1985 by ex-service members committed to sharing the horrors they experienced."
it's a fine page, please check it out. and we want to say thanks and a big tip of the bush kangaroo hat to natasha of the watch, which itself is a good blog.
posted by skippy at
12:53 PM |
0
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no war this week
in a move devastating to mr. bush's chance to get some crude oil for his friends in the petroleum industry, saddam hussein said yes to the u.n. resolution demanding unconditional weapons inspections in iraq.
"we hereby inform you that we will deal with resolution 1441, despite its bad contents," said a letter from foreign minister naji sabri to u.n. secretary-general kofi annan.
we have had lunches with bad contents and know how difficult it is to digest. however, this pretty much puts any invasion plans on hold, at least for a week. iraq's compliance, combined with the recent tape indicating osama bin laden is still alive, would create active debate as to the advisability of focusing military might on an iraq invasion, if the media were actually objective, and we weren't living in bizarro world ("bin laden am still alive! then we am going after hussein!").
here's a nifty little piece of interactive cool stuff from cbsnews, showing things like the dates of inspections, world opinions, layout of our troops in the gulf, a who's who of hawks in dc, and an advertisement for the cbs early show.
however, as this little article from cnn shows, it's only a matter of waiting till saddam does something bush doesn't like:
white house spokesman scott mcclellan said that the bush administration had not seen the letter -- but warned that if it contained "any false information or omissions, that would be considered a violation," of the resolution.
does that include spelling errors? saddam, there's no i-t after b-u-s-h!
in a move devastating to mr. bush's chance to get some crude oil for his friends in the petroleum industry, saddam hussein said yes to the u.n. resolution demanding unconditional weapons inspections in iraq.
"we hereby inform you that we will deal with resolution 1441, despite its bad contents," said a letter from foreign minister naji sabri to u.n. secretary-general kofi annan.
we have had lunches with bad contents and know how difficult it is to digest. however, this pretty much puts any invasion plans on hold, at least for a week. iraq's compliance, combined with the recent tape indicating osama bin laden is still alive, would create active debate as to the advisability of focusing military might on an iraq invasion, if the media were actually objective, and we weren't living in bizarro world ("bin laden am still alive! then we am going after hussein!").
here's a nifty little piece of interactive cool stuff from cbsnews, showing things like the dates of inspections, world opinions, layout of our troops in the gulf, a who's who of hawks in dc, and an advertisement for the cbs early show.
however, as this little article from cnn shows, it's only a matter of waiting till saddam does something bush doesn't like:
white house spokesman scott mcclellan said that the bush administration had not seen the letter -- but warned that if it contained "any false information or omissions, that would be considered a violation," of the resolution.
does that include spelling errors? saddam, there's no i-t after b-u-s-h!
posted by skippy at
12:24 PM |
0
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carnival!
as usual, this week we are proud to be a part of silflay hraka's fine compendium of links to fine blogging, the carnival of the vanities! you can find it on silflay's blog, or also on the excellent blogcritics, on which we are overdue with an essay, we promise to write soon, eric, no really, we do!
as usual, this week we are proud to be a part of silflay hraka's fine compendium of links to fine blogging, the carnival of the vanities! you can find it on silflay's blog, or also on the excellent blogcritics, on which we are overdue with an essay, we promise to write soon, eric, no really, we do!
posted by skippy at
11:56 AM |
0
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what have we been saying...
mike finley has an interesting suggestion on is blog...impeach bush! and, he actually makes a case, point by point, about the reasons behind his call.
mike finley has an interesting suggestion on is blog...impeach bush! and, he actually makes a case, point by point, about the reasons behind his call.
posted by skippy at
11:47 AM |
0
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Tuesday, November 12, 2002
like the west nile virus, it's catching on...
props to madeleine kane for being the first to coin the phrase progblogtopia (which promises to spread across america like wildfire, if we're any judge of idioms, and since the root word of idiom is idiot, we're right at home here)! and also thanks to her for kindly and rightfully giving us credit for "blogtopia!" madeleine uses the phrase to talk about martin wisse's new blog progressive gold. plus, she is up to her usual high standards of hilarity combined with political estuteness.
props to madeleine kane for being the first to coin the phrase progblogtopia (which promises to spread across america like wildfire, if we're any judge of idioms, and since the root word of idiom is idiot, we're right at home here)! and also thanks to her for kindly and rightfully giving us credit for "blogtopia!" madeleine uses the phrase to talk about martin wisse's new blog progressive gold. plus, she is up to her usual high standards of hilarity combined with political estuteness.
posted by skippy at
7:11 PM |
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read this stuff
radley balko on the disengenuous right not addressing the real chickenhawk argument.
william wilkinson on lack of freedom of expression under bin laden and his ilk.
toby sackton on the future of civil disobedience as effected by the war on iraq.
jeanne d'arc on the minor complications (kurds v. assyrians) that occupying iraq could entail.
nathan newman on the media's spin on the watered-down u.n. resolution.
oh wait! all these fine essays are available on max and julian's great co-op blog, stand down! 20 original hits! 20 original artists! order today!
radley balko on the disengenuous right not addressing the real chickenhawk argument.
william wilkinson on lack of freedom of expression under bin laden and his ilk.
toby sackton on the future of civil disobedience as effected by the war on iraq.
jeanne d'arc on the minor complications (kurds v. assyrians) that occupying iraq could entail.
nathan newman on the media's spin on the watered-down u.n. resolution.
oh wait! all these fine essays are available on max and julian's great co-op blog, stand down! 20 original hits! 20 original artists! order today!
posted by skippy at
6:14 PM |
0
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saddam is public enemy #1...wait, what'd you say? osama who?
experts in tabloid journalism agree that the voice on a new tape aired tuesday on al-jazeera tv sounds like osama bin laden, giving credence to the idea that he's either still alive or one hell of a paranormal ventroliquist.
"to authenticate the tape, u.s. intelligence officials are comparing it to known recordings of bin laden to determine if the voiceprints match. the u.s. official did not know when the technical analysis on the tape would be finished." maybe they should give it to the csi team.
if he's still alive, it puts a bit of a crimp in the idea that saddam hussein is the most dangerous madman loose in the world today. but we suppose that going to war over the second most dangerous madman in the world is still on the table.
indications that the voice on the tape really is osama bin laden are references to several recent events including the bali attack, the chechen hostage drama in moscow, the bombing of a french oil tanker off yemen and extreme regret that justin guarini didn't win american idol.
ok, we're kidding about that last part (nobody wanted justin to win) but there are enough recent events mentioned on the tape, plus the voice itself which sounds suspiciously like bin laden, to make several people conclude that he's still alive.
abcnews.com says, "confirmation that bin laden is alive could pose problems for bush, underscoring to an anxious public that the war on terrorism is far from over. as the president tries to rally the country against iraq, americans would be reminded that the public enemy no. 1 slipped from america's grasp during the afghanistan war."
come on, didn't bin laden hear about the election? the world loves mr. bush!
experts in tabloid journalism agree that the voice on a new tape aired tuesday on al-jazeera tv sounds like osama bin laden, giving credence to the idea that he's either still alive or one hell of a paranormal ventroliquist.
"to authenticate the tape, u.s. intelligence officials are comparing it to known recordings of bin laden to determine if the voiceprints match. the u.s. official did not know when the technical analysis on the tape would be finished." maybe they should give it to the csi team.
if he's still alive, it puts a bit of a crimp in the idea that saddam hussein is the most dangerous madman loose in the world today. but we suppose that going to war over the second most dangerous madman in the world is still on the table.
indications that the voice on the tape really is osama bin laden are references to several recent events including the bali attack, the chechen hostage drama in moscow, the bombing of a french oil tanker off yemen and extreme regret that justin guarini didn't win american idol.
ok, we're kidding about that last part (nobody wanted justin to win) but there are enough recent events mentioned on the tape, plus the voice itself which sounds suspiciously like bin laden, to make several people conclude that he's still alive.
abcnews.com says, "confirmation that bin laden is alive could pose problems for bush, underscoring to an anxious public that the war on terrorism is far from over. as the president tries to rally the country against iraq, americans would be reminded that the public enemy no. 1 slipped from america's grasp during the afghanistan war."
come on, didn't bin laden hear about the election? the world loves mr. bush!
posted by skippy at
5:38 PM |
0
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Monday, November 11, 2002
posted by skippy at
8:15 PM |
0
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is that what the kids are calling it these days?
from the washpost: bush salutes veterans and rattles his sabre.
somebody's got to, we hear laura hasn't touched it since the twins were born. goodnight everyone, try the veal!
from the washpost: bush salutes veterans and rattles his sabre.
somebody's got to, we hear laura hasn't touched it since the twins were born. goodnight everyone, try the veal!
posted by skippy at
8:14 PM |
0
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a moment for those fallen in battle
today is armistice day, better known as veterans' day, originally designed to honor those brave soldiers fallen on the battlefields of world war one, now expanded to include honoring all american soldiers from all times.
readers of this space know skippy comes from a military family; his father, his aunt and uncle, his sister, and the men who married both his sisters have served in the armed forces. his father, a pharmacists' mate on the sub in the pacific throughout the war, was on one the subs in tokyo bay when the surrender was signed on the uss missouri. we at skippy honor him, and miss him greatly.
we have often maintained that the military is not the problem; it's the politicians who make the wars. the military are the ones that clean up the mess the politicians make.
please take a moment to think of those who had died fighting for this country. take a moment to think of those who, unless a miracle of miracle happens, will die on the sands of iraq at politician's behest.
now, in honor of armistice day, we bring you some views on invading iraq by the men and women who have actually servced in our armed forces:
at navy school in monterey, voices of skepticism about iraq war
when former secretary of the navy james webb gave a speech last thursday at the naval postgraduate school in monterey slamming the bush administration's threatened war with iraq, an outsider might have expected the officers assembled there to give him a frosty reception. in fact, the opposite occurred. the respectful, admiring welcome he received gave an unusual, somewhat counterintuitive glimpse into the often- closed world of the u.s. military. among the vaval postgraduate school's students and faculty, at least, it seems that independent, critical thinking is alive and well.
marine general speaks out against bush's war plans
i'm not convinced we need to do this now. i am convinced that we need to deal with saddam down the road, but i think that the time is difficult because of the conditions in the region and all the other events that are going on. i believe that he can be deterred and is containable at this moment. as a matter of fact, i think the containment can be ratcheted up in a way that is acceptable to everybody.
veterans comment on actions against iraq
you have to avoid war as much as possible because war is hell no matter how you look at it. there's no winner...i hate to see young people go to war...their lives get ruined, the lives of their families get ruined.
vets differ on war against iraqveterans comment on action against iraq
we either get him disarmed or we get rid of him, one of the two...i know what it can do to mankind, and it isn't a pretty sight...i'm not for war, but if that's what it takes...a lot of families will be broken up. a lot of children will be left fatherless and motherless. i hope it doesn't come to war...
and now go over to max sawicky's group blog stand down and read a post by lisa english (she of ruminate this!) which takes you to this article in intervention magazine: veterans gather to stop a foreign war by veteran stewart nusbaumer.
while you're at stand down, check out this post and this post and this post, too.
we salute the brave men and women of our country’s armed forces. god speed to you all in any and endeavors you undertake in our name.
today is armistice day, better known as veterans' day, originally designed to honor those brave soldiers fallen on the battlefields of world war one, now expanded to include honoring all american soldiers from all times.
readers of this space know skippy comes from a military family; his father, his aunt and uncle, his sister, and the men who married both his sisters have served in the armed forces. his father, a pharmacists' mate on the sub in the pacific throughout the war, was on one the subs in tokyo bay when the surrender was signed on the uss missouri. we at skippy honor him, and miss him greatly.
we have often maintained that the military is not the problem; it's the politicians who make the wars. the military are the ones that clean up the mess the politicians make.
please take a moment to think of those who had died fighting for this country. take a moment to think of those who, unless a miracle of miracle happens, will die on the sands of iraq at politician's behest.
now, in honor of armistice day, we bring you some views on invading iraq by the men and women who have actually servced in our armed forces:
at navy school in monterey, voices of skepticism about iraq war
when former secretary of the navy james webb gave a speech last thursday at the naval postgraduate school in monterey slamming the bush administration's threatened war with iraq, an outsider might have expected the officers assembled there to give him a frosty reception. in fact, the opposite occurred. the respectful, admiring welcome he received gave an unusual, somewhat counterintuitive glimpse into the often- closed world of the u.s. military. among the vaval postgraduate school's students and faculty, at least, it seems that independent, critical thinking is alive and well.
marine general speaks out against bush's war plans
i'm not convinced we need to do this now. i am convinced that we need to deal with saddam down the road, but i think that the time is difficult because of the conditions in the region and all the other events that are going on. i believe that he can be deterred and is containable at this moment. as a matter of fact, i think the containment can be ratcheted up in a way that is acceptable to everybody.
veterans comment on actions against iraq
you have to avoid war as much as possible because war is hell no matter how you look at it. there's no winner...i hate to see young people go to war...their lives get ruined, the lives of their families get ruined.
vets differ on war against iraqveterans comment on action against iraq
we either get him disarmed or we get rid of him, one of the two...i know what it can do to mankind, and it isn't a pretty sight...i'm not for war, but if that's what it takes...a lot of families will be broken up. a lot of children will be left fatherless and motherless. i hope it doesn't come to war...
and now go over to max sawicky's group blog stand down and read a post by lisa english (she of ruminate this!) which takes you to this article in intervention magazine: veterans gather to stop a foreign war by veteran stewart nusbaumer.
while you're at stand down, check out this post and this post and this post, too.
we salute the brave men and women of our country’s armed forces. god speed to you all in any and endeavors you undertake in our name.
posted by skippy at
6:03 PM |
0
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who'd a thunk?
wow, here's a surprise...
iraqi oil, american bonanza?:
but iraq’s vast oil reserves remain a powerful prize for global oil companies. iraq is sitting on an estimated 112 billion barrels of crude, a pool of oil second in size only to saudi arabia’s 264 billion barrels. (by way of comparison, proven u.s. reserves total about 22 billion barrels; the u.s. strategic petroleum reserve holds about 600 million barrels.)
...“if you turn up and it’s your tanks that dislodged the regime and you have 50,000 troops in the country and they’re in your tanks, then you’re going to get the best deals,” said credit suisse first boston oil analyst mark flannery. “that’s the way it works. the french will have three men and a 1950s tank. [ed. note: wasn't that a great movie? we especially liked the remake with tom selleck, where they changed the tank to a baby] that's just not going to work.”
... american oil companies are also hoping to benefit from the industry’s unusually strong ties to the white house. president bush, himself the former head of a texas oil company, has pursued an national energy policy that relies on aggressively expanding new sources of oil. vice president dick cheney is the former ceo of oil services giant halliburton. national security adviser condoleezza rice is a former director of chevron.
wait a minute...you don't think that's the real reason the current administration is so hot to invade iraq? naaahhhh, couldn't be...
wow, here's a surprise...
iraqi oil, american bonanza?:
but iraq’s vast oil reserves remain a powerful prize for global oil companies. iraq is sitting on an estimated 112 billion barrels of crude, a pool of oil second in size only to saudi arabia’s 264 billion barrels. (by way of comparison, proven u.s. reserves total about 22 billion barrels; the u.s. strategic petroleum reserve holds about 600 million barrels.)
...“if you turn up and it’s your tanks that dislodged the regime and you have 50,000 troops in the country and they’re in your tanks, then you’re going to get the best deals,” said credit suisse first boston oil analyst mark flannery. “that’s the way it works. the french will have three men and a 1950s tank. [ed. note: wasn't that a great movie? we especially liked the remake with tom selleck, where they changed the tank to a baby] that's just not going to work.”
... american oil companies are also hoping to benefit from the industry’s unusually strong ties to the white house. president bush, himself the former head of a texas oil company, has pursued an national energy policy that relies on aggressively expanding new sources of oil. vice president dick cheney is the former ceo of oil services giant halliburton. national security adviser condoleezza rice is a former director of chevron.
wait a minute...you don't think that's the real reason the current administration is so hot to invade iraq? naaahhhh, couldn't be...
posted by skippy at
5:15 PM |
0
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say hello
to highwater (found through ruminate this! comment section, who, by the way, will be celebrating a birthday later this week [lisa english, not the comment section]).
to highwater (found through ruminate this! comment section, who, by the way, will be celebrating a birthday later this week [lisa english, not the comment section]).
posted by skippy at
4:54 PM |
0
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evil twins abound!
man, look at all the skippy's out there!
here's skippy and dave, a ventroliquist act!
here's skippy's koi pond page!
and gee, i don't even know what language this skippy is speaking!
man, look at all the skippy's out there!
here's skippy and dave, a ventroliquist act!
here's skippy's koi pond page!
and gee, i don't even know what language this skippy is speaking!
posted by skippy at
4:49 PM |
0
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more from senator boxer
the senator from california just keeps sending those emails. here's her latest (and very aprorpos for today)
"as we pause to celebrate veterans day, we remember the tremendous sacrifices america's veterans made to defend the freedom and democracy of our nation. and we reflect on their exceptional courage. the turbulent events over the past year give us more reason than ever to appreciate the everyday heroism of our nation's veterans."
if you'd like to read all of senator boxer's tribute to our nation's veterans, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
the senator from california just keeps sending those emails. here's her latest (and very aprorpos for today)
"as we pause to celebrate veterans day, we remember the tremendous sacrifices america's veterans made to defend the freedom and democracy of our nation. and we reflect on their exceptional courage. the turbulent events over the past year give us more reason than ever to appreciate the everyday heroism of our nation's veterans."
if you'd like to read all of senator boxer's tribute to our nation's veterans, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
posted by skippy at
4:31 PM |
0
comments
my wife says i need more electrolites anyway
we at skippy are quite humbled and pleased to be added to electrolite's blogroll. electrolite, as penned by patrick nielsen hayden, is one of the grandaddies of blog-lore, and we hope we can maintain the high standards patrick seems to have mistakenly assumed we possess (we also are happy to add that fine blog to our blogroll).
that being said, electrolite takes on the lovely jeanne d'arc of body and soul over some commentary by the latter about the joint chiefs' perceptions of the war in afghanistan. we think the whole misconception was due to the fact that irony does not travel well in cyberspace. we like both jeanne and patrick's work.
and while we're at it, we're adding teresa nielsen hayden's blog, making light, to our roll, too!
we at skippy are quite humbled and pleased to be added to electrolite's blogroll. electrolite, as penned by patrick nielsen hayden, is one of the grandaddies of blog-lore, and we hope we can maintain the high standards patrick seems to have mistakenly assumed we possess (we also are happy to add that fine blog to our blogroll).
that being said, electrolite takes on the lovely jeanne d'arc of body and soul over some commentary by the latter about the joint chiefs' perceptions of the war in afghanistan. we think the whole misconception was due to the fact that irony does not travel well in cyberspace. we like both jeanne and patrick's work.
and while we're at it, we're adding teresa nielsen hayden's blog, making light, to our roll, too!
posted by skippy at
3:47 PM |
0
comments
Sunday, November 10, 2002
nice trees you got here
the great blog seeing the forest has a couple of good posts to look into today. firstly issue guy sends us to counterspin central's thought that the dem's first order of the day should be a call for an independent investigation into 9/11 (are you listening, ms. pelosi?).
then issue guy has some extensive musings on the left and how it needs to communicate with america, likening the situation to the repubs in the early 90's. issue guy does not think the dems need to move to the right, but rather focus on getting their message out. we'd agree with him: it's always better to communicate your convictions and see if anyone responds before you abandon them.
the great blog seeing the forest has a couple of good posts to look into today. firstly issue guy sends us to counterspin central's thought that the dem's first order of the day should be a call for an independent investigation into 9/11 (are you listening, ms. pelosi?).
then issue guy has some extensive musings on the left and how it needs to communicate with america, likening the situation to the repubs in the early 90's. issue guy does not think the dems need to move to the right, but rather focus on getting their message out. we'd agree with him: it's always better to communicate your convictions and see if anyone responds before you abandon them.
posted by skippy at
6:17 PM |
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don't be makin' any plans, 'lessen they include war
according to both the new york times and the washington post, the pentagon has readied plans for a quick and massive strike on iraq just in case the weapons inspections don't work out, wink wink nudge nudge know what i mean?
the plans call for use of both air strikes and ground troops (and also by sea, because of all those ocean ports that iraq has), and are estimating an action shorter than the original gulf war in the 90's.
washpost:
the dual nature of the u.s. war plan is designed to encourage iraqis to revolt against hussein. as an administration official put it in a recent interview, the plan aims to "create the conditions" under which iraqis can do that. "i think ultimately this is more of a revolution that's going to happen, rather than something brought about by u.s. military power," he said.
nytimes:
the military plan calls for the quick capture of land within iraq, which would be used as bases to funnel american forces deeper into the country. that approach is intended to relieve some of the diplomatic pressure created by massing troops and initiating attacks from neighboring nations, including saudi arabia.
the plan calls for the use of between 200,000 and 250,000 american serivce personnel. we hope that at least that many come back after it's over.
this post can also be found on stand down.
according to both the new york times and the washington post, the pentagon has readied plans for a quick and massive strike on iraq just in case the weapons inspections don't work out, wink wink nudge nudge know what i mean?
the plans call for use of both air strikes and ground troops (and also by sea, because of all those ocean ports that iraq has), and are estimating an action shorter than the original gulf war in the 90's.
washpost:
the dual nature of the u.s. war plan is designed to encourage iraqis to revolt against hussein. as an administration official put it in a recent interview, the plan aims to "create the conditions" under which iraqis can do that. "i think ultimately this is more of a revolution that's going to happen, rather than something brought about by u.s. military power," he said.
nytimes:
the military plan calls for the quick capture of land within iraq, which would be used as bases to funnel american forces deeper into the country. that approach is intended to relieve some of the diplomatic pressure created by massing troops and initiating attacks from neighboring nations, including saudi arabia.
the plan calls for the use of between 200,000 and 250,000 american serivce personnel. we hope that at least that many come back after it's over.
this post can also be found on stand down.
posted by skippy at
5:54 PM |
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sorry boys and girls
two more hot celebs are now 100% out of your reach, as jennifer lopez announces her engagement to ben affleck. this will take them out of circulation for at least 3 months, or the usual time-span of a hollywood marriage.
according to sources, j-lo was inconsolable when she realized the one she got engaged to wasn't matt damon, but the other, goofier guy.
ben affleck, who has starred in such hollywood blockbusters as daddy and them and mallrats, was estactic. when reached for comment, a spokesman for the actor flapped his wings and quacked "aflac!"
two more hot celebs are now 100% out of your reach, as jennifer lopez announces her engagement to ben affleck. this will take them out of circulation for at least 3 months, or the usual time-span of a hollywood marriage.
according to sources, j-lo was inconsolable when she realized the one she got engaged to wasn't matt damon, but the other, goofier guy.
ben affleck, who has starred in such hollywood blockbusters as daddy and them and mallrats, was estactic. when reached for comment, a spokesman for the actor flapped his wings and quacked "aflac!"
posted by skippy at
12:17 PM |
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call him the cujo of economists
in economic news, stephen king calls for the european central bank to cut rates, following the u.s.'s lead.
in related news, clive barker warns of growing deficits and dean koontz claims inflation was hedged thanks to productivity growth.
in economic news, stephen king calls for the european central bank to cut rates, following the u.s.'s lead.
in related news, clive barker warns of growing deficits and dean koontz claims inflation was hedged thanks to productivity growth.
posted by skippy at
12:09 PM |
0
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howard appealing
we'd just like to give a plug to attorney howard bashman's fine law blog how appealing which specializes in matters of the appellate courts. one of the great things about this country that still remain, although we can't vouchesafe for how long, is that the justice system has a series of appeals available. and one of the great things about howard's blog is that he links to our baby site, skippy junior, as well as this one! score one for howard!
we'd just like to give a plug to attorney howard bashman's fine law blog how appealing which specializes in matters of the appellate courts. one of the great things about this country that still remain, although we can't vouchesafe for how long, is that the justice system has a series of appeals available. and one of the great things about howard's blog is that he links to our baby site, skippy junior, as well as this one! score one for howard!
posted by skippy at
1:00 AM |
0
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game, set, match
here is pandagon's response to instapundits accusations of racism/homophobia/antisemitism on the part of the left: "all three of these accusations can be quickly dismissed with the barest minimum of logic and observance, such as that you would think a person straddling the divide between left and right would engage in."
we do wonder about glenn's statement "but the evidence just keeps piling up" in light of his not providing any (evidence, not piles). is this another example of "take our word for it, we don't need to show you proof" that the current administration is so fond of?
here is pandagon's response to instapundits accusations of racism/homophobia/antisemitism on the part of the left: "all three of these accusations can be quickly dismissed with the barest minimum of logic and observance, such as that you would think a person straddling the divide between left and right would engage in."
we do wonder about glenn's statement "but the evidence just keeps piling up" in light of his not providing any (evidence, not piles). is this another example of "take our word for it, we don't need to show you proof" that the current administration is so fond of?
posted by skippy at
12:42 AM |
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we didn't know women were a minority
california representative nancy pelosi has all but locked up the job of house minority leader.
her main competition to the job, martin frost, dropped out of the running and endorsed ms. pelosi on friday. this leaves only harold ford as her only challenger, but most feel that pelosi has secured enough votes for victory.
ms. pelosi will replace dick gephardt, who, since our mother told us if we can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, we will say nothing about.
asked for a comment, the republicans said, "ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. losers."
california representative nancy pelosi has all but locked up the job of house minority leader.
her main competition to the job, martin frost, dropped out of the running and endorsed ms. pelosi on friday. this leaves only harold ford as her only challenger, but most feel that pelosi has secured enough votes for victory.
ms. pelosi will replace dick gephardt, who, since our mother told us if we can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, we will say nothing about.
asked for a comment, the republicans said, "ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. losers."
posted by skippy at
12:32 AM |
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apparently there are no republicans in italy
over 450,000 people marched in florence italy this weekend as a protest of impending war in iraq and globalization in general.
the protests were peaceful, unlike those against the g8 last year.
"police in florence said about 450,000 people took part in the demonstration, the highlight of an anti-globalization gathering here that started wednesday and ends sunday. the figure was more than twice the number expected. organizer vittorio agnoletto estimated the crowd at 800,000 to 1 million."
why can't the u.s. turn out those kind of numbers for our protests? oh yeah, because we're stuck in first amendment zones!
addendum two of our favorite things in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) also cover this story, as talkleft reports about it on stand down, the no war blog.
over 450,000 people marched in florence italy this weekend as a protest of impending war in iraq and globalization in general.
the protests were peaceful, unlike those against the g8 last year.
"police in florence said about 450,000 people took part in the demonstration, the highlight of an anti-globalization gathering here that started wednesday and ends sunday. the figure was more than twice the number expected. organizer vittorio agnoletto estimated the crowd at 800,000 to 1 million."
why can't the u.s. turn out those kind of numbers for our protests? oh yeah, because we're stuck in first amendment zones!
addendum two of our favorite things in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) also cover this story, as talkleft reports about it on stand down, the no war blog.
posted by skippy at
12:26 AM |
0
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Saturday, November 09, 2002
blogging around
anne over at peevish has a semi-review of bill press's new book spin this!, with her own comments about the validity of spin.
gail davis has some interesting posts today, especially her remembrances of unexcessive homework loads combined with lots of learning (plus some good extensions on what talkleft has to say about the ashcroft justice dept.'s manipulation of jurisdictions in the sniper case).
antidotal reminds us all that the dems' losses in the elections were by the narrowest of margins, and only a handful of seats in congress, and so should not be looked upon as a crushing defeat. good point. the term "majority rules" is not the same as "majority rocks, dude! we kicked butt!"
on that topic, calpundit has some advice for the dems.
and maru the crankpot has some advice of her own.
siflay hraka has a disturbing prediction: jeb in '08.
the folks at amcgltd think that cd's retail too much compared to manufacturing costs (they're right) and they are calling for a boycott of the record industry. not a bad idea.
atrios dares the right to defend jonah goldberg's homophobic/racist remarks (heck, he's daring the right to even admit the remarks are out of line).
william burton endorses pelosi for minority leader, with detailed analysis of why.
mr. helpful is a proud expectant papa!
dr. tom at thinking it through has some dire warnings about w's penchant for secrecy.
we've seen mention of this blog around blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!) but until thoughts on the eve of the apocalypse linked us, we never took a look at black people love us. we have never laughed so hard in our lives. (warning: if you are pc-minded and easily offended, f*ck you!)
anne over at peevish has a semi-review of bill press's new book spin this!, with her own comments about the validity of spin.
gail davis has some interesting posts today, especially her remembrances of unexcessive homework loads combined with lots of learning (plus some good extensions on what talkleft has to say about the ashcroft justice dept.'s manipulation of jurisdictions in the sniper case).
antidotal reminds us all that the dems' losses in the elections were by the narrowest of margins, and only a handful of seats in congress, and so should not be looked upon as a crushing defeat. good point. the term "majority rules" is not the same as "majority rocks, dude! we kicked butt!"
on that topic, calpundit has some advice for the dems.
and maru the crankpot has some advice of her own.
siflay hraka has a disturbing prediction: jeb in '08.
the folks at amcgltd think that cd's retail too much compared to manufacturing costs (they're right) and they are calling for a boycott of the record industry. not a bad idea.
atrios dares the right to defend jonah goldberg's homophobic/racist remarks (heck, he's daring the right to even admit the remarks are out of line).
william burton endorses pelosi for minority leader, with detailed analysis of why.
mr. helpful is a proud expectant papa!
dr. tom at thinking it through has some dire warnings about w's penchant for secrecy.
we've seen mention of this blog around blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!) but until thoughts on the eve of the apocalypse linked us, we never took a look at black people love us. we have never laughed so hard in our lives. (warning: if you are pc-minded and easily offended, f*ck you!)
posted by skippy at
3:41 PM |
0
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more cool bells and whistles
thanks to a visit to elayne riggs' neat blog, we found this peachy referral accessory for our site. if you look down at the bottom of our page, you'll see a list of blogs that folks have linked to us through (in the last 24 hours), in order of number of clicks, with links back to those pages.
neat-o! pointless, but neat-o! thanks, elayne!
thanks to a visit to elayne riggs' neat blog, we found this peachy referral accessory for our site. if you look down at the bottom of our page, you'll see a list of blogs that folks have linked to us through (in the last 24 hours), in order of number of clicks, with links back to those pages.
neat-o! pointless, but neat-o! thanks, elayne!
posted by skippy at
12:22 AM |
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can't get enough winona
her trial may be over, but her tribulations are just starting.
apparently someone has stolen a sensitive legal file from the winona ryder shoplifting case. the file contains such personal information on the actress as medical history and financial status. police think it was an inside job.
and worse than that, word is coming out that winona had been stopped at least 3 other times by security in other department stores, including neiman marcus in beverly hills and barneys in new york.
"in one of our prior instances, she was seen by security selecting a hat, wandering around the store with a hat and then walking out the door with the hat on her head without paying for it," [deputy d.a. ann] rundle said, "which is an almost identical act to what she is being charged with in this case."
we suggest counseling. preferrably from robert downey jr.
her trial may be over, but her tribulations are just starting.
apparently someone has stolen a sensitive legal file from the winona ryder shoplifting case. the file contains such personal information on the actress as medical history and financial status. police think it was an inside job.
and worse than that, word is coming out that winona had been stopped at least 3 other times by security in other department stores, including neiman marcus in beverly hills and barneys in new york.
"in one of our prior instances, she was seen by security selecting a hat, wandering around the store with a hat and then walking out the door with the hat on her head without paying for it," [deputy d.a. ann] rundle said, "which is an almost identical act to what she is being charged with in this case."
we suggest counseling. preferrably from robert downey jr.
posted by skippy at
12:10 AM |
0
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Friday, November 08, 2002
endorsements
lisa english of ruminate this! endorses nancy pelosi for house minority leader.
ann salisbury of two tears in a bucket endorses frazz.
we'll wait before we decide which one is real and which one is not.
lisa english of ruminate this! endorses nancy pelosi for house minority leader.
ann salisbury of two tears in a bucket endorses frazz.
we'll wait before we decide which one is real and which one is not.
posted by skippy at
6:52 PM |
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we need another war, because the first one is not going so well...
once again, we direct your attention to max sawicky's fine anti-iraq-invasion blog, stand down, where we have posted a new entry. please visit it and read it. often. (ok, just read our thing once, but visit the blog numerous times).
once again, we direct your attention to max sawicky's fine anti-iraq-invasion blog, stand down, where we have posted a new entry. please visit it and read it. often. (ok, just read our thing once, but visit the blog numerous times).
posted by skippy at
6:27 PM |
0
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posted by skippy at
5:22 PM |
0
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operation enduring republicans
over at working for change we found this great editorial by georg parrish, musing about what the new republican majority means, and how it exemplifies the lack of representation for a major number of americans:
"america takes great pride in being the world's oldest democracy, but it's sort of like taking great pride in having the oldest computer. a lot has been done to improve the technology of democracy in the 220 or so years since the u.s. designed its two legislative chambers and three branches of government. almost no other genuine democracy in the world leaves so many of its citizens unrepresented among its elected officials. republicans have masterfully exploited the structure..."
and, after identifying the problem, mr. parrish actually offers a solution (a hallmark of a good editorial writer...this guy ain't no pundit, he's a journalist!):
"progressives need to identify and hammer on a handful of core issues -- the two that spring readily to mind are iraq (and u.s. global adventurism in general) and health care -- and taking our case not to elected officials but to the public. we need to find simple messages, stay on them consistently, repeat them incessantly -- ignoring traditional political divides like left and right, urban and rural, democrat and republican and independent and don't give a flip."
personally, we are thinking of registering in the "don't give a flip" party.
over at working for change we found this great editorial by georg parrish, musing about what the new republican majority means, and how it exemplifies the lack of representation for a major number of americans:
"america takes great pride in being the world's oldest democracy, but it's sort of like taking great pride in having the oldest computer. a lot has been done to improve the technology of democracy in the 220 or so years since the u.s. designed its two legislative chambers and three branches of government. almost no other genuine democracy in the world leaves so many of its citizens unrepresented among its elected officials. republicans have masterfully exploited the structure..."
and, after identifying the problem, mr. parrish actually offers a solution (a hallmark of a good editorial writer...this guy ain't no pundit, he's a journalist!):
"progressives need to identify and hammer on a handful of core issues -- the two that spring readily to mind are iraq (and u.s. global adventurism in general) and health care -- and taking our case not to elected officials but to the public. we need to find simple messages, stay on them consistently, repeat them incessantly -- ignoring traditional political divides like left and right, urban and rural, democrat and republican and independent and don't give a flip."
personally, we are thinking of registering in the "don't give a flip" party.
posted by skippy at
12:37 PM |
0
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better late than never
the big brass ones award goes to harvey pitt for urging wall street to reform. this, after manipulating the appointment of william "who needs auditing anyway" webster, the poodle of watchdogs, to the sec's accounting industry oversight board.
but upon closer inspection, harvey's words are well within his character:
"there's a limit to how much regulation or oversight can correct for greed," pitt said in his first public appearance since resigning under pressure tuesday. "so, even if your employees don't want to do the right thing for the right reason, they should still do the right thing because it's good business."
in other words, the sec shouldn't really have teeth, it's up to the good graces of big business to police themselves.
well, this fox has resigned his henhouse guard duty as of tuesday, so we suppose he's allowed to back peddle as much as he wants.
and, in other economic news, macdonald's will close 175 restaurants [ed. note: their word, not ours], putting 600 people out of work, and forcing harvey pitt to look elsewhere for a job. (oh, yeah, and stocks are down for the second day in a row. how 'bout that republican majority?)
the big brass ones award goes to harvey pitt for urging wall street to reform. this, after manipulating the appointment of william "who needs auditing anyway" webster, the poodle of watchdogs, to the sec's accounting industry oversight board.
but upon closer inspection, harvey's words are well within his character:
"there's a limit to how much regulation or oversight can correct for greed," pitt said in his first public appearance since resigning under pressure tuesday. "so, even if your employees don't want to do the right thing for the right reason, they should still do the right thing because it's good business."
in other words, the sec shouldn't really have teeth, it's up to the good graces of big business to police themselves.
well, this fox has resigned his henhouse guard duty as of tuesday, so we suppose he's allowed to back peddle as much as he wants.
and, in other economic news, macdonald's will close 175 restaurants [ed. note: their word, not ours], putting 600 people out of work, and forcing harvey pitt to look elsewhere for a job. (oh, yeah, and stocks are down for the second day in a row. how 'bout that republican majority?)
posted by skippy at
12:27 PM |
0
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the truth about war
readers of this space know that we at skippy enjoy opinions from all sides of the political aisle, as a quick perusal of our blogroll will indicate.
our only request of blogs is that they be non-vitrolic in their approach. and so we are happy to link to those conservative or libertarian blogs that you will find on our roll.
that being said, we are especially touched by what vodka pundit has to say about invading iraq. he's a man who has not forgotten the true cost of war.
readers of this space know that we at skippy enjoy opinions from all sides of the political aisle, as a quick perusal of our blogroll will indicate.
our only request of blogs is that they be non-vitrolic in their approach. and so we are happy to link to those conservative or libertarian blogs that you will find on our roll.
that being said, we are especially touched by what vodka pundit has to say about invading iraq. he's a man who has not forgotten the true cost of war.
posted by skippy at
12:15 PM |
0
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fair may be limbaugh, but limbaugh isn't fair
we got another email from fairness & accuracy in reporting, this time about rush limbaugh's complaints about the new york times. apparently limbaugh's accusations that the times refused to publish a story favorable to the republicans is proved to be false, simply by actually reading the times.
to read this fair email, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
we got another email from fairness & accuracy in reporting, this time about rush limbaugh's complaints about the new york times. apparently limbaugh's accusations that the times refused to publish a story favorable to the republicans is proved to be false, simply by actually reading the times.
to read this fair email, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
posted by skippy at
12:03 PM |
0
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and now, the really important stuff
the rittenhouse review is conducting a very important poll that we encourage everyone to get involved with: who will win a catfight between britney spears and christina aguilera?
having actually seen christine perform at al gore's campaign stump at ucla, we will have to recuse ourselves from this contest.
the rittenhouse review is conducting a very important poll that we encourage everyone to get involved with: who will win a catfight between britney spears and christina aguilera?
having actually seen christine perform at al gore's campaign stump at ucla, we will have to recuse ourselves from this contest.
posted by skippy at
11:53 AM |
0
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Thursday, November 07, 2002
more thoughts on the election...
tim dunlop on the road to surfdom has an interesting musing on how tuesday's election results were the inevitable result of a two-party system.
scoobie davis, who has no permalinks, and thus forces us to bring you his links, recommends reading the emerging democratic majority, as well as think hard by jeff koopersmith.
not about the election, but a cautionary note about a blogger getting sued from instapundit
tim dunlop on the road to surfdom has an interesting musing on how tuesday's election results were the inevitable result of a two-party system.
scoobie davis, who has no permalinks, and thus forces us to bring you his links, recommends reading the emerging democratic majority, as well as think hard by jeff koopersmith.
not about the election, but a cautionary note about a blogger getting sued from instapundit
posted by skippy at
5:52 PM |
0
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say hello
to annatopia. we love anyone who uses "topia" in their blog. it give "blogtopia" more legitimacy!
to annatopia. we love anyone who uses "topia" in their blog. it give "blogtopia" more legitimacy!
posted by skippy at
3:03 PM |
0
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repercussions
well, a couple of things are happening after tuesday's gop takeover.
first off, the market is tanking (looks like yesterday's rate cut didn't help much).
secondly, dick gephardt is stepping down as house minority leader. now, some may be happy, others, wistful. we ourselves wouldn't mind seeing tom daschle join dick, and take terry "where's my worldcom stock" mcauliffe with them. some new leadership for the democratic party would not be unwelcome (actually, any leadership of the democratic party would be nice).
many in blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!) are supporting nancy pelosi of california as dick's replacement, while martin frost of texas has also indicated he'd like the job. we don't know much abour martin, although his brother jack, does a great job in the wintertime.
and to be fair, all we know about nancy is that her daughter alexandra made the documentary "journeys with george" which is currently making the independent film festival circuit. nancy is rep for san francisco, which is a city close to our hearts, and alexandra's flick is a cinema veritae (fancy words for "couldn't afford a script") look at mr. bush as a candidate. the film is being roundly derided by the left as too soft, and the right as too silly, so it's probably good.
well, a couple of things are happening after tuesday's gop takeover.
first off, the market is tanking (looks like yesterday's rate cut didn't help much).
secondly, dick gephardt is stepping down as house minority leader. now, some may be happy, others, wistful. we ourselves wouldn't mind seeing tom daschle join dick, and take terry "where's my worldcom stock" mcauliffe with them. some new leadership for the democratic party would not be unwelcome (actually, any leadership of the democratic party would be nice).
many in blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!) are supporting nancy pelosi of california as dick's replacement, while martin frost of texas has also indicated he'd like the job. we don't know much abour martin, although his brother jack, does a great job in the wintertime.
and to be fair, all we know about nancy is that her daughter alexandra made the documentary "journeys with george" which is currently making the independent film festival circuit. nancy is rep for san francisco, which is a city close to our hearts, and alexandra's flick is a cinema veritae (fancy words for "couldn't afford a script") look at mr. bush as a candidate. the film is being roundly derided by the left as too soft, and the right as too silly, so it's probably good.
posted by skippy at
12:17 PM |
0
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thanks and apologies
we'd like to say thanks to the smirking chimp and atrios for linking to our screed against nicholos kristof's screed against screeds. our sitemeter count went waaaay through the roof! and we are always happy to have new people learn about our peculiar brand of vitrol and hyperbole.
and thanks to amcgltd for putting us on their blog roll, as well as talking dog.
and we'd like to apologize to everybody on our blogroll. yes, everybody. there is so much good writing out there, and we are not finding enough time in our day to visit all the great blogs. if you are on our blogroll, and we have not been to it in recent days, we are so sorry. it does not mean we don't like your work. on the contrary, we like so much of the work in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) that we are no longer able to read everyone on a daily basis. we sincerely hope you keep up your good work, and don't take our lack of comments on your own blog personal.
also, real life is starting to interfer with our blogging duties (don't you hate when that happens?). ah well. please, everyone, visit everyone else on our blogroll, and keep up the good work.
we'd like to say thanks to the smirking chimp and atrios for linking to our screed against nicholos kristof's screed against screeds. our sitemeter count went waaaay through the roof! and we are always happy to have new people learn about our peculiar brand of vitrol and hyperbole.
and thanks to amcgltd for putting us on their blog roll, as well as talking dog.
and we'd like to apologize to everybody on our blogroll. yes, everybody. there is so much good writing out there, and we are not finding enough time in our day to visit all the great blogs. if you are on our blogroll, and we have not been to it in recent days, we are so sorry. it does not mean we don't like your work. on the contrary, we like so much of the work in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) that we are no longer able to read everyone on a daily basis. we sincerely hope you keep up your good work, and don't take our lack of comments on your own blog personal.
also, real life is starting to interfer with our blogging duties (don't you hate when that happens?). ah well. please, everyone, visit everyone else on our blogroll, and keep up the good work.
posted by skippy at
11:40 AM |
0
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Wednesday, November 06, 2002
blogging around
as we knew she would, talkleft has some analysis of the winona verdict.
and the rittenhouse review has some analysis of what happened last night (we especially like his take on nbc's use of rush limbaugh as a commentator: "this is edward r. morrow with radio talk-show host father coughlin bringing you the latest election results . . ." ok, kids, google the names if you don't get it...)
the hamster has some good opinions on what to do after last night's election (aside from watching "west wing" and wishing you could live in a tv show). we agree with #3: stand for something. we've said it before and we'll say it again...the dems need someone with the tenacity and bulldog fightin' spirit of lyndon johnson.
as we knew she would, talkleft has some analysis of the winona verdict.
and the rittenhouse review has some analysis of what happened last night (we especially like his take on nbc's use of rush limbaugh as a commentator: "this is edward r. morrow with radio talk-show host father coughlin bringing you the latest election results . . ." ok, kids, google the names if you don't get it...)
the hamster has some good opinions on what to do after last night's election (aside from watching "west wing" and wishing you could live in a tv show). we agree with #3: stand for something. we've said it before and we'll say it again...the dems need someone with the tenacity and bulldog fightin' spirit of lyndon johnson.
posted by skippy at
5:45 PM |
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posted by skippy at
5:12 PM |
0
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what happened last night?
well, the worst thing that happened was that logic in 24 started to fall apart in only the second show, when last season it held up for at least three (please, why didn't the abused mom go with kim and the little girl? why didn't kim run the abusive dad over with her suv? and don't tell me the whole garage full of bad guy mechanics couldn't tell that keifer sutherland was flooding his car on purpose! come on!)
ok, but on to the elections. we don't know. other than the dems are wimps. and they sure can't blame nader for this one. but eric alterman has some good insights, as to money, where it came from, how it helped, and why we don't have to worry because the nation's demographics is turning democratic anyway (also he makes a good case for weekend voting!)
oh yeah, and harvey pitt resigned, too!
well, the worst thing that happened was that logic in 24 started to fall apart in only the second show, when last season it held up for at least three (please, why didn't the abused mom go with kim and the little girl? why didn't kim run the abusive dad over with her suv? and don't tell me the whole garage full of bad guy mechanics couldn't tell that keifer sutherland was flooding his car on purpose! come on!)
ok, but on to the elections. we don't know. other than the dems are wimps. and they sure can't blame nader for this one. but eric alterman has some good insights, as to money, where it came from, how it helped, and why we don't have to worry because the nation's demographics is turning democratic anyway (also he makes a good case for weekend voting!)
oh yeah, and harvey pitt resigned, too!
posted by skippy at
12:22 PM |
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who lost big in last night's election? saddam hussein
we'd like to direct your attention over to max sawicky's fine anti-iraq-invastion blog, stand down, where we have entered a little piece entitled here's one guy that agrees with mr. bush. we point out that now, with a republican congress as the wind beneath his wings, there's no stopping mr. bush when it comes to getting that oil, er, we mean, instigating regime change in iraq. to that end, the u.s. has introduced a new resolution to the security council of the u.n. and guess what, shimon peres is all in favor of an attack! who woulda thunk?
we'd like to direct your attention over to max sawicky's fine anti-iraq-invastion blog, stand down, where we have entered a little piece entitled here's one guy that agrees with mr. bush. we point out that now, with a republican congress as the wind beneath his wings, there's no stopping mr. bush when it comes to getting that oil, er, we mean, instigating regime change in iraq. to that end, the u.s. has introduced a new resolution to the security council of the u.n. and guess what, shimon peres is all in favor of an attack! who woulda thunk?
posted by skippy at
11:57 AM |
0
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winona is kind of guilty!
the jury has found winona ryder not guilty of felony burglary. however, she was found guilty of vandalism, a lesser charge, and grand theft, a felony.
she is not too happy, and neither are we.
well, like robert blake says, don't do the crime if you can't do the time!
update: winona will be sentensed on december 6th. she is currently free on bond. for more indepth analysis of this, we'd suggest you surf on over to the fine law blog talkleft (and, depending on what winona's lawyers decide to do, how appealing).
the jury has found winona ryder not guilty of felony burglary. however, she was found guilty of vandalism, a lesser charge, and grand theft, a felony.
she is not too happy, and neither are we.
well, like robert blake says, don't do the crime if you can't do the time!
update: winona will be sentensed on december 6th. she is currently free on bond. for more indepth analysis of this, we'd suggest you surf on over to the fine law blog talkleft (and, depending on what winona's lawyers decide to do, how appealing).
posted by skippy at
11:47 AM |
0
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whoops!
did we say that the polls will be shown to be incorrect by 7 points to the right? sorry, we apparently meant to the left.
we don't know what happened last night, but it looks like we're in for a few years of oliver cromwell. we have no explanation, but zack exley of angry dems.com and gwbush.com, sent us his opinions in an email, and here they are:
"don't blame the media.
don't blame the republicans.
don't blame paul's plane.
don't blame 9-11.
don't blame the greens.
and sure as hell don't blame the american people!
blame the democratic party leadership.
terry mcauliffe is an idiot. daschle is a complete wuss.
biden might as well not exist. it's time for us all to admit it."
if you'd like to read more of zack's rants, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
did we say that the polls will be shown to be incorrect by 7 points to the right? sorry, we apparently meant to the left.
we don't know what happened last night, but it looks like we're in for a few years of oliver cromwell. we have no explanation, but zack exley of angry dems.com and gwbush.com, sent us his opinions in an email, and here they are:
"don't blame the media.
don't blame the republicans.
don't blame paul's plane.
don't blame 9-11.
don't blame the greens.
and sure as hell don't blame the american people!
blame the democratic party leadership.
terry mcauliffe is an idiot. daschle is a complete wuss.
biden might as well not exist. it's time for us all to admit it."
if you'd like to read more of zack's rants, please go to our sister blog, skippy junior.
posted by skippy at
11:28 AM |
0
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winona rider verdict to be read soon
stay tuned, kids...the verdict's in, and soon the world will know if winona's career will be girl, interrupted.
stay tuned, kids...the verdict's in, and soon the world will know if winona's career will be girl, interrupted.
posted by skippy at
11:02 AM |
0
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carnival!
once again, it's time for carnival of the vanities, a compendium of well-written posts by various bloggers in blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!). you can find it on silflay hraka or over at blogcritics.
we are quite pleased this week, as our entry is first! (and a damn fine entry it is, too!)
once again, it's time for carnival of the vanities, a compendium of well-written posts by various bloggers in blogtopia (yes! i coined that term!). you can find it on silflay hraka or over at blogcritics.
we are quite pleased this week, as our entry is first! (and a damn fine entry it is, too!)
posted by skippy at
11:00 AM |
0
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Tuesday, November 05, 2002
and now for the really important news of the day
jury starts deliberations on rider's fate:
"winona ryder's fate lay tuesday in the hands of a jury asked to decide whether the actress shoplifted some $5,500 of designer goods for the thrill of it, or was the innocent victim of a elaborate conspiracy to frame her.
"the six man, six woman jury, several of whom work in the entertainment industry, including an ex-studio head, began deliberations after an extraordinary six-day trial which featured ryder's videotaped trip to the posh saks fifth avenue store last december but never heard from the actress herself."
mondale? townsend? thune? mcbride? we need facts about winona! and when they come, we'll link you to them.
jury starts deliberations on rider's fate:
"winona ryder's fate lay tuesday in the hands of a jury asked to decide whether the actress shoplifted some $5,500 of designer goods for the thrill of it, or was the innocent victim of a elaborate conspiracy to frame her.
"the six man, six woman jury, several of whom work in the entertainment industry, including an ex-studio head, began deliberations after an extraordinary six-day trial which featured ryder's videotaped trip to the posh saks fifth avenue store last december but never heard from the actress herself."
mondale? townsend? thune? mcbride? we need facts about winona! and when they come, we'll link you to them.
posted by skippy at
12:33 PM |
0
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apparently the nytimes thinks it's not nice to fight back, children
while searching for a link to make a rush limbaugh joke we ran across this ny times editorial by nicholas kristof. mr. kristof takes exception to the fact that the left is apparently sinking to the right's level in vitrol.
"yet these days, the intelligent left is dumbing down and showing signs of slipping into a similar cesspool of outraged incoherence. it's debasing and marginalizing itself by marshaling epithets rather than arguments," mr. kristof says.
and he's right. but we say, so what, assh*le? no, actually, we don't say the assh*le part, we are making a joke. but we do maintain that it's not a sign of weakness or immaturity to fight fire with fire.
sure, there are fringe elements on all sides of the political aisle. lyndon larouche has been running for president since we were young bush kangaroos in our mother's pouch. so, it's rather disengenous to take a nutty remark from the edge and accuse the whole side of the political spectrum of going crazy. do we use the fact that trent lott spoke at the council of conservative citizens to condemn the whole republican party as racist bigots? no, we refuse to paint the whole party with a brush dipped in one member's disgusting waste. and we'd appreciate it if mr. kristof would show the left the same consideration.
he rails against the current wellstone-death conspiracy theories, likening them to vince foster rumors. well, sorry to bring this up, but there's still tons of theories about jfk's assassination. conspiracy theories abound on all sides, mr. kristof. but we don't say that because one theory has one political slant, then it follows that all who have that same political slant also believe in the same conspiracy. that would be like saying that we are sure you hate wen ho lee, just because you work at the times.
it is our position that, after 8 years or more of seeing how undocumented and unsubstantiated hyperbole (as we have witnessed from the right) gets the media's attention, it only makes sense to try it ourselves. you assh*le.
ok, ok, we were just joking again. but you take our point. (and shove it up your...ok, ok, we'll stop, we promise). we are not ghandi. we are not promoting pacifism against violence. we are fighting fire with fire. we are rolling up our sleeves and calling it like we see it.
when mr. kristof wrote a column decrying dick cheney's halliburton dealings, he received, and was incensed by, a letter saying "dick cheney is a maggot feeding on the decaying flesh of human misery." what, he doesn't like metaphors?
"the vitriol is bad for the country, by turning every policy fight into a zero-sum game, and it's also counterproductive," he writes. well, then, why don't you say something to the guys who started the whole thing, like newsmax, and free republic? and while you're at it, ask drudge to be a little less partisan in his link titles ("laughter at wellstone memorial" took you to a picture of clinton and mondale greeting each other fondly before entering the service) before you admonish buzzflash and bartcop.
and, of course, mr. kristof makes a common error in logic: "then there's iraq. i'm afraid that president bush is making a historic mistake by pushing obsessively to invade that country. but it doesn't follow that he's necessarily stupid or venal."
well, no, it doesn't, you're right. he isn't stupid because he wants to invade iraq. it may not even be visa versa. we're not pointing out any cause and effect here. a cat doesn't bury its feces because it licks its fur. but it all happens, doesn't it?
no, we have no idea what we meant by that last phrase, but we still defend the left's right not to be left out by the right, correct? yes, and we'll say it again if we can remember it. after all, mr. kristof, it takes two to tangle, and if you're going to berate the left for sinking to the level of the right, you had better say something to the right first.
assh*le.
while searching for a link to make a rush limbaugh joke we ran across this ny times editorial by nicholas kristof. mr. kristof takes exception to the fact that the left is apparently sinking to the right's level in vitrol.
"yet these days, the intelligent left is dumbing down and showing signs of slipping into a similar cesspool of outraged incoherence. it's debasing and marginalizing itself by marshaling epithets rather than arguments," mr. kristof says.
and he's right. but we say, so what, assh*le? no, actually, we don't say the assh*le part, we are making a joke. but we do maintain that it's not a sign of weakness or immaturity to fight fire with fire.
sure, there are fringe elements on all sides of the political aisle. lyndon larouche has been running for president since we were young bush kangaroos in our mother's pouch. so, it's rather disengenous to take a nutty remark from the edge and accuse the whole side of the political spectrum of going crazy. do we use the fact that trent lott spoke at the council of conservative citizens to condemn the whole republican party as racist bigots? no, we refuse to paint the whole party with a brush dipped in one member's disgusting waste. and we'd appreciate it if mr. kristof would show the left the same consideration.
he rails against the current wellstone-death conspiracy theories, likening them to vince foster rumors. well, sorry to bring this up, but there's still tons of theories about jfk's assassination. conspiracy theories abound on all sides, mr. kristof. but we don't say that because one theory has one political slant, then it follows that all who have that same political slant also believe in the same conspiracy. that would be like saying that we are sure you hate wen ho lee, just because you work at the times.
it is our position that, after 8 years or more of seeing how undocumented and unsubstantiated hyperbole (as we have witnessed from the right) gets the media's attention, it only makes sense to try it ourselves. you assh*le.
ok, ok, we were just joking again. but you take our point. (and shove it up your...ok, ok, we'll stop, we promise). we are not ghandi. we are not promoting pacifism against violence. we are fighting fire with fire. we are rolling up our sleeves and calling it like we see it.
when mr. kristof wrote a column decrying dick cheney's halliburton dealings, he received, and was incensed by, a letter saying "dick cheney is a maggot feeding on the decaying flesh of human misery." what, he doesn't like metaphors?
"the vitriol is bad for the country, by turning every policy fight into a zero-sum game, and it's also counterproductive," he writes. well, then, why don't you say something to the guys who started the whole thing, like newsmax, and free republic? and while you're at it, ask drudge to be a little less partisan in his link titles ("laughter at wellstone memorial" took you to a picture of clinton and mondale greeting each other fondly before entering the service) before you admonish buzzflash and bartcop.
and, of course, mr. kristof makes a common error in logic: "then there's iraq. i'm afraid that president bush is making a historic mistake by pushing obsessively to invade that country. but it doesn't follow that he's necessarily stupid or venal."
well, no, it doesn't, you're right. he isn't stupid because he wants to invade iraq. it may not even be visa versa. we're not pointing out any cause and effect here. a cat doesn't bury its feces because it licks its fur. but it all happens, doesn't it?
no, we have no idea what we meant by that last phrase, but we still defend the left's right not to be left out by the right, correct? yes, and we'll say it again if we can remember it. after all, mr. kristof, it takes two to tangle, and if you're going to berate the left for sinking to the level of the right, you had better say something to the right first.
assh*le.
posted by skippy at
12:16 PM |
0
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hi tech voting update
few problems reported in states with high-tech voting systems - san diego union: "[former attorney general janet reno] was also turned away from her suburban miami polling station [during september's primary] when machines weren't ready. this time was different. 'it was smooth,' said reno. 'they were prepared for me this time'." [ed. note: is anyone ever ready for janet reno?]
hi tech voting: dream or nighmare? - cbs news: "touch-screen and other high-tech voting machines are making their full-scale debut in more than 200 counties across the country, with officials anxious to avoid the kind of snags that created florida's primary mess in september."
scattered vote problems in florida - abc news: "however, after checking south florida operations, florida secretary of state jim smith said: 'i'm very impressed. it seems we're on our way to having a good election'."
ballot length increases wait time at polls - wpbf channel: "theresa lepore, elections supervisor for palm beach county, florida, told eyewitness news 25 that there have been a few very minor incidents, but all the precincts are up and running smoothly."
all eyes on south florida - wplg: "south florida election officials are trying once again to get it right, and so far things seem to be heading in that direction."
hi-tech voting going smoothly - seattle post-intelligencer: " 'it's great. i've been voting for a lot more years than I care to say,' joe penley of barnesville raved. 'it's almost too simple. my 4-year-old granddaughter could do it. it's hard to make errors if you just follow instructions'." [ed. note: perhaps we should lower the voting age to 4, since that seems to be the median intelligence level for the electronic media pundits!]
few problems reported in states with high-tech voting systems - san diego union: "[former attorney general janet reno] was also turned away from her suburban miami polling station [during september's primary] when machines weren't ready. this time was different. 'it was smooth,' said reno. 'they were prepared for me this time'." [ed. note: is anyone ever ready for janet reno?]
hi tech voting: dream or nighmare? - cbs news: "touch-screen and other high-tech voting machines are making their full-scale debut in more than 200 counties across the country, with officials anxious to avoid the kind of snags that created florida's primary mess in september."
scattered vote problems in florida - abc news: "however, after checking south florida operations, florida secretary of state jim smith said: 'i'm very impressed. it seems we're on our way to having a good election'."
ballot length increases wait time at polls - wpbf channel: "theresa lepore, elections supervisor for palm beach county, florida, told eyewitness news 25 that there have been a few very minor incidents, but all the precincts are up and running smoothly."
all eyes on south florida - wplg: "south florida election officials are trying once again to get it right, and so far things seem to be heading in that direction."
hi-tech voting going smoothly - seattle post-intelligencer: " 'it's great. i've been voting for a lot more years than I care to say,' joe penley of barnesville raved. 'it's almost too simple. my 4-year-old granddaughter could do it. it's hard to make errors if you just follow instructions'." [ed. note: perhaps we should lower the voting age to 4, since that seems to be the median intelligence level for the electronic media pundits!]
posted by skippy at
11:47 AM |
0
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more election blogging...
calpundit has an excellent explanation of the downs median voter theorum of election prediction, with plenty of great links to other bloggers expounding on the same subject (and he has an in-depth look at the santa monica measure for minimum wage for workers at the fancy-schmancy beach hotels...his perma-links seem to be on the fritz, so look for election trends in america, and election 2002 and increasing the minimum wage).
why do we know that daily kos and mydd are the best? because they keep linking to each other.
cooped up is not, as he puts his effort where he mouth is, and is volunteering at a polling place today. good for him, the rest of us could learn from his example (and, he quotes our buddy, talkleft: if you don't vote, you can't complain!)
m's daily ramblings, a blog we get more impressed with every time we visit it, links to some stories discussing voter suppression, and the concept of the uselessness of polls.
on the subject of polls, we have made this prediction is comment sections all over blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) but we will officially make it here: we predict that when all is said and done, most polls will be shown to be incorrect by a 7 point margin to the right. that is to say, if msnbc says jeb bush is ahead by 15 points, he will most likely only win by 8, if at all. we have no scientific evidence for our statement, but that never stops rush limbaugh from opening his mouth, does it?
calpundit has an excellent explanation of the downs median voter theorum of election prediction, with plenty of great links to other bloggers expounding on the same subject (and he has an in-depth look at the santa monica measure for minimum wage for workers at the fancy-schmancy beach hotels...his perma-links seem to be on the fritz, so look for election trends in america, and election 2002 and increasing the minimum wage).
why do we know that daily kos and mydd are the best? because they keep linking to each other.
cooped up is not, as he puts his effort where he mouth is, and is volunteering at a polling place today. good for him, the rest of us could learn from his example (and, he quotes our buddy, talkleft: if you don't vote, you can't complain!)
m's daily ramblings, a blog we get more impressed with every time we visit it, links to some stories discussing voter suppression, and the concept of the uselessness of polls.
on the subject of polls, we have made this prediction is comment sections all over blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) but we will officially make it here: we predict that when all is said and done, most polls will be shown to be incorrect by a 7 point margin to the right. that is to say, if msnbc says jeb bush is ahead by 15 points, he will most likely only win by 8, if at all. we have no scientific evidence for our statement, but that never stops rush limbaugh from opening his mouth, does it?
posted by skippy at
11:31 AM |
0
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the blogs on elections
mydd goes out on a limb, agreeing with saying dana blankenhorn who predicts that the dems will do much better than anyone expects.
the daily kos wonders about the mendacity of mr. bush, who seems to think this election is about him (and kos adds that the american research group's latest poll puts mr. bush's approval rating in the mid-50's...and nobody mentions it on tv).
mydd goes out on a limb, agreeing with saying dana blankenhorn who predicts that the dems will do much better than anyone expects.
the daily kos wonders about the mendacity of mr. bush, who seems to think this election is about him (and kos adds that the american research group's latest poll puts mr. bush's approval rating in the mid-50's...and nobody mentions it on tv).
posted by skippy at
12:30 AM |
0
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attention, california voters...
ann salisbury at two tears in a bucket has some great opinions about the propositions and on the state-wide races on today's ballot. plus, she gives us some great information about voter registration rolls and our rights to vote.
ann salisbury at two tears in a bucket has some great opinions about the propositions and on the state-wide races on today's ballot. plus, she gives us some great information about voter registration rolls and our rights to vote.
posted by skippy at
12:08 AM |
0
comments
Monday, November 04, 2002
problems tomorrow?
atrios reminds us, if you see or have any trouble voting tomorrow, call 1-866-vote-411.
and be sure to check in with jesse taylor's election page for news of the voting irregularities. and, just for fun, take a look at the political predictions page, and see who batted 1.000, and who was normal for media pundit.
also, we ourselves will be blogging a great deal tomorrow, as, strangely enough, everybody in show business seems to have lost our phone number, and we have nothing else to do.
it will be an exciting day!
atrios reminds us, if you see or have any trouble voting tomorrow, call 1-866-vote-411.
and be sure to check in with jesse taylor's election page for news of the voting irregularities. and, just for fun, take a look at the political predictions page, and see who batted 1.000, and who was normal for media pundit.
also, we ourselves will be blogging a great deal tomorrow, as, strangely enough, everybody in show business seems to have lost our phone number, and we have nothing else to do.
it will be an exciting day!
posted by skippy at
10:11 PM |
0
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you can't insult a recording
we have to agree with instapundit on this one...those recorded phone messages urging us to go out and vote are not only time consuming and wasteful, they're pretty insulting.
although we didn't hear from mr. bush, like glenn did, we did get calls from president and hillary clinton (separately, even!), mrs. gray davis, martin sheen, several candidates for the lesser local races, and even three messages in spanish! we assume the latter were about the election, ourselves not speaking spanish any better than to enjoy sabados gigante every so often (that don francisco cracks us up!)
we have to agree with instapundit on this one...those recorded phone messages urging us to go out and vote are not only time consuming and wasteful, they're pretty insulting.
although we didn't hear from mr. bush, like glenn did, we did get calls from president and hillary clinton (separately, even!), mrs. gray davis, martin sheen, several candidates for the lesser local races, and even three messages in spanish! we assume the latter were about the election, ourselves not speaking spanish any better than to enjoy sabados gigante every so often (that don francisco cracks us up!)
posted by skippy at
10:01 PM |
0
comments
is that a hanging chad or are you just glad to see me?
media mavens everywhere are bracing for tomorrow's turnout in florida's election. for no particular reason other than they've already caught the dc sniper, cable news has decided that the bush-mcbride contest for governor of the sunshine state is the sexy story of the day (probably because mondale is way too old to be considered sexy).
will broward and miami-dade counties be ready for the heavy influx of voters? will polls be ready on election day?
" 'i’m confident this election will be different,' judge jay spechler, chairman of the broward canvassing board, said on monday" reports the sun-sentinel.
"broward elections office spokesman bob cantrell said voters would not be given a sample ballot to review, but would receive a flier detailing the 23 different state and county amendments up for vote," states the herald tribune.
"broward voters casting early ballots saturday in hopes of avoiding long lines on election day found that perhaps they'd already waited too long. with little time left for early voting, people faced waits of 45 minutes to more than two hours at the broward county governmental center in downtown fort lauderdale and at five other places where voters could cast ballots saturday," says the miami herald. the herald also says "many of those involved in broward's preparations say they think the mistakes they made getting ready for september and the reforms they have accomplished since then will provide valuable lessons to other counties as they adopt the new technology."
"in broward county, home to more than 978,000 registered voters, 100,000 people have already voted, say election officials, either via early voting or absentee ballots. broward election officials said they expect nearly half of the county's more than registered voters to cast ballots tuesday. miami-dade mayor alex penelas [said] 95,874 people had voted early or sent in absentee ballots as of sunday night. he said up to 8,000 ballots were cast monday. the county expects a 60 percent voter turnout, or about 575,000 people, said spokesman juan mendieta," reports nbc6 television news.
good luck to the folks in florida (where a number of mrs. skippy's relatives now live, as well as our good blogging buddy residentbush.com). all we can say is, we're glad (a) we live in california and (b) we voted absentee, again this year.
media mavens everywhere are bracing for tomorrow's turnout in florida's election. for no particular reason other than they've already caught the dc sniper, cable news has decided that the bush-mcbride contest for governor of the sunshine state is the sexy story of the day (probably because mondale is way too old to be considered sexy).
will broward and miami-dade counties be ready for the heavy influx of voters? will polls be ready on election day?
" 'i’m confident this election will be different,' judge jay spechler, chairman of the broward canvassing board, said on monday" reports the sun-sentinel.
"broward elections office spokesman bob cantrell said voters would not be given a sample ballot to review, but would receive a flier detailing the 23 different state and county amendments up for vote," states the herald tribune.
"broward voters casting early ballots saturday in hopes of avoiding long lines on election day found that perhaps they'd already waited too long. with little time left for early voting, people faced waits of 45 minutes to more than two hours at the broward county governmental center in downtown fort lauderdale and at five other places where voters could cast ballots saturday," says the miami herald. the herald also says "many of those involved in broward's preparations say they think the mistakes they made getting ready for september and the reforms they have accomplished since then will provide valuable lessons to other counties as they adopt the new technology."
"in broward county, home to more than 978,000 registered voters, 100,000 people have already voted, say election officials, either via early voting or absentee ballots. broward election officials said they expect nearly half of the county's more than registered voters to cast ballots tuesday. miami-dade mayor alex penelas [said] 95,874 people had voted early or sent in absentee ballots as of sunday night. he said up to 8,000 ballots were cast monday. the county expects a 60 percent voter turnout, or about 575,000 people, said spokesman juan mendieta," reports nbc6 television news.
good luck to the folks in florida (where a number of mrs. skippy's relatives now live, as well as our good blogging buddy residentbush.com). all we can say is, we're glad (a) we live in california and (b) we voted absentee, again this year.
posted by skippy at
9:47 PM |
0
comments
that sassy sassafrass
gotta thank sassafrass for these two stories:
why did nytimes run two accounts of anti-war rally? from editor and publisher:
"media analysts have advanced various theories about how and why the paper missed the story the first time, from just lazy or sloppy reporting to preoccupation with other breaking stories to editors 'overcompensating' for the paper's alleged liberal bias by playing down the protest march."
and doubt in the ranks from the washpost:
"mobilizing the united states for war is hard enough, but it becomes truly difficult when the state department, the pentagon brass and the intelligence agencies are all, for somewhat different reasons, expressing doubts about the mission."
gotta thank sassafrass for these two stories:
why did nytimes run two accounts of anti-war rally? from editor and publisher:
"media analysts have advanced various theories about how and why the paper missed the story the first time, from just lazy or sloppy reporting to preoccupation with other breaking stories to editors 'overcompensating' for the paper's alleged liberal bias by playing down the protest march."
and doubt in the ranks from the washpost:
"mobilizing the united states for war is hard enough, but it becomes truly difficult when the state department, the pentagon brass and the intelligence agencies are all, for somewhat different reasons, expressing doubts about the mission."
posted by skippy at
9:39 PM |
0
comments
remember this news when you go to the polls
the christian science monitor says that a weak economy endangers pension plans:
"the traditional pension plans offered by 360 of the 500 companies in standard & poor's 500 index are underfunded by about $243 billion, according to a study by credit suisse first boston. these companies will have to make this up in the years ahead by cutting costs, investing less, or paying smaller dividends."
and cnn money is telling us that jobs cuts surged in october (that's a tricky headline...what it is saying, is that the number of people getting fired went waaaaay up):
"planned job cuts announced by u.s. companies rocketed to 176,010 in october, or more than 7,600 per business day, after falling to a 22-month low in september, an employment consulting firm said monday."
and forbes is reporting that the institute for supply management's non-manufacturing index fell from 53.9 in september to 51.7 last month, which translates as "activity in the massive u.s. service sector" slowed down.
in other words, what recovery?
the christian science monitor says that a weak economy endangers pension plans:
"the traditional pension plans offered by 360 of the 500 companies in standard & poor's 500 index are underfunded by about $243 billion, according to a study by credit suisse first boston. these companies will have to make this up in the years ahead by cutting costs, investing less, or paying smaller dividends."
and cnn money is telling us that jobs cuts surged in october (that's a tricky headline...what it is saying, is that the number of people getting fired went waaaaay up):
"planned job cuts announced by u.s. companies rocketed to 176,010 in october, or more than 7,600 per business day, after falling to a 22-month low in september, an employment consulting firm said monday."
and forbes is reporting that the institute for supply management's non-manufacturing index fell from 53.9 in september to 51.7 last month, which translates as "activity in the massive u.s. service sector" slowed down.
in other words, what recovery?
posted by skippy at
12:17 PM |
0
comments
deconstructing neville
for those of you who haven't made it over to max sawicky's great new brainchild, the anti-attack-iraq site stand down, we post here for you our latest entry from that blog, entitled deconstructing neville:
hello, everyone. skippy here, to discuss the proper application of history. while it's true that those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it, that is even more true of those that flunked history in the first place.
The name of chamberlain has been bandied about a lot in recent weeks when discussing the pro's and cons of invading Iraq (and believe us, when it comes to valid reasons for invading, there are plenty of cons out there).
prime Minister chamberlain, for those of you doomed to repeat history, was the man who made the historic (or perhaps hysteric) munich pact with adolf hitler, thus allowing the germans to take over czechoslovakia in 1938, and encouraging those nutty Hessians to goose-step their way into poland in '39. and well, the rest is, we are doomed to repeat, history. chamberlain's statement of attaining "peace in Our time," of course, was shown to be tragically wrong.
and so some 65 years later or so, those who would love to unilaterially invade Iraq and kick some saddam hussein butt are accusing those of us who advise caution of being like minister chamberlain. But, we argue, as if there weren't enough things to argue about already, this metaphor is like our grandad after his prostate operation: It can't hold water.
matthew engel in the guardian says that there was Only One Adolf Hitler:
"let's be clear about this. saddam hussein is not hitler, as hysterical americans keep claiming. the charges of external violence are 12 years old. there is no coherent evidence that he had any plans (at least before the us began goading him) for more adventures, merely that he is obsessed with stockpiling weaponry, a charge that applies equally to the pentagon. far from seeking global or regional domination, he only dominates portions of Iraq."
mr. engel goes on to say that george bush is not hitler either, with which we heartily agree. hitler could form coherent sentences (ok, we admit, that was a cheap shot - but he makes it so easy). Anyway, that's not really our point.
before chamberlain made the blunder that would assure his name go down in the books, germany had already invaded and occupied austria. and it made no signs of leaving. germany was obviously an 800 pound gorilla, and that was one of the many reasons chamberlain became the great appeaser, wrong-headed an approach as it was.
another big problem with the chamberlain analogy is that germany was, at the time, a first rate-industrial power. granted, it suffered supreme set backs in the unfortunately-misnamed war to end all wars, but was coming back rather strong, at least in terms of armament and technology. and although the first great depression hit germany as hard as the u.s., it had one of the four largest economies in the world at the time.
one cannot say anything close to that about iraq. (well, one can, but then one would be put in the nuthouse). and let's face it: sure, saddam likes to feed one zoo animal to another, but when was the last time Iraq invaded somebody? and what happened then? that's right, his forces were immediately routed and sent back home.
oh, but you say, saddam gassed the kurds! that's right, you are correct. and we'll give you $5.00 if you can name the village that was gassed. and $5.00 more if you can tell us what year. and another $5.00, for a total of $15.00, if you can tell us the u.s.'s response to that terrible tragedy. Give up? the answers are, halabja, 1988, and nothing.
(we won't even get into how our allies, the turks, treat the same minority group, the kurds).
our point, sarcastic as it is, comes down to this: for us to be neville chamberlain, hussein has to be hitler, and a very specific hitler: a hitler who already has invaded and occupied countries and is posed to do the same again. a hitler with economic and military power to do so. a hitler that threatens immediate war.
saddam is a bad, bad despot (well, actually, no, he's very good at being a despot, he's just a despicable human being). but he's not about to invade anybody. he can hardly hold his own patch of sand. thanks to our sanctions, his economy is in the toilet. and remember, hitler had 95 warships. saddam is lucky if he has an outboard.
saddam must be dealt with. but he's no hitler. and, ergo, we are no Neville chamberlain. richard chamberlain, maybe. but that's as far as we will go.
for those of you who haven't made it over to max sawicky's great new brainchild, the anti-attack-iraq site stand down, we post here for you our latest entry from that blog, entitled deconstructing neville:
hello, everyone. skippy here, to discuss the proper application of history. while it's true that those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it, that is even more true of those that flunked history in the first place.
The name of chamberlain has been bandied about a lot in recent weeks when discussing the pro's and cons of invading Iraq (and believe us, when it comes to valid reasons for invading, there are plenty of cons out there).
prime Minister chamberlain, for those of you doomed to repeat history, was the man who made the historic (or perhaps hysteric) munich pact with adolf hitler, thus allowing the germans to take over czechoslovakia in 1938, and encouraging those nutty Hessians to goose-step their way into poland in '39. and well, the rest is, we are doomed to repeat, history. chamberlain's statement of attaining "peace in Our time," of course, was shown to be tragically wrong.
and so some 65 years later or so, those who would love to unilaterially invade Iraq and kick some saddam hussein butt are accusing those of us who advise caution of being like minister chamberlain. But, we argue, as if there weren't enough things to argue about already, this metaphor is like our grandad after his prostate operation: It can't hold water.
matthew engel in the guardian says that there was Only One Adolf Hitler:
"let's be clear about this. saddam hussein is not hitler, as hysterical americans keep claiming. the charges of external violence are 12 years old. there is no coherent evidence that he had any plans (at least before the us began goading him) for more adventures, merely that he is obsessed with stockpiling weaponry, a charge that applies equally to the pentagon. far from seeking global or regional domination, he only dominates portions of Iraq."
mr. engel goes on to say that george bush is not hitler either, with which we heartily agree. hitler could form coherent sentences (ok, we admit, that was a cheap shot - but he makes it so easy). Anyway, that's not really our point.
before chamberlain made the blunder that would assure his name go down in the books, germany had already invaded and occupied austria. and it made no signs of leaving. germany was obviously an 800 pound gorilla, and that was one of the many reasons chamberlain became the great appeaser, wrong-headed an approach as it was.
another big problem with the chamberlain analogy is that germany was, at the time, a first rate-industrial power. granted, it suffered supreme set backs in the unfortunately-misnamed war to end all wars, but was coming back rather strong, at least in terms of armament and technology. and although the first great depression hit germany as hard as the u.s., it had one of the four largest economies in the world at the time.
one cannot say anything close to that about iraq. (well, one can, but then one would be put in the nuthouse). and let's face it: sure, saddam likes to feed one zoo animal to another, but when was the last time Iraq invaded somebody? and what happened then? that's right, his forces were immediately routed and sent back home.
oh, but you say, saddam gassed the kurds! that's right, you are correct. and we'll give you $5.00 if you can name the village that was gassed. and $5.00 more if you can tell us what year. and another $5.00, for a total of $15.00, if you can tell us the u.s.'s response to that terrible tragedy. Give up? the answers are, halabja, 1988, and nothing.
(we won't even get into how our allies, the turks, treat the same minority group, the kurds).
our point, sarcastic as it is, comes down to this: for us to be neville chamberlain, hussein has to be hitler, and a very specific hitler: a hitler who already has invaded and occupied countries and is posed to do the same again. a hitler with economic and military power to do so. a hitler that threatens immediate war.
saddam is a bad, bad despot (well, actually, no, he's very good at being a despot, he's just a despicable human being). but he's not about to invade anybody. he can hardly hold his own patch of sand. thanks to our sanctions, his economy is in the toilet. and remember, hitler had 95 warships. saddam is lucky if he has an outboard.
saddam must be dealt with. but he's no hitler. and, ergo, we are no Neville chamberlain. richard chamberlain, maybe. but that's as far as we will go.
posted by skippy at
12:08 PM |
0
comments
Sunday, November 03, 2002
it's a poll about the economy, stupid.
the associated press says that cbs says that almost 1,018 people think that the economy is the most important issue in the upcoming election. but neither major party has a lock on the confidence of the american people to fix it.
about 4 out of ten favor the democrats and 4 out of ten favor the republicans. so this poll tells us that both parties will get at least 407.2 votes on tuesday.
the same poll also indicted that those 1,018 people thought neither party had a clear vision for the country. boy, talk about a little over a thousand cynics!
the poll had a error of margin of plus or minus 3 points, which doesn't really mean anything, because how are we supposed to prove it anyway?
the associated press says that cbs says that almost 1,018 people think that the economy is the most important issue in the upcoming election. but neither major party has a lock on the confidence of the american people to fix it.
about 4 out of ten favor the democrats and 4 out of ten favor the republicans. so this poll tells us that both parties will get at least 407.2 votes on tuesday.
the same poll also indicted that those 1,018 people thought neither party had a clear vision for the country. boy, talk about a little over a thousand cynics!
the poll had a error of margin of plus or minus 3 points, which doesn't really mean anything, because how are we supposed to prove it anyway?
posted by skippy at
3:06 PM |
0
comments
a blog for this season
thanks to atrios, we found a new blog by jesse taylor of pandagon, devoted strictly to the upcoming election and any and all problems,errors, disenfranchisement, and other aberrations that are occurring and might occur with the upcoming election. it will be a good blog to watch over the next week.
and from that blog, we found the number to call if you have any problems voting: 1-866-vote-411
thanks to atrios, we found a new blog by jesse taylor of pandagon, devoted strictly to the upcoming election and any and all problems,errors, disenfranchisement, and other aberrations that are occurring and might occur with the upcoming election. it will be a good blog to watch over the next week.
and from that blog, we found the number to call if you have any problems voting: 1-866-vote-411
posted by skippy at
2:49 PM |
0
comments
just shooting my mouth off
we have got some great input from everyone on both sides of the aisle about our yearning for statistics showing how/if gun ownership deters violence. we'd like to share those with you now.
in response to our questioning the idea of 2 million defensive gun uses (dgu) per year, because that would indicate an even bigger number of nasty crimes happening, aaron sent us an email linking us to the fbi website stating that there were indeed 11.8 million crime index offenses (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in the nation in 2001 (which, by the way, was a 2.1% increase over the previous year, and the first increase since 1991). thanks, aaron!
todd laclair sent us this anecdotal article from newsday about a man using a shot gun to successfully defend his girlfriend's family from a nutcase with an axe. [ed. note: the fracas took place in laguna hills, which we know from personal experience to be quite upscale and not the sort of place you'd expect to find axe-wielding psychos]. thanks, todd!
then, in response to todd's recommendation of john lott's book more guns, less crime, we had quite a few readers post comments with further info, both pro and con:
guy cabot at my daddy's blog (always a fine read) recommends reading tim lambert's analysis of mr. lott, which pretty much debunks all of lott's arguments, complete with footnotes (so it's gotta be good!) we didn't read the whole thing, but upon a cursory perusal, it looks like mr. lambert was able to refudiate all three major parts of mr. lott's premise (there were more guns, there was less crime, and the more guns caused the less crime).
mike sacton of m's daily ramblings (another find read), suggests a good site, pro-gun as it is, called guncite. mike tells us that the great thing about guncite is their willingness to link to anti-gun or gun-control sites, and their non-hyperbolic approach to the subject. mike also points out that guncite estimates the number of dgu (defensive gun uses) to be more in a range of between 2.5 million and 100,000. now, that sounds a little more realistic to us, and the wide range is due to the subjective definition of a defensive gun use, and the different parameters used by the various studies making the claims. their article is an interesting read, and we agree with mike that their approach is rational and digestable.
mike also directs us to the journal of cirminal law and criminology's plea to try to get some parity and common ground among the various numbers of dgu by the different studies, and concludes that the true number is somewhere in the middle of the range quoted above.
(by the way, mike also has a great posting on this very subject over on his blog.
kevin baker suggests the archives of defensive gun use stories found at the site keep and bear arms, a link to which can be found at guncite mentioned above.
now, we admit we have only superficially read any of these articles and sites, and have still not made up our minds. we still maintain, however, that gun registration and ballistic fingerprinting is not the same as gun elimination, nor is it even a "slippery slope" (although readers of this space will know that we regard the slippery slope argument as one so silly as to not even warrant finishing this sentence, so we won't. whoops, sorry we did!).
we retierate, we are not in favor of disarming america. but, like other dangerous things that adults are allowed to have, they should be carefully regulated.
we pledge to keep an open mind about this. so, put down that gun!
we have got some great input from everyone on both sides of the aisle about our yearning for statistics showing how/if gun ownership deters violence. we'd like to share those with you now.
in response to our questioning the idea of 2 million defensive gun uses (dgu) per year, because that would indicate an even bigger number of nasty crimes happening, aaron sent us an email linking us to the fbi website stating that there were indeed 11.8 million crime index offenses (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in the nation in 2001 (which, by the way, was a 2.1% increase over the previous year, and the first increase since 1991). thanks, aaron!
todd laclair sent us this anecdotal article from newsday about a man using a shot gun to successfully defend his girlfriend's family from a nutcase with an axe. [ed. note: the fracas took place in laguna hills, which we know from personal experience to be quite upscale and not the sort of place you'd expect to find axe-wielding psychos]. thanks, todd!
then, in response to todd's recommendation of john lott's book more guns, less crime, we had quite a few readers post comments with further info, both pro and con:
guy cabot at my daddy's blog (always a fine read) recommends reading tim lambert's analysis of mr. lott, which pretty much debunks all of lott's arguments, complete with footnotes (so it's gotta be good!) we didn't read the whole thing, but upon a cursory perusal, it looks like mr. lambert was able to refudiate all three major parts of mr. lott's premise (there were more guns, there was less crime, and the more guns caused the less crime).
mike sacton of m's daily ramblings (another find read), suggests a good site, pro-gun as it is, called guncite. mike tells us that the great thing about guncite is their willingness to link to anti-gun or gun-control sites, and their non-hyperbolic approach to the subject. mike also points out that guncite estimates the number of dgu (defensive gun uses) to be more in a range of between 2.5 million and 100,000. now, that sounds a little more realistic to us, and the wide range is due to the subjective definition of a defensive gun use, and the different parameters used by the various studies making the claims. their article is an interesting read, and we agree with mike that their approach is rational and digestable.
mike also directs us to the journal of cirminal law and criminology's plea to try to get some parity and common ground among the various numbers of dgu by the different studies, and concludes that the true number is somewhere in the middle of the range quoted above.
(by the way, mike also has a great posting on this very subject over on his blog.
kevin baker suggests the archives of defensive gun use stories found at the site keep and bear arms, a link to which can be found at guncite mentioned above.
now, we admit we have only superficially read any of these articles and sites, and have still not made up our minds. we still maintain, however, that gun registration and ballistic fingerprinting is not the same as gun elimination, nor is it even a "slippery slope" (although readers of this space will know that we regard the slippery slope argument as one so silly as to not even warrant finishing this sentence, so we won't. whoops, sorry we did!).
we retierate, we are not in favor of disarming america. but, like other dangerous things that adults are allowed to have, they should be carefully regulated.
we pledge to keep an open mind about this. so, put down that gun!
posted by skippy at
2:05 PM |
0
comments
posted by skippy at
1:52 PM |
0
comments
clinton rally in florida
we got this email from our florida correspondent kathie k, who attended one of the bill clinton get-out-the-vote rallies in florida. here is her report:
imagine a more perfect evening: 70° and balmy, on the white sand in south miami beach across from the world’s most beautiful examples of art deco architecture on ocean drive. [ed. note: we've been there on such a night, and yes, it is incredibly beautiful!] there’s a jamaican steel drum band playing and the crowds are filing in: blacks, whites, hispanics, union members, elderly jews, children, gays, disabled folks, college students, and lots of bikini clad women. from what I can see no one is being searched or interrogated, there are just a couple people at the entrance who are asking that you leave your mcbride signs outside because you’ll be given new ones once you get in the stage area. by 6 o’clock, the setting sun has left pink and purple stripes in the sky.
speaking to the exuberant crowd of about 1,000 were florida congressman dan gelber, florida state senator (and former gubernatorial candidate) darryl jones, u.s. congressional candidate kendrick meek, democratic candidates for florida agriculture secretary and attorney general, david nelson and buddy dyer. janet reno was also in attendance, showing her graceful support of the democratic candidate who beat her in a devilishly close race. each spoke of the need to get out the vote and end the destructive four years of jeb bush. then came president bill clinton. no pomp, no circumstance, no invitation-only supporters, no first amendment zones, but cheers befitting a rock star. and of course he spoke without notes, with his sleeves rolled up and got the crowd fired up for the guest of honor, bill mcbride.
if you'd like to read the rest of her email, please visit our sister blog, skippy junior.
we got this email from our florida correspondent kathie k, who attended one of the bill clinton get-out-the-vote rallies in florida. here is her report:
imagine a more perfect evening: 70° and balmy, on the white sand in south miami beach across from the world’s most beautiful examples of art deco architecture on ocean drive. [ed. note: we've been there on such a night, and yes, it is incredibly beautiful!] there’s a jamaican steel drum band playing and the crowds are filing in: blacks, whites, hispanics, union members, elderly jews, children, gays, disabled folks, college students, and lots of bikini clad women. from what I can see no one is being searched or interrogated, there are just a couple people at the entrance who are asking that you leave your mcbride signs outside because you’ll be given new ones once you get in the stage area. by 6 o’clock, the setting sun has left pink and purple stripes in the sky.
speaking to the exuberant crowd of about 1,000 were florida congressman dan gelber, florida state senator (and former gubernatorial candidate) darryl jones, u.s. congressional candidate kendrick meek, democratic candidates for florida agriculture secretary and attorney general, david nelson and buddy dyer. janet reno was also in attendance, showing her graceful support of the democratic candidate who beat her in a devilishly close race. each spoke of the need to get out the vote and end the destructive four years of jeb bush. then came president bill clinton. no pomp, no circumstance, no invitation-only supporters, no first amendment zones, but cheers befitting a rock star. and of course he spoke without notes, with his sleeves rolled up and got the crowd fired up for the guest of honor, bill mcbride.
if you'd like to read the rest of her email, please visit our sister blog, skippy junior.
posted by skippy at
1:11 PM |
0
comments
Saturday, November 02, 2002
dueling presidents
with nothing at stake more important than ego and bragging rights (and the control of state-wide voting machines in 2004), florida plays host to two different men who have used the oval office (both for extremely different purposes, you fill your own joke here).
both mr. bush and ex-president clinton criss-crossed the sunshine state on saturday, drumming up support for their respective dogs in the fight...er, party's candidate for governor.
it is mr. bush's 12th trip to florida since being in the white house, which is almost half as many trips as he as made to his vacation ranch in crawford, texas, where he will vote on tuesday, after a whirlwind campaign tour including minnesota and iowa.
mr. clinton drew huge crowds and cheering thongs...er, sorry, throngs of people: " 'we love you! we love you! we love you!' the crowd chanted as clinton, who stopped on his way out to snap his fingers to the beat of aretha franklin's 'respect,' disappeared from view."
"respect"? who says irony is dead?
with nothing at stake more important than ego and bragging rights (and the control of state-wide voting machines in 2004), florida plays host to two different men who have used the oval office (both for extremely different purposes, you fill your own joke here).
both mr. bush and ex-president clinton criss-crossed the sunshine state on saturday, drumming up support for their respective dogs in the fight...er, party's candidate for governor.
it is mr. bush's 12th trip to florida since being in the white house, which is almost half as many trips as he as made to his vacation ranch in crawford, texas, where he will vote on tuesday, after a whirlwind campaign tour including minnesota and iowa.
mr. clinton drew huge crowds and cheering thongs...er, sorry, throngs of people: " 'we love you! we love you! we love you!' the crowd chanted as clinton, who stopped on his way out to snap his fingers to the beat of aretha franklin's 'respect,' disappeared from view."
"respect"? who says irony is dead?
posted by skippy at
11:58 PM |
0
comments
wasted away in blogtopia
conrad over at the gweilo diaries posts an estute observation about parrotheads, with which we tend to agree.
conrad over at the gweilo diaries posts an estute observation about parrotheads, with which we tend to agree.
posted by skippy at
11:39 PM |
0
comments
moving day
mr. helpful, our favorite right-winged gadfly, has moved his blog to a new url address. be sure to bookmark it!
also moving, devra at blue streak has moved her blog to movable type software, and it looks snazzy! check it out! (we admit to seriously considering doing the same thing, as blogger refuses to create archives for our sister blog skippy junior! poor skippy junior! he's crying!)
mr. helpful, our favorite right-winged gadfly, has moved his blog to a new url address. be sure to bookmark it!
also moving, devra at blue streak has moved her blog to movable type software, and it looks snazzy! check it out! (we admit to seriously considering doing the same thing, as blogger refuses to create archives for our sister blog skippy junior! poor skippy junior! he's crying!)
posted by skippy at
10:56 PM |
0
comments
deconstructing neville
we happily add another entry to max sawicky's fine brainchild, stand down. our new musing is called deconstructing neville, and it takes apart the argument that those who oppose imminent invasion of iraq are the same as prime minister neville "peace in our time" chamberlain, who handed czechoslovakia to hitler.
we happily add another entry to max sawicky's fine brainchild, stand down. our new musing is called deconstructing neville, and it takes apart the argument that those who oppose imminent invasion of iraq are the same as prime minister neville "peace in our time" chamberlain, who handed czechoslovakia to hitler.
posted by skippy at
5:45 PM |
0
comments
open the chardonnay for open ports
the la daily news is reporting that there is a tentative deal in the port labor talks, with a breakthrough on the technology issue which has been a sticking point for the international longshoreman and warehouse union.
"both sides hailed the deal to track waterfront cargo more efficiently as the first tangible progress since a 10-day lockout of dockworkers last month shut down 29 major pacific ports," the news reports.
workers are back on the docks, due to the taft-hartley action imposed by mr. bush, allowing an 80-day "cooling down" period to interupt the dock strike that crippled the west coast shipping in september. now with this tentative agreement, hopefully the economy can breathe a sigh of relief for the christmas buying season.
the accord reached on the technology issue represents a compromise for both sides, which, after all, is what negotiations are supposed to be all about. computerized and electronic information flow will eliminate hundreds of union jobs, thus the longshoreman's demands to have such technology under their jurisdiction.
" 'we had our bottom line on jurisdiction on what we could do, what we could accept, and they met our bottom line,'" union spokesman steve stallone said. 'so we consider this a real victory and the first real progress we've had in these negotiations'."
now let's hope those tickle me elmo's and talking furby dolls make it to the store shelves in time for xmas.
the la daily news is reporting that there is a tentative deal in the port labor talks, with a breakthrough on the technology issue which has been a sticking point for the international longshoreman and warehouse union.
"both sides hailed the deal to track waterfront cargo more efficiently as the first tangible progress since a 10-day lockout of dockworkers last month shut down 29 major pacific ports," the news reports.
workers are back on the docks, due to the taft-hartley action imposed by mr. bush, allowing an 80-day "cooling down" period to interupt the dock strike that crippled the west coast shipping in september. now with this tentative agreement, hopefully the economy can breathe a sigh of relief for the christmas buying season.
the accord reached on the technology issue represents a compromise for both sides, which, after all, is what negotiations are supposed to be all about. computerized and electronic information flow will eliminate hundreds of union jobs, thus the longshoreman's demands to have such technology under their jurisdiction.
" 'we had our bottom line on jurisdiction on what we could do, what we could accept, and they met our bottom line,'" union spokesman steve stallone said. 'so we consider this a real victory and the first real progress we've had in these negotiations'."
now let's hope those tickle me elmo's and talking furby dolls make it to the store shelves in time for xmas.
posted by skippy at
4:27 PM |
0
comments
Friday, November 01, 2002
to the victor goes the amazon.com
we'd like to take this pre-election opportunity to plug taegan goddard (of political wire fame) and his book
you won - now what? which becomes relevant every time there's a regime change, no matter how local or global.
the book is subtitled how americans can make democracy work from city hall to the white house, and is availabe on amazon.com
we have yet to read it ourselves, but if the quality of taegan's writing in it is anything like his insightful and concise work on political wire, we are sure it's good. and don't take our guess for it, read what mike wallace, bill bradley, christy todd whitman, joe liberman, some guy that looks like dr. phil and a host of other big time media mavens have to say about it.
we'd like to take this pre-election opportunity to plug taegan goddard (of political wire fame) and his book
you won - now what? which becomes relevant every time there's a regime change, no matter how local or global.
the book is subtitled how americans can make democracy work from city hall to the white house, and is availabe on amazon.com
we have yet to read it ourselves, but if the quality of taegan's writing in it is anything like his insightful and concise work on political wire, we are sure it's good. and don't take our guess for it, read what mike wallace, bill bradley, christy todd whitman, joe liberman, some guy that looks like dr. phil and a host of other big time media mavens have to say about it.
posted by skippy at
4:54 PM |
0
comments
they come in pairs
finally, here's a blog named goodsh*t, which is obviously a companion site for the unablogger.
finally, here's a blog named goodsh*t, which is obviously a companion site for the unablogger.
posted by skippy at
11:47 AM |
0
comments
what if they really are fair and balanced?
say what you will about foxnews (but don't say it around impressionable children), we have to report that this morning they were the only screeching head outlet to bring walter mondale's speech at a minnesota university live. msnbc was futzing around with blackboards and polls, and cnn was doing something either about the sniper or winona, both stories are starting to blurr...
say what you will about foxnews (but don't say it around impressionable children), we have to report that this morning they were the only screeching head outlet to bring walter mondale's speech at a minnesota university live. msnbc was futzing around with blackboards and polls, and cnn was doing something either about the sniper or winona, both stories are starting to blurr...
posted by skippy at
11:44 AM |
0
comments
we predict great things for blogtopia* on tuesday...
we leave it to the more politically estute blogs (like the daily kos or mydd) to make predictions for next tuesday's elections. but we'd also like to remind everyone to check out the political prediction page, which does not make predictions of its own, but rather lists the predictions made by the screeching heads on tv, and then also posts the results, to see who knew their stuff and who was blowing smoke.
and speaking of two of our three favorite political blogs (taegan goddard's political wire being the other one) we learned on the daily kos that jerome armstrong of mydd was interviewed by reuters for this story, as well as making an appearance on cnn! congrats, jerome! keep up the good work, all of you guys!
*yes! i coined that term!
we leave it to the more politically estute blogs (like the daily kos or mydd) to make predictions for next tuesday's elections. but we'd also like to remind everyone to check out the political prediction page, which does not make predictions of its own, but rather lists the predictions made by the screeching heads on tv, and then also posts the results, to see who knew their stuff and who was blowing smoke.
and speaking of two of our three favorite political blogs (taegan goddard's political wire being the other one) we learned on the daily kos that jerome armstrong of mydd was interviewed by reuters for this story, as well as making an appearance on cnn! congrats, jerome! keep up the good work, all of you guys!
*yes! i coined that term!
posted by skippy at
11:33 AM |
0
comments
say hello
to sketch and mfinley and pepper and arsenic and diva maggie and t bogg and amish tech support and blithering idiot and uberchick and in the land of the blind (excellent economic posts on this one!)
to sketch and mfinley and pepper and arsenic and diva maggie and t bogg and amish tech support and blithering idiot and uberchick and in the land of the blind (excellent economic posts on this one!)
posted by skippy at
11:00 AM |
0
comments
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