Tuesday, October 25, 2011
By the very definition....
....conspiracies don't die just because you "prove" them false. So yeah, I wondered where this was.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
If Obama does it, it must be bad
The GOP is clearly running on the "not-him" platform heading into 2012. It's great for its base, but it's really not necessary. The base clearly wants to vote against "him" (Obama, for those of you confused).
This story caught my attention as a great example of the "not-him" strategy. I would rhetorically ask who could possibly complain about removing a hated dictator from power and paving the way for a democracy with no loss of American lives and at a fraction of the cost of similar operations in Iraq and Afghanistan -- all in around six months' time. But the answer, of course, is Lindsay Graham:
This story caught my attention as a great example of the "not-him" strategy. I would rhetorically ask who could possibly complain about removing a hated dictator from power and paving the way for a democracy with no loss of American lives and at a fraction of the cost of similar operations in Iraq and Afghanistan -- all in around six months' time. But the answer, of course, is Lindsay Graham:
A problem for the GOP
It's tough to know just what to make of the Tea Party -- is it the last political gasp of a dying minority? (Anyone who has lived in a red state will doubt this.) Is it just the rantings of a vocal minority? (More likely; they are a majority in some areas, but nationally are a minority.)
Whatever it is, it's clearly a thorn in the side of Democrats, but it's going to increasingly become a thorn in the side of Republicans when it comes time to actually win elections.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Was the Associated Press transcription of Obama’s CBC speech ‘racist’?
Was the Associated Press transcription of Obama’s CBC speech ‘racist’?
To answer this headline succinctly, no. I'm a bit of a journalist myself, or used to be, and I know well that you clean up things like people leaving off their "g's." But in this case, I think it was the point of the speech.
You'll notice in the rest of the quote from the AP, he didn't leave off the "g's," he only did it on the three specific words.
Just like I felt it was unfair to clean up George W. Bush's grammatical mistakes -- which are different than saying "gonna" rather than "going to" -- I feel like this tells part of the story.
From a journalistic standpoint, I think it is much ado about nothing. And this comes from someone who thinks latent racism is very dangerous.
To answer this headline succinctly, no. I'm a bit of a journalist myself, or used to be, and I know well that you clean up things like people leaving off their "g's." But in this case, I think it was the point of the speech.
You'll notice in the rest of the quote from the AP, he didn't leave off the "g's," he only did it on the three specific words.
Just like I felt it was unfair to clean up George W. Bush's grammatical mistakes -- which are different than saying "gonna" rather than "going to" -- I feel like this tells part of the story.
From a journalistic standpoint, I think it is much ado about nothing. And this comes from someone who thinks latent racism is very dangerous.
Friday, September 2, 2011
I like people in the abstract
This blog entry by Paul Krugman is, as usual, spot on. But the key for me was seeing him put voice to a conservative "value" that I've only come recently to appreciate.
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