Month: July 2009
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Blogging is Hard
Bernard Finel has been trying this blogging thing for a while and finds that it’s harder than it looks. He notes that even very short posts require quite a bit of effort. Even short posts take me forever. Not writing the text, per se, but I think most posts are useful if you include a…
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Vietnam Not Winnable
Gary Farber continues his look at the latest document release from President Nixon’s archives and finds corroboration for his long held belief that Nixon and Henry Kissinger believed the war in Vietnam was unwinnable and “simply wanted to punt the issue until after the 1972 elections, after which they expected South Vietnam to collapse.” And,…
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Looking At Medicare Administrative Costs
Are they lower? This article by the Heritage Foundation makes an interesting point. Medicare beneficiaries are by definition elderly, disabled, or patients with end-stage renal disease. Private insurance beneficiaries may include a small percentage of people in those categories, but they consist primarily of people are who under age 65 and not disabled. Naturally, Medicare…
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Loose Tweets Sink Fleets
Apropos my weekend discussion of breaking news in the age of Twitter, Jason Kottke points to a set of “WWIII Propaganda Posters” by Brian Lane Winfield Moore spoofing their WWII predecessors.
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Studying the Booty Call
Perhaps apropos yesterday’s post musing over whether “dating” is the appropriate way to describe an adulterous relationship, Michael Munger points us to a forthcoming article in the Journal of Sex Research entitled “The ‘”Booty Call’: A Compromise Between Men’s and Women’s Ideal Mating Strategies.” I render no judgment on the value of the research of…
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Robert McNamara Dead at 93
Breaking news from CNN: “Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, architect of U.S. war in Vietnam, has died at 93, according to his family.” I click the link and get: Seriously? AP has a more fitting obituary: Robert S. McNamara, the cerebral secretary of defense who was vilified for prosecuting America’s most controversial war and then…
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Three Day Weekends
Matt Yglesias noticed the same thing I did: This past three-day weekend seemed more relaxing than usual. His explanation is plausible: I’ve really enjoyed this rare Friday-off three day weekend. I think it’s been a lot more fun than your traditional Monday-off three dayer. I think it’s the difference between a weekend that psychologically feels…
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Saving Newspapers
Jim Henley: “Radley’s news reminds me that the other day I figured out that a less embarrassing business model for the newspaper business would be: puppies! You still can’t use the internet to housebreak a dog.” Indeed! True story: Saturday morning, my wife bought several copies of the Washington Post to use as a weed…
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Abe Vigoda Still Alive
The list of major celebrities who have died in recent days is staggering. Ed McMahon. Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson. Billy Mays. Karl Malden. Steve McNair. Ironically, however, Abe Vigoda — who was famously erroneously declared dead by People magazine way back in 1982 — is still alive and kicking at 88.
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‘Dating’ A Married Man
The Nashville Tennessean‘s story about the apparent murder-suicide involving 36-year-old NFL legend Steve McNair and 20-year-old waitress Sahel Kazemi repeatedly uses variations of “dating” to describe their relationship. Somehow, that doesn’t seem like the right word choice.
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Failure of Breaking News Reporting?
Aaron Brazell argues that, with the advent of instant-reporting of rumor via Twitter and other social media, the mainstream press has fallen behind. He cites yesterday’s Steve McNair murder, the false rumors that Jeff Goldblum had died, and Michael Jackson’s death. He laments that, while the McNair news broke on two Nashville stations but “It…
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White House Hard on Families
NYT wants you to know that Team Obama is sacrificing mightily for you. A feature titled “‘Family Friendly’ White House Is Less So for Aides” begins: When President Obama talks up the family-friendly vibe at the White House — the nightly family dinners, the flexibility to attend school presentations and join impromptu plunges in the…
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Steve McNair Killed in Tennessee
Steve McNair is dead: Former NFL MVP Steve McNair has been shot and killed. Titans owner Bud Adams confirmed the quarterback’s death in a brief statement released Saturday. Adams called him “one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned…
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State Liquor Stores
Glenn Reynolds points to a story by Doug Winship about Washington State’s liquor stores running out of, um, liquor just in time for the July 4th weekend during which all good Americans celebrate their country’s independence by getting hammered. Naturally, all liquor stores in Washington State are run by the government of the state of…
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Quote of the Day – Analogies Edition
Xrlq: Q: What’s the difference between a pit bull wearing lipstick and a hockey mom? A: A pit bull doesn’t quit. Ouch.
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North Korea July 4th Missiles
As widely expected, the DPRK fired some missiles on the 4th of July. Apparently, however, they were not aimed at Hawaii. North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Saturday, South Korea said, a violation of U.N. resolutions and an apparent message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day. The…
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McSuderman
Hearty congrats to the world’s tallest female econoblogger and Reason‘s newest Koch fellow, who, I have it on good Twittority, are engaged to be married after dating slightly less than a year. Rumors that Peter was guilted into making an honest woman of Megan by Stacy McCain are completely unfounded. UPDATE: A picture speaks 1000…
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Palin Resigning as Governor
Sarah Palin has announced that, not only will she not seek re-election as governor of Alaska in 2010 but that she is resigning her office later this month. Andrew Hinkelman and Lori Tipton for KTUU: Gov. Sarah Palin will resign her office in a few weeks, she said during a news conference at her Wasilla…
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Krauthammer on Palin
Charles Krauthammer is getting a lot of attention for his observation on Fox’ Special Report that Sarah Palin “is not a serious candidate for the presidency.” As regular readers know, I think he’s right on this score: She had to go home and study and spend a lot of time on issues in which she…
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Larry King Minutes
Hugh Hewitt has come up with a brilliant meme: “LKM” stands for Larry King Minutes –the number of broadcast minutes that Larry King would devote to your death if it occurred today. Michael Jackson has set a very high standard, swamping all other coverage from Larry’s show and triggering hours and hours of extra programming…
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Obama: Ricci “Moved the Ball” on Race
President Obama told the AP that the Ricci case “moved the ball” on race relations. President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court was “moving the ball” on affirmative action in this week’s decision favoring white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., but he added that the court had not ruled out the use of racial…
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Stimulus?
After seeing today’s job report from the BLS I have to wonder, is the stimulus working? I’m thinking no. There are two possible explanations as to what is going on here. The initial forecast for unemployment was too optimistic. The forecast was fine, but the stimulus is just not doing what it is supposed to…
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Sarah Palin Pop Culture Celebrity
As we discussed on last night’s edition of OTB Radio, Sarah Palin is a story that simply refuses to go away. Despite the campaign being long over and her return to Alaska, where she had managed to live without notice in the lower 48 for years, controversies surrounding her continue to crop up. Has a…
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Conscience of the Conservatives
Mark Tapcott hath a point: [I]n a Beltway Confidential post Tuesday, I asked what is the difference between folks on the Right calling the eight Republican House members who voted for Obama-Waxman-Markey the “cap-and-traitors,” and the infamous “General Betrayus” ad bought by the Left’s Moveon.org in The New York Times. In no time at all,…
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Operation Khanjar Launches
I do a massive roundup of the news coverage of the massive show of force in Afghanistan’s Helmand Valley that kicked off in the wee hours this morning in my New Atlanticist post “U.S. Launches Major Afghan Offensive.” My detailed take at the link but what’s most remarkable is not so much the sheer size…
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Tim Berners-Lee: The Next Web
In a TED talk from February, Tim Berners-Lee, the man who arguably “invented” the World Wide Web, explains how the current system evolved and speculates on how “the next Web” will look. His concept is “Linked Data” so that people, places, products, and so forth are all interlinked on the Web in a relationship format. …
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Washington Post Selling Access?
It seems that WaPo has figured out a new business model. Mike Allen for Politico: For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off the record, non-confrontational access to “those powerful few” — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors. The astonishing offer is…
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Everyone Has a Plan Until they Get Hit
Megan McArdle, reporting from an annual gabfest in Aspen: The questions for [Austan] Goolsbee are much more hostile than they were last year. I don’t know whether to attribute this to the economy, or the fact that the disadvantages of Obama’s policies are now apparent. All policies sound better when they’re in white paper, and…
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OTB Radio – Tonight at 5:30 Eastern
The next episode of OTB Radio, our BlogTalkRadio program, will record and air live from 5:30-6:30 Eastern. Dave Schuler and I will be talk about the pullback of American forces from Iraq’s cities, newly minted Senator Al Franken, and all manner of other things. We’ll also be taking calls at (646) 716-7030. Owing to a…
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Scheuer: Only Osama Can Save Us
Imperial Hubris and Through Our Enemies’ Eyes author Michael Scheuer, a former senior CIA official, tells Glenn Beck that the America’s only hope is for Osama bin Laden to detonate “a major weapon” here to get a “grass roots movement” going. Words fail me.
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Wal-Mart Supports Mandatory Health Coverage (Out of Kindness, I Suppose)
Michael Tomasky is stoked that Wal-Mart has come out in support of government’s mandating business provide health insurance for all employees. His explanation, however, is curious: There’s got to be a fascinating story behind the “why.” Wal-Mart would never acknowledge this, but there seems to me little doubt that all the pressure campaigns over the…
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Overdosing on Michael Jackson
Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Lester: via Frank Stephenson via Robert Prather