rabidchild.org | GregariusRSS

Feeds

23805 items (837 unread) in 114 feeds

Newsish/opinion (405 unread)

sci/tech (404 unread)

media/culture (5 unread)

People whos blogs I read (7 unread)

Video Game Stuff (8 unread)

Fiends (4 unread)

music (2 unread)

software

Commerce (2 unread)

« Expand/Collapse

Newsish/opinion (30 unread)

Skip to page: 1 2 3 ... 256

January 07, 2009
0:42
Too much fun
» ‎ Eschaton

Here's more thread.

January 06, 2009
22:22
Rounding Up on Panetta
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Here Fred Kaplan makes the case for the appointment in Slate.

Earlier today, Elana Schor got an impromptu interview with Sen. Feinstein who seemed to soften her initial coolness toward the appointment and suggested she might be more receptive if Obama kept on the CIA's current #2 guy Stephen Kappes in his current role. And this late piece in the Times quotes unnamed transition officials saying that Pres-Elect Obama does intend to do that. So presumably everybody has enough wiggle room here to avoid any sort of big fight.

There are a lot of fairly intricate and byzantine arguments about whether or not this is a good choice. But the people who I'd want to see supporting the nomination do seem to support it. And as I said last night the nature of the opposition, even if it seems to be diminishing, makes me more inclined to support the choice.

21:15
Late Night
» ‎ Eschaton

Have fun.
19:45
John Galt Corp.
» ‎ Eschaton

Of course.
NEW YORK (AP) -- A construction official falsely billed $1.2 million for supplies not delivered to clean up a toxic ground zero skyscraper in exchange for cash, clothes and trips to the Caribbean, prosecutors said Tuesday. Robert Chiarappa was the purchasing agent for the John Galt Corp., which was hired to clean up the former Deutsche Bank tower after it was heavily damaged in the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center across the street.

19:07
The Revenge of Carter Casteel Revisited
» ‎ Burnt Orange Report: RSS Feed

Phil's story about the changeover in rooms at the Capitol was classic, and I take particular schadenfreudesque pleasure in that the office used to be that of Carter Casteel, my former hometown representative and 2005 Texan of the Year.
It reminded me though of a wonderful post by Paul Burka titled "the Revenge of Carter Casteel". I'll except the relevant point below.
[Carter] Casteel's loss was a different story. She was a solid, well respected member, albeit a bit on the crusty and theatrical side. A former teacher who was a strong defender of public education, she had friends on both sides of the aisle. But her opponent, a political unknown, had so much money available that on election day, aircraft were circling over polling places with anti-Casteel banners. She lost by 46 votes.
The consequence of these races was to scare the hell out of Republican members who might entertain the idea that they were entitled to vote in a way that represented their districts. The message was clear: Tom Craddick cares more about his supporters outside the Capitol than he cares about his supporters inside the Capitol. If you don't toe the line on issues that matter to Craddick, this could happen to you.
Fear alone does not make a rebellion. It has to be accompanied by a sign of weakness. When the Republicans lost five House seats to Democrats on election day 2006, to go with a seat in Austin that had been lost in a special election earlier in the year, the scent of blood was in the water. Craddick had to fight to hold onto the speakership, and it was Democrats who provided him with his margin of victory.
But the speaker's race did not end with Craddick's election on the first day of the session. Republican members who entertained thoughts of independence still faced the same threat. They knew that Craddick's ties to Republican donors enabled him to amass a huge warchest to be used against Republican members. They knew that Craddick would not hestitate to use that money, even against talented members like Casteel. They knew that Republican donors and friendly PACs would be afraid of contributing to Craddick targets, for fear of retribution. And so, they realized that they couldn't afford to wait until the next election of the speaker, in January 2009, to unseat Craddick. They had to do it during the session, before the 2008 primary elections, before Craddick could bring his nuclear arsenal of big money into their races. The closer it got to the end of the session, the more imperative it became to make the move, and that is why, on that amazing night in late May, they sought to move to vacate the chair, only to have Craddick flee from the podium and return three hours later, with new parliamentarians and his claim to absolute power. But at a price: By turning on his own members, Tom Craddick has become THE issue. This is the revenge of Carter Casteel.

As popularized by Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, the phrase "revenge is a dish best served cold" is equally accurate here. As wikipedia notes, It means that to be successful, revenge should be a considered and planned response enacted when the time is right, rather than a hasty and 'hot-blooded' action which will increase the chances of failure.
Enjoy the clip below.

18:35
Tuesday Night Thread
» ‎ Eschaton

Enjoy.

18:11
On the Lege: Straus and the Changing of the Guard
» ‎ Chronic: Habitually Updated Buzz

Austin Reps Howard and Strama weigh in on the next speaker

17:55
Free Wilkes
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Now that he's finally made bail, Duke Cunningham uber-briber Brent Wilkes is about to be freed from federal prison pending the outcome of his appeal.
17:36
Nice Touch
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Franken campaign rolls out new (repeatedly used) title for Norm Coleman: "former Senator Coleman".
17:25
Them There's Fightin' Words
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Arlen Specter compares Eric Holder to Alberto Gonzales.

16:57
Rep. Craddick, Room E2.314
» ‎ Burnt Orange Report: RSS Feed

From the Statesman:
Speaker Tom Craddick and his presumed successor, Rep. Joe Straus, will switch offices.
Craddick will use Straus’ office on the lower level of the Capitol Extension despite his 40 years of tenure in the House. Straus, who’s only been in the House since 2005, has one of the more modest offices in the Capitol underground.

The Capitol Walkers are so going to run him over one day by mistake.
As an interesting tid bit, before Rep. Straus, the two other occupants of room E2.314 were Rick Green (who Rep. Patrick Rose defeated in 2003), and then Rep. Carter Casteel. Rep. Casteel was one of the first "Anybody but Craddick" -- way back in 2005, before she was defeated in the primary by Nathan Macias. Craddick helped take her out -- but then Macias lost in the 2008 primary to Doug Miller. Miller's pledge to Straus was one of the final votes to come in before Craddick quit the race. So Miller's pledge was one of the final nails that sent Craddick down to Carter's old office.
Just an interesting little bit of trivia for those under the pink dome.

16:50
Alas, I Think She's Right
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

The Politico is reporting that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), last seen getting bristly over Leon Panetta's appointment to run the CIA, says the Senate Democratic leadership was wrong not to seat Roland Burris.

Says Feinstein: "I can't imagine the secretary of state countermanding a gubernatorial appointment," Feinstein said. "The question, really, is one in my view of law. And that is, does the governor have the power to make the appointment? And the answer is yes. Is the governor discredited? And the answer is yes. Does that affect his appointment power? And the answer is no until certain things happen."

Let me first recite the catechism: Blagojevich is a joke, an embarrassment. And I think accepting the appointment from Blagojevich reflects poorly on Burris's judgment (though not in any fatal, ominous way, just a bad choice).

But Blagojevich is the governor of the Illinois. And the Governor appoints senators to vacant seats. He hasn't been convicted of anything, which is no mere technicality. And I don't think anyone has seriously claimed that this appointment is tainted by corruption.

If there was a real belief that Burris's appointment had been bought, then I think more aggressive and expansive refusal would be justified. But as I said, I don't think anyone is really suggesting that. So as awkward and untoward as the whole thing may be, I really question the wisdom and possibly also the legality of not swearing him in. Rules are rules.

I could be persuaded otherwise. And I'm not losing much sleep over Burris's plight. But rules are rules. And I'm not sure what's being accomplished with this spectacle.

16:46
Long
» ‎ Eschaton

Not exactly shiny happy people.

As Federal Reserve officials met last month to confront the deepening recession, they worried that even a dramatic cut in interest rates and unprecedented new measures in monetary policy would not be enough to cauterize the country’s economic troubles quickly.

...

“The overwhelming message gleaned from the minutes of the meeting is one of fear — fear of a deep recession, and fear of a debilitating deflationary spiral that would capsize a debt-laden economy,” Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR, wrote in a note.

16:40
TPMtv: The Day in 100 Seconds
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

16:29
Register now for Netroots Nation in Your Neighborhood
» ‎ YearlyKos Convention - Building a Netroots Nation

Election night was the culmination of months, even years of effort, to elect progressive candidates. Now that the votes are counted, how do we translate the enthusiasm of the 2008 campaign volunteers into advocating and working for progressive policies at the state and national level? Explore this topic at the first ever Netroots Nation in Your Neighborhood, scheduled for Saturday, February 28 in Westminster, CO. It’s everything you love about the annual national conference--insightful panels, networking opportunities and fascinating presentations--all in a handy, one-day package.

Netroots Nation in Your Neighborhood is free, but only 100 seats are available, so you must register to save your spot. The agenda includes panels on topics ranging from Promoting the Progressive Agenda in Colorado to Keeping Activists Interested, plus a lunch keynote with newly elected Rep. Jared Polis.

Click here for more information and to reserve your spot!

16:27
One More Word On Al Franken
» ‎ Donkeylicious

A few years ago, I found Franken's second book in a bookstore. (His first book, Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, had been a birthday present for me in high school.) I opened it to a random page and ended up reading the longest chapter in the book, which was on Norm Coleman's 2002 Senate victory.

The chapter read differently than any of his other writing. Franken was presenting an anguished account of how Coleman and the Republican Party had managed to turn Paul Wellstone's funeral into a media story for their benefit, and use that to win the election by 2%. The rest of the book was as lighthearted and funny as you'd expect from a comedian writing about politics, but the dominant emotions of this chapter were outrage and anguish and pain. Before reading the chapter, I didn't even know that Franken was from Minnesota, but it was clear to me afterwards that Franken had been watching the events of 2002 from a front-row seat and that they were driving him crazy.

I imagine that the desire to undo what happened six years ago was a big part of what drove him to run for Senate this time around. Now that he's going to be the next Senator from Minnesota, I'm not only very happy that he won, but very happy for him.

16:02
Norm Coleman
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Where's tort reform when we need it?

15:57
Happy Hour Thread
» ‎ Eschaton

Enjoy.

15:07
End of a Dynasty? (One Can Hope)
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Jeb Bush not going to run for empty Florida Senate seat in '10.

15:07
No Senator Jeb in '10
» ‎ Eschaton

At least one good thing a Bush family member has done.

14:56
Coleman Heads Back to Court
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Norm Coleman makes it official: He's going to sue to keep his seat.

14:11
A Leopard Cannot Change its Spots: The TTC is Alive and Well
» ‎ Burnt Orange Report: RSS Feed

Despite assertions by the Texas Department of Transportation that the Trans Texas Corridor is "dead," the fact is a leopard cannot change its spots. Even Governor Good Hair chimed in with as much wisdom today:
AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry, talking from Iraq to reporters, suggested that the Texas Department of Transportation's decision to pull the plug on one of his biggest initiatives - the Trans Texas Corridor - was mostly a name change, and that public-private partnerships on toll roads would continue.

TxDOT may wish to claim that the TTC has been scrapped due to unpopularity, but the fact remains that toll projects are on the drawing board and, in some cases, shovel ready. That means as federal dollars begin to flow toward the Lone Star State due to President-Elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan that elements of the TTC most likely will be built, incorporating the P3 (public-private-partnerships) toll concept along the way.
Even TxDOT admitted that although the TTC project by name, and in whole, was "not the choice of Texans," that aspects of the project would stand alone with different names. In other words the Perry TTC dream might not come to fruition under the toxic name of "Trans Texas Corridor," but elements of the project will be built as separate transportation projects--most likely with our federal tax dollars.
Instead of shovel ready projects with TTC fingerprints, weighed down with P3 toll motives, we must begin investing in the current transportation system we have in place now. Bridges, highways, and more are in desperate need of upgrade in order to maintain current transportation demand. Moreover, such upgrades to existing infrastructure actually yield more jobs per dollar invested according to a 2004 study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project.
If Perry and his legion of supporters have their way we will get the Trans Texas Corridor. Perhaps not in the form of its toxic name, or the full project itself, but most certainly broken up and disguised with more appealing project names that are easier to implement at a local level, easier to fund with federal tax dollars, and therefore sneak through the inattentive eyes of everyday Texans.
We as taxpayers must demand oversight and accountability of all transportation projects that TxDOT intends to put forth to the Obama administration for transportation funding to ensure the project creates jobs for hardworking Texans, repairs and rebuilds existing dilapidated infrastructure, and is not a TTC retread project with P3 motives. Only then will we ensure that every day Texans have put the Rick Perry Trans Texas Corridor project out to pasture.

14:01
Death to DRM
» ‎ Eschaton

Apple's iTunes DRM was so easy to break it was basically just a minor nuisance, but still it was a pointless minor nuisance which did nothing to prevent any music piracy. Glad the record companies may have finally figured that out.

He also said Apple worked with all the major record labels to get songs free of ''digital rights management'' technology that limits people's ability to copy songs or move them to different devices.
13:50
Holiday Over
» ‎ Eschaton

Anyway, a big reason why travel is a pain isn't because it makes it harder for my to deliver my words of wisdom to my adoring readers, it's because during the middle of the day I'm hitting 90+ emails per hour. Leave the computer behind for a couple of hours and...
13:40
So Many Swearing Senators
» ‎ Eschaton

Went to check out the swearing-in ceremony from one of the Senate office buildings along with a reception. Was pretty creepy watching Dick Cheney give that oath.

13:34
Stay Tuned ...
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Norm Coleman is set to speak publicly at 4 p.m. ET for the first time since the recount ended in Minnesota.

Will he concede? Vow to fight on in the courts? Try to prove he's got a better stand-up routine than Franken?
13:20
Echoes of Bushism
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

It's been clear that in addition to Sen. Feinstein, at least as aggrieved is Sen. Rockefeller, the out-going chair of the senate intel committee. When asked this afternoon whether the Panetta appointment endangered the country, the best he could manage was: "That's a provocative way to put it."
12:59
Does This Count as Bipartisan?
» ‎ Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Feinstein and Rockefeller may not be on board with the Panetta pick, but former intel chair Pat Roberts (R-KS) tells TPM Election Central he's just fine with it.