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Archeology

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:17:17 -0800

A little late night fun: digging to find the origin point for a made-up GOP budget number. First, Ensign. Then traced back to McConnell and then ultimately to Judd Gregg.

Meanwhile, on the 'reality, what a concept' front, I'd totally missed this. But HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a state by state breakdown of what the Senate bill would mean in different states -- how many more people could get insurance, how many would qualify for subsidies and tax credits to purchase insurance, etc. Worth a look.

More on Filibusters

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:59:41 -0800

A political scientist TPM Reader begs to differ with TPM Reader JB on the filibuster and the difficulty of getting hard bills through the senate ...

I am a political scientist who has studied the Senate filibuster. As much as I'd like to agree with JB's post, it misses the mark in important ways -- leading people to blame Obama and Reid for what is really way beyond their control. (Note: that is not to say that Reid hasn't made mistakes or Obama has not made mistakes -- but that is a separate question).

Here is the issue: JB writes: "If this had not been the case, legislation like the 1986 Tax Reform Act (which overhauled the entire federal tax code), the Goldwater-Nichols bill of that year restructuring the Pentagon, and the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments could never have been enacted." Here is the problem: all of those pieces of legislation passed with overwhelming majorities voting yes -- far more than 60 votes. For example, the Senate passed Golwater Nichols with 95 or 96 yea votes; Clean Air Act passed 89-11. Even if a few yes votes would've rather seen the bill fail, this is no way comparable to health care today. In other words, filibusters could not succeed in the Tax Reform, Goldwater-Nichols, Clean Air Act cases etc because if someone filibustered, more than 60 senators would genuinely want to end the filibuster so that the bill would pass. Today, there are not 60 senators who want the bill to pass, as it currently stands. That is lousy, but it is not something that Harry Reid could change by being a better legislative strategist. JB is right that it was not always this way: before the 1970s, it was pretty common for major, controversial bills to pass the Senate absent a filibuster-proof supportive majority. But since then, the filibuster has become so widely accepted (and so costless) that it is a real veto (except when reconciliation is an option -- which is not so feasible here) absent 60 votes. Note also: the idea of citing the southern Democrats as at all restrained on civil rights opposition is laughable. The only reason the 1964 Civil Rights Act could pass is that LBJ and the Democrats made enough concessions to Dirksen to get enough GOP votes to have 67 for cloture (which was the threshold back then). Fortunately, Dirksen was not anywhere near as conservative as today's Republicans, so the concessions were not as substantial as would be required to get GOPers on board today for any liberal legislation.

I think both readers have good points here. But, thinking back, there's any question that as recently as the 1990s filibusters (or using whatever obstructive measures to force 60 vote majorities) were much less common than they are today. Today it is treated as a given; 60 votes is the default. That simply did not used to be the case.

Some of it is a change in standards, a breakdown of informal rules, as JB suggested. But I think we're also deluding ourselves if we do not figure in a large role for larger structural changes in our politics. Simply put, the broader climate of political polarization in the country -- a socio-political reality than transcends parliamentary rules -- creates pressures for party coherence and party discipline that makes the resort to these tactics more and more the norm.

Worst Governor Ever!!!

SignFire — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:48:04 -0800

SignFire has added a photo to the pool:

Charlie Crist oversaw the ban on gay adoption in Florida... a bold move toward intolerance and homophobia which no other state has dared to implement.

This week, he chose to rub it in the faces of gays and lesbians by sending us this email...

I hope somebody with less sense than I have meets him in a dark alley.

Tonight's the Night?

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:41:15 -0800

It's all tea leaves. But it looks like President Obama may be making or already made his decision on Afghanistan tonight.

Netbooks, e-book readers, and other Black Friday bargains to avoid.

Farhad Manjoo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:02:16 -0800

Black Friday is a treacherous time. Lured in by the promise of fantastic bargains, you flock to local big-box retailers, facing the threat of injury or even death to grab unbelievably cheap "doorbuster" gizmos. Even if you manage to get through the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza without physical harm, there's a good chance you'll suffer financial damage if you don't plan ahead.

[more ...]

Black Friday - Thanksgiving - Holidays - Big-box store - Children and Youth

DSC02597

Karen Eliot — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:31:29 -0800

Karen Eliot has added a photo to the pool:

The Senate Big Picture

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:41:43 -0800

From TPM Reader JB, an old senate hand, now decamped to distant parts ...

As you know, I used to work in the Senate. When I did, the threat of extended debate was made fairly often: usually to delay legislation until some matter of parochial concern to one or more Senators was dealt with, occasionally to threaten with extended publicity the passage of legislation thought to be unpopular.
It was always understood that legislation thought deeply inimical to one or more states' most vital interests might be opposed with every resource at the disposal of an individual Senator or group of Senators. The inhibitions -- all of them unwritten -- against deploying those resources routinely, though, were considerable. If this had not been the case, legislation like the 1986 Tax Reform Act (which overhauled the entire federal tax code), the Goldwater-Nichols bill of that year restructuring the Pentagon, and the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments could never have been enacted.

Within today's Senate it appears understood that these inhibitions are all gone now. Even the threat of extended debate -- the traditional filibuster -- has degenerated into the threat to prevent debate, by objecting to the motion to proceed to legislation. Southern segregationists in the 1960s, facing the passage of voting rights legislation aimed at uprooting the foundations of their states' political and social order, did not go as far in obstructing the consideration of legislation as opponents of health care reform are going today.
Of course, politics then or even in the 1980s and '90s when I worked in Washington were different. Elected officials were not nearly as tightly bound to the permanent campaign; it was usually enough for Senators in particular to vote against legislation opposed by key constituency groups to satisfy them. With much more information now available about the legislative process, this isn't good enough anymore. Senators feel compelled now to demonstrate that they are fully "on board" by fighting legislation opposed by organized interests every step of the way.

This, though, begs an important question. There are Senators who needn't feel so compelled at all -- older Senators mostly, either in their last term or having won reelection by such large margins it would be difficult to challenge them in a party primary. Republican Senators fitting this description include Lugar, Voinovich, Cochran, Alexander, and the two Senators from Maine. One can perhaps see why they would vote against health care reform, or offer amendments to it. Why do they think it necessary to vote against taking it up, or against putting a time limit on debate of the legislation?

As you observe, this question has not been asked either by the Obama administration or by Democrats in the Senate. I don't know why, honestly. Overcoming opposition by attempting to divide it is second nature to me, and it isn't as if GOP Senators like the ones I've named really gain anything by backing up their anti-health reform colleagues to the point of attempting to make it impossible for the Senate to address this issue at all.

Part of me suspects that Democrats have difficulty suppressing their instinct for seeking victimhood. Perhaps they half-expect health care reform to fail, and want to be sure they have someone to blame for their misfortune. It may be they are themselves so tightly bound to the permanent campaign that they fear muddying their 2010 message in some states by having some Republicans on their side, at least when it comes to letting legislation be voted on.

Or it may be simpler than that. Harry Reid may just not be much of a legislator; Barack Obama isn't either. At any rate, there are some Republican Senators who are willy-nilly locked into opposing health care reform more tenaciously than they would have opposed any legislation on any subject earlier in their careers. They are paying no price for doing this; they're not even having to explain it. It is a wonder.

No one wants America to be the sole global superpower, but no one wants to share the load.

Anne Applebaum — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:39:22 -0800

Like comets hurtling at one another from opposite ends of outer space, two different phenomena in different parts of the world soared into public awareness last week. Separately, they might not have had cosmic importance. Put together, however, they could prove to be an interesting sign of things to come.

[more ...]

Outer space - Comet - United States - Solar System - School Time

Pressure Builds Over Obama’s Afghanistan Plan

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:18:39 -0800

President Obama is facing criticism from Democrats over the war’s cost, the size of the U.S. commitment and the reliability of allies.

White House braces for tough sell on Afghan policy (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:17:53 -0800

AP - The White House braced for a tough sell of President Barack Obama's long-awaited decision on whether to commit tens of thousands of new U.S. forces to the stalemated war in Afghanistan, even as the president met Monday with top advisers for possibly the last major deliberations before an announcement.

We've Got Another!

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:56:48 -0800

It seems like we may have another case for those Fox execs eager to discipline or fire staffers for 'errors'/flagrant fibs meant to misinform views. This one's about the Public Option allegedly being financed by taxpayer dollars as opposed to premiums from people buying into the program.

Global warming rigged? Here's the email I'd need to see (George Monbiot/Guardian)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:55:02 -0800

George Monbiot / Guardian:
Global warming rigged? Here's the email I'd need to see — The leaked exchanges are disturbing, but it would take a conspiracy of a very different order to justify sceptics' claims — It's no use pretending this isn't a major blow. The emails extracted by a hacker from the climatic research unit …

CAPITAL CULTURE: 60 years of US dinners for India (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:54:32 -0800

AP - In the history of U.S.-India relations, there's been plenty of broken bread and even a few crumbled Triscuits.

'Mr. Independent' mulls White House bid

Alexander Burns — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:32:37 -0800

Former CNN host Lou Dobbs sends the clearest signals yet that he's mulling a bid for president in 2012.

Charges Detail Road to Terror for 20 Recruited in U.S.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:28:32 -0800

In one of the most extensive terrorism investigations since the Sept. 11 attacks, authorities charged 14 people who they say joined a Somali extremist group.

Right and Left Join to Take On U.S. Over Criminal Justice

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:26:25 -0800

Conservatives and libertarians are joining civil liberties groups in saying that the criminal justice system is a part of government that must be contained.

Sidebar: Line Drawn in One Case Dissolves in Another

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:16:48 -0800

The effects of a decision on executing mentally retarded inmates could offer a lesson on punishment for juveniles.

Obama Issues Sharp Rebuke of Mugabe

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:10:27 -0800

In honoring Zimbabwe’s tenacious women protesters at the White House on Monday, President Obama bluntly referred to Zimbabwe’s president as a dictator.

Some Democrats Back Off Bid to Legalize Gay Marriage in New Jersey

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:08:14 -0800

The fate of a bill once widely expected to pass after the election is now in doubt, for a variety of reasons.

Poll: Americans conflicted over health overhaul (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:06:41 -0800

AP - Most Americans don't expect a health care overhaul to affect their lives directly, but those who worry about the fallout outnumber those expecting to come out ahead, a poll out Tuesday has found.

Conservatives Make a List to Measure Candidates’ Commitment

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:05:09 -0800

A so-called purity test would require the G.O.P. to withhold money and endorsements from candidates who do not adhere to most of the principles on the list.

White House Begins Campaign to Promote Science and Math Education

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:57:40 -0800

The plan will enlist companies and nonprofits, including “Sesame Street,” to spend money and time to encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math.

Gov. Sanford Faces 37 Ethics Charges

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:54:33 -0800

Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina will face formal ethics charges on 37 counts of using his office for personal financial gain.

Health Bill Revives Abortion Groups

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:53:49 -0800

Feeling a threat from proposed legislation, both sides are mobilizing supporters like they haven’t in years.

U.S. to Propose Emissions Cut Before Climate Talks

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:46:28 -0800

President Obama will announce a near-term target for reducing emissions “in coming days,” a senior official said.

Ill-Tempered-ism

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:37:30 -0800

This quote is from the same piece David linked below on Charlie Crist. But I think it may be a quote that ends up on a book they write about the GOP or perhaps even the country in 2010 ...

"It's hard to be more conservative than I am on issues -- though there are different ways stylistically to communicate that -- I'm pro-life, I'm pro-gun, I'm pro-family, and I''m anti tax." ... "I don't know what else you're supposed to be, except maybe angry too."

See the rest here.

Getting Testy in Florida

David Kurtz — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:14:48 -0800

With Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate ambitions being challenged from the right flank of his own party, he tees off on supporters of his primary opponent Marco Rubio as "angry" birthers.

The Senate wants to put a "botax" on plastic surgery. That's a bad idea.

Christopher Beam — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:06:34 -0800

If Americans were concerned about Congress getting its grubby hands on their Medicare, wait till it touches their breast implants. Among the ways the Senate health care bill pays for itself is a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery like tummy tucks, face lifts, hair plugs, collagen injections, and any other nonrequired procedures—a proposal known as the "Botax."

[more ...]

Surgery - Plastic surgery - United States - Breast implant - Health care

Presented By:

Pheedo — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:53:40 -0800

GOPers Plan Purity Test for Stragglers

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:53:40 -0800

Earlier this year, the RNC got in some trouble when dissident committee members tried to push a symbolic measure calling on the Democratic party to rename itself the "Democrat Socialist Party." Now another group is pushing for a purity test at the next RNC meeting in January to make sure all GOPers in good standing assent to catechism of key Hoffmanite principles.

Govt issues record 2.1M recall for dropside cribs (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:51:58 -0800

AP - More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S history, following reports of four infant suffocations.

Viscount Monckton on Climategate: 'They Are Criminals' (PJM Exclusive) (Christopher Monckton/Pajamas Media)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:50:03 -0800

Christopher Monckton / Pajamas Media:
Viscount Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’ (PJM Exclusive) — The man who challenged Al Gore to a debate is furious about the content of the leaked CRU emails — and says why you should be, too. — This is what they did — these climate “scientists” on whose unsupported word …

Robo-ness, Next to Godliness

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:42:48 -0800

Every election cycle, TPM has the niche of sniffing out each sides' robo-call campaigns. And in the last two cycles, one of the expanding threads of the story is the effort of robo-call outfits to get around state laws prohibiting the practice in certain states. (Like, if Indiana prohibits robocalls, can Indiana law touch me if I'm placing the calls from Montana?) Now we've got the next stage of the story as a new GOP group tries to knock out anti-robo-call statutes in several states.

Will Obama Go To Copenhagen?

David Kurtz — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:40:23 -0800

A decision on whether the President will attend the climate talks next month will come soon, the White House says.

Lieberman Digs In on Public Option (Wall Street Journal)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:35:03 -0800

Wall Street Journal:
Lieberman Digs In on Public Option — Sen. Joseph Lieberman, speaking in that trademark sonorous baritone, utters a simple statement that translates into real trouble for Democratic leaders: “I'm going to be stubborn on this.” — Stubborn, he means, in opposing any health-care overhaul that includes a …

Can We Send Lists of Other Errors?

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:27:31 -0800

While many of us had naively construed the string of phony crowd scenes and other hijinks as Fox News editorial policy, apparently it ain't so. Fox News execs are now threatening warnings, suspensions and even firings over the string of recent video editing and fact-checking errors, all of which seem to have had the effect of inflating public support for the Beck/Palin wing of the GOP.

Katie Couric's Forbidden Dance of Gin (John Cook/Gawker)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:25:02 -0800

John Cook / Gawker:
Katie Couric's Forbidden Dance of Gin — When CBS News anchor Katie Couric isn't asking Sarah Palin gotcha questions, she's doin' Da Butt, or the Lambada, or whatever white ladies do when the Black Eyed Peas are on the sound system. More unbelievable images after the jump.

Payback Time: Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:15:32 -0800

The ultralow interest rates the U.S. has been paying on its colossal debt may not last much longer, and the White House estimates that the tab will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019.

Moon Money Is Wash Times Lifeline

David Kurtz — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:04:11 -0800

The Washington Times receives about $40 million in annual subsidies from its owner, Rev. Moon's Unification Church, the paper's former op-ed editor claims in an affidavit obtained by TPM.

Robert Reich Asks Harry Reid

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:58:14 -0800

What happened to the Public Option?

More Thoughts on the Public Option

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:46:29 -0800

I'm reading through the responses to my earlier post about the Public Option and how much the now-emasculated version of it is actually worth. Some of the responses, to put it bluntly, amount to: this bill isn't great, or not exactly what I wanted it to be, so let's just pull the plug on the whole effort. Others say it's the Senate Dems' fault since they just should have ignored or plowed through the current set of rules forcing 60 vote majorities.

What does surprise me though and what I've seen few good answers to is why there wasn't more of a push from the outside on the question of 'up or down votes.'

If you go back to the earlier part of this decade when the cloture/filibuster issue became a big deal, largely on the Supreme Court nominations front, the right made a big push on the outside about the issue of allowing up or down votes (i.e., 51 vote majorities) simply as a matter of principle. That is perhaps implicit in the current debate. But it's very, very implicit. Pressing that issue earlier in this decade opened up a part of this debate that's really pretty absent at the moment. In essence, it opened up another front in a legislative battle that wasn't tied to the particular policy or legislative issue at stake.

Why that didn't happen or perhaps why it still couldn't happen is a pretty good question I haven't seen a good answer to.

A Slate contest: Can you write like Sarah Palin?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:45:19 -0800

What is the single worst sentence in Sarah Palin's Going Rogue? According to Slate's Going Rogue index, it comes on Page 102: "As the soles of my shoes hit the soft ground, I pushed past the tall cottonwood trees in a euphoric cadence, and meandered through willow branches that the moose munched on." Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times didn't have to read past the first paragraph for her nomination, which is actually a sentence fragment: "I breathed in an autumn bouquet that combined everything small-town America with rugged splashes of the Last Frontier."

[more ...]

Sarah Palin - United States - New York Times - Michiko Kakutani - Alaska

National Briefing | West: Nevada: Former Acorn Supervisor Gets Probation

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:40:31 -0800

A former supervisor for Acorn was sentenced to up to three years of probation for illegally paying canvassers to register Nevada voters during the 2008 campaign.

National Briefing | Southwest: Texas: Mayor May Shift Focus to Governor’s Race

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:40:30 -0800

Mayor Bill White of Houston says he is considering running for governor, now that Tom Schieffer, a fellow Democrat, has decided to drop out of the race.

A day in the life of a refugee.

Brian Palmer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:35:28 -0800

Sri Lanka announced Sunday that it would release more than 130,000 people, mostly ethnic Tamils, who have been detained in camps since the country's civil war ended six months ago. What have the Tamils been doing all day, every day, for six months?

[more ...]

Sri Lanka - Refugee - Civil war - Tamil people - Asia

Schumer says failure not an option on health care (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:30:58 -0800

AP - Failure is not an option on health care, a leading Democratic senator said Monday, even as Republicans turned up the heat on moderates who hold the fate of the legislation in their hands.

AP-GfK Poll: Debt turning shoppers into Scrooges (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:30:58 -0800

AP - A lot more Americans are feeling stressed out by debt this holiday season, raising the glum likelihood they'll behave like Scrooge rather than Santa.

To win in Afghanistan, our military must cooperate with local militias.

Fred Kaplan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:14:31 -0800

Though it doesn't claim as much, Dexter Filkins' article in Sunday's New York Times, headlined "Afghan Militias Battle Taliban with Aid of U.S.," may offer a clue to where President Barack Obama's strategic review of the war is going.

[more ...]

Afghanistan - Barack Obama - Taliban - New York Times - War in Afghanistan

Hosni Mubarak

only.man — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:46:43 -0800

only.man has added a photo to the pool:

Obama honors Mugabe foes for defying a "dictator" (Reuters)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:46:22 -0800

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama honored a group of women Monday who have confronted Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and said they had defied a dictator.

Obama administration urged to join Mine Ban Treaty (Reuters)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:45:21 -0800

Reuters - U.S. acceptance of a treaty banning landmines is "long, long overdue" and President Barack Obama should use a 10-year review this weekend to announce plans to join the accord, anti-landmines campaigners said on Monday.

What the Numbers Say

Josh Marshall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:44:11 -0800

I've mentioned in several contexts that the one lesson Dems seem to have internalized almost universally is that starting on health care but not passing a bill would be catastrophic in political terms -- quite apart from the policy consequences. This new poll from PPP gives some concrete evidence that that's the case.

Currently PPP has the Dems with a 8 point margin on the 'generic ballot'. If they pass a bill with a public option, the margin drops to 5 points. If they pass nothing at all it falls to dead even.

Slate's sports podcast Hang Up and Listen for the week of Nov. 23, 2009.

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:40:57 -0800

Listen to "Hang Up and Listen" with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

[more ...]

Podcast - Slate - Mike Pesca - Recreation - Directories

Schwarzenegger taps state senator for lt. governor (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:36:45 -0800

AP - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has nominated a Republican state senator to fill California's recently vacated lieutenant governor seat.

Kerry's daughter not to face drunk-driving charge (AFP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:36:33 -0800

AFP - The daughter of former US presidential candidate John Kerry will not be charged after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, Los Angeles prosecutors have said.

The Slatest: Evening Edition

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:23:58 -0800

Ethics panel slaps Sanford with 37 charges; Iraqi elections in peril after latest effort collapses; McCain blocking federal nominees over artificial-snow claims.

[more ...]

Indian PM says Pakistan must reject terror (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:14:53 -0800

AP - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that the world must press Pakistan to stop supporting terrorists who continue to target India.

Embattled Gov. Sanford faces 37 ethics charges (CNN)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:10:02 -0800

CNN:
Embattled Gov. Sanford faces 37 ethics charges — From Peter Hamby, CNN Political Producer — (CNN) — The South Carolina Ethics Commission has charged Gov. Mark Sanford with 37 counts of violating state ethics laws, according to a complaint released by the commission on Monday.

Obama takes his leave a bit early, then returns (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:05:32 -0800

AP - President Barack Obama is getting used to leaving events before they end — even when he doesn't have to.

Trying last-ditch lung bypass for worst swine flu (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:54:58 -0800

AP - A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest.

Zimbabwe women, receiving rights award, speak out (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:51:36 -0800

AP - President Barack Obama praised representatives of a women's organization whose members have been beaten by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's police force and face court trials for challenging Zimbabwe's government. He said their grassroots efforts could improve the African country.

Charges unsealed in missing Somalis terror probe (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:34:06 -0800

AP - Promising both "true brotherhood" and "fun," several Somali men convinced fellow immigrants in Minneapolis to return to their East African homeland and take up arms with a terrorist group, according to federal charges unsealed Monday against eight individuals.

G.O.P. Considers 'Purity' Resolution for Candidates (Adam Nagourney/The Caucus)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:25:00 -0800

Adam Nagourney / The Caucus:
G.O.P. Considers ‘Purity’ Resolution for Candidates — The battle among Republicans over what the party should stand for - and how much it should accommodate dissenting views on key issues - looks like it's going to move from the states to the Republican National Committee when it holds its winter meeting this January in Honolulu.

Obama: US economy has 'core strengths' (AP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:11:56 -0800

AP - President Barack Obama said Monday the nation's economy is in good shape for the long term thanks to "core strengths" such as its universities, its innovation and a dynamic workforce.

War surtax: 'Pay as you fight' (Politico)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:08:00 -0800

Politico - Call it “pay as you fight.”

The Congressional Budget Office changes its mind about the House health reform bill's cost.

Timothy Noah — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:57:03 -0800

On Nov. 20, when all eyes were on the Senate in anticipation of its vote to proceed with debate on health reform, a significant development in the House went largely unnoticed: The 10-year price tag for its bill dropped by $29 billion.

[more ...]

Congressional Budget Office - House - United States Senate - Healthcare reform - Senate

RNC loses communications director, Castellanos signs on (Chris Cillizza/The Fix)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:55:00 -0800

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
RNC loses communications director, Castellanos signs on — Update 6:03 p.m.: Alex Castellanos, a Republican media consultant, will take over as a senior communications adviser to RNC Chairman Michael Steele, according to a source familiar with the move. The announcement of Castellanos' role comes hours …

US helping Iraq adopt election law: Clinton (AFP)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:45:47 -0800

AFP - The United States is "deeply involved" in efforts to help Iraqi rivals adopt an electoral law, but elections may be delayed, Secretary of Stage Hillary Clinton said Monday.

Dear Prudence answers readers' questions live at Washingtonpost.com.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:33:18 -0800

Emily Yoffe, aka Dear Prudence, is on Washingtonpost.com weekly to chat with readers about their romantic, family, financial, and workplace problems. A transcript of this week's chat is below. (Read Prudie's Slate columns here.)

[more ...]

Dear Prudence - Emily Yoffe - Slate - Washington Post - Washingtonpost.com

Obama says boosting jobs is a top priority (Reuters)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:14:49 -0800

Reuters - President Barack Obama assured Americans on Monday that boosting jobs was a top priority, but gave no specifics about how to meet this goal that some economists say warrants more government spending.

091123-goldman-sachs-vs-new-moon

gregoriusu — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:03:28 -0800

gregoriusu has added a photo to the pool:

Nosferatu vs New Moon: CEO Lloyd Blankfein--Edward and Bella, he ain't, but he sure does suck SOMETHING!

See the whole article at:
ivcaffeine.com/2009/11/23/lloyd-blankfein-edward-and-bell...

Dear Prudence: Go Ask Your Own Doctor!

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:31 -0800

A daily video from Slate V.

[more ...]

Dear Prudence - Slate - Business - Natural Stone - Materials and Supplies

The new AIG report reveals how Geithner—and U.S. taxpayers—were fleeced by Wall Street banks.

Eliot Spitzer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:57:07 -0800

The issue has been festering for months: Why were AIG's counterparties—including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and UBS—paid 100 cents on the dollar when the feds rescued the insurance giant, helping raising the cost of the bailout to nearly $200 billion? A new report issued by Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky now reveals that government officials, notably then-New York Fed President and current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, grievously damaged the nation and capitulated to the very banks they should have been supervising.

[more ...]

Goldman Sachs - United States - Federal Reserve Bank of New York - Wall Street - American International Group

Credit crunch: RNC flack sacked

Jonathan Martin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:54:47 -0800

RNC communications director abruptly resigns.

Credit crunch: RNC flack sacked (Politico)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:54:00 -0800

Politico - Trevor Francis, communications director of the Republican National Committee, abruptly resigned Monday, and two Republican strategists familiar with the situation said he was pushed out because Chairman Michael Steele didn’t feel he was getting enough credit for the GOP’s electoral success earlier this month.

Bishops search for Senate sponsor

Jeanne Cummings — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:50:57 -0800

So far, no one will sponsor their amendment.

Insider: Palin unsure on Latino issues

Jonathan Martin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:38:43 -0800

Adviser says Univision interview was canceled when Palin was unprepared to discuss Latin America policy.

11/23: Gillibrand Approval Rating Stagnates (Marist Poll)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:15:00 -0800

Marist Poll:
11/23: Gillibrand Approval Rating Stagnates — Ten months after Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor David Paterson, the junior senator from New York has failed to become a household name among registered voters in New York State.

W.H. hits back on climate critics

Lisa Lerer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:10:37 -0800

It's been a rough few weeks for the Obama administration when it comes to climate change.

Comeback for White House choppers?

Jen DiMascio — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:59:55 -0800

An upgrade to presidential choppers, scrapped earlier this year due to high costs, may come by next spring.

Ex-CNN anchor Lou Dobbs is considering running for president in 2012 (Michael Saul/NY Daily News)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:03 -0800

Michael Saul / NY Daily News:
Ex-CNN anchor Lou Dobbs is considering running for president in 2012 — Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs has never been elected to any government office, but he said Monday he's considering a run for the White House in 2012. — During an interview on WTOP radio in Washington …

The best vehicles for pumpkin.

Sara Dickerman — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:43:25 -0800

This fall, there is no other ingredient working it quite as hard as pumpkin. With little concern for overexposure, it makes appearances everywhere, from cocktails to dessert. Thanksgiving, of course, kicks off a few weeks when normally tempered appetites turn to splurges; and food professionals are eager to use pumpkin's nostalgic charms to drum up holiday overindulgence, adding it to everything from ravioli to brewskis. By the end of November, pumpkin's been so overhyped, it's practically a Kardashian.

[more ...]

Thanksgiving - Cooking - Home - Holidays - Fruit and Vegetable

The "war on terrorism" didn't cause the Fort Hood shootings.

Christopher Hitchens — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:37:33 -0800

It's both amusing and educational to observe a consensus when it suddenly starts to give way at all points without yielding an inch. A couple of weeks ago, the consoling view was that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was a man more to be pitied than feared, a full-blown officer in the U.S. armed forces who was too shaken up by the stories of returned veterans to be able to function properly, and a physician too stressed-out to bear in mind that there was such a thing as a Hippocratic oath. Why, even the FBI had interpreted his e-mails to Anwar al-Awlaki as quite "consistent with research being conducted by Maj. Hasan in his position as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Medical Center."

[more ...]

Fort Hood - Walter Reed Army Medical Center - United States armed forces - Federal Bureau of Investigation - United States

Fox News Management Fed Up by Mistakes (Matt Dornic/FishBowlDC)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:25:01 -0800

Matt Dornic / FishBowlDC:
Fox News Management Fed Up by Mistakes — After a few footage mishaps at Fox News like their recent slip-up: “Fox News Uses Old Palin Footage,” the higher ups at the network have had enough. — In an email obtained by FishbowlDC, FNC management alerted the Newsroom that they were going to a …

Support for legalizing marijuana gaining ground rapidly (Karl Vick/Washington Post)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:25:01 -0800

Karl Vick / Washington Post:
Support for legalizing marijuana gaining ground rapidly — Approval for medical use expands alongside criticism of prohibition — The same day they rejected a gay marriage ballot measure, residents of Maine voted overwhelmingly to allow the sale of medical marijuana over the counter at state-licensed dispensaries.

Sanford hit with 37 ethics charges

Andy Barr — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:01:28 -0800

South Carolina's Ethics Commission hits Gov. Mark Sanford with 37 violations.

Pressure on Region’s House Democrats to Back Health Care Overhaul

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:41:14 -0800

Union-backed groups say they may withhold support or even oppose lawmakers who do not support health care legislation.

Sanford facing impeachment hearing (Andy Barr/The Politico)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:35:03 -0800

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Sanford facing impeachment hearing — The South Carolina House will hold its first impeachment hearing Tuesday to air the case against Republican Gov. Mark Sanford. — The state's speaker of the House announced Monday that a House Judiciary subcommittee will begin hearing arguments …

RNC weighing new message strategy in 2010 (Tony Romm/The Hill)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:35:03 -0800

Tony Romm / The Hill:
RNC weighing new message strategy in 2010 — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Monday hinted his party was assembling a set of guiding political principles in time for the 2010 election. — {mosads}While Steele cautioned this morning it would not be a …

Inhofe to call for hearing into CRU, U.N. climate change research (Tony Romm/The Hill)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:30:07 -0800

Tony Romm / The Hill:
Inhofe to call for hearing into CRU, U.N. climate change research — The publication of more than 1,000 private e-mails that climate change skeptics say proves the threat is exaggerated has prompted one key Republican senator to call for an investigation into their research.

Democrats Step Up Push for Votes on Health Care

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:17:02 -0800

Anxious about how little maneuvering room the weekend victory on health care provided, Democrats are stepping up overtures to two moderate Republican senators from Maine.

BCS hires Fleischer

Andy Barr — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:57:06 -0800

College football Bowl Championship Series puts Ari Fleischer on the payroll to help improve its image.

How do farmers produce so many turkeys for Thanksgiving?

Nina Shen Rastogi — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:51:20 -0800

Clearly, there's a lot of demand for turkeys on Thanksgiving. What's less obvious is how turkey suppliers meet such massive, single-day demand for their not-usually-that-popular product. In 2008, the "Explainer" probed the world of turkey economics, discovering how farmers cope with the holiday. The article is reprinted below.

[more ...]

Thanksgiving - Holidays - Cooking - Children and Youth - Home

The latest updates from Barack Obama's Facebook news feed.

Christopher Beam and Chris Wilson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:33:38 -0800

Health care, Sarah Palin, and Khalid Sheikh Muhammad's iTunes playlist.

[more ...]

Barack Obama - Facebook - United States - ITunes - Government

Schieffer out, Bill White in Texas governor's race (Texas Politics)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:01 -0800

Texas Politics:
Schieffer out, Bill White in Texas governor's race — Houston Mayor Bill White is declining to comment on whether he is entering the governor's upon the exit of Fort Worth businessman Tom Schieffer. — White told Bradley Olson his campaign will put out an announcement …

A dam tour. Plus a bonus question: Why doesn't China have chocolate bars?

Daniel Gross — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:25:29 -0800

China may be taking baby steps to develop a consumer-based economy, but it's pretty clear that business of the nation is still business. The needs and comfort of individuals are routinely suborned to economic development. Much of China's commercial infrastructure—airports, bridges, shipping terminals, office buildings—is state of the art. But the intercity roads are for trucks and buses, not for passenger cars. The airports are designed to accommodate globe-trotting business travelers, not a mass market of local tourists. And while they may be lovely, the green waters of the Yangtze River—and the stunning amounts of concrete that have been poured into them—are intensely commercial.

[more ...]

China - Yangtze River - Business - Economic development - Tourism

White House Pushes Science and Math Education

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:12:46 -0800

The plan will enlist companies and nonprofits, including “Sesame Street,” to spend money and time to encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math.

Low Tea Party moment symbolic of muddy week (Kristen McQueary/The SouthtownStar)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:10:00 -0800

Kristen McQueary / The SouthtownStar:
Low Tea Party moment symbolic of muddy week — As a journalist covering Chicago politics, verifying information is like climbing a mountain of sand. With each step you take, the deeper you sink. — Last week while researching claims from a local Tea Party activist …

Does watching football lead to domestic violence?

Ray Fisman — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:42:26 -0800

Later this week, families across the country will sit down for their annual turkey dinner. In many households, this will be followed immediately by another Thanksgiving tradition: switching on the TV to watch grown men bash one another to near-unconsciousness on the football field.

[more ...]

Domestic violence - Television - Women - People - Violence and Abuse

BREAKING: San Diego ACORN Document Dump Scandal (Derrick Roach/Big Government)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:30:00 -0800

Derrick Roach / Big Government:
BREAKING: San Diego ACORN Document Dump Scandal — On October 1st, 2009 California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced that an investigation had been opened into ACORN's activities in California, resulting from undercover videos showing employees seemingly offering to assist …

fox_machiavellian_news

GhostofBillHix — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:19:20 -0800

GhostofBillHix has added a photo to the pool:

FOX MACHIAVELLIAN NEWS for ignorant surfs and peasants.

LEVERAGE.... Jonathan Cohn wrote a good lay-of-the-land piece ... (Steve Benen/Washington Monthly)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:55:00 -0800

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
LEVERAGE.... Jonathan Cohn wrote a good lay-of-the-land piece last night on the state of the health care reform fight, noting, among other things, the “unambiguous.” “unyielding,” and “obstinate” efforts of center-right Democrats undermine the Senate bill. — But Cohn's point about reform's champions is the one I keep mulling over.

Sanford facing impeachment hearing

Andy Barr — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:51:31 -0800

South Carolina House will hold its first impeachment hearing to air the case against Mark Sanford.

The indelible whiteness of MSNBC (Michelle Malkin)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:50:02 -0800

Michelle Malkin:
The indelible whiteness of MSNBC — MSNBC host Chris Matthews, MSNBC reporter Norah O'Donnell, and MSNBC guest Joan Walsh shamelessly played the race card against Sarah Palin and her book-buying audience last week. — In Michigan, O'Donnell smugly noted that Palin's fans were “largely white — almost no minorities in this crowd.”

Sen. Blanche Lincoln's Web site can't make up its mind about the public option.

Timothy Noah — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:29:24 -0800

"Health care reform must build upon what works and improve inefficiencies. Individuals should be able to choose from a range of quality health insurance plans. Options should include private plans as well as a quality, affordable public plan or non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals of a public plan."

[more ...]

Blanche Lincoln - Health care - Health insurance - United States - Insurance

Existing-Home Sales Record Another Big Gain, Inventories Continue to Shrink (realtor.org)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:55:01 -0800

realtor.org:
Existing-Home Sales Record Another Big Gain, Inventories Continue to Shrink — Driven by the first-time buyer tax credit, existing-home sales showed another big gain in October with a strong uptrend established over the past seven months, while inventories continue to decline, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama: The approval gap silently shrinks to a few points (Andrew Malcolm/Top of the Ticket)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:40:06 -0800

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama: The approval gap silently shrinks to a few points — Not that it matters politically because obviously she's a female Republican dunce and he's obviously a male Democratic genius. — But Sarah Palin's poll numbers are strengthening. — And President Obama's are sliding.

Chris Matthews Shocker: Obama Making 'Carteresque' Mistakes (Noel Sheppard/NewsBusters.org)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:25:01 -0800

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:
Chris Matthews Shocker: Obama Making ‘Carteresque’ Mistakes — Chris Matthews appears to have lost that loving feeling for Barack Obama. — On “The Chris Matthews Show” Sunday, the once smitten MSNBCer called some of Obama's recent mistakes “Carteresque”:

Dennis Moore won't seek re-election (Steve Kraske/Kansas City Star)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:15:00 -0800

Steve Kraske / Kansas City Star:
Dennis Moore won't seek re-election — U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat who confounded the GOP by winning six consecutive elections in a heavily Republican district, will not seek re-election next year, key Democrats said Sunday. — Moore, who represented Johnson, Wyandotte and a portion …

New documents: White House scrambled to justify AmeriCorps firing after the fact (Byron York/Washington Examiner)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:05:00 -0800

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
New documents: White House scrambled to justify AmeriCorps firing after the fact — Just hours after Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa released a report Friday on their investigation into the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin, the Obama White House gave …

Brazil Elbows U.S. on the Diplomatic Stage

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:56:37 -0800

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is drawing criticism for receiving Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in his first state visit to Brazil.

ThreatsWatch.Org - RapidRecon: Whispers of Surrender in Afghanistan? (Steve Schippert/ThreatsWatch)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:50:05 -0800

Steve Schippert / ThreatsWatch:
ThreatsWatch.Org - RapidRecon: Whispers of Surrender in Afghanistan? — It comes to our attention that the MEMRI Blog highlights an article from the Saudi al-Watan in Arabic that - according to an Afghan source - the United States is talking to the Taliban seeking to trade control of 5 provinces …

Under Scrutiny, Rangel Is Frayed but Defiant

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:39:09 -0800

As an ethics investigation continues, Representative Charles B. Rangel’s once-considerable clout has diminished, and signs of stress are starting to show.

Kennedy Discouraged From Communion by Bishop

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:36:42 -0800

Representative Patrick J. Kennedy said he was instructed to refrain from communion because of his stance on abortion.

Free Speech Well Kinda

Photos by Keven — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:26:22 -0800

Photos by Keven has added a photo to the pool:

Why is it that so many damn people out there dont want to speak up and say something. Is it that you dont want the FBI at your door? Say something anything let them know that its NOT OK to do what they are doing to AMERICA we are not going to take it anymore! Let take back from these FAT CATS what is ours America! Speak up say something!!!! It is your God given right as an American to say something. If you saw a rape or murder would you do something about it or walk by and say nothing? Thats what they are doing to this GREAT NATION! STAND UP for America all that have have there lives for us to be free! Let them not be dead in vain FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT back at them.

GOD BLESS AMERICA
Keven Thompson "Photos by Keven"

Schools' Iran $$ pipeline (Isabel Vincent/New York Post)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:25:02 -0800

Isabel Vincent / New York Post:
Schools' Iran $$ pipeline — Columbia, Rutgers on ‘spy’ group gift list — Anti-Israel, pro-Iran university professors are being funded by a shadowy multimillion-dollar Islamic charity based in Manhattan that the feds charge is an illegal front for the repressive Iranian regime.

Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage (Gabor Steingart/Spiegel Online)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:05:03 -0800

Gabor Steingart / Spiegel Online:
Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage — When he entered office, US President Barack Obama promised to inject US foreign policy with a new tone of respect and diplomacy. His recent trip to Asia, however, showed that it's not working. A shift to Bush-style bluntness may be coming.

Public option at center of debate (Shailagh Murray/Washington Post)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:05:03 -0800

Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Public option at center of debate — Reid must find compromise to pass health-care bill — Democrats had little time to savor their weekend Senate health-care victory, as two of the lawmakers who voted to move the debate forward Saturday night indicated Sunday that they will not vote …

Gail Collins's When Everything Changed.

Katha Pollitt — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:03:25 -0800

Do you have a daughter who thinks feminists are dowdy man-haters who don't shave their legs? A single friend who blames the women's movement for her lack of a husband or children—or a married one who thinks it's Gloria Steinem's fault that she has to earn a living? I'm guessing that, unlike me, you don't know any radical feminist activists from the l970s who feel they've made virtually no difference in American women's lives—but you may well know women like a writer acquaintance of mine who confessed, a few years ago, that she'd rather not fly in a plane with a female pilot.

[more ...]

Gloria Steinem - Feminism - United States - Gail Collins - People

What is on the other side of Siberia? The Jewish Autonomous Region.

Masha Gessen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:00:40 -0800

BIROBIDZHAN, Russia—Never have I heard so many snide comments about an upcoming trip. "Don't bother coming back," said a co-worker, laughing nervously. Birobidzhan has a way of making people laugh. Several of my colleagues were convinced I was joking. The word itself is not inherently funny, but the idea for which it stands is bizarre enough and its history is macabre enough that it makes people giggle. It is also ridiculously far away.

[more ...]

Russia - Siberia - Birobidzhan - Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station - Hydroelectricity

Murdoch's war on Google.

Bernhard Warner — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:52:57 -0800

A summary of what's in the major publications.

[more ...]

EXCLUSIVE: Top Dem Threatens War Surtax if Obama Commits More Afghan. (Jonathan Karl/ABCNEWS)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:35:00 -0800

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: Top Dem Threatens War Surtax if Obama Commits More Afghan. Troops — Rep. Obey Warns President Obama He Will Ask Taxpayers to Pay for War, Should More Troops Be Sent — The powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee has a stark message for President Obama about Afghanistan …

The Phantom Menace - A funny thing happened on the way to a new New Deal. (Paul Krugman/New York Times)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:10:03 -0800

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Phantom Menace — A funny thing happened on the way to a new New Deal. A year ago, the only thing we had to fear was fear itself; today, the reigning doctrine in Washington appears to be “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” — What happened? To be sure, “centrists” in the Senate have hobbled efforts to rescue the economy.

Lawyer: 9/11 Defendants Will Tell Jury 'Why They Did It' (Fox News)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:15:01 -0800

Fox News:
Lawyer: 9/11 Defendants Will Tell Jury ‘Why They Did It’ — NEW YORK — The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.

Patient trapped in a 23-year 'coma' was conscious all along (Allan Hall/Daily Mail)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:35:02 -0800

Allan Hall / Daily Mail:
Patient trapped in a 23-year ‘coma’ was conscious all along — A man thought by doctors to be in a vegetative state for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time, it was revealed last night. — Student Rom Houben was misdiagnosed after a car crash left him totally paralysed.

They Chose Celebrity (Ross Douthat/New York Times)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:30:01 -0800

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
They Chose Celebrity — Before the 2008 election, almost nobody outside Alaska and Arkansas had heard of Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee. But in a long and crowded campaign season, they were the only Republican politicians who inspired any genuine enthusiasm. — They had other things in common as well.

Democrats Step Up Push for Votes on Health Care (Carl Hulse/New York Times)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:15:00 -0800

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Democrats Step Up Push for Votes on Health Care — WASHINGTON — Anxious that Saturday's party-line Senate vote to open debate on a health care overhaul gives them little maneuvering room, Obama administration officials and their Congressional allies are stepping up overtures …

Military Analysis: In 3 Tacks for Afghan War, a Game of Trade-Offs

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:55:56 -0800

A primer on the military utility of some of the force options before President Obama to bolster the 68,000 American troops already in Afghanistan.

Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government (Edmund L. Andrews/New York Times)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:50:00 -0800

Edmund L. Andrews / New York Times:
Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government — WASHINGTON — The United States government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with i.o.u.'s on terms that seem too good to be true. — But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer.

Bishops flex muscle, see opportunities

Jeanne Cummings — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:18:24 -0800

Roman Catholic bishops say they’ve found a lobbying model that could provide them a louder voice.

Terrorism Trial May Point Way for 9/11 Cases

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:13:29 -0800

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani’s case in Manhattan could be important in a future trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, accused of planning 9/11.

Microsoft and News Corp eye web pact (Financial Times)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:10:00 -0800

Financial Times:
Microsoft and News Corp eye web pact — By Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles, Richard Waters in San Francisco and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in New York — Microsoft has had discussions with News Corp over a plan that would involve the media company's being paid to “de-index” …

Harvard

hybridvigour — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:29:32 -0800

hybridvigour has added a photo to the pool:

Slate V: Dear Prudence: Go Ask Your Own Doctor!

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:59:00 -0800

Slate advice columnist Prudence counsels a doctor whose family members won’t stop asking for free medical opinions.

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy & Jody May-Chang

Jody May-Chang (Formally) PrideDEPOT.com — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:51:46 -0800

Jody May-Chang (Formally) PrideDEPOT.com has added a photo to the pool:

Jody May-Chang interviews President of the National Interfaith Alliance, Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy on November 17, 2009. Listen to the full interview here:
http://may-chang.com/?p=818on on As I See It...

Jody and Dr. Gaddy discuss religion and politics and where the two have collided on LGBT civil rights and what we need to do to have it all, which includes religious freedom and same-gender marriage.

REV. SCOTT MARKS PRAYS FOR "JUSTICE FOR ALL" IN FRONT OF SENATOR LIEBERMAN'S HOME

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:21:05 -0800

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 has added a photo to the pool:

THE INTERFAITH FELLOWSHIP FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE LEADS THE PROCESSION

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:08:07 -0800

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 has added a photo to the pool:

REV. THOMAS O'ROURKE PRAYS FOR THE MILLIONS WITHOUT HEALTHCARE

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:07:56 -0800

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 has added a photo to the pool:

RABBI RON FISH URGES JOE LIEBERMAN TO "COME HOME ON HEALTHCARE"

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:07:16 -0800

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 has added a photo to the pool:

CHAPLAIN BILAL ANSARI LEADS A PRAYER FOR THE MILLIONS WITH NO HEALTHCARE

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:07:10 -0800

CSEA SEIU Local 2001 has added a photo to the pool:

How to amend, and not amend, the Senate health reform bill.

Timothy Noah — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:00:12 -0800

Health care reform limped to the Senate floor on a party-line vote, 60-39, after Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska gave their reluctant consent. (Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, who opposes the bill, was not present.) Statistically, the Congressional Research Service has found that 97.6 percent of all Senate bills that cleared this procedural hurdle during the past 10 years eventually won final Senate passage (though some would surely argue that unique circumstances make health reform an excellent candidate to become one of the 2.4 percent of all Senate bills that do not). Senate Democrats now risk finding themselves in the position of a dog that, after chasing a car, finally overtakes it. When the Senate returns from a Thanksgiving recess, it will be to reform health care in the United States. Er, how?

[more ...]

United States - Ben Nelson - Senate - Blanche Lincoln - Democratic

Senate Votes to Open Health Care Debate

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:24:27 -0800

The Senate voted 60 to 39 on Saturday night to begin full debate on major health care legislation, propelling the bill over a crucial, preliminary hurdle.

Judge David Hamilton and the fight over God's secular title.

Dahlia Lithwick — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:38:42 -0800

Pop quiz: Which of the following names represents a nonsectarian, universal deity? Allah, Dios, Gott, Dieu, Elohim, Gud, or Jesus?

[more ...]

Jesus - Christianity - Religion and Spirituality - David Hamilton - God

three horsemen of the apocalypse, greenspan, et al

daviza — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:27:32 -0800

daviza has added a photo to the pool:

They allowed the economy to run into inevitable disaster, looked the other way from madoff, securities, derivatives and mortgage scams, to keep a phony economy humming so that the neocons could get re-elected in 2004.

quote from seeking alpha, see below:

Fresh off of this "victory", incredulously, the man who was charged with being the banking systems chief regulator, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan continued to lead the charge towards a completely unregulated financial system as he turned his sights towards championing the growth of unregulated derivatives. From a February 2000 New York Times article:

The Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, urged Congress today to encourage the growth of complex financial contracts known as derivatives...United States laws impede its development, Mr. Greenspan said in testimony...

The ensuing years saw the accelerating phenomenon where, with the last major regulatory impediment removed, and more importantly perhaps, not replaced with any form of updated regulation, the credit bubble accelerated, fueled heavily by the explosive growth in unregulated derivatives. In early 2007, Financial Sense described the parabolic growth occurring in unregulated derivatives since 1999:

For the latest data ended 1H 06, the prior six month growth in worldwide OTC notional derivatives outstanding was a little in excess of $72 trillion, standing at $370 trillion as of 6/30/06, up from $298 trillion at 2005 year end. For a bit of perspective, total planet Earth did not have $72 trillion in total derivatives outstanding eight years ago, and now we're growing by that total amount in six months.

Thrust and Parry on the Senate Floor

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:01:23 -0800

A fight of galactic proportions over health care looms. Here’s a playbook for aficionados of legislative war games.

Republicans Eye the Tiger of Populism

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:42:00 -0800

Sarah Palin brings a big question into focus for Republican leaders: Should they hitch themselves to the powerful but volatile strain of populism she embodies?

Connie Schultz and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown

Thom Sheridan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:14:37 -0800

Thom Sheridan has added a photo to the pool:

Made in China—and sold there, too.

Daniel Gross — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:18:15 -0800

These are grim times for American executives. The public is angry, and consumers are holding on to every nickel. It's hard to escape the sense that the economic future may be less comfortable than the past. But not all American managers are gloomy. "Optimism is higher than it was last year," says Brenda Lei Foster, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. A survey of its 370 members found that more than 90 percent are optimistic about the next five years. The reason: Instead of simply shipping goods made in China back to the United States, "companies here [are] focusing on the Chinese domestic market."

[more ...]

China - Shanghai - United States - Asia - Chamber of commerce

Why Sarah Palin is unlikely to be the future of the Republican Party.

John Dickerson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:44:24 -0800

The future of the Republican Party will be shaped by a governor—but it's not likely to be Sarah Palin. The twin poles of the Republican Party were on display this week. One was at a Republican Governors Association meeting in Texas. The other was on the airwaves across the country as Palin methodically went rogue.

[more ...]

Republican - Sarah Palin - United States - Texas - Country music

What to drink on Thanksgiving: Napa cabernet.

Mike Steinberger — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:18:18 -0800

Cabernet sauvignon—and particularly the cabernet produced in California's Napa Valley—is the signature American wine. When a Napa cab, the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, beat out some leading French wines in the Judgment of Paris, it heralded the coming-of-age of American viticulture and gave the phrase Napa cabernet international cachet. Nowadays, however, that phrase is more apt to elicit snickers than praise; in the minds of many consumers, it has become synonymous with overwrought, overhyped, and overpriced wines. Indeed, scorning Napa cabernets is almost as fashionable as dumping on California chardonnays. Plenty of Napa cabs deserve the derision, but even as the valley suffers through a richly deserved reversal of fortune, there are still producers turning out honest, delicious wines that demonstrate why people got excited about the valley in the first place. And if you are currently in the market for something homegrown and fowl-friendly to drink on Thanksgiving, these attitude-free Napa cabs will make fine choices.

[more ...]

Wine - Napa Cellars - Cabernet Sauvignon - Stag's Leap Wine Cellars - California Cellars

How to score chicks on the Disney Channel.

Troy Patterson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:38:51 -0800

The Suite Life on Deck (Disney Channel, Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET) is a follow-up to The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, itself a kiddie sitcom about identical-twin boys kicking it Eloise-style at a Boston hotel. Last week, the sequel ranked as the No. 4 show on cable and No. 1 overall among children ages 6 to 11. Should children actually be watching The Suite Life? This columnist does not pretend to offer parental guidance and, as far as he knows, does not have any 6-year-old kids. But there's an outside chance that he'd prefer to plop his imaginary, rhetorical-device-type offspring in front of Law & Order during the time slot in question. Zack and Cody Martin, played by heartthrob monozygotes Dylan and Cole Sprouse, are high-school students now in their second season of spending a semester at sea on a luxury liner. Cody, who is bright and occasionally overbearing, spends week after week nursing an innocent crush on a hayseed shipmate. Zack, an unimpressive student, devotes his mental energies to pulling pranks and trying to score chicks, or whatever the TV-G-rated equivalent of scoring chicks is. The Suite Life is of course mild in its sexual content, offering double entendres-once-removed and gentle references to oiling up bikini models and such. How did the protagonists' rock-star father meet their lounge-singer mother? It is strongly implied that she threw her underwear on stage, or so Dad claims. It takes a little effort to get one's own panties in a bunch over a kids show employing material like that, but it's a snap to feel unqualified disgust for the way the show giggles at Zack's crass predations. In one episode, a new passenger turns his head, but he's turned off by her baggage, her literal baggage. The luggage locks are a bad sign. "That means she's suspicious and cautious," he says. "I'm looking for naive and vulnerable." Cue the laugh track. Elsewhere, he describes part of his philosophy of life to a pal: "There is nothing—nothing—better in this world than an unhappy hot girl." In watching eight episodes of the show, I haven't seen Zack achieve any romantic success, but nor have I seen him receive any proper sanction. Thus do I eagerly await Walt Disney's presentation of a feature-film spinoff titled Zack & Cody's Rockin' Roofie Frat Party.As if to mitigate the noxiousness of this material, the show gives us a naive-but-tough female lead in Cody's love interest, a winsome yokel named Bailey Pickett who has come to the high seas from Kettlecorn, Kansas. Bailey is all the more appealing for being presented in contrast with her roommate, a high-heeled hotel heiress drawn as a caricature of Paris Hilton, as if Paris weren't already a caricature of herself. The show intends to mock the fictional ditz, London Tipton, for her compulsive shopping and repulsive frivolity, and indeed it does. Still, there is something a trifle depressing in the way Suite Life milks her money and glamour for all the cutesiness they're worth. This is the kind of show that takes a nonjudgmental attitude toward marrying for money. Don't get me started on the ship's mincing black chaperone, Mr. Moseby, emasculated in his Bermuda shorts. He gets one of the series' least-age-appropriate laugh lines: During a shipboard beauty pageant—arranged by Zack for the purpose of scoring chicks—one young lady comes out for the talent competition wearing an Abe Lincoln beard and stovepipe hat and proceeds to skip rope while reciting the Gettysburg Address. Annoyed by the quality of the performance, Moseby despairs, "Where's John Wilkes Booth when you need him?"But what I find most bothersome about The Suite Life on Deck—more troubling, even, than the way it forces me to align myself with horrible uptight PC scolds—is its infatuation with showbiz itself. As noted, Zack and Cody are the children of professional musicians. Another shipmate is a former professional singer. (His stage name—give the show some credit for wit—was Li'l Little.) London hosts a Web series, titled Yay Me!, which actually exists on the Disney Channel's site. Of course, TV would be nowhere without the backstage doings of Monkees and Partridges, of Liz Lemon and Desi Arnaz and all the rest. But really. In common with such other Disney fare as Jonas, Hannah Montana, and Sonny With a Chance—and also iCarly, the big Nickelodeon show of the moment—Suite Life can see no further than the camera. Right now, a startling volume of tween culture is devoted, directly or indirectly, to puttin' on a show in the manner of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. It seems important to remember that things didn't work out too well for Judy in the long run.

[more ...]

Suite Life of Zack & Cody - Disney Channel - John Wilkes Booth - Hannah Montana - Cody Martin

The Political Gabfest for Nov. 20, 2009.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:14:31 -0800

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook page throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there. Listen to the Gabfest for Nov. 20 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

[more ...]

Facebook - Social Networking - Online Communities - United States - Government

Stupid drug story of the week: NBC's Today show discovers huffing.

Jack Shafer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:53:37 -0800

In the annals of stupid drug reporting, a special commendation must be reserved for NBC's Today show, which on Nov. 19 aired (video) one the stupidest drug stories in broadcast news. The program, which specializes in terrorizing mothers with sensationalist stories, discovered that today's kids are "huffing" inhalants from hair spray and air duster cans.

[more ...]

Today - NBC - Television - Broadcasting - Arts

Slate writers and editors debate the ramifications of new cancer-screening guidelines.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:51:57 -0800

This week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that most women begin regular mammograms starting at age 50 instead of 40. Days later, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists revised its guidelines on cervical cancer screening: Now it suggests women receive their first Pap smears later than previously recommended and, depending on certain risk factors, get them less frequently. The move to reduce unnecessary screening has some critics of health care reform suggesting that America is moving headlong toward rationing care. In a Facebook note today, Sarah Palin wrote, "We need to carefully watch this debate as it coincides with Capitol Hill's debate and determine whether we are witnessing the early stages of that rationed care before the Senate bill is rushed through as well." After chief political correspondent John Dickerson sent Palin's note around, Slate staffers began debating what, exactly, rationing is; the value of screening; and the relationship between patients and the medical community. An edited transcript of the discussion is below.

[more ...]

Cancer - United States - U.S. Preventive Services Task Force - Cervical cancer - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

What it will cost you to deny health insurance to illegal immigrants.

Timothy Noah — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:50:09 -0800

In his Sept. 9 speech to Congress on health care, when President Obama said, "The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally," Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shot back: "You lie!" What Obama meant was that health care reform would not extend government subsidies to illegal aliens to purchase health insurance. What Wilson meant was that health care reform would nonetheless allow illegal immigrants who were uninsured to purchase unsubsidized health insurance through the exchanges that reform would create. Indeed, to whatever extent the government could track down uninsured illegal immigrants through the tax system, it would compel them to buy health insurance. This was unacceptable to Wilson and other conservatives—not because they felt illegal immigrants should be left in peace, but because they felt illegal immigrants should be excluded entirely from whatever superstructure would be created by health care reform.

[more ...]

Joe Wilson - United States Congress - Health insurance - Barack Obama - Insurance

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleansreviewed.

Dana Stevens — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:47:11 -0800

This review only needs to consist of six words: Werner Herzog. Nicolas Cage. Bad Lieutenant. Not every one of those elements (with the possible exception of Herzog's name) is enough to sell a movie on its own, but the combination? Most definitely. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Edward R. Pressman Films) isn't really a remake of Bad Lieutenant, Abel Ferrara's 1992 exploration of a crooked cop's journey through the depths of spiritual debasement. It's more like a dream one might have after watching the original Bad Lieutenant, doing three lines of cocaine, staying up all night, and collapsing on some none-too-clean sheets in a seedy New Orleans motel. The main thing the two films share is a fascination with abjection—these aren't just bad lieutenants, they're baaaad lieutenants. It's a fascination so extreme and so systematic that it exists at the permeable border between high drama and low comedy.

[more ...]

BadLieutenant - AbelFerrara - New Orleans - Nicolas Cage - Werner Herzog

Reviews of: Twilight: New Moon, The Blind Side, and Planet 51

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:30:44 -0800

A daily video from Slate V.

[more ...]

New Moon - Solar System - Earth - Astronomy - Planets

Bidenisms: A collection of the vice president's gaffes and head-slappers.

Jeremy Stahl — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:07:16 -0800

The vice president did not produce any new Bidenisms this week, but we've dug one out of the archives in honor of his 67th birthday today. Please continue to send your nominations (with a link, please) to slatebidenisms@gmail.com. For more, and our stab at a definition, see "The Complete Bidenisms."

[more ...]

United States - Gmail - History - Vice Presidents - Complete Bidenisms

The Blind Side reviewed.

Josh Levin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:25:24 -0800

Michael Lewis' book The Blind Side tells the true story of Michael Oher, a poor black kid who gets adopted by a rich white family and transforms himself into a football star. The movie version zooms in on Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), the woman who gave the hard-up prodigy the care and feeding that he needed to become a man and an NFL draft pick. This feels less like an artistic choice than an economic one. The Blind Side plays like filmmaking by focus group, a movie that aims to please and ends up condescending to its audience.

[more ...]

Sandra Bullock - Michael Oher - Blind Side: Evolution Of A Game - Michael Lewis - Blind Side

What's the greenest way to get home for Thanksgiving?

Jacob Leibenluft — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:23:24 -0800

A new report from AAA, the car association, predicts that 33.2 million Thanksgiving travelers will be driving at least 50 miles to their holiday destinations this year. Another 2.3 million are expected to fly somewhere for the weekend, and many more will be riding intercity buses and trains. Last year around this time, the Lantern looked at the carbon emissions associated with these various forms of travel. The column is reprinted below.

[more ...]

Thanksgiving - Travel - holiday - American Automobile Association - AAA

What a meal of beef stomach and duck throats taught me about the new China.

Daniel Gross — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:22:46 -0800

"So what's that?" I asked, gesturing at a bowl of grayish fleshy ribbons with little spikes. It was one of the many tough-to-identify animal parts cramming the Lazy Susan. Zhang Haiqing, deputy director of the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, Chongqing Municipal People's Government, mulled the question for a minute. A gracious host to a group of journalists who had traveled to Chongqing, Zhang had lived in Seattle in the 1990s. He probably intuited the squeamishness of the visiting Americans.

[more ...]

China - United States - Chongqing - Seattle - Asia

What's the best way for the Twilight vampires to drink blood?

Christopher Beam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:18:13 -0800

New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight series, hits theaters today. It features a family of teenage vampires who drink animal blood and who look down on those vampires "weak" enough to prey on humans. The film raises several questions about the logistics—and aesthetics—of blood-drinking.

[more ...]

Vampire - Twilight - New Moon - People - Otherkin

Retracing the path of the iconic movie on its 40th anniversary.

Keith Phipps — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:11:42 -0800

Day 6 I begin the day by flying from Albuquerque, N.M., to New Orleans. It's cheating, but only a little. Warned not to film in Texas because the state had no patience for long hair, Easy Rider skipped the state, so I do, too. Renting a car at the airport, I head directly to Morganza, La., a rural community up the road from Baton Rouge where Hanson, Wyatt, and Billy try, and fail, to enjoy a meal. "You name it, I'll throw rocks at it," one local tells the town sheriff as they enter the diner. The teenage girls dining there have a different reaction. Visibly attracted to the men, they follow them outside and coo over their bikes. Easy Rider used locals as the diner patrons and Fonda recalls giving the men a single line of motivation: "We've just raped a 13-year-old white girl outside of town."

[more ...]

New Mexico - San Diego - United States - New Orleans - Arizona

Corrections from the last week.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:07 -0800

In the Nov. 17 "Prescriptions," Timothy Noah misspelled the name of Len Nichols' co-author on the paper that first proposed a "level playing field" version of the public option. It's John M. Bertko, not Berko.

[more ...]

Business - United States - Timothy Noah - Connecticut - Investing

The Twilight Saga: New Moon reviewed.

Dana Stevens — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:32:19 -0800

Sometimes a critic's aesthetic judgment is impossible to extricate from what you might call her cinematic libido. There are movies that bring us a pleasure that's neither definable nor defensible. These used to be called "guilty pleasures," but that phrase seems too judgmental, too pre-Vatican II, for our postmodern era of omnivorous cultural consumption. The distinction between high and low culture, between what we're allowed to enjoy publicly and what we must sneak off to savor in private, has effaced itself to the degree that "guilty pleasures" needs to be replaced by a more morally neutral term. For our purposes here, I'll go with a term that a friend and I coined in college and that I still deploy on occasion: movies we couldn't intellectually defend but still unapologetically loved we called "juicebombs."

[more ...]

New Moon - Twilight - Film - Twilight Saga: New Moon - College

How dangerous is the radiation from a mammogram?

Brian Palmer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:11:54 -0800

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended Monday that women without risk factors for breast cancer wait until their 50s before going in for regular mammograms. That's because early screening yields almost 50 times as many false positives as true cancers, triggering unnecessary biopsies and anxiety, and early detection doesn't do much good in 85 percent of cases anyway. The Task Force noted that the radiation exposure associated with mammography was a minor factor in their recommendation; on Wednesday, Slate's Darshak Sanghavi wrote, "It's possible the radiation from those mammograms may end up causing more cancers than they prevent." How much radiation is in a mammogram?

[more ...]

US Preventive Services Task Force - Cancer - Breast cancer - Mammography - Health

Why vampire movies always break all the vampire rules.

Christopher Beam — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:05:01 -0800

Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart return to the big screen in Twilight: New Moon this Friday. The first installment shied away from vampire myths and offered a modern take on the subject. Last year, Christopher Beam pointed out that Twilight and other recent movies were quick to discredit old vampire legends. The original article is reprinted below.

[more ...]

Kristen Stewart - Twilight - New Moon - Film - Vampire

When have we not been in the midst of a vampire craze?

Christopher Beam and Chris Wilson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:04:40 -0800

Yet another vampire film opens this Friday: Twilight: New Moon, the second installment of the popular series. Is New Moon simply part of a recent vampire boom, along with True Blood and countless others movies, TV shows, and books? Not quite, say Slate's Christopher Beam and Chris Wilson. In September, the pair discovered that vampires are almost never not in vogue. The original article is reprinted below.

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New Moon - True Blood - Twilight - Vampire - Chris Wilson

Vampires suck.

Grady Hendrix — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:02:39 -0800

Will Twilight characters Edward and Bella finally consummate their love in New Moon, out this Friday? Almost certainly not. In July, Grady Hendrix complained that New Age vampire films, like Twilight, lack blood sucking and sex. The original article is reprinted below.

[more ...]

New Moon - Twilight - Bella Swan - List of Twilight characters - Vampires

Microsoft Office 2010 reviewed.

Farhad Manjoo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:27:34 -0800

It's difficult to overstate the success of Microsoft Office. Calling it one of the best-selling tech products of all time is a bit like calling Michael Jackson a very popular musician—it's certainly accurate, but it woefully misses the mark. According to Microsoft, more than 500 million people around the world use the Fantastic Four of productivity apps—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Yet no one simply uses Office; for many, these programs are an essential daily tool kit, the ever-present background hum of the white-collar grind.

[more ...]

Microsoft Office - Microsoft - Microsoft Excel - Microsoft PowerPoint - Microsoft Outlook

Losing my son in the woods wasn't fun.

Emily Bazelon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:11:31 -0800

Before she went rogue, Sarah Palin got lost. She was stalking "majestic dall sheep with their thick curled horns," she writes in her new book, in Mount McKinley National Park. "I was only about eight years old, and for a couple of anxious hours of climbing hillsides and calling my name, no one could find me on the crags and snowpack." Her father played it cool, "but inside, he was pretty frantic." She was found, at last, asleep on a rocky slope in a white T-shirt that made her look like one of the sheep.

[more ...]

Sarah Palin - United States - Alaska - Government - Executive Branch

Hey Penny: The Boss From Hell

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:08:36 -0800

A daily video from Slate V.

[more ...]

Business - Slate - Materials and Supplies - Construction and Maintenance - Natural Stone

What's inside Harry Reid's "blended" Senate health care reform bill.

Timothy Noah — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:02:09 -0800

The health care reform bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring to the floor (text, CBO score) is mostly better than the Senate finance bill on which it is largely based. But it is mostly worse than the counterpart reform bill (text, CBO score) already passed by the House.

[more ...]

Harry Reid - Congressional Budget Office - Health care - Senate - Majority leader

The real price of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

David Feige — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:51:51 -0800

Sometime in the next few months, a small group of experienced criminal-defense lawyers will be assigned to what is likely to be the case of a lifetime: the defense of admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, or, to those enamored of sinister acronyms, KSM. Their work will not be easy, obviously. No jury on this continent is going to acquit their client, the government is certain to insist on the death penalty, and KSM will almost certainly try to put the government on trial. So what's a team of hardworking criminal defense attorneys to do?

[more ...]

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - Capital punishment - Law - Lawyer - United States

Like New Yorkers, Chinese people just can't stop talking about real estate.

Daniel Gross — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:37:45 -0800

In Shanghai, which is China's New York, locals and expats are doing their best to foist American-style consumerism onto China's rising masses—with mixed results. Starbucks has opened several hundred stores, even though China has no coffee-drinking culture to speak of. As it spreads into China, Toys "R" Us is trying to convince higher-income Chinese parents that toys are a part of a childhood, not a distraction from preparation for the all-important national college entrance exams. Dickie Yip, executive vice president at Bank of Communications, lamented that 80 percent of the 11 million Chinese people who have opened up credit card accounts with the bank pay off their accounts in full every month. "We're encouraging our best customers not to repay," he said.

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China - Shanghai - United States - Asia - Bank of Communications

The gloomy wonders of Prague.

Emily Yoffe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:15:55 -0800

The city of Prague is itself a work of art. This is a good thing, because after spending an afternoon in the National Gallery at the Prague Castle complex looking at their 19th-century painting and sculpture—the artistic flowering behind a brief period of political independence—you would conclude that art this bad could only be done deliberately. Our guide, Natasa Sutta, regularly stopped in front of drab, dull landscapes to remark, "These are very Czech colors." I developed a theory that since invaders liked to sweep into Prague and sweep out with anything valuable, maybe the artists made paintings that defied anyone to steal them.

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Czech Republic - Prague - Government - Embassies and Consulates - Travel and Tourism

I won't sit for a holiday photo with my in-laws.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:13:09 -0800

Get Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.)

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Slate - Dear Prudence - Web Design and Development - Search Engines - Social Sciences

Does it matter that Obama is behind schedule on most of his major plans?

John Dickerson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:28:13 -0800

As a professor of constitutional law, Barack Obama gave his students eight hours to complete his exam—even though the exam was designed, he wrote them, "to be completed in three hours." Now that he's president, Obama could use that kind of cushion. Upon taking office, the president promised that the prison at Guantanamo Bay would close in a year. He now says it will not. He demanded that Congress pass a health care bill by August. It still hasn't. The president's promise to sign a health care bill this year has now been pushed into 2010. Obama was also going to announce his new Afghanistan strategy in early November. It may now come as much as a month later. There are also delays—some, of course, beyond his control—in seating judicial nominations and passing climate-change legislation.

[more ...]

Barack Obama - Health care - United States Congress - Climate change - Guantánamo Bay

Sen. Harry Reid's health reform strip tease.

Timothy Noah — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:58:24 -0800

What we know about the Senate's "blended" health care bill, and what we don't.

[more ...]

Harry Reid - Health care - United States Senate - Senate - Health

Do books really need Hollywood-style trailers?

Troy Patterson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:30:39 -0800

This month brings the publication of Eating Animals—a vegetarian's memoir and manifesto, a Peter Singer sort of guide to a Michael Pollan world, the third book by novelist Jonathan Safran Foer. In support of it, the author and his publisher have concocted a short Web video. When I watched it over dinner last night, it put me off my lamb shoulder chop (medium rare) only in its unpalatable tone, which is extremely cute and incredibly twee. It's but the latest reflection of the ways that such clips—"book trailers"—can reveal the hopes and fantasies of readers, writers, and publishers alike.

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Michael Pollan - Jonathan Safran Foer - Publishing - Vegetarianism - Author

What watching ESPN could teach us about mammograms.

Darshak Sanghavi — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:14:53 -0800

It's not often that a football game can teach us something useful about mammography. But look what happened on Sunday after New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick decided to go for a short fourth-down conversion from his own 28 yard line, with a late six-point lead. The Colts stopped the Pats cold to take possession, and star quarterback Peyton Manning quickly fired off a touchdown pass to win the game for Indianapolis.

[more ...]

New England Patriots - Peyton Manning - Indianapolis Colts - Bill Belichick - American football

The attorney general tries to sell us on New York terror trials.

Dahlia Lithwick — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:12:00 -0800

There are good arguments against trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators in a federal New York Court. Testifying this morning before the Senate judiciary committee, Attorney General Eric Holder addressed most of them.

[more ...]

New York - Eric Holder - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - United States - United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

How does the federal government know how much money it's spending improperly?

Christopher Beam — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:55:46 -0800

The federal government made $98 billion in improper payments this fiscal year, according to an announcement Tuesday by the White House Office of Management and Budget. That's a 37.5 percent increase from the $72 billion improperly spent in 2008. How does the government know exactly how much it's misspending?

[more ...]

Office of Management and Budget - Federal government of the United States - Fiscal year - United States - Government

Slate's Culture Gabfest on Lady Gaga, Fantastic Mr. Fox,and warning future generations about nuclear waste.

Juliet Lapidos, Stephen Metcalf, Troy Patterson, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:54:39 -0800

Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 61 with Juliet Lapidos, Stephen Metcalf, Troy Patterson, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner and by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

[more ...]

Modern Family - American Broadcasting Company - ABC - Economic - United States

Choose or Snooze Campaign Coverage beta

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Schumer says failure not an option on health care (AP)

AP-GfK Poll: Debt turning shoppers into Scrooges (AP)

To win in Afghanistan, our military must cooperate with local militias.

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Obama honors Mugabe foes for defying a "dictator" (Reuters)

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Slate's sports podcast Hang Up and Listen for the week of Nov. 23, 2009.

Schwarzenegger taps state senator for lt. governor (AP)

Kerry's daughter not to face drunk-driving charge (AFP)

The Slatest: Evening Edition

Indian PM says Pakistan must reject terror (AP)

Embattled Gov. Sanford faces 37 ethics charges (CNN)

Obama takes his leave a bit early, then returns (AP)

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Zimbabwe women, receiving rights award, speak out (AP)

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G.O.P. Considers 'Purity' Resolution for Candidates (Adam Nagourney/The Caucus)

Obama: US economy has 'core strengths' (AP)

War surtax: 'Pay as you fight' (Politico)

The Congressional Budget Office changes its mind about the House health reform bill's cost.

RNC loses communications director, Castellanos signs on (Chris Cillizza/The Fix)

US helping Iraq adopt election law: Clinton (AFP)

Dear Prudence answers readers' questions live at Washingtonpost.com.

Obama says boosting jobs is a top priority (Reuters)

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The new AIG report reveals how Geithner—and U.S. taxpayers—were fleeced by Wall Street banks.

Credit crunch: RNC flack sacked

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Bishops search for Senate sponsor

Insider: Palin unsure on Latino issues

11/23: Gillibrand Approval Rating Stagnates (Marist Poll)