Thursday’s Mini-Report

December 28, 2006

Today’s edition of quick hits.

* On the day of John Edwards’ campaign announcement, MSNBC ran an on-screen caption during coverage of the kick-off: “Multi-millionaire candidate to focus on poverty in America.” Gotta love that liberal media.

* Remember the year-old email from a Marine in Iraq that Cliff May presented as current yesterday? It turns out the Iraq Study Group took it seriously, too, and even scrutinized and debated it. Scary.

* Fox News may have inadvertently acknowledged that opposition to the war in Iraq is a mainstream position.

* Gale Norton has gone from being Bush’s Interior Secretary to being a lawyer for Royal Dutch Shell PLC. Shell, one of the world’s largest producers of oil, which just so happens to be “one of the companies that Norton’s Interior Department routinely engaged on matters of drilling in sensitive ecological settings.” Revolving door, indeed.

* I’d never seen these outtakes from Nixon’s White House, immediately before he announced he would resign the presidency, and found them pretty interesting. I’m kind of amazed to see him so … relaxed.

* Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) bucks the White House, says he’d talk to Iran’s Ahmadinejad.

* “Brain calisthenics“? Michael Froomkin seems to be tired of them already.

* I hate to say it, but it looks like Billmon has hung up the keyboard for the last time. That’s a shame; even when the Whiskey Bar was closed, I took some comfort in knowing that it’d reopen eventually. This time, I’m afraid the Bar will be permanently closed.

* The “Washingtonienne” story wasn’t my cup of tea, but I suspect the court fight will end up being awfully interesting.

* And, finally, a new AP poll asked Americans to name the villains and heroes of the year. Oddly enough, Bush topped both lists. “Bush won the villain sweepstakes by a landslide, with one in four respondents putting him at the top of that bad-guy list. When people were asked to name the candidate for villain that first came to mind, Bush far outdistanced even Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader in hiding; and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who is scheduled for execution.”

If none of these particular items are of interest, consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

Today: Arlen Specter says he’ll talk to Ahmadinejad.
Tomorrow: Bush gang places a phone call to Specter. Specter completely contradicts his statement today and says he would never speak to Ahmadinejad. He claims to be “misquoted.”

Spare me.

  • I too am really saddened to see that Billmon has called it quits. I’ve always prized reading his posts for their intelligence, analytical brilliance and damn witty writing style. I know I’m one of many who will miss him, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, I guess.

    At least I still can savor the greatness of CB’s site! Please don’t go anywhere soon CB, unless one of the dems running for pres snaps you up as a paid blogger! (Not that I think that will happen, I’m just sayin…)

  • “Multi-millionaire candidate to focus on poverty in America.” -MSNBC

    Does JRS Jr work there? That’s the same comment he echoed earlier. Damn they got those talkin’ points out there early.

  • Damn shame about Billmon. He was easily the best solo blogger out there. He and Bartcop are the only major bloggers out there who still blogroll me after I switched to local blogging. I urge all bloggers who are thinking about fading away with Billmon to join me in local blogging instead. It’s time to start blogging about your aldermen, commissioners, councilors, clerks, and mayors! Clean up your own backyard and pave the way for the next generation of Democratic leadership!

  • Someone saw John Galt talking to Billmon just before he quit. I suspect there will be a shakeout of political bloggers until the Presidential race heats up next year. Steve will probably be either a magazine blogger or a candidate’s staff member by the end of 2007.

  • MSNBC ran an on-screen caption during coverage of the kick-off: “Multi-millionaire candidate to focus on poverty in America.”

    […] a new AP poll asked Americans to name the villains and heroes of the year. Oddly enough, Bush topped both lists. “Bush won the villain sweepstakes by a landslide,[…]

    Nobody’s perfect 🙂 MSNBC gets a bigger audience/has bigger impact than CB (I assume), so has a bigger responsibility to remain impartial. But the two snippets share a certain touch of, I don’t know… Manipulative selectivity?

    Actually, I wasn’t at all surprised that Bush topped the list of villains, so belaboring that point was just so much “yada yada”. What’s interesting — to me, at any rate — is that he *also* topped the list of heroes and I’d like to have seen the reasons for that. I suppose, to some people he may still be a hero. But, to so many, that he tops the hero list?!?!? Is it because we have so few people we can respect? Is it because we have so many halfwit respondents? Who were the other heroes he beat out, the way he beat OBL and Saddam?

  • Nixon’s White House, immediately before he announced he would resign the presidency…. I’m kind of amazed to see him so … relaxed.

    Watch it again. All that forced jocularity I thought made the Dick look pretty limp. The transparent bravado was as thin and brittle as it could possibly be without shattering right in front of NBC, CBS, and ABC. I don’t mean it as an insult, but something about Nixon in those final days reminds me so much of Sadaam Hussein.

  • I’m hoping that Billmon meant “that’s all for this year”, but it doesn’t look that way. His way of putting current events into a historical context will be sorely missed. I encourage everyone to email him and ask him not to hang it up.

  • ok – who’s running or gonna run for President who ISN’T a multi-millionaire? And if any of them dare to address the issue of poverty in America will MSNBC run it the same way?

    Gotta wonder – what’s their motivation?

  • Nixon’s Jocularity shouldn’t be that alarming —

    1) It’s human nature to attempt to “liven” up any somber situation, especially when the occassion involves eating crow.

    2) There’s an accusation or two – in Ford’s memoirs – that prior to Nixon’s reignation, Ford agreed to pardon Nixon if Nixon would resign. I forget the specifics; it wa son Democracy Now! yesterday.

  • The tape of Nixon reminds us that as far as villains go, we had more substantive ones thirty years ago. Bush as a “villain”? He lacks the depth for it.

  • “Does JRS Jr work there? That’s the same comment he echoed earlier.”

    Nope… I just happened to notice the irony of a multi, multi millionaire primarily running on a populist platform… I guess a few others did too.

  • I hate to say it, but it looks like Billmon has hung up the keyboard for the last time.

    Damn … you know, the guy wrote longer posts than even I used to, yet I was hooked on every single word. The guy had amazing insight, was a terrific writer, and made me laugh. Can’t ask a blogger for much more than that.

    Anyone know his e-mail addy? I’d love to send him a note of thanks. You can send it to me at tke919 (at) any of the major free providers (Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail).

    I urge all bloggers who are thinking about fading away with Billmon to join me in local blogging instead. It’s time to start blogging about your aldermen, commissioners, councilors, clerks, and mayors! Clean up your own backyard and pave the way for the next generation of Democratic leadership!
    –autoegocrat at #4

    I thought about quitting, then re-uped my site for three months. Going more local is something I’m considering. There are quite a few Kansas City-area bloggers, but not many who do it well.

    Not sayin’ that I could. Just sayin’ …

    🙂

  • Nope… I just happened to notice the irony of a multi, multi millionaire primarily running on a populist platform… I guess a few others did too.

    Please explain – how is this ironic?

  • “Please explain – how is this ironic?” – Rian Mueller

    Rich people aren’t supposed to care about poor people. Even if the rich person used to be poor himself. It upsets Republican’ts to think that anyone but middle-class liberals, hyper-rich billionaires (Gates for instance) or the poor themselves actually care about the poor.

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