Friday’s Mini-Report

November 10, 2006

Today’s edition of quick hits.

* It amazes me that some conservatives consider Sen.-elect Jon Tester (D-Mont.) an example of a “conservative” Democrat winning this year. Given Tester’s beliefs and background, I wish every Dem were this “conservative.”

* From what I hear, people in the publishing world expected Barack Obama’s new book, “The Audacity of Hope,” to do well, but not so well that it would debut at the top of the New York Times bestseller list.

* MSNBC posed the following question to its online visitors today: “Do you believe President Bush’s actions justify impeachment?” The last I looked, about 340,000 people had voted, and a whopping 87% said, “Yes between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.”

* It may seem like procedural minutiae, but will Sen. Joe Lieberman, at the start of the next Congress, be an actual Democrat or an independent who caucuses with the Democrats? According to Lieberman spokesman Dan Gerstein, he’ll be a literal Democrat. I’m still not sure whether to put (I) or (D) after his name.

* I’m delighted that voters were able to help boost our public image around the world a little bit this week.

* The estimable Molly Ivins, working through her third recurrence of the breast cancer she has been battling since 1999, continues to be a national treasure.

* Every time I see something in print arguing that Newt Gingrich is considered a top presidential contender for 2008, I snicker, just a little bit.

* Krugman was really good today, and my friend Mark seems to have liberated just about all of it. (Ain’t fair use grand…)

* I plan to do some more work on this next week, but Matt Corley has a wrap-up on the Republicans’ races for leadership posts in the House and Senate.

* Remember “Jesus Camp”? Thankfully, it’s being shut down. (thanks to D.K. for the heads-up)

* The guy who leaked the Mark Foley info has kept a very low profile, but he’s starting to come forward and explain his motivations.

* And via TP, it appears former British Ministry of Defense chief Nick Pope wants people to know that that Earth “could be attacked by extraterrestrials at any time.” Good to know.

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

You mean Newt?
(from Wikipedia)

Newts are small, usually bright-coloured semiaquatic salamanders of North America, Europe and North Asia, distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of the body.

Newts have the ability to regenerate limbs, eyes and spinal cords… One theory is that the de-differentiated cells are related to tumour cells since chemicals which produce tumours in other animals will produce additional limbs in newts.

Many newts produce toxins in their skin secretions as a defense mechanism against predators…

Theoretically it is safe to handle newts provided one thoroughly washes one’s hands.

  • And via TP, it appears former British Ministry of Defense chief Nick Pope wants people to know that that Earth “could be attacked by extraterrestrials at any time.”

    Makes more sense than anything that religion has come up with!

    Ran across this piece again. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Prophecy is where you find it:

    Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’
    January 17, 2001 | Issue 37•01

    WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that “our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over.”

    President-elect Bush vows that “together, we can put the triumphs of the recent past behind us.”
    “My fellow Americans,” Bush said, “at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us.”

    Bush swore to do “everything in [his] power” to undo the damage wrought by Clinton’s two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.

    During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

    “You better believe we’re going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration,” said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. “Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?”
    [deletia]

    “We as a people must stand united, banding together to tear this nation in two,” Bush said. “Much work lies ahead of us: The gap between the rich and the poor may be wide, be there’s much more widening left to do. We must squander our nation’s hard-won budget surplus on tax breaks for the wealthiest 15 percent. And, on the foreign front, we must find an enemy and defeat it.”

    “The insanity is over,” Bush said. “After a long, dark night of peace and stability, the sun is finally rising again over America. We look forward to a bright new dawn not seen since the glory days of my dad.”

    The Onion.

  • The 87% for impeachment is refreshing news. We certainly have enough bases for the immediate impeachment and conviction of both Cheney and Bush and thus, under the Presidential Succession Law of 1947, ushering in the first woman president in US history, Speaker Pelosi. That also might make other potential candidates think twice about their own run for the office in ’08 (and ’12).

    As for Lieberman, I think he deserves to retain all the seniority he’s acquired as a declared Independent.

  • Here’s something I don’t get.

    Ken Mehlman kept insisting that he had no control, no veto, no ability to affect dirty politics propogated by his own party.

    Yet, as reported by the NYTimes:

    The Republican National Committee had sought before Election Day to send a mailing into Mr. Leach’s Iowa district to attack his opponent’s position on same-sex marriage.

    Mr. Leach recoiled at the mailing and called Mr. Mehlman, saying he would caucus with the Democrats if Mr. Mehlman did not withdraw it.

    “I would rather lose running an uplifting race than prevail by finger-pointing,” Mr. Leach said.

    So, could Mehlman only be reached by a moderate’s threat to abandon the party? What am I missing here?

  • Actually, Times Select content has been free this week but I grabbed Krugman out of habit. Until I get a letter saying otherwise I figure my Select subscription lets me share the best of Krugman, Herbert, Rich and Dowd.

    And if Friedman ever writes anything worth “excerpting,” I will.

  • We should spend more time honoring journalists like Molly Ivins and a whole lot less time on egotistical politicians.

  • Wow, 87%.

    However, according to the MSNBC College Football fan poll for this week, there’s no love going to my Huskers.

    So I’m taking anything the MSNBC polls say with a huge grain of salt.

    Go Big Red

  • I wish the newly-elected Democratic-majority House and Senate well in restoring true democracy to our shores and by being the political party of constructive ideas and achievements to benefit average Americans.

  • If the Democratic Party becomes(remains?) a centrist party then thugs have no where to go but hard right. That leaves the country with a moderate party and a extreme right party. The democrats may succeed in such a situation but will the lower economic half of the country? Many people in the country have to be workaholics just to sustain the illusion of participating in the American dream. Pardon me if I dont think thats right in the richest country on earth.

    The Democratic Party if it wants adhere to its name if not to its glorious heritage of the mid-20th century should work hard for reform of campaign funding, campaign advertising, media fairness and honesty, the electoral college, lobbying, vote counting procedures,….

    The country needs at least significant left, center, and right parties. It’s not a coincidence that the US lags behind the rest of the first world on many significant parameters of quality of life. A 2 party system is a manichaean paradigm. Its ironic that the Democratic Party correctly mocks the Republican Party for its black-white perceptions and yet accepts this binary system.

    Only by implementing such reforms can we break out of this box. The last few years should be indicative of the vulnerability of that system. Clinton’s move to the right may very well have precipitated the rise of the (hopefully) aberrational Bush.

  • I gotta say that the closing of Jesus Camp is sort of funny. The ilk that sent their kids to and ran that camp, like to portray themselves as martyrs – but run at the first sign of sunlight.

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