Saturday, December 20, 2008
Clash of the Dynasties
"Kennedy Brand Leaves Cuomo Feeling Stymied," reads a heading on the New York Times website right now. Too bad for Andrew, his daddy never quite made the presidency.
Friday, December 19, 2008
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em...or at least make the next guy take the flack
The New York Times reports on Bush's auto bailout today:
"The loan package announced by the president includes requirements that are roughly identical to those in that bill, which was approved by the House."
With his approval rating in the tank, Bush takes on a new strategy: do what the Democrats do. In the words of the president himself, “These are not ordinary circumstances.” But perhaps I jump to quickly to this analysis. Bush's decision may not mark concurrence with the House Dems. He may just want to dodge the decision altogether. Bush's auto-bailout sure puts Obama in a tough place. Two months after his inauguration, Obama will have to choose to deliver one of two certain-to-be-unpopular lines. He''ll either say (and he'll surely say it with much more eloquence), "The auto companies have got their act together, we must now lend them more money" (Yeah, right) or "Let 'em fail" (More job cuts?). It's a hard call to make, and by siding with the House Dems, Bush doesn't have to.
"The loan package announced by the president includes requirements that are roughly identical to those in that bill, which was approved by the House."
With his approval rating in the tank, Bush takes on a new strategy: do what the Democrats do. In the words of the president himself, “These are not ordinary circumstances.” But perhaps I jump to quickly to this analysis. Bush's decision may not mark concurrence with the House Dems. He may just want to dodge the decision altogether. Bush's auto-bailout sure puts Obama in a tough place. Two months after his inauguration, Obama will have to choose to deliver one of two certain-to-be-unpopular lines. He''ll either say (and he'll surely say it with much more eloquence), "The auto companies have got their act together, we must now lend them more money" (Yeah, right) or "Let 'em fail" (More job cuts?). It's a hard call to make, and by siding with the House Dems, Bush doesn't have to.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
spiders
Science Daily reports on the sexual habits of redback spiders:
"Courtship between redbacks lasts an average of 50 minutes when males are competing and 4.5 hours for single, non-competing males. Copulation lasts from 6 to 31 minutes, and males are usually injured or killed during the process."
Sedgwickian. Also, the researchers found that smaller spiders make better lovers.
"Courtship between redbacks lasts an average of 50 minutes when males are competing and 4.5 hours for single, non-competing males. Copulation lasts from 6 to 31 minutes, and males are usually injured or killed during the process."
Sedgwickian. Also, the researchers found that smaller spiders make better lovers.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Barack Obama ruined my life...
It's 3:30 AM on November 11, 2008. It's supposed to be over. But I find myself still reloading the likes of FiveThirtyEight, Politico and Talking Points Memo. I have things I should be doing that I'm not. I don't need to be so well-informed about the number of ballots counted in the Minnesota Senate race.
For a year at least I have plugged in and watched the polls. I hoped that November 5th would dawn a new day, that I would go out into the sunlight to join my brothers and sisters, the we we had been waiting for, and celebrate the change we brought. I thought I would crawl out of this coffee-stained hovel and check my mail for the first time this month. I thought I would close this many-tabbed browser, click off this laptop, and find on my desk a book. Yes, we can! Yes, we can! But, no, we can't.
Now, it's 4:30 AM. I've taken an hour to write this post because David Remnick wrote a piece on race in the Obama campaign. I give up. You win, Barack Obama, you win.
And so I join the commentariat.
For a year at least I have plugged in and watched the polls. I hoped that November 5th would dawn a new day, that I would go out into the sunlight to join my brothers and sisters, the we we had been waiting for, and celebrate the change we brought. I thought I would crawl out of this coffee-stained hovel and check my mail for the first time this month. I thought I would close this many-tabbed browser, click off this laptop, and find on my desk a book. Yes, we can! Yes, we can! But, no, we can't.
Now, it's 4:30 AM. I've taken an hour to write this post because David Remnick wrote a piece on race in the Obama campaign. I give up. You win, Barack Obama, you win.
And so I join the commentariat.
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