“Dow 36000”, 2 million tea baggers, “The 5000 Year Leap”…what is it with wingers and big numbers?
Archives for 2009
Wired for Republican control
This is telling: the David Bradley vanity project ranks the “50 most influential political commentators”. Of the first 13, there are 9 conservatives, two liberals, and two other (Tom Friedman and David Broder).
I don’t need to tell you that this is at a time when there is a Democratic president and Republican representation in Congress is at a 40 year low.
Update. I probably shouldn’t be shooting the messenger. For all I know, this list is accurate.
Update update. Michael Calderone points out that it’s about the same as another similar recent list.
The top spots stack up nicely with Mediaite’s power grid, with break things down a bit more over several lists.There, Krugman is number one among columnists with Limbaugh atop the radio host list.
Peak Bipartisanship
We got your bipartisanship right here. Everyone hates the Baucus plan, which appears to be little more than an opportunity to revitalize the Republican party in the eyes of younger voters and the middle class. Basically, your options in American politics right now are evil and stupid (R) or spineless and stupid (D).
You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie Baucus.
On the upside, Humana, Wellpoint, and United Health group are getting a nice little boost in their stock price today. No one could have predicted…
Investigate Away
Good.
The House ethics committee revealed Wednesday it is investigating allegations involving three lawmakers in unrelated incidents.
The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, commonly known as the ethics panel, issued separate statements Wednesday identifying inquiries into Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.).
A statement issued by the ethics committee said each of the investigations is ongoing, but the panel will defer its efforts in Jackson’s case in light of an ongoing Justice Department inquiry.
Granted, ethics investigations can waste time and mistakenly soil reputations. That sucks for people who have to deal with stupid or malicious inquiries. As bad as that may be, and the Bush DOJ showed that it can get pretty bad, in my opinion the other extreme is far worse. IMO no Republican era initiative did more harm than the jihad against oversight. Without that none of the rest would have been imaginable.
The Federalist Papers show that America’s founders were not fools. The writers of the Constitution took for granted that good people face terrible temptations that can lead them to places just as harmful as original sins like malice or greed. Every tic of the pendulum back towards unbiased and legally binding oversight, whether it starts with Democrats or Republicans, strikes me as a positive sign.
No thugs in our house
Even for Dave Dan Riehl, this is really stupid:
Riding out of DC on the Metro, 9/12, there were some folks from South Dakota and also another Mid-West state I can’t recall in the same Metro car. We were talking, nothing special, really – politics, of course.
In the back were maybe ten or so black kids taking up that section of the car. There was no confrontation, just one or two of them talking loudly enough to make sure they’d be heard.
Without resorting to the poor diction it was along the lines of, these are the people who think Obama is the anti-Christ. That McCain he wasn’t chit. Obama’s going to be president as long as he wants, so these people better get used to it, etc. It went on but not really to a level that was so loud, or so confrontational that it needed to be addressed.
We just ignored them without much trouble at all.
Yeah, they were technically thugs. But the reality was they were still wannabes really, pretty young, not that big, or many. And if the several adults there for 9/12 actually needed to do something about it, the kids wouldn’t have lasted very long.
So let me get this straight: talking loudly about how Obama will be allowed to serve out his term and seek re-election makes you a thug. Carrying pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache, bringing guns to town halls, and contemplating beating up children on the subway makes you a patriot.
Have I got that right?
(h/t Thers)
Update. Whoops, I see this is what John just posted on. I got distracted by the video in the post and didn’t notice. Sorry.
Do I Get To Choose My Team?
Do we get to pick sides in the coming race war, or are teams automatically assigned by race? Or will there be room for trades:
| Chappelle’s Show | ||||
| The Racial Draft | ||||
|
||||
I honestly don’t understand why Sullivan does not realize that no, they do not care what they are doing. This has been going on for years, and with Obama, ever since he announced. This is what the Mulsim nonsense, the birther nonsense, the hard-working white Americans stuff, and the chants of “I want my country back” are all about. As Tim noted, “Barack Obama stripped millions of Americans of their right to not have a black President.”
Tech Help
I need to convert .mts files to a format that will be recognized by Final Cut Express 3.5.1 so I can edit the films.
If this is not possible, what software for the mac should I look at that will allow me to edit .mts files, or what software do I need to purchase to convert the files to a format that can be edited.
I can import the .mts files into Imovie, but am unsure how to convert them to a format recognized by Final Cut.