Congrats to TNC, for being one of Times Blogs of the Year.
Looks like DougJ and I are going to have to step up the personal attacks on Mark Halperin and Joe Klein in order to get noticed.
by John Cole| 63 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
Congrats to TNC, for being one of Times Blogs of the Year.
Looks like DougJ and I are going to have to step up the personal attacks on Mark Halperin and Joe Klein in order to get noticed.
Comments are closed.
arguingwithsignposts
Good for him, but I personally never understood the big deal about The Big Picture.
And ugh, Weigel.
ETA: and I haven’t read most of the blogs on the list, with the exception of AllThingsD and Consumerist.
JPL
Well at least you weren’t on the list of blogs we could do without.
BGinCHI
Um, the piece is written by “Harry McCracken.”
I guess Ben Dover and Amanda Hugginkiss were on assignment?
Disgruntled Lurker
Well, I’ve only ever read one of the blogs on the list (fivethirtyeight.com). The rest I had never heard of.
On the other hand, Dr. Orly Taitz Esquire has a blog??? This is the best news I heard all day.
dogwood
Glad to see the good guys get recognized once in awhile. Lots of great bloggers out there, but Coates is exceptional. Definitely someone I’d “like to have a beer with.”
arguingwithsignposts
@BGinCHI: Heywood Jablomey has been promoted to editor.
arguingwithsignposts
I also have to add that I don’t read Coates or Fallows unless somebody here links to something they wrote. And until the Atlantic fires that idiot who claims to know jack shit about business or economics, that will be the way it has to be.
Michael Finn
I heard they were cannibals that ate exclusively on liberals after trapping them with talk of being moderates.
BGinCHI
@arguingwithsignposts: Why do I never get tired of this game?
Because I’m infantile, that’s why.
Turgidson
You’re a regular read for Krugman. That’s pretty good too.
Omnes Omnibus
@BGinCHI: Photos by I.P. Daley?
jl
Congratulation to Ta Nehisi Coates, who writes a great blog.
And Cole forgot to brag that Balloon Juice did not make the ‘blogs we can do without’ list, which is a small victory of sorts.
Doom is inevitable, though. The signs are even here. I see a blog called Listverse made the list of best blogs. If the Listverse mentions this best blog list, it will have to list the list of best blogs, which lists the Listverse. The blogosphere will be pulled down into a self referential circle, starting the Mayan Apocalypse, for reals.
Mike Kay (True Grit)
This so called scandal is the best thing that could have happened to Weinerish.
His upcoming resignation frees him to primary Obama. And with the unlimited resources of the blogosphere behind him, he’s a cinch to win the nomination.
Doug Harlan J
@Mike Kay (True Grit):
Over the top, but funny.
BGinCHI
@Mike Kay (True Grit): Wow, you just get funnier and funnier. I don’t think there’s any limit to your brilliance.
Rhoda
In other news: House Republicans are trying to privatize Social Security as we focus on Wiener’s Schlong.
h/t Digby
House Republicans propose Social Security opt-out
By Pete Kasperowicz – 06/06/11 04:25 PM ET
House Republicans on Friday introduced legislation that would allow workers to partially opt out of Social Security immediately, and fully opt out after 15 years.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, and several other Republicans introduced the Savings Account for Every American (SAFE) Act. Under the bill, workers would immediately have 6.2 percent of their wages sent to a “SAFE” account each year.
That would take the place of the 6.2 percent the workers now contributed to Social Security.
Another 6.2% is sent to Social Security by employers. Under the Sessions bill, employers would continue to make this matching contribution to Social Security, but after 15 years, employers could also send that amount to the employee’s SAFE account.
Sessions said this transition to a private retirement savings option is needed because Social Security last year began paying out more money than it took in.
“Our nation’s Social Security Trust Fund is depleting at an alarming rate, and failure to implement immediate reforms endangers the ability of Americans to plan for their retirement with the options and certainty they deserve,” Sessions said. “To simply maintain the status quo would weaken American competitiveness by adding more unsustainable debt and insolvent entitlements to our economy when we can least afford it.”
Under the bill, employees would be able to make tax free contributions to their SAFE account, and take tax-free distributions at retirement age. The bill would also allow employees to stay with the Social Security program if they wish.
Other sponsors of the bill are Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Dan Burton (R-Ind.), Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike Kay (True Grit): You really are kind of a dick, aren’t you?
Mike in NC
Please, please, please!
Linda Featheringill
@Mike Kay (True Grit):
His upcoming resignation:
He says he isn’t going to resign. And why should he? Most people don’t care. And I suspect that his constituents REALLY don’t care.
If he likes his job, he’ll probably get to keep it.
And if he is more [in]famous now, maybe more of the country will listen to him. They say that sex sells.
PurpleGirl
@Rhoda: Re: Social Security paying out more than it took in.
Well, maybe if they did something to get the millions of us not working working again, we’d be paying those payroll taxes again. Stupid gits.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: Kind of?
@Rhoda: Oh PLEASE go down that road again. Please feel free to continue to fuck the old folks and lose what is left of your main voting base until you’re distilled down to your final 27& of party purity. Then FREEDUMB!!
jibeaux
Ta-Nehisi is great. Thoughtful, interesting, comfortable with himself.
Linda Featheringill
@Rhoda:
You can do that now with a Roth IRA. Also, SS benefits are tax exempt [although they are counted as income].
What the bill would do is take a good hunk of the money now going to Social Security and divert it to The Nice People on Wall Street.
It would also play havoc with current beneficiaries of SS, since current payouts are financed by the current contributions.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: I am practicing my understatement. How am I doing?
JPL
Boston Globe’s The Big Picture is on the list. Their display of pictures on current events is amazing and awe provoking.
Turgidson
@Linda Featheringill:
ZOMG PONZI SCHEME! TYRANNY!!
lamh34
@Linda Featheringill: I think he’s be ok if he can stay off tv or interviews. weiner was a fine congressman, but he was a bit of a media whore before. he never met a mic he didn’t like which was fine before, but right about now, he should practice not speaking except on policy matters.
btw, also, does anyone think it will be worse for Weiner if BreibARSE releases what some claims are more “iilicit” photos of Weiner.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: Is this in relation to the potential new gig?
Also it was quite nicely done, though I was this close to charting it up to Wisconsin nice and moving on.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Disgruntled Lurker:
DO NOT GO THERE, Orly has more malware and viruses than your average porn surfing 13 year old with no anti virus software. It is literally computer death on a stick, trust me, I clicked a twitter link (which I did not know was a link to her site) and my puter had to go in for cleansing for three days.
arguingwithsignposts
@Rhoda: They really are trying to deliver a Democratic majority for the next century, aren’t they?
ETA: of course, they’ll all vote for it and then whine to the media if the democrats decide to point out the fact that they’re trying to kill Social Security..
lamh34
@jibeaux:
I like TNC’s blog for that reason he is seems very thoughful and aware that even though he can be long-winded, sometimes brevity is all you need. Case in point, here is TNC’s post on Weingergate:
Anthony Weiner Presser
Short and sweet…no gloating involved…lol.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Mike in NC: Heh, my sentiments exactly. Even if you don’t get an award, you’re doing a grand public service. I think with Broder dead, Klein may be the Villagers’ Villager. Maybe he and BoBo could share the job, in a bipartisan way.
I caught a few minutes of Tweety. He wants Weiner’s scalp. Even after his designated Republican tried to say all Democrats stay in office after sex scandals, and Steve McMahon slapped that down with Vitter and Ensign (no time to mention Giuiliani, Vitter and Ensign, and didn’t Larry Craig run out the clock? To say nothing of the cover up of Mark Foley), Tweety’s only point of reference was Spitzer, who per Tweety is shameless and has no honor.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: No, for potential new gigs, one must talk up one’s accomplishments, skills and such like. As a result, I feel compelled to go the other way during non-job search times. FWIW Mme Omnibus is now applying for a leave of absence from her PhD program on the advice of everyone associated with it. Leaves doors open to return.
ETA: I am considering pursuing a management consulting gig that some folks contacted me about. We’ll see.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
@arguingwithsignposts:
Jack Shit is the publisher?
@Rhoda:
the wienerschlongs were the couple in the bungalow across the street, they liked their privacy.
YellowJournalism
Hugh Jazz is the assignment editor.
Suffern ACE
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Criminies. Does anyone at the top of the press corps remember WHY Spitzer had to resign so suddenly? The scandal didn’t drag on for weeks, or days, but it seemed minutes. In Tweety’s mind is there no difference between a federal criminal case and the House Ethics committee? It wasn’t the sex that did him in. Just like McGreevy didn’t resign because he was gay.
If they all resigned when they had extra-marital sex, we wouldn’t have many men run for office.
Yutsano
@YellowJournalism: Bit of a reach but me likey!
Davis X. Machina
@Linda Featheringill:
It’s the SS money. All that money. Sitting there. Collected by compulsory process. From everyone, nearly. Just sitting there.
Collecting no ‘management fees’. Earning no sales commissions. Just sitting there.
It has driven a generation mad, in the FIRE community, and among the politicians they have purchased, like the legend of El Dorado.
Aguirre goes to Wall Street.
Suffern ACE
@Turgidson: Yep. Pretty much blew the deficit the last time it was proposed and will blow the deficit this time as well, unless there is a fairly major lowering of the benefits paid to current retirees in the “nearer than anyone who is honest will admit” term.
Linda Featheringill
@Davis X. Machina:
:-)
Mike Kay (True Grit)
HA!
Weinergate drowned out Santorum’s presidential announcement.
Ghanima Atreides
No, you just have to sukk Weigel’s and Douthat’s cocks like TNC does.
El Cid
Michio Kaku: “We nearly lost northern Japan“.
Because there were indeed 3 meltdowns, and except for seawater cooling, it would have been “3 separate Chernobyls”. This was finally admitted by the Japanese government last week. I don’t remember this as a big headline, but, you know, Weiner.
The text below is from the post at The Shopping Blog, but much of it is drawn from Kaku’s direct quotes.
I like that bit about TEPCO apparently being interested in risking it, because, you know, fuck Chernobyl, this shit is money.
However, no corporation would ever risk such vast public harm because that would be bad for its profits because people would stop buying their products so there’s no need for all this heavy-handed government intervention.
Via the Great Evil Pumpkin. Video there too.
El Cid
@Davis X. Machina: Why, Social Security is a pyramid scheme!
We need to do something safe, stable, and secure with that money, like let people put it in Wall Street!
Joel
@Disgruntled Lurker: Consumerist is a good one to read.
RossInDetroit
@Linda Featheringill:
They will never stop trying to do that. Never.
And people will never understand that SS is not a pile of their dollar bills sitting on a shelf in a vault for them to spend when they reach 65.
Villago Delenda Est
@Davis X. Machina:
Not being churned and fees for doing so being siphoned off into Caymans Islands bank accounts for the benefit of the parasites of Wall Street.
Pretty much how the Teamsters’ pension fund was just sitting there. Not being siphoned off for the benefit of the Five Families.
It’s a crying shame.
Linda Featheringill
Social Security:
We were running surpluses for a long time, thanks largely to the workers/contributors in the Baby Boom group.
They are all younger than I am but I appreciate their efforts, just the same.
Suffern ACE
@RossInDetroit: Heck, Goerge Baily explains to them each Christmas that their money doesn’t sit in the vault of the Building & Loan and they still don’t understand why the FDIC was necessary.
El Cid
This is a very good idea.
So far only airing in the UK from the BBC, I’m sure it will be coming here pretty soon because it seems like all the incidents take place here. More:
Svensker
@BGinCHI:
Ha ha, me too.
srv
RIP Andrew Gold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCOS2vOxuXE
Svensker
@El Cid:
Wow.
D-Chance.
Well, Cole, from the article…
He (Neshi) is, above all, a thoughtful guy with diverse interests. You could pay the same compliment to the commenters on his posts, who refuse to live up to the stereotype of blog responders as blathering blowhards.
There go YOUR chances.
Our work is done.
You’re welcome.
MikeBoyScout
In other stupid news, Bloomberg warns us tonight that the Invisible Bond Vigilantes have frequently used their cloak of Invisibility to strike the unwary in
Low Yields on Treasury Debt No Guarantee Financial Crisis Won’t Hit U.S.
I looked on the Intertubes for the related story Rapture Not Arriving As Predicted No Guarantee Won’t Hit Soon, but the Invisible Rapture Vigilantes apparently don’t have the Force with them.
Fluffy
@El Cid:
The Japanese government forced the utility company to flood the reactors; the company wanted to save its investment. But if they hadn’t flooded the reactors with seawater, there would have been three giant explosions—he calls it “three Chernobyls” and northern Japan would have been lost.
It sounds like the “neighboring countries” owe the government of Japan a big fat thank you actually. Aerosolizing that high level radioactivity would have been far worse than getting it in the sea, where the prevailing offshore current brings it NE & away from them.
joel hanes
Aren’t the TIME editors the same idiots who crowned the Powerline Blog a couple years back?
If so, why does anyone take their opinion at all seriously?
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@Davis X. Machina:
‘zactly this. This is the reason there are no private pensions any more. The guys in the suits on the top floor just looked at that pile of money and thought it was all going to waste. So they grabbed it and wasted it and now everyone hates the public employees because theirs hasn’t been stolen and wasted yet.
Give ’em time, though, give ’em time.
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
Not to put too fine a point on it, but you’ll note that Time also mentioned us TNC commenters. Ahem. (And so did the editorial director of the Atlantic when he tweeted about TNC’s Time nod. Ahem, again).
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
@D-Chance.: Ah, yes. I did just note that the commenters were noted – I see that’s been covered.
So I’ll just say this: His first name is Ta-Nehisi, his last name is Coates.
But it’s long been established that if no one gets his name wrong and/or mocks it in the course of a day, the terrorists win. So it’s all good.
Josh
Emily, I thought Coates had, in response to a wingnut troll calling him “the Senior Editor with a funny name,” said, “When you make fun of my name, the terrorists win.” Not the reverse.
And then a contrarian member of the horde said, “What’s that, Ta-Nehisi Jackets?”
Perfect Tommy
RSA finally comes clean: SecurID is compromised
arstechnica.com
Ghanima Atreides
@Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: /sigh
I usta be a TNC commenter.
I got banned at least twice for critting Douthat and Weigel.
TNC is utterly fooled by the libertarian reacharound.
He does write beautifully though.
:)