Here are a few things we missed over the last couple of days:
* The DCCC has been throwing big money at the special election to replace Weiner in NY-9, a race where the anti-Muslim rhetoric ran so hot earlier this year that a local blogger characterized it as a “race for the Knesset”. Recent polls are tight, and even though the real-world consequences of a Republican upset in this district are nil (the district is being redistricted out of existence), an upset in New York will get a lot of press.
* The founder of Project Gutenberg has died. He started the project by typing the Declaration of Independence into a computer in 1971, and its grown to contain 36,000 books that are out of copyright. If you have any kind of e-reader and have read a classic on it, you’ve benefited from the work of this group.
* Congress passed a new patent bill that one smart commentator characterizes as “mostly useless”. If you haven’t listened to the This American Life broadcast about our broken patent system, it’s worth some attention.
* In the Department of Who Gives a Shit, the first prima donna out the door of the SuperCommittee may be John Kyl, who’s already threatening to quit. If you’re puzzling over why he would do something that stupid, since he’d just be replaced by some other Senator gagging for the spotlight, wonder no more: he got an extensive fluff piece in Politico for his trouble.
I’ll make this an open thread. Add in anything else you think is worth mentioning.
Southern Beale
David Frum calls Obama a cunning linguist.
Really.
And I posted this down thread but I love me some Al Franken this morning. He calls out Heritage Foundation fellow Hans von Spakovsky for overlooking a crucial statistic when he made his case for Voter ID laws … and wonders if he’s stupid, evil or both?
Omnes Omnibus
@Southern Beale: Frum is a comparatively sane rightie. Of course, he is still a rightie and that is pretty evident in his take on the speech. As far as Hans von Spakovsky goes, I say evil, pure and simple.
WereBear
For those looking for transcripts of the President’s speech:
The American Jobs Bill speech
From Talking Points Memo
I think the bill is named brilliantly. Finally.
One thing that geeky smart people forget is how people who are not geeky smart people think. It’s like getting tech support from someone who doesn’t speak Newbie. I’ve coached people who need help putting the floppy disk in the drive properly.
Some have complained that the headlines are “Bill mostly tax cuts” but to me that highlights that Republican opposition will look even more stupid…
Omnes Omnibus
@WereBear: I agree about the name of the bill. It sets up these kinds of statements, headlines, etc.:
What is the Pres. doing about jobs?
He proposed a jobs bill.
[Insert Republic legislator here] voted against the jobs bill.
[Insert Democratic legislator here] voted for the jobs bill
(From Democratic candidates) [Insert Republican here] doesn’t care about jobs; he voted against the jobs bill. Elect me and I will vote for jobs.
And on and on…
PurpleGirl
But… but… but, isn’t patent reform supposed to help create jobs?
DZ
Seaking of e-readers, I am in the market for one. Does anyone have a recommendation? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
WereBear
@DZ: I have the Kindle app on my iPod touch; love it. Amazon has the best selection of books; and people who have the actual Kindle love it more each upgrade.
However the Nook has its fans. And there’s the more basic e-readers… so here’s a nice summing up:
e-readers roundup
Frankensteinbeck
@Omnes Omnibus:
It’s very worth keeping in mind that Republicans have transitioned from being assholes to being insane.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Omnes Omnibus:
Now when a Repub congresscritter inevitably says “Where’s the jobs?” or “What’s your plan from jobs?” when talking about Obama, the President can say he has proposed something and the Republicans fought or ran away from it.
I’m sure the right is working hard right now to find the ‘out’ they will use to blame the failure for passage on the President and Democrats. Initially, I expect the Repubs to claim that ‘it doesn’t go far enough in some respects and too far in others, therefore they can’t support it in it’s current form’.
Once Luntz tests his list of negative words for this plan on his guinea pigs then they will have the talking points distributed to them.
harlana
The cruelest form of torture ever devised.
Omnes Omnibus
@Odie Hugh Manatee: When you are explaining, you are losing. Isn’t that the dictum?
harlana
@Odie Hugh Manatee: whoa, you’re proposing using the bully pulpit there! yikes, whatever has happened to BJ?
debit
@WereBear: Ooooh, thanks! I’m in the market too so that link is very much appreciated.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@DZ: I am reading my first book on my iPad 2 and I love it. I’m reading a book about d-day and it has video’s embedded, really make for an interesting experience.
cleek
anyone wanna Name That Tune ?
Frankensteinbeck
@harlana:
No, he’s not. He’s proposing campaign tactics. The bully pulpit implies he can somehow affect congress or control the media long term. The GOP isn’t going to fall in line and vote for this bill, but now the official campaign season has started with a blow to the nuts.
DZ
@WereBear:
Thanks for that link and yoyr personal experience. Appreciate it.
contessakitty (AKA Karen)
I usually don’t watch the show but it was right after Maddow late at night so I watched the “Ed” show and although there were parts that he didn’t like, he said that Obama “hit it out of the ballpark” with his speech. Ed Schultz is the base isn’t he? If he was mostly happy then I think Obama gave a good speech. He hit the ball into the Republican’s back yard and since I didn’t see the speech, the snippets I did have showed Obama talking to the nation in simple but powerful terms. He or whoever wrote his speech learned something from the GOP: their words aim for the heart, not the head. Last night, so was Obama’s.
cleek
looks like Isikoff ate his Wheaties today. over at MSNBC.com, it actually says this on their front page right now:
criticizing Perry? yow!
debit
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Do you find the glossy screen a problem? My eyes are going downhill, which is why I’m looking at e-readers, and have heard that the Kindle’s screen is better for reading; no glare.
JCT
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): A few weeks ago my youngest niece (all of 5) showed me her favorite book on her mom’s iPad. My sister is still teasing me about my open-mouthed wonder at how cool it was — little snippets of video/animations surrounded by simple text that managed to embed very basic letter and spelling games. I am usually a bit of a luddite regarding whiz-bang technology and early childhood education, but this was not only engaging, but fun for both of us to do together, thus encouraging interaction.
And I travel a ton, at this point I don’t get on a plane without my iPad.
sb
@Southern Beale:
bemused
@Southern Beale:
Cunning linguist. I can’t stop laughing. You are very quick this early in the day or as my mother used to say, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
schlemizel - was Alwhite
@Omnes Omnibus:
Stop fighting you guys! Lets simply agree Von is TWO – – TWO nuts in one . . . he is stupid AND evil!
For those of you not old enough to remember the old Certs ads, sorry for the reference :)
Gin & Tonic
@contessakitty (AKA Karen):
He likes to think of himself as the base, but he’s just another TV/radio blowhard who makes a ton of money and thinks he lives among regular people. If he had to feed a family of four on an $8/hr job with no paid benefits, he’d scream uncle just as fast as any of them. Sorry.
And with that flame-bait, I’m off to work.
schlemizel - was Alwhite
@Omnes Omnibus:
I think it is more likely the Republicans will jack up the cost of the bill with useless tax breaks then have enough of them vote for it to pass. They will rely on the tiny portion of the bill that will actually create a job before next summer to provide negligible results and run against it as “another failed Obama give away” proving the the government can’t create jobs.
JPL
I’m so proud of my representative.
It must be difficult being such an ass.
link
PurpleGirl
@WereBear: Another thank you the link.
Omnes Omnibus
@schlemizel – was Alwhite: I think they are cynical enough to do that. I doubt they are smart enough.
Southern Beale
@JPL:
Sen. Lamar Alexander was similarly unimpressed, saying he doesn’t blame Obama for the sucky economy but he DOES blame him for making the economy worse.
What an ass. Lamar has been in the U.S. senate for almost 10 years and rubber stamped every tax cut & deregulation that Bush The Lesser put forward. I blame HIM for our sucky economy, actually.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@debit: I was telling my bride this morning how much I like it and how easy it is to read on. I’m 62 so my lamps are not what they used to be. Using the large font and sepia screen have made it really good for me.
barath
This is something I’ve noticed – This American Life does better investigative reporting than virtually any other program in the country – news or television – and they’re not even a news program.
Here are just a few recent examples:
On how gas drilling has turned Pennsylvania upside down.
On how job creation works.
On broken drug courts and sentencing.
On what money really is – fiction – and how that ties to what the Federal Reserve does.
And of course there are classics like The Giant Pool of Money from 2008 that everyone should have heard back then…
schlemizel - was Alwhite
@Omnes Omnibus:
Then you have not been paying attention to how they have acted over the last few years – its exactly what they did with the stimulus bill. It worked then and it will work this time.
SenyorDave
Lamar Alexander’s sum total contribution to this country is popularizing the use of the plaid shirt to show how a politician identifies with the working man.
Cat Lady
@contessakitty (AKA Karen):
Sometime during the last election cycle I think Ed Schultz said he wasn’t going to vote on principle. If that’s part of the Democratic base, then I’m Michelle Pfeiffer. Purity protest people who threaten not to vote are less than worthless and should be completely, utterly mocked and ignored, especially if they’re paid handsomely like Schultz.
Linda Featheringill
Yahoo has a nice headline about Obama and the jobs bill.
Right up front [above the fold?]. Nice.
schlemizel - was Alwhite
@Southern Beale:
Just read the story – GAD I love my Jr. Senator! This stuff is not that hard, these guys have large staffs whos job should be to make their boss look good and get to the truth. There are plenty of Dem Senators but it is Al that gets it done time and time again.
nellcote
Politico tweets the speach:
POLITICO
Like a getaway driver driver trying to shake a tail, Obama executed a hairpin turn from deficits to jobs Thursday: http://politi.co/onrCzb
brendancalling
I have received three emails in two days begging me to contribute to David Weprin’s campaign: he’s the personality free, machine politician chosen to replace Weiner. He’s trailing.
Funny thing is, 56% of weiner’s constituents wanted him to stay. A solid majority.
So did I give the DCCC any money? No. Instead, I gave some cabbage to Alan Grayson, who’s running again.
Samara Morgan
Meanwhile back in Iraq.
another friday of rage.
batgirl
@DZ: Sony has finally decided to become competitive in the ereader market. I have always thought their ereaders were great but they weren’t worth the extra money (quite a bit more than Kindle and Nook). Now, they are coming out in October with a upgrade of their 6″ e-reader at $149. Definitely take a look. If your public library offers ebook lending, this reader will also have an integrated app to borrow books. Kindle as well will be able to borrow books from your public library some time this fall.
I really don’t like the Nook if you compare it to the Kindle and Sony. I have a 5″ ereader that I love from a small company PocketBook called the PocketBook 360. It is very small and can fit in a large pocket but some people find the screen too small.
Samara Morgan
hahaha
the dinar traders are worried.
Great Force fortifies Green Zone ahead of protests.
see? Cole was wrong.
we CAN enforce a border…..with 50000 troops.
Omnes Omnibus
@schlemizel – was Alwhite: I think they have amped up the crazy so much that they won’t be able to get their people to vote for anything connected to Obama.
Kristine
@cleek: Apropos of nothing, thank you for the Pie Filter. Just, thank you.
Amir Khalid
The air in Kuala Lumpur and much of Malaysia is rather hazy again, due to forest fires burning out of control in Indonesia. It’s not near as bad as in 1997, when the Petronas Towers were not visible from my house just a couple of miles away, and the air smelled like smoke from burning garden refuse for months on end. But it is still definitely not good.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@harlana:
The same place it’s ever been. I know everyone is too poor to pay attention but…
:)
cleek
@Kristine:
my pleasure.
Linda Featheringill
@Amir Khalid:
Is a significant amount of forest being burnt off?
DZ
@Raven and batgirl:
Thanks for the further input. I am hoping to have something in my hands by 10-15 when I leave for France for 5 months (I have a small cottage in SW France). My French is OK, but I read very slowly. In English, I read very fast. So, an e-reader seems perfect.
Thanks again.
daveNYC
@DZ: My sister has the Nook and thinks it’s the best thing since sliced bread. I used hers for a weekend, but was kind of meh about it. I think I’m just a sucker for the range of capabilities that something like the iPad brings to the table, comes with a host of other issues, but it is damn sexy.
The Raven
Meantime, we have Krugman on the failure of the discipline of economics, link, a much more interesting presidential speech (Krugman is past president of the Eastern Economic Association) than the one given yesterday.
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Krugman R’lyeh wagn’nagl fhtagn!
Amir Khalid
@Linda Featheringill:
Here’s a report from Earthweek. And here’s a report from Bernama, Malaysia’s national wire service, on the impact here.
It’s a seasonal problem, with some years worse than others. The worst ever was 1997, when the forest clearing was concentrated in Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo); the Haze (it definitely deserved an initial cap) began in the middle of the year and didn’t clear until well into 1998. That time, air quality and visibility were like three times as bad as they are now.
THE
Interesting Pew survey about American attitudes to 9/11 and its aftermath; on the tenth anniversary of the 2001 attacks.
Mark S.
From the Politico article:
Great job, Lindsay, you just saved about $10 million dollars. Just $1.4999999 trillion to go!
I wasn’t too thrilled about the debt compromise, but it is fun watching these goopers squirm. “No taxes never!” colliding with the need to have 16 aircraft carriers to defend us from guys who sew bombs in their underwear.
Dennis SGMM
@WereBear:
Thank you for the link. I’m very nearsighted and now that presbyopia is being added to the mix it’s getting more and more difficult to read books printed in small fonts.
I’m going to plunk for a 6″ Kindle wi-fi because our home network is wireless and that will enable me to download more content than I’d ever be able to read. I hadn’t realized that e-readers had come down in price so much.
khead
It’s not broken. Really, it isn’t.
Moving to “first to file” is a bigger deal than the “one smart commentator” thinks it is though. Leahy got that part right.
Suffern ACE
@Cat Lady: He was also telling other people not to vote, one of those things adults with public forums, even blowhards, just shouldn’t do.
Samara Morgan
Courtney Messerschmidt turns out to be another gay-girl-in-damascus/hot abercrombie chick/ lonelygirl15/libertarian girl/Vichy Fournier.
i think the name is always a dead giveaway.
Amir Khalid
@Mark S.:
Speaking of which, when is the US going to learn not to spend on its military like there’s no tomorrow? I mean, 16 carrier groups sounds like enough for the whole planet, not just for one country. It’s not like global imperialism is still a legitimate goal for US foreign policy, is it?
Suffern ACE
@Amir Khalid: Oh come come. That number is an exaggeration. The actual number is 12 and replacing those is set to cost us $900 billion. But we spread that out. Iceland wished it could have that many, but then it would take all of Reykjavik to just operate one.
And no, global imperialism isn’t a goal. We just want to be the dominant military power in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica, Africa, Atlantis and the Moon.
R-Jud
@The Raven:
This never, ever fails to make me laugh.
Samara Morgan
@The Raven: its not the failure of the discipline of economics– its just the failure of free market theory and unregulated capitalism.
Amir Khalid
@Suffern ACE:
Because the USA’s national well-being and self-esteem require that it keeps the Manchester United of national militaries, right? (I suspect that there are people who would answer this question with a perfectly serious “yes”.)
dww44
@Gin & Tonic: I think that Schultz puts his mouth and his money where his heart is, with the little guy. He may be a little rough around the edges at times, but I’ve come to respect and appreciate his efforts on behalf of the ordinary, everyday, working American.
Suffern ACE
@Amir Khalid: Pretty much. Although I think what we really want is to get ahold of Irkutsk so that when we turn in our bonus cards next round, we get two additional armies to place on the board before we roll the dice.
schrodinger's cat
@R-Jud: How is the new kitteh? Any photos?
R-Jud
@schrodinger’s cat: She’s pretty terrific, has kind of taken over the joint. No new photos at the moment (only old ones). I’ve been swamped at work and have had a bunch of hospital appointments this week.
singfoom
@DZ: I’ve had my wifi/3G kindle for about 6 months and I love it. I need to get a lighted cover, but it’s amazing. Books at my finger tips…probably have read something on the order of 50 books on it since I bought it.
Plus, I’ve got the app on my iphone, and it automatically syncs to my latest page across the devices…Love it!
Get the 3G version, without ads though. It’s a little more expensive, but you’ll be able to download books wherever and you can jump on wifi if you need to, but the 3G is automatic and books come down in seconds…
Kola Noscopy
@Cat Lady:
Oh my. How self righteous.
Let me try this: And lockstep morons who participate in an utterly corrupt system no matter how debased it has become are utterly without morals and should be forcibly sodomized because they disagree with me.
How’s that?
Kola Noscopy
@Suffern ACE:
Did you report him post haste to the proper authorities, comrade?
Amir Khalid
This is the standfirst on a Daily Beast story about the jobs speech. Note the politics-as-theater mindset:
(Bolding by me.)
Skipjack
If NY-9 being redistricted were set in stone the runoff wouldn’t matter. But the way the deal is to work is that one upstate Republican and one downstate Democratic district will disappear. They haven’t chosen that yet, so this district has to be Democratic to be redistricted or else they may have to choose one held by a Dem. The Republicans will balk at losing two currently held R seats. So it actually is important that the Democrats win NY-9 in order to destroy it, or end up with one less D seat in the NY delegation.
Cat Lady
@Kola Noscopy:
You’re not even worth engaging, since you’re oh too pure to even sully your beautiful mind with us grunts. Go back to FDL and work out the details of who’s going to whine about what under the Perry administration. That’s all you’re good for. Oh, and to mock, also too.
schrodinger's cat
@R-Jud:She is quite the cutie!
Great name too.
Canuckistani Tom
@Suffern ACE:
11 actually. 10 Nimitz class and the Enterprise.
As the new Ford class carriers are completed, they’ll replace carriers in service. The Gerald Ford will replace Enterprise, JFK II will presumably replace Nimitz, and CVN-80 will presumably replace Ike.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_carriers_of_the_United_States_Navy
Kola Noscopy
@Cat Lady:
Actually, I almost never go to FDL. That seems to be the habit among many Obots here however. Funny, that…drawn to their own alleged nemesis.
trollhattan
re. Yesterday’s Cheney post on his ordering airliner shoot-downs, I didn’t know ’til this article the’d have been “ram”-downs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/f-16-pilot-was-ready-to-give-her-life-on-sept-11/2011/09/06/gIQAMpcODK_story.html?hpid=z2
Also, too, interesting twist on Wisconsin voter I.D. battles.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_64f2cca0-da60-11e0-8264-001cc4c03286.html
trollhattan
@Canuckistani Tom:
Nice list. My dad’s ship (CV20) is on it.
If they ever load up a carrier with F35s, I wonder what will have cost more, the boat or the planes?
Amir Khalid
@trollhattan:
F-35s are quite cheap, I understand. You get four of them — four! — for a billion dollars, whereas you only get three F-22s for the same price.
trollhattan
@Amir Khalid:
You’re killin’ me here. :-)
Also, too, costy to maintain. Per the Wikis: “A United States Navy study found that the F-35 will cost 30 to 40 percent more to maintain than current jet fighters. And a Pentagon study found that it may cost $1 trillion to maintain the entire fleet over its lifetime.”
A nice round number, $1T.
Suffern ACE
@Kola Noscopy:
Because it is the hallmark of fascists everywhere to attempt to make the proletariat believe that it is virtuous to disenfranchise themselves, I felt it was necessary to contact my superiors in the party, but they informed me that as Stalinists, they thought voting was very overrated and that the proles should be made to feel good about themselves for staying home.
twiffer
@DZ: i love my nook. if you are going for a dedicated reader, get one with e-ink. you can get nook and kindle apps for any tablet. nook supports pdfs too (not sure if kindle does, but probably), so you can load anything on to it too. my only complaint is the buttons are fragile, so get a case. there is a new touch screen, e-ink nook. looks cool and light as hell (at least, the one in the store was).
trollhattan
@twiffer:
Kindle does pdfs, FWIW. I’ve found it’s a pretty darn good platform for topographic maps that I’ve converted to grayscale. I also store quite a few gadget owners manuals on it.
Gravenstone
So who did Cole piss off that this joint got its very own 9/11 Truthertroll assigned to it?
cleek
@Gravenstone:
it’s been here for a long long time, too. it just keeps changing its name.
trollhattan
@cleek:
I didn’t know that bit. Thought it just parachuted in yesterday, armed with a highly polished pig turd all ready for presentation to we sheeple.
Uncle Clarence Thomas
.
.
@Cat Lady:
Got no reason to live. Moral principles are highly overrated, unnecessary in today’s United States of America, and will do nothing to get President Obama re-elected. Sometimes you do have to kill the innocent child, as all grown-ups know and the Cat Lady savors.
.
.
Samara Morgan
I guess we shall see if Cole was right about America not being able to enforce a border.
Great Force Fortifies Green Zone Ahead of Massive Protest
Michael D.
mistermix: Thanks for the This American Life link. Great story!
Keith
@Michael D.: Through an Ira Glass darkly.
As stated upthread – great investigative journalism.
grandpajohn
@Dennis SGMM: Good choice, I love my kindle and the thing with amazon is there is loads of free stuff, and not just out of copywrite but new authors etc. and on many different topics not just fiction.
Djur
@brendancalling: Did you know that Grayson was a guest on the Alex Jones show while he was a U.S. Representative, to talk about auditing the Fed? Because I think a lot of people don’t know that, and they should keep it in mind.
Black Flag
What a bad week for Obama:
Poll numbers continue to tank.
Economy continues to tank.
No one expected him to bring anything new or believable to last night’s speech, and he… didn’t bring anything new or believable.
Trumka goes on a crazed rant calling for violence – and then someone with no brains sits him next to Moo Moo for the speech.
Unions heed Trumka’s call and then go violent, smashing stuff, taking hostages, and letting the whole country know who it is who has Obama in their back pocket.
Salon and Maureen Dowd come out openly calling for Obama not to run again.
The ATF gunrunning scandal which stinks all the way to the White House is worsening.
Not looking good, Liberals. Not looking good at all.