July 03, 2009
Maybe by the next inauguration.
Via Steven the Ape.
July 02, 2009
1994: The Year of the Sanctimonious Philanderer.
Michael Falcone of Politico, on the Republican gift that keeps on giving:
The sex scandals that have tarnished Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) don’t appear to have much in common. Yet there is one thread that binds them together: Both Ensign and Sanford were members of the famed Republican House class of 1994, as well as its latest casualties.As it turns out, the pressures and demands of political life have inflicted devastating damage not only on the Ensign and Sanford families, but on the families of many of the 71 other freshmen who formed the vanguard of the Republican Revolution.
In the 14 years since that star-crossed class arrived in Washington espousing an agenda that placed family values at its core, no less than a dozen of its members have been caught up in affairs, sex scandals or in messy separations and divorces from their spouses that, in more than a few instances, led to their political downfalls.
The problems started almost as soon as they took office, and by the end of their first year in Congress, the marriages of at least four Republican freshmen had collapsed.
House of Pain: GOP's Class of '94 (Politico)
Thanks, Tug!
June 27, 2009
Man on wheels.
My Pops is back on the bike, now in Boulder. He's ready to do the work.
June 26, 2009
The only thing you really need today.
June 25, 2009
Can y'all forgive him?
Gail Collins, on Mark Sanford:
On behalf of the people of Illinois and New York, I’d like to thank South Carolina for giving us Mark (“I’ve been unfaithful to my wife”) Sanford. Finally, a governor who’s weirder than Rod Blagojevich and less responsible than Eliot Spitzer...Until Wednesday’s unpleasantness, Sanford was chairman of the Republican Governors Association, otherwise known as the Association of Possible Presidential Contenders Plus Arnold. Over the past few years, he has tried to woo the party’s base with antics like bringing two piglets into the Capitol to protest political pork and refusing to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money aimed at preventing massive layoffs of public school teachers.
For a state with an unemployment rate above 12 percent, that ranks 39th in public school performance, that last caper might not seem all that entertaining. But it did draw the attention and affection of right-wing commentators, who nudged Sanford right up the potential-contender ladder.
However, all that is in the past. Although his wife issued a statement holding out the possibility of reconciliation, the press conference made it clear that sexual indiscretion is less the big problem here than the fact that Mark Sanford is a complete loony. “I won’t begin in any particular spot,” he said, rambling on about his “love for the Appalachian Trail” (where he didn’t go) and his fondness for “adventure trips” (clearly a personal specialty).
Then Sanford apologized to his wife, his sons, his friends, his staff, his in-laws, “anybody who lives in South Carolina” and people of faith “across the nation.” At this point, I had the terrible feeling that I was the only person in the entire country to whom Sanford was not conveying his personal regrets...
...before this search for a presidential nominee goes any further, I’m thinking it’s time for the Republicans to apologize for putting us through the Clinton impeachment. We seem to have pretty well established that sexual stone-throwing is a dangerous sport.
"The Love Party" (Gail Collins, NY Times)
A taste of the nuttiness:
June 22, 2009
Sometimes it's just too easy.
On Saturday, Pat Buchanan hosted a conference to discuss how Republicans can regain a majority in America. During one discussion, panelists suggested supporting English-only initiatives as a prime way of attracting “working class white Democrats.” The discussion ridiculed Judge Sotomayor for the fact that she studied children’s classics to improve her grammar while attending college. The panelists also suggested that, without English as the official language, President Obama would force Americans to speak Spanish.One salient feature of the event was the banner hanging over the English-only advocates.
Earlier grammatical/punctuation miscues on the right:
Guns, god, and grammatical errors
Yes, this is America. So learn your fucking "punctuation."
June 21, 2009
It's the smoke, it's the smoke.
I can't abide Auto-Tune in music (R. Troutman's talkbox did it better), but I'm solidly in favor of Auto-Tune the News.
June 20, 2009
Stop clicking and start making.
Merlin Mann on telling your inner editor to shut the fuck up so that you can get some creative work done:
Via Boing Boing.
June 16, 2009
Poser.
This is Walter feeling sexy in his summer haircut, in case you didn't know.
He's only pretending to be unaware of the camera.
