Friday, August 18, 2006
I don't get it
I watched the nightly news last night and was offended. NBC led the evening news with a story about JonBenet Ramsey's death and some new suspect. According to the Think Progess website all the major networks ran that same topic as their top story.
According to Think Progress, NBC ran a 7 minute segment on JonBenet's suspected killer followed by a 27 second segment on how a federal district judge ruled that President Bush's wiretapping program was illegal and ordered the National Security Agency to shut it down.
Is this a joke??
Do we assume that this is proof of the absolute power of the right-wing media machine (to bury the NSA story) or is it just that Americans are really that apathetic or idiotic that they care about the suspected killer of one pretty white girl (sad yes, but over a thousand children are killed in this country every year) more then the future of civil liberties for the entire country or the fledgling peace deal affecting the health and well-being of thousands in the Middle East (that segment ran 3rd).
Annoying.
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According to Think Progress, NBC ran a 7 minute segment on JonBenet's suspected killer followed by a 27 second segment on how a federal district judge ruled that President Bush's wiretapping program was illegal and ordered the National Security Agency to shut it down.
Is this a joke??
Do we assume that this is proof of the absolute power of the right-wing media machine (to bury the NSA story) or is it just that Americans are really that apathetic or idiotic that they care about the suspected killer of one pretty white girl (sad yes, but over a thousand children are killed in this country every year) more then the future of civil liberties for the entire country or the fledgling peace deal affecting the health and well-being of thousands in the Middle East (that segment ran 3rd).
Annoying.
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Thursday, August 10, 2006
X-RAY
You asked for it brother. But I guess it doesn't look as dramatic as it felt. See that bone sticking out on the left side of my wrist? That's not supposed to be there.Much grosser is a picture of the actual surgery that i accidentally/masochistically looked at a few minutes ago. Here I've only linked to the page with the scar because but if you are sick you can follow the link on that page that says warning this may be graphic. Good times.
Mama Schiavoni is flying out for my big day... now that's love.
I've appreciated all the help from my brother with the posts while i was struggling (this post has taken me 20 minutes to write with one hand). I don't think I've ever got so many hits on my blog as when T made his guest appearance. Definitely enjoyed the lively debate (even more so when i was still on the vicodin).
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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Principled?
So it looks like Schiavoni is going to need some pins in those bones. She'll be off the keyboard for some several weeks more. She allegedly scanned the x-rays but I don't know why she hasn't posted them here yet.
It was exciting to have such vigorous debate on this site (thank you matty and anonymous!). I am thrilled that my last post inspired such passion. I don't know the polls but Leiberman's independent candidacy best not result in the Repugs winning the seat.
One thing that kept coming up in the debate was that word 'principled.' It is a word which is neat because it can be used, with the same meaning, as either an insult or a compliment. For instance, our boy Feingold is called principled--either by matty who's pissed about his Ashcroft vote (but you really think that AG choice number two wouldn't have advocated just as vigorously what whatever DoJ lackey did the actual writing) or by me who is just happy he believes in something and has consistency in almost everything he does.
Can you be too principled? I love Feingold's principled stands on the issues even though I occasionally disagree with him. For awhile I was calling him the only principled member of the Senate. Until I remembered that we don't all have the same principles.
I hate Brownback's principled stands because I hate his principles. Principles are great when you generally agree with them (against patriot acts, the president spying on our citizens, etc) but annoying when you don't (anti-abortion, stem cells, etc.).
So who are #1 and #2 on a google 'principled senator' search? #1: Hutchinson's vote for some tiny amount of cash for the national legal services program #2: the late, lamented, Wellstone.
Any thoughts on least- or most-principled congresspeople and whether it's a good or a bad thing? There's a point where you ought to be practical instead of principled, I suppose.
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It was exciting to have such vigorous debate on this site (thank you matty and anonymous!). I am thrilled that my last post inspired such passion. I don't know the polls but Leiberman's independent candidacy best not result in the Repugs winning the seat.
One thing that kept coming up in the debate was that word 'principled.' It is a word which is neat because it can be used, with the same meaning, as either an insult or a compliment. For instance, our boy Feingold is called principled--either by matty who's pissed about his Ashcroft vote (but you really think that AG choice number two wouldn't have advocated just as vigorously what whatever DoJ lackey did the actual writing) or by me who is just happy he believes in something and has consistency in almost everything he does.
Can you be too principled? I love Feingold's principled stands on the issues even though I occasionally disagree with him. For awhile I was calling him the only principled member of the Senate. Until I remembered that we don't all have the same principles.
I hate Brownback's principled stands because I hate his principles. Principles are great when you generally agree with them (against patriot acts, the president spying on our citizens, etc) but annoying when you don't (anti-abortion, stem cells, etc.).
So who are #1 and #2 on a google 'principled senator' search? #1: Hutchinson's vote for some tiny amount of cash for the national legal services program #2: the late, lamented, Wellstone.
Any thoughts on least- or most-principled congresspeople and whether it's a good or a bad thing? There's a point where you ought to be practical instead of principled, I suppose.
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Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Ouch!
Rarely do I step in, but Angie has just gone on the disabled list. In a s0ftball injury that was uncannily similar to Hideki Matsui's, Angie is down to one arm on the keyboard.
This weekend, we kept talking about Lieberman, Lieberman, Lieberman. (Here is my favorite written piece on it to date.) Somehow in three different conversations--with Schiavoni, with a recent law school graduate, future political candidate and self described San Francisco Limosine Liberal, and with a Berkeley Ph.D. The consensus in each conversation was that while we disagree with Lieberman on many issues, he would vote for a Democratic Majority Leader, and despite his holier-than-thou self-righteousness, he does carry the (D) after his name. It is ridiculous for the Dems to hold a witch hunt within their own ranks and for MoveOn, et al. to be devoting its manpower and resources against a Democrat. He's not progressive, but wouldn't the energy be better suited to unseat someone like the environmental disaster that is Rick Pombo (for us Northern Californians, at least!). The Democratic party has a big tent, right?
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This weekend, we kept talking about Lieberman, Lieberman, Lieberman. (Here is my favorite written piece on it to date.) Somehow in three different conversations--with Schiavoni, with a recent law school graduate, future political candidate and self described San Francisco Limosine Liberal, and with a Berkeley Ph.D. The consensus in each conversation was that while we disagree with Lieberman on many issues, he would vote for a Democratic Majority Leader, and despite his holier-than-thou self-righteousness, he does carry the (D) after his name. It is ridiculous for the Dems to hold a witch hunt within their own ranks and for MoveOn, et al. to be devoting its manpower and resources against a Democrat. He's not progressive, but wouldn't the energy be better suited to unseat someone like the environmental disaster that is Rick Pombo (for us Northern Californians, at least!). The Democratic party has a big tent, right?
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