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The Wires
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The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

"Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and physical ailments." So this Washington Post page allows you to check your own area to see how good your access to nature is.

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Washington Post: “The last known location of 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by world-renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was in Vienna in the mid-1920s. The vivid painting featuring a young woman was listed as property of a 'Mrs Lieser' — believed to be Henriette Lieser, who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The only remaining record of the work was a black and white photograph from 1925, around the time it was last exhibited, which was kept in the archives of the Austrian National Library. Now, almost 100 years later, this painting by one of the world’s most famous modernist artists is on display and up for sale — having been rediscovered in what the auction house has hailed as a sensational find.... It is unclear which member of the Lieser family is depicted in the piece[.]”

~~~ Marie: I don't know if this podcast will update automatically, or if I have to do it manually. In any event, both you and I can find the latest update of the published episodes here. The episodes begin with ads, but you can fast-forward through them.

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Tuesday
Jan282014

S.O.T.U. 2014

Zeke Miller of Time: "While the speech was light on new proposals, [President Obama] is looking to build on whatever momentum the State of the Union provided with a four-state swing that starts Wednesday. "

CW: It is remarkable that the three men on the dais all came up from near-poverty. (The most powerful female politicians, BTW, came from middle- or upper-middle-class homes: Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Dianne Feinstein, etc. Hmmm.)

Charles Pierce describes the speech as "Clintonian" & explains why. Also, "(John Boehner's face seemed to darken as the evening went along, like the side of a mountain that faces the sunset.)" ...

... Nope, Charles. The address wasn't Clintonian. It was Dubyan. Hadas Gold of Politico: "President George W. Bush's former speech writer said that President Barack Obama plagiarized his former boss in Tuesday's State of the Union address. Speaking to Fox News's Megyn Kelly, Marc Thiessen, the lead writer on Bush's 2007 State of the Union address, said he found Obama's speech Tuesday night 'eerily familiar. Barack Obama has gone from blaming George W. Bush to plagiarizing George W. Bush,' Thiessen said." Proof? They both talked about "hope and opportunity." CW: Yeah, because no politician (Bill Clinton, "born in a little place called Hope") ever mentioned stuff like "hope & opportunity" before Mark Thiessen hit upon the novel idea. ...

     ... Update: According to this other Politico headline, "McMorris Rodgers promotes ‘hopeful’ agenda." Just another plagiarist, I guess.

Josh Marshall of TPM: "They say history is written by the winners. What I heard him saying was that he wants and will start writing the history of the future with his presidency, even if his ability to put it into effect may be limited."

Steve M. sees a glaring error in President Obama's effectively turning Cory Remsburg into a metaphor for Congressional gridlock. ...

... John Cassidy liked the Remsburg metaphor a lot better. ...

... CW: I can't help thinking that the only thing that can get all those bastuds on their feet is human carnage incurred in the service of international dominance. Was that the Capitol or was that the Colosseum? Whether or not you read Cassidy, I suspect you instinctively know that Obama was playing to the cheap seats when he introduced Remsburg.

Jose DelReal of Politico: "President Obama might have been the State of the Union's headliner on Tuesday, but Vice President Joe Biden stole the show on twitter." Some amusing stuff from reporters with time on their hands. ...

... Elias Isquith of Salon: "Twitter’s higher-profile conservative pundits, activists, and politicians nevertheless responded as if the president had set a copy of the Constitution on fire while pledging allegiance to General Mao." Isquith posts a few examples. ...

... 11:45 pm Tuesday: Rachel Maddow just wiped the floor with crazy Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas). Heulskamp has spent too much time on Fox "News" (& maybe "Press the Meat"). Chris Hayes later had a big laugh over Huelskamp's claims. ...

     ... Update: You can view the segment here. ...

... AND Rep. Grimm Threatens to Murder Reporter for Asking Question. Adam Edelman & Joseph Straw of the New York Daily News: "Embattled New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm [Staten Island] threatened to 'break' a NY1 reporter and throw him off a balcony after President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night. The confrontation occurred on Capitol Hill when reporter Michael Scotto followed up questions about the President's speech by pressing the congressman on a federal investigation into his fund-raising." With video. CW: Possibly slightly worse than calling Rachel Maddow a "cheerleader," as Heulskamp did. The House should sanction Grimm for threatening Scotto, which he did inside the U.S. Capitol building, & the DOJ should investigate & charge him with assault. If my dearly departed Rep. Coke had to leave the building, I don't see why that thug Grimm should be welcome. Maybe he could get a job in the Christie administration. There's a bridge between Staten Island & Jersey. ...

     ... Here's the NY1 story, with transcript of the exchange between Grimm & Scotto.

If Barack Obama discovered the cure for cancer, these assholes would complain that it took him too long. Then they'd find a way to claim that Reagan had actually discovered it first. -- Akhilleus

Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: The SOTU in three GIFs.

Alexandra Jaffe of the Hill: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) pitched a libertarian vision for the nation in his rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.... The potential 2016 presidential contender made his case for limited government in a 10-minute Web video that highlighted his proposal to tackle poverty with 'economic freedom zones' and railed against welfare programs, while exhorting listeners to 'choose a new way' of government." Includes video.

CW: If this is "the face of the national tea party," evidently the tea party needs no greasepaint to look like a clown. AP photo.Brady McCombs of the AP: "Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee was the face of the national tea party Tuesday night, delivering the movement's response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. Lee pinned the widening wealth gap on the president's policies and tout the ideas of a new generation of leaders including himself and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "After five years of fractious political combat, President Obama declared independence from Congress on Tuesday as he outlined a series of limited initiatives on jobs, wages, retirement and the environment that he will take without legislative approval." ...

     ... Update. New Lede: "After five years of fractious political combat, President Obama declared independence from Congress on Tuesday as he vowed to tackle economic disparity with a series of limited initiatives on jobs, wages and retirement that he will take without legislative approval."

Here's the text of the SOTU as prepared for delivery (via the New York Times).

Paul Krugman is stuck in a CNN green room with no bourbon so he's liveblogging the SOTU.

The New York Times' liveblog of the SOTU is here. ...

     ... Michael Shear: Rep. "Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington offered an upbeat, but critical, rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union address, in the process avoiding mistakes of previous responders." CW: Did not take gulps of water, sweat profusely or remind people of a buffoonish teevee character. ...

... Video of Rodgers' response & the text of her remarks is here.

     ... Carl Hulse: "Senator Mitch McConnell is not amused. The Senate Republican leader from Kentucky said he learned only Tuesday afternoon that the Democratic governor of his home state, Steve Beshear, would be sitting with Michelle Obama to watch the president deliver the State of the Union address."

Paul Kane & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: There will be four GOP responses to the SOTU. (1) The official party response by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, (2) the Tea Party response by Sen. Mike Lee, (3) a Spanish-language response by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, "the most senior Hispanic Republican, [who] is expected to hew closely to McMorris Rodgers in the Spanish-language response," & the Acqua Buddha response by Sen. Rand Paul. ...

     ... The only thing missing in this group is the snake charmer. -- Chris Matthews on MSNBC

Jon Favreau, formerly President Obama's chief speechwriter, on what it's like producing the SOTU speech: "The president puts in back-to-back 2 a.m. nights rewriting his speech to make it 'sing' and hopefully sway Congress."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (2)

If the expectation was for Obama to limp lamely through his remaining years as our President last night's speech should have changed that assessment. There was a rougher tone in his voice, more determined, forceful. He has no intention of fucking around with those whose main agenda is to put roadblocks on everything he wants to do. It's unusual for presidents to ratchet it up during their last years––Reagan slowed down to such an extent people forgot he was even there––Dubya wanted to wash his hands of the whole mess, eager to get back to his bushes and paintbrushes. Obama is a man with plans and if he can get just half of what he proposes we can be grateful.

I thought the adulation for the wounded warrior was, besides being touching and heart rending, symbolic of the country itself, wounded, but striving to right itself, to heal itself. I also thought there are thousands of war wounded vets just like this young man whose lives are torn apart by horrific wars we find ourselves engaged in.

I thought JJG's mention of Cathy McMorris Rogers' speech reminiscent of a fifties sitcom––"I can almost smell the apple pie" was perfect. God, of course, was there with her on the couch giving her the strength and fortitude to deliver that sweet speech that was devoid of particulars which is exactly what Republicans have given us.

January 29, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Correction: It wasn't JJG, it was MAG re: the above reference.

Meant to mention that no sooner had the SOTU speech ended but that beady eyed, bumptious Texan was cruising on CNN and Fox dissing the President's plan for moving forward. Cruz wastes no time to regurgitate his weasel speak. Truly an amazing man.

Larry Summers on Charlie Rose had an opportunity to quash Glen Hubbard's assertion that raising the minimum wage, not cutting the SNAP program along with continuing unemployment payments wouldn't make a dent in the economy. And Doris Kearns told us that Teddy Roosevelt used the executive order many, many times––"How do you think we have all the preserved land that we have now?" she asked. I smiled ear to ear.

January 29, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe
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