The Ledes

Monday, June 30, 2025

It's summer in our hemisphere, and people across Guns America have nothing to do but shoot other people.

New York Times: “A gunman deliberately started a wildfire in a rugged mountain area of Idaho and then shot at the firefighters who responded, killing two and injuring another on Sunday afternoon in what the local sheriff described as a 'total ambush.' Law enforcement officers exchanged fire with the gunman while the wildfire burned, and officials later found the body of the male suspect on the mountain with a firearm nearby, Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County said at a news conference on Sunday night. The authorities said they believed the suspect had acted alone but did not release any information about his identity or motives.” A KHQ-TV (Spokane) report is here.

New York Times: “The New York City police were investigating a shooting in Manhattan on Sunday night that left two people injured steps from the Stonewall Inn, an icon of the L.G.B.T.Q. rights movement. The shooting occurred outside a nearby building in Greenwich Village at 10:15 p.m., Sgt. Matthew Forsythe of the New York Police Department said. The New York City Pride March had been held in Manhattan earlier on Sunday, and Mayor Eric Adams said on social media that the shooting happened as Pride celebrations were ending. One victim who was shot in the head was in critical condition on Monday morning, a spokeswoman for the Police Department said. A second victim was in stable condition after being shot in the leg, she said. No suspect had been identified. The police said it was unclear if the shooting was connected to the Pride march.”

New York Times: “A dangerous heat wave is gripping large swaths of Europe, driving temperatures far above seasonal norms and prompting widespread health and fire alerts. The extreme heat is forecast to persist into next week, with minimal relief expected overnight. France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are among the nations experiencing the most severe conditions, as meteorologists warn that Europe can expect more and hotter heat waves in the future because of climate change.”

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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Commencement ceremonies are joyous occasions, and Steve Carell made sure that was true this past weekend (mid-June) at Northwestern's commencement:

~~~ Carell's entire commencement speech was hilarious. The audio and video here isn't great, but I laughed till I cried.

CNN did a live telecast Saturday night (June 7) of the Broadway play "Good Night, and Good Luck," written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, about legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow's effort to hold to account Sen. Joe McCarthy, "the junior senator from Wisconsin." Clooney plays Murrow. Here's Murrow himself with his famous take on McCarthy & McCarthyism, brief remarks that especially resonate today: ~~~

     ~~~ This article lists ways you still can watch the play. 

New York Times: “The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. The multiyear agreement 'will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences,' the news organization said in a statement. Besides news articles, the agreement encompasses material from NYT Cooking, The Times’s food and recipe site, and The Athletic, which focuses on sports. This is The Times’s first licensing arrangement with a focus on generative A.I. technology. In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, for copyright infringement, accusing the tech companies of using millions of articles published by The Times to train automated chatbots without any kind of compensation. OpenAI and Microsoft have rejected those accusations.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no idea what this means for "the Amazon customer experience." Does it mean that if I don't have a NYT subscription but do have Amazon Prime I can read NYT content? And where, exactly, would I find that content? I don't know. I don't know.

Washington Post reporters asked three AI image generators what a beautiful woman looks like. "The Post found that they steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness. Prompted to show a 'beautiful woman,' all three tools generated thin women, without exception.... Her body looks like Barbie — slim hips, impossible waist, round breasts.... Just 2 percent of the images showed visible signs of aging. More than a third of the images had medium skin tones. But only nine percent had dark skin tones. Asked to show 'normal women,' the tools produced images that remained overwhelmingly thin.... However bias originates, The Post’s analysis found that popular image tools struggle to render realistic images of women outside the Western ideal." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters seem to think they are calling out the AI programs for being unrealistic. But there's a lot about the "beautiful women" images they miss. I find these omissions remarkably sexist. For one thing, the reporters seem to think AI is a magical "thing" that self-generates. It isn't. It's programmed. It's programmed by boys, many of them incels who have little or no experience or insights beyond comic books and Internet porn of how to gauge female "beauty." As a result, the AI-generated women look like cartoons; that is, a lot like an air-brushed photo of Kristi Noem: globs of every kind of dark eye makeup, Scandinavian nose, Botox lips, slathered-on skin concealer/toner/etc. makeup, long dark hair and the aforementioned impossible Barbie body shape, including huge, round plastic breasts. 

New York Times: “George Clooney’s Broadway debut, 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' has been one of the sensations of the 2024-25 theater season, breaking box office records and drawing packed houses of audiences eager to see the popular movie star in a timely drama about the importance of an independent press. Now the play will become much more widely available: CNN is planning a live broadcast of the penultimate performance, on June 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The performance will be preceded and followed by coverage of, and discussion about, the show and the state of journalism.”

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. -- Magna Carta ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Bought for $27.50 after World War II, the faint, water stained manuscript in the library of Harvard Law School had attracted relatively little attention since it arrived there in 1946. That is about to change. Two British academics, one of whom happened on the manuscript by chance, have discovered that it is an original 1300 version — not a copy, as long thought — of Magna Carta, the medieval document that helped establish some of the world’s most cherished liberties. It is one of just seven such documents from that date still in existence.... A 710-year-old version of Magna Carta was sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.... First issued in 1215, it put into writing a set of concessions won by rebellious barons from a recalcitrant King John of England — or Bad King John, as he became known in folklore. He later revoked the charter, but his son, Henry III, issued amended versions, the last one in 1225, and Henry’s son, Edward I, in turn confirmed the 1225 version in 1297 and again in 1300.”

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

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Friday
Jan092015

The Commentariat -- Jan. 10, 2015

Internal links, defunct video, photos removed.

So much for the G.O.P. not being the scary party. -- Lawrence Downes of the New York Times ...

... Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "House Republicans introduced legislation Friday that would drastically roll back President Obama's executive actions on immigration, including undoing a provision that will allow five million undocumented immigrants to remain in the country and one that protects young people brought to the United States illegally by a parent. The Republican plan, an effort to appease their more conservative members, would still finance most of the Department of Homeland Security.... The plan Republicans ultimately supported, after a week of private meetings and behind-the-scenes discussions, is far more expansive than what the House leadership team had originally anticipated." ...

It is outrageous and it is noteworthy that the House leadership has embraced the most extreme proposals from the most extreme members of their caucus. It is nothing short of breathtaking that this is their first move coming out of the box in 2015 when they get the reins of power. -- Frank Sharry of America's Voice, an immigration advocacy group ...

Aw, c'mon, Frank. I'll wait for the details, but news stories say nothing about alligator-filled moats. Why, this cruel, vindictive bill proposal is downright liberal by GOP standards. Besides, there's a CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE at stake here. -- Constant Weader ...

... I don’t believe that the funding of the Department [of Homeland Security] is, in fact, at risk. What is at risk is the rule of law, and the sanctity of America's Constitution. The President has taken actions that are beyond the scope of his ability, and Congress cannot just sit here and look the other way. We have to take action. This isn't about funding the Department of Homeland Security. Members of Congress support funding the Department, but we cannot continue to allow the President to go around the Congress and go around the law and take unilateral action like he has. -- Speaker of the House John Boehner, this week ...

Spoilsport 1. Just picking on the children that came here at no fault of their own, I think, is a wrong way to start. -- Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.)

Spointsport 2. Only three words describe the Republican approach to immigrants: deportation, deportation, deportation. The 'deport them all' contingent in the Republican Party has the pen and the gavel in the House. I know the Republicans will stop at nothing, but I didn't think they would start with everything. -- Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.)

... David Rogers of Politico: "House Republicans filed a long-delayed $39.67 billion Homeland Security bill on Friday, promising new resources and flexibility for a sprawling department that has been hobbled for months by a rigid funding resolution set at last year's spending levels.... But the same bill still faces a knock-down fight over President Barack Obama's November executive order protecting millions of undocumented workers from deportation.... The GOP is determined to use this measure and Congress' 'power of the purse' to block Obama from proceeding. That task is complicated by the fact that USCIS is largely self-financed from the fees it collects, not appropriations from Congress. So lawmakers can't simply cut dollars in the bill." ...

... Lawrence Downes of the New York Times: "What's striking about this early Republican move is that it is not just stray artillery fire from the party's wingnut brigade, led by Representative Steve King of Iowa, but a product of the House leadership."

White House: "In this week's address, President Obama discussed the economic gains we made in 2014, which was the strongest year for job growth since the 1990s":

Lori Montgomery & Steve Mufson of the Washington Post: President "Obama has threatened to veto the Keystone bill, along with two others. Nonetheless, the House voted 266 to 153 to approve the measure, with 28 Democrats joining all but one Republican voting yes. The bill goes to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to stage a lengthy, high-profile debate that is likely to stretch through Obama's State of the Union address Jan. 20."

Perry Bacon of NBC News: "President Obama on Friday called for making at least two years of college education free and universal, a bold idea that reflects his desire to offer far-reaching proposals in his last two years in office, even if Congress is unlikely to adopt them":

... Andy Borowitz: "President Obama's plan to offer Americans two years of college for free has come under fire from congressional Republicans, who are calling it a blatant plot to make Americans smarter. The G.O.P., which has benefited from the support of so-called 'low-information voters' in recent years, accused Obama of cynically trying to make people smarter as a way of chipping away at the Republican base."

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, in a Washington Post op-ed: "Given how far we have come, and the scars that still linger, it is hard to understand the efforts of some to undermine our ability to protect consumers and taxpayers from excessive risks taken by financial institutions. Taxpayers should never again have to step in to prevent business failures; that is why the Wall Street Reform Act ended 'too big to fail' as a matter of law.... Opponents who are fighting to repeal these reforms, or impede implementation, make no secret that they are gearing up for a multifront assault to weaken effective oversight of Wall Street and protections for Main Street. Their focus ... amounts to an agenda that would take us back to the dangerous conditions that existed before the financial crisis."

Michael Schmidt & Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against retired Gen. David H. Petraeus for providing classified information to his former mistress while he was director of the C.I.A., officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could send the pre-eminent military officer of his generation to prison. The Justice Department investigation stems from an affair Mr. Petraeus had with Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who was writing his biography, and focuses on whether he gave her access to his C.I.A. email account and other highly classified information. F.B.I. agents discovered classified documents on her computer after Mr. Petraeus resigned from the C.I.A. in 2012 when the affair became public.... [Federal investigators] recommended that Mr. Petraeus face charges, saying lower-ranking officials had been prosecuted for far less.... [Petraeus] has indicated to the Justice Department that he has no interest in a plea deal that would spare him an embarrassing trial." ...

... Thanks to James S. for the link. James writes, "Maybe for the wrong reasons, like getting Chaney for tax evasion... but Yea!" ...

     ... CW: Maybe this, uncovered by Guardian reporters (March 2013): "General David Petraeus and 'dirty wars' veteran behind commando units implicated in detainee abuse." But no. Wouldn't want to open that can of worms, would we?

Steve Erlanger & Jim Yardley of the New York Times: "The bloody denouement on Friday of two hostage crises at different ends of a traumatized Paris means attention will now shift to the gaping question facing the French government: How did several jihadists -- and possibly a larger cell of co-conspirators -- manage to evade surveillance and execute a bold attack despite being well known to the country's police and intelligence services? On its own, the Wednesday morning slaughter that left 12 people dead at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo represented a major breakdown for French security and intelligence forces, especially after the authorities confirmed that the two suspects, the brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, had known links to the militant group Al Qaeda in Yemen. Then on Friday, even as the police had cornered the Kouachi brothers inside a printing factory in the northeast suburbs, another militant, Amedy Coulibaly -- who has since been linked to the Kouachis -- stormed a kosher supermarket in Paris and threatened to kill hostages if the police captured the Kouachis." ...

... Greg Miller & Adam Goldman of the Washington Post: "French security services are likely to face intense pressure to explain how known militants -- including one trained by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen -- faced no apparent scrutiny before they launched this week's terrorist attacks in Paris.... The search for answers is likely to focus on a three-year period preceding this week's shooting during which two of the alleged gunmen, Said and Chérif Kouachi, seemingly dropped out of the view of French intelligence services as well as their U.S. counterparts." ...

... Juan Cole provides some biographical information about Sharif & Said Kouashi, the two men (now dead) identified as the Charlie Hebdo assassins. Cole blames Bush & Cheney for the young men's radicalization. This may be fair, but I would caution susceptible readers not to charge Bush & Cheney with these mass murders, as Cole's rhetoric comes close to doing. ...

... Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "The French authorities on Saturday were searching for the girlfriend of the man who targeted a kosher supermarket on Friday in eastern Paris, where four hostages died before he was killed by counterterrorism forces.... Law enforcement officials appealed to the public to help find Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, the girlfriend of Amedy Coulibaly, who seized hostages at the supermarket, Hyper Cacher, near Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris."

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. -- Evelyn Beatrice Hall, often attributed to Voltaire

Jonathan Chait explains freedom of expression to Glenn Greenwald, David Brooks, et al. CW: This really is not a difficult concept, people, and should not be so hard for Greenwald & Brooks to grasp. Both let (different) ideological precepts get in the way of their understanding of a fundamental, foundational principle of "free" society. ...

... Guardian: "Rupert Murdoch has been strongly criticised after tweeting that 'most Muslims' -- even if peaceful -- must be held responsible for the religion's 'growing jihadist cancer' in the wake of the terror attacks in France." ...

... Marlow Stern of the Daily Beast: Bill Maher "hosted the 13th season premiere of his HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night and doubled (and tripled, and quadrupled) down on the comments he made on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night where, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre that saw 9 fellow satirists, two policemen, and a maintenance worker be murdered by gun and RPG-wielding jihadists, the comedian ... didn't pull any punches, saying, 'hundreds of millions of [Muslims] support an attack like [Charlie Hebdo].'"

... Nabih Bulos of the Los Angeles Times: "Although the attack in Paris on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has been widely condemned online, some people have praised the violence."

Jesse Paul of the Denver Post: "Officials released a composite sketch Friday of a person of interest in the bombing of a [Colorado Springs] building that houses a chapter of the NAACP, saying their investigation is still in its early stages and very much ongoing. The FBI would not speculate about a motive in Tuesday's bombing.... The sketch is of a balding white man about 40 seen dropping something off and leaving the scene just before the device went off, officials said. Federal law enforcement is offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest (call: 303-425-7787).... Officials say the person of interest, seen leaving after the explosion by neighbors, may be driving a 2000 or older model, dirty, white pickup truck with paneling, a dark-colored bed liner, open tailgate and a missing or covered license plate...." ...

... CW: Luckily, our American terrorists are often pretty incompetent: "No one was injured in the 10 a.m. blast Tuesday on the 600 block of South El Paso Street in a quiet neighborhood south of downtown Colorado Springs.... A gas can placed next to the device did not ignite...." ...

... CW: Hey, Rupert. I'm sure you agree that most Christians "must be held responsible" here.

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday that his eye injuries remain so severe that doctors can't yet determine whether his full vision will be restored. Reid suffered at least three broken ribs and broke several bones around his right eye last week while exercising at his suburban Las Vegas home. The injuries kept him from coming to Capitol Hill this week for the start of the 114th Session of Congress."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Federal prosecutors won't call New York Times reporter James Risen as a witness at a leak trial set to get underway next week for one of his alleged confidential sources, several people close to the situation said. The decision appears to bring to an end a six-year battle to get him to provide testimony against former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is facing ten felony charges in connection with alleged disclosures to Risen about an operation aimed at undermining Iran's nuclear program."

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Edward Snowden would like everyone -- especially his critics -- to know that he is happy with life in Russia. Happy, and also sober.... During [an] interview [for the PBS program 'NOVA'], Snowden focused on a speech that former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden had given in which he predicted that Snowden would be depressed and drunk." The transcript of the Snowden interview is here.

Congressional Election

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The New York City prosecutor who oversaw the grand jury investigation into the death of Eric Garner officially announced his bid for Congress Friday. Dan Donovan, the Republican district attorney for Richmond County, is seeking support from party leaders to replace former Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), who resigned after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion. The district covers all of Staten Island and part of Brooklyn." ...

... CW: Normally, a candidate for public office will want to make as big a splash as possible in the announcement of his candidacy. As Donovan is surely aware, Friday afternoon, the time at which he made his announcement, is not a news-splash moment. Friday pm is best known as the timeframe in which public figures release bad or embarrassing news in hopes the public & the media won't pay attention over the weekend & by Monday, the bad news will be old news. One suspects that Donovan is trying to avoid media attention. For some reason.

A good example of why I Love Joe:

Presidential Election

Philip Rucker & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Mitt Romney ... told Republican donors in New York on Friday that he is seriously considering a third presidential campaign in 2016, according to a source present at the meeting. Spencer Zwick, Romney's former national finance co-chairman who was at the New York meeting, confirmed that Romney is weighing a 2016 run." ...

... Matt Viser of the Boston Globe: "Romney told people in the room that his decision did not have anything to do with current candidates being good or bad, although other sources close to Romney have said that he is not satisfied with the current Republican primary field, even with the addition of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Josh Margolin of ABC News: "Gov. Chris Christie, a potential presidential contender, was interrogated recently by federal investigators probing the 2013 lane-closure scandal.... Christie met with federal prosecutors and FBI agents last month during a secret session at the New Jersey governor's mansion in Princeton. He agreed to sit down with investigators voluntarily after they offered him a chance to provide his side of the story. Interviewing Christie was one of the final steps in the investigation, which appears to be wrapping up, according to those briefed on it." ...

... Claude Brodesser-Akner of NJ Advance Media (Jan. 6): "The owner of the Dallas Cowboys [Jerry Jones] is a part-owner of a hospitality company recently awarded a lucrative Port Authority hospitality services contract, raising additional concerns about Gov. Christie's Sunday trip by private jet to Texas to see his favorite NFL team play...." Thanks to Marvin S. for the lead. ...

... Brodesser-Akner: "Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said today [Friday] he 'didn't know' Gov. Chris Christie during the time that a company partly owned by his team was bidding for a lucrative Port Authority hospitality services contract, according to a published report.... A Christie spokesman recently said that the governor's friendship with Jones began in the summer of 2013, although in a public television interview last month, Christie told an interviewer that the two men became friends 'over the past five years.'" ...

... CW: I can't cite the best part of Gail Collins' column on Chris the Football Mascot & Faux Populist, because it's all very fine....

... Earlier, I thought all the hoo-hah over Christie's characteristic display of pathetic immaturity was a bit overblown. Now that we find out there's a quo for the quid, & that Chistie has already been reduced to sending his minions to "correct the record," making cutting personal remarks about detractors & paying his own way to Green Bay, I think the whole incident has legs. In & of itself, like Bridgegate, it seems sorta small potatoes -- at least at this point -- but the cumulative effect of these scandalettes -- which are of a nature people understand -- is to reveal Christie as a sleazy, two-bit crook & clownish thug. Not what most people want in a POTUS. ...

... AND, as Bill Kristol predicted, Christie presidential rival Scott Walker is using the controversy over Christie's relationship with Jones to his own advantage:

News Ledes

Reuters: "Two protesters were arrested at the McLean, Virginia, home of former Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday after 20 demonstrators, some in orange prison jumpsuits, walked onto his property to mark the 14th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay prison."

Washington Post: "French authorities on Saturday were hunting for a woman said to be 'armed and dangerous,' who they believe is connected to three days of violence that reached a bloody denouement in twin sieges Friday. Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, may have fled France ahead of the attacks and may now be in Syria, French media reports said Saturday." ...

... AP: "A Turkish intelligence official says authorities believe the common law wife of one of the gunmen behind the attacks in France came through Turkey days before and may have crossed into Syria." ...

... Yahoo News: "Hundreds of thousands continued to rally in the streets of France on Saturday to support free speech and honor the victims of this week's terrorist attacks. The rallies across the country were marked by relative quiet, out of respect for the fallen, despite the massive size of the crowds."

AP: "A tail section from the AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea late last month, killing all 162 people on board, became the first major wreckage lifted off the ocean floor Saturday, but the all-important black boxes were not found inside. The red metal chunk, with the words 'AirAsia' clearly visible across it, was brought to the surface using inflatable balloons."

KMBC News: "The owner of a Shawnee, Kan. gun shop was killed and several suspects were shot during a robbery at his business on Friday afternoon."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (13)

A Romney rerun: Picked this up as a tweet from "emptywheel" reposted at Daily Kos:

“Is today [the] day we vote on which former GOP Presidential Reality Show contestant we'd like to come back? Does Pat Buchanan count?”

January 9, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

And for the latest Christie story. There is a new inquiry into the sudden friendship between his highness and the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. It seems that just before Christie got free rides to see the games he pushed the Port Authority to grant a huge contract to his new friend. I guess it was just one of those coincidences.

January 9, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

Great line from comedian Dennis Blair's facebook page:

"For those Kanye West fans who don't know who Paul McCartney is, he's the guy who hugged the owner of the Dallas Cowboys."

Someone responded by saying, "Wasn't he with a group called Wings..or some other group in the 60's? Can't remember their name. Think they were named after a bug...but spelled different."

To which Dennis replied, "The Aristocrats!"*

* If you don't get the reference, see Penn Jilette's fabulous film of the same name. Warning: Some extremely foul language.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVH5ZFggszI

January 9, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterA. Nonny Mouse

Small potatoes, maybe. But contemplating Christie invites that reaction.

Most things about Christie but for his body type--are small. The way he personalizes politics. The contemptuous way he treats anyone who disagrees with him. (See his too typical remark about Ed Rendell; never deal with the issue; just attack the person who uttered it). His language. His demeanor. His presentation of self.

Altogether, Christie is such a classless act, so lacking in any apparent moral substance, it's difficult not to respond in kind and go all ad hominem at him in turn. He is clearly a shameless sycophant--the predictable Janus-faced companion to Christie the Bully--and it seems his administration steams of corruption, preferring payoffs, no matter how difficult they might be to arrange and keep secret, to simple, straightforward trustworthiness.

Regardless of any office he might achieve, he is and will remain a very small man.

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

I am intrigued that Chris Christie will join the line-up of the reality show known as the Republican Debates, but let's face it: the swimsuit competition will be painful to watch.

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterJack Mahoney

Jack,

Especially if Christie insists on trying to squeeze into his bright orange Speedo with the Dallas Cowboys logo on the ass.

In fact, with all the, er, GOP heavyweights, including Christie, Jebbie, and the squabbling 'bagger children vying for the throne, the RNC has had to trade in their 2012 Republican Clown Car for a high payload Clown Cargo Van with the heavy duty suspension, seats specially covered to protect from stains during food fights and from finger paints, and plenty of extra room for giant fright wigs and floppy shoes.

Let's roll, wingers!

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Jack

Why'd you put that vision in my head? And, Ak, you hadda pile on with the orange Speedo!

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

Romney tells 30 rich Republicans he wants to be president. Their reaction will largely determine whether he becomes the nominee. Thirty rich old white guys in a population of three hundred million. American democracy in action. Government of the wealthy, by the wealthy, for the wealthy.

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

After Mitch made his pitch for the wonders of the GOP economic resurgence Mo Elleithee, the Democratic National Committee Communications Director, responded with:

“That Mitch McConnell is one funny guy!"
“He likes to remind people all the time that he’s not a scientist. Now we know he’s not a mathematician or an economist either."

McCabe also reports White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer came back with a quote attributed to the basketball player Stacey King. In a historic game where King scored one point to Michael Jordan's 69 points, King said:
“I'll always remember this as the night that Michael Jordan and I combined for 70 points.”

Always good to see such good bon mots from those in the know.

Found the Maher table discussion quite interesting. Salman Rushdie is such a pleasure to listen to unlike Carly (why is she on this show???) who tosses her well coiffed hair and in that special well modulated voice gives us what I imagine she thinks is wisdom. The points about the Islamic religion having within its core "evil" and "damning" messages that have been acted upon by the terrorist groups and Carly raising that well trained voice to Bill telling him this is the 21st century for heavens sake when he was making his point about all religious atrocities––"Christians and Jews aren't beheading people"–– but then the video ends before Bill might have wanted to tell Carly that yes, that was true, but the damage that religion still does and can do in this 21st century might want to give one pause.

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

If Christi runs for President he will be wasting his time and other's money (if he gets any). There is no way this man with all his baggage––and it's quite a heavy load––can capture that crown. But I'd love to see him try. What fun to watch him bully the rest of the GOP contenders during those entertaining debates. Gail Collin's piece was delightful and her mention of the poor Christi's having to walk to the stadium will remain in my memory––"oh, how far we have come," I imagine that poor family says on many occasions while flying by private helicopters thither and yon.

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

@Ak

"seats specially covered to protect from stains during food fights and from finger paints, "

Don't forget the shit stains from all those asswipes and brown-nosers!

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered Commentersafari

Apparently, for some people (no, not those people), 15 minutes of fame are not enough. George is back for his third or fourth encore. This time for throwing a bottle of wine at a girl, um, friend. So, as a precaution, judge John Galluzzo took away all of Georgie’s boom-booms. The patriots have yet to respond.

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

Mouse,

Interesting documentary. Of what I did watch it certainly did run the gamut of comedians. Foul yet funny. So bad it's good.

I wonder if that's how John Waters got the creative spark for his truly tasteless film "Pink Flamingos."

January 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterUnwashed
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