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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.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow
Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns
I have a Bluesky account now. The URL ishttps://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.
Harry Reid isn't just Dracula, he isn't just Lazarus, he's our Leader and our whole caucus is thrilled that he's unbreakable and unbeatable. -- Sen. John Kerry
... George Packer of The New Yorker: "This midterm is the [Republican] party’s first salvo in its first order of business, to end Obama’s Presidency. There will be little mercy and a great deal of rancor.... I see one of the ugliest political periods in my lifetime, which has seen a few." ...
** ... Glenn Greenwald: "... for slothful pundits who want to derive sweeping meaning from individual races in order to blame the Left and claim that last night was a repudiation of liberalism, the far more rational conclusion -- given the eradication of 50% of the Blue Dog caucus -- is that the worst possible choice Democrats can make is to run as GOP-replicating corporatists devoted above all else to serving corporate interests in order to perpetuate their own power...." Greenwald updates his post with a snide rebuttal to Evan Bayh's New York Times op-ed, which you'll notice I didn't link -- but Greenwald does. ...
... Ari Melber of The Nationagrees with Greenwald. ...
... AND Paul Krugman adds, "So, we’re already getting the expected punditry: Obama needs to end his leftist policies, which consist of … well, there weren’t any, but he should stop them anyway. What actually happened, of course, was that Obama failed to do enough to boost the economy, plus totally failing to tap into populist outrage at Wall Street. And now we’re in the trap I worried about from the beginning: by failing to do enough when he had political capital, he lost that capital, and now we’re stuck." ...
... Dana Milbank: "At Rupert Murdoch's cable network, the entity that birthed and nurtured the Tea Party movement, Election Day was the culmination of two years of hard work to bring down Barack Obama - and it was time for an on-air celebration of a job well done." ...
... Meanwhile, back at the White House, time for some finger-pointing & back-stabbing. Nothing for attribution, of course. Glenn Thrush of Politico: "Frustrated current and former West Wing staffers, speaking on condition of anonymity, told POLITICO they hoped Tuesday night’s humbling losses would persuade President Barack Obamato pursue a much more sweeping fix than just the 'natural' post-election churn of personnel his administration has insisted will take place." ...
... John Dickerson of Slate: the voters returned Republicans to power, but not because they like them. They don't.
A friend writes -- It is the height of insanity that, for one of the most important jobs in the country, that of helping to RUN the fucking place, we have morons who believe that the only ones qualified to do that job are other morons with no qualifications.... Would you really prefer to have your chest cracked open by someone who has never been to medical school, and oh, by the way, HATES medicine, and has never read a book of any kind, never mind a medical book? ... Hey, we need a bridge built. Forget the engineers. My cousin hates bridges and the people who build them. He's never even been ON a bridge. Perfect!! Let's hire him! Let's hire Joe the Plumber to build the next space station, because all those NASA scientists have been doing that job way too long and it's time for a Teabagger to show them how it's done.
Andy Kroll of Mother Jones: "... there's something of a silver lining in Florida's elections. At the same time they elected numerous Republicans to office, Florida voters approved two constitutional amendments making it more difficult for the party in power to redraw state legislative and congressional districts in their favor." Here's the AP story on the Amendments 5 & 6.
If you want to watch and/or read John Boehner's victory speech, it wasn't as obnoxious as it was maudlin. You'll find it here. It could have been way worse. It could have been like Rand Paul's, which is here, but you probably will not want to hear, at least not if you've eaten recently.
Tim Egan of the New York Times: "For no matter your view of President Obama, he effectively saved capitalism. And for that, he paid a terrible political price." ...
... Bill Vlasic of the New York Times: "... interviews with G.M. and federal officials show decisions by the government have played a pivotal role in shaping [GM]’s leadership, its business strategies, and now its initial stock offering, which will raise an estimated $10.6 billion at the same time that it reduces the taxpayers’ stake in the company from 61 percent to below 40 percent." ...
... Alan Zibel of the AP: "The nation's homeownership rate remained at its lowest in more than a decade, hampered by a rise in foreclosures and weak demand for housing. The percentage of households that owned their homes was unchanged at 66.9 percent in the July-September quarter, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. That's the same as the April-June quarter." ...
... How Bad Is Foreclosuregate? George Packer of The New Yorker: "the banks have been servicing mortgages and chasing delinquents with the same carelessness and indifference to due process that they demonstrated when they underwrote and securitized the mortgages in the first place.... Criminal charges are likely, and justified." But there are some upsides: the banks may be forced to make the loan modifications they have resisted, the time it takes to straighten out the mess makes it easier for people to stay in the homes, & banks will have to start doing a better job of servicing their loans & protecting their investors.
Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Post: "Former president George W. Bush writes in a new memoir that he briefly considered dropping his vice president, Richard B. Cheney, from his 2004 reelection ticket but said he still considers Cheney a steady adviser who helped him achieve his goals."
Post Mortems
Peter Grier of the Christian Science Monitor thinks he sees some lessons from Christine O'Donnell's defeat.
Mark Thompson of Time: "Rep. Ike Skelton, "chairman of the House Armed Services Committee – and a Missouri congressman for 34 years ... was one of the Democratic heavyweights felled in Tuesday's election."
Michael Scherer of Time: California Republican nominee Meg Whitman, who lost her bid for governor, along with $142 million, "largely spent her dough on keeping herself away from the voters: On consultants, on television spots, on a press team that largely acted like an offensive line."
The Washington Post has two 2010 pages: here and here.
Starting at about 6:00 pm ET, the New York Times will have mapped results & related live video on its front page. Michael Shear is liveblogging the results. Nate Silver is liveblogging the numbers. Plus, Tobin Harshaw's Opinionator blog, which he's updating, adds some perspective from around the blogosphere.
This loon won.It's Worse than You Think. With the notable exception of California, Republicans won the major races nearly everywhere they fielded credible candidates. Democrats should take no solace in winning races against the likes of Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, Linda McMahon & Carl Paladino. -- Constant Weader
See the Alaska page here or under Campaign 2010/Alaska on the navigation bar for developments in the vote count for the Alaska Senate race.
ABC News, November 5: "Unofficial results from Tuesday's gubernatorial race between Democrat and former Sen. Mark Dayton and Republican businessman Tom Emmergive Dayton a 8,781-vote lead, or less than one half of one percent of the vote. If the slim margin holds after election officials finalize the tally and no candidate concedes..., it would trigger an automatic statewide recount of all ballots."
Hartford Courant: "Official numbers released by the Secretary of the State Friday evening show that Democrat Dannel Malloywill be Connecticut's next governor. But Republican Tom Foley still wouldn't concede defeat in the state's closest gubernatorial election in half a century, and didn't rule out the possibility of a lawsuit to force a statewide recount."
Chicago Tribune: "Republican challenger Bill Brady this afternoon conceded defeat to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn...."
Chicago Sun-Times: "Gov. Quinn said Thursday he had built up an 'insurmountable' lead of 'way more than 19,000 votes' in his bid for governor. Hours later, the Associated Press reported that its analysis showed that Quinn was the winner."
The Seattle Times projects that Democratic Sen. Patty Murray has won re-election to a 4th term. "Sen. Patty Murray has won a fourth term, riding a wave of strong Democratic support in King County to defeat Republican challenger Dino Rossi. As of Thursday evening, Murray was leading Rossi by more than 45,000 votes, taking 51 percent to Rossi's 49 percent. That's up from a 14,000-vote lead on Election Day. According to a Seattle Times analysis, Rossi would need to get about 54 percent of the estimated 591,000 uncounted ballots statewide to overcome Murray's lead."
New York Times: in Connecticut, both the Democratic & Republican gubernatorial candidates are mobilizing their transition team, because they both think they won.
Somebody in Connecticut can't count, so the outcome of the governor's race remains up in the air.
Really Stupid Voters. Bill Rigby of Reuters: "Washington [state] voters knocked down plans for a state income tax on the wealthy intended to fund education and health spending, ending a fight pitting Bill Gates against other Seattle tech billionaires...."
The Oregonian: "Democrat John Kitzhaber has taken the lead in the race against Republican Chris Dudley and will become Oregon's next governor."
The Illinois governor's race still has not been decided, but on Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reports, "Leading Republicans this afternoon are privately expressing doubts that Bill Brady can overcome Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's narrow lead following Tuesday's election, and a Tribune survey of election officials likewise indicates there may not be enough ballots left uncounted to make a difference."
Politico: "Republican Brian Dubie concedes the Vermont governor's race to Democrat Peter Shumlin."
Miami Herald: "... with thousands of votes in Democrat-heavy South Florida uncounted, [Republican Rick] Scottcouldn't declare an outright win late Tuesday over Democrat Alex Sink, Florida's chief financial officer. Sink held out hope that she could close the gap and at least trigger a recount as votes slowly broke her way." ...
... St. Pete TimesUpdate: Sinkconcedes. CW: we now have a governor-elect who defrauded the taxpayers of at least $1.7 billion. He should be in jail, not in the statehouse.
Democratic Rep. Bill Owens, who won a special election in New York's 23rd, will pull off another win in this traditionally red district, thanks again to Conservative spoiler Doug Hoffman. Kate Pickert of Time has the story.
The Washington State Senate race remains too close to call. Seattle Times: "Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murrayheld a lead Tuesday night over challenger Dino Rossi, raising hopes among her supporters that she would survive the national GOP wave." The count Wednesday at 10:00 am ET was Murray 722,396, Rossi 708,391 -- don't know what % of votes counted that is.
Hartford Courant: "The hotly contested governor's race was still too close to call Wednesday morning after results were delayed when a judge ordered a two-hour extension of voting at some sites in Bridgeport. As of 5:44 a.m. Wednesday, Republican Tom Foley was leading Democrat Dannel Malloy in unofficial results by 50 percent to 49 percent, with 90% of precincts reporting. The difference amounts to 11,083 votes."
... Update: "Appointed U.S. Sen. Michael Bennetwill be elected to the U.S. Senate after pulling ahead of challenger Ken Buck this morning.... Returns from Denver and Boulder moved Bennet past Buck and into the lead, 47.5 percent to 47.1 percent."
** NBC News projects the Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives. New York Times story here. ...
... Firedoglake Update: the districts where there was a change of parties, with losers & winners. As of noon Wednesday, it looks like a 67-seat pick-up for House Republicans.
... Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's statement.
** NBC News projects that Nevada Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will win re-election. Las Vegas Sun story here.
In Alaska the write in candidate(s), whoever that may be, is ahead, but the state will not even open the write-in ballots for two weeks. Here's an early Anchorage Daily News story.
Anchorage Daily News: "With just over half of the vote counted, Republican incumbent Sean Parnellheld a commanding lead over Democratic challenger Ethan Berkowitz in the contest for governor."
Unfuckingbelievable. Salon: "A ban on U.S. courts considering Sharia law passed overwhelmingly in Oklahoma today."
Boston Globe: "Barney Frank, the irascible powerbroker who has survived scandal, repeated redistricting, and the ups and downs of the Democratic Party, yesterday easily beat back his strongest challenge in years."
NBC News projects that Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer will retain her governorship.
NBC News projects that South Carolina Republican Nikki Haley will win the gubernatorial race. The State story here.
NBC News projects that Rhode Island Independent Lincoln Chafee, a former Senator, will win the governorship.
The Los Angeles Times projects that California Democrat AG Jerry Brown, the former governor, will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey will win the Senate seat.
NBC News projects that Republican John Kasich will win the Ohio gubernatorial race.
** NBC News projects that Republican Mark Kirk will win the Illinois Senate seat, the seat held by President Obama.
NBC News: it appears Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye will retain his Senate seat, denying Republicans a Senate majority. No link.
Los Angeles Times: "California voters appear to have rejected Prop. 19, an effort to legalize marijuana and allow local governments to tax the sale of the drug."
NBC News projects that Nevada Republican Brian Sandoval defeated Harry Reid's son Rory Reid for the governorship. Las Vegas Sun story here.
NBC News projects that California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer will retain her Senate seat.
NBC News projects that Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden will retain his Senate seat.
NBC News projects that Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo will retain his Senate seat.
NBC News projects that South Dakota Republican Dennis Daugaard will win the gubernatorial race.
NBC News projects that Wisconsin Repubican Scott Walker will win the gubernatorial race. Wisconsin State Journal story here.
** NBC News projects that Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson will defeat Sen. Russ Feingold. AP story here. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here.
NBC News projects that Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley will retain his Senate seat.
NBC News projects that Colorado Democrat John Hickenlooper will win the governorship. Denver Post story here.
NBC News projects that Utah Republican Gary Herbert will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that New Mexico Republican Susana Martinez will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that Wyoming Republican Matt Mead will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that Nebraska Republican Dave Heineman will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that Kansas Republican Sam Brownback will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that Pennsylvania Republican Tom Corbett will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick will retain the governorship. Boston Globe story here.
NBC News projects that Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley will retain the governorship. Baltimore Sun story here.
NBC News projects that Oklahoma Republican Mary Fallin will win the governorship.
NBC News projects that Alabama Republican Robert Bentley will win the gubernatorial race.
CBS News projects that Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain will retain his Senate seat.
NBC News projects that Michigan Republican Rick Snyder will win the race for governor. Detroit Free Press story here.
NBC News projects that Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry will retain the governorship.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Republican Nathan Dealclaimed victory Tuesday night in Buckhead. He said he had spoken with Democrat Roy Barnes on the phone before making his speech at about 11:45 p.m."
NY1 projects that New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will retain the seat to which she was appointed in 2009 when Sen. Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State.
NBC News projects that New York AG Andrew Cuomo will win the gubernatorial race. New York Times story here.
NBC News projects that New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer will retain his seat.
NBC News projects that Missouri Republican Roy Blunt will win the Senate race.
NBC News projects that Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter will retain his seat.
CBS News projects that Robert Hurt will defeat Rep. Tom Perriello in Virginia's 5th District.
NBC News projects that Kansas Republican Rep. Jerry Moran will will the Senate race.
NBC News projects that South Dakoda Republican Sen. John Thune will retain his Senate seat.
NBC News projects North Dakoka Republican John Hoeven will win the Senate race.
NBC News projects Florida 8th District Republican Daniel Webster will win the House Seat held by Alan Grayson. Orlando Sentinel story here.
NBC News projects that Democratic Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe will retain his seat.
NBC News projects that Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin will win the Senate seat in West Virginia. Charleston Gazette story here.
NBC News projects that Republican Rep. John Boozman has defeated incumbent Democrat Sen. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas. Arkansas Democrat Gazette story here.
NBC News projects that Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal will win the Senate seat in Connecticut. Hartford-Courant: "A judge has extended voting in Bridgeport by two hours [till 10:00 pm ET] after a lack of ballots created major problems as citizens were trying to vote in the hotly contested race between U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and Republican challenger Dan Debicella - as well as all other races on the ballot."
NBC News projects that North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr will win re-election.
NBC News projects Democrat Chris Coons will win the Senate seat in Delaware. 8:08 pm ET.
AP: "Former lieutenant governor John Carneyhas claimed Delaware's lone U.S. House seat for the Democrat." The seat is currently held by Republican Mike Castle who lost his primary bid to Christine O'Donnell, the loser in tonight's Delaware Senate race.
NBC News projects that New Hampshire Democratic Gov. John Lynch will retain his seat.
NBC News projects that Tennessee Republican Bill Haslam will win the gubernatorial race.
NBC News projects Demcratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski will win re-election to the Senate in Maryland. 8:08 pm ET.
NBC News projects Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson will win re-election to the Senate seat in Georgia. 8:08 pm ET.
NBC News projects Republican Marco Rubio will win the Senate seat in Florida. 8:01 pm ET. Miami Herald report here.
NBC News projects Republican Sen. Tom Coburn will win re-election to the Senate in Oklahoma. 8:01 pm ET.
NBC News projects Republican Kelly Ayotte will win the Senate seat in New Hampshire. 8:01 pm ET. Manchester Union Leader story here.
NBC News projects Republican Sen. Richard Shelby will win re-election to the Alabama Senate seat. 8:02 pm ET.
NBC News projects Republican Rob Portman will win the Senate seat in Ohio. 7:31 pm ET. Cleveland Plain Dealer story here.
NBC News projects Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy will win re-election to the Vermont Senate seat. 7:07 pm ET. AP report here.
NBC News projects Republican Rand Paul will win the Kentucky Senate seat. 7:02 pm ET. Lexington Herald-Leader report here.
NBC News projects Republican Dan Coats will win the Indiana Senate seat. 7:06 pm ET. Indianapolis Star report here.
NBC News projects Republican Sen. Jim DeMint will win re-election to the South Carolina Senate seat. 7:02 pm ET. The State report here.
... You've probably already seen the 15-second spot above, urging us to vote. The DNC, Ben Smith writes, is "blanketing the web with $2.5 million worth of online ads -- I think the largest online ad buy anyone has made this cycle."
New York Times reporters are taking questions about the election now, some of which they will answer beginning at about noon ET Tuesday.
"The War the Election Forgot." Faye Fiore & Mark Barabak of the Los Angeles Times: "In this turbulent election season — amid the talk of 'tea parties' and the economy and President Obama's approval rating and the fight to control Congress and bailouts and deficits and fear and anger — there is little mention of Afghanistan or Iraq."
On the Hill, there's this sense that there are three [political] parties, the president, Democrats in Congress and Republicans in Congress. -- House Democratic political strategist, a/k/a Anonymous ...
** ... Peter Wallsten & Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal: "Some high-level Democrats are calling for President Barack Obama to remake his [communications team] or even fire top advisers.... Some Democrats were so unhappy with the White House [strategy] meetings, they started their own. Among the complaints: Mr. Obama conveyed an incoherent message that didn't express what Democrats would do over the next two years if they retain power; he focused more on his own image than helping Democratic candidates; and the White House picked the wrong battle when it attacked Republicans for using 'outside' money to pay for campaigns, an issue disconnected from voters' real-world anxieties."
AP: "Republicans outperformed Democrats getting to the polls in Nevada, a promising sign for Republican tea party favorite Sharron Angle in her dead-heat race with Majority Leader Harry Reid, figures showed Monday. Final tallies for two weeks of in-person voting and a preliminary count of mail-in ballots for the state's two most populous counties, Clark and Washoe, gave Democrats about a 9,000-voter edge. The slim margin stands out because Democrats hold a 60,000-voter edge in statewide registration." ...
Screenshot from Angle's "Amnesty Game" page.More last-minute hilarity from Amanda Terkel of the Huffington Post: "Toymaker Hasbro has sent Sharron Angle's Senate campaign a cease and desist letter, saying the Nevada Republican never received permission to use the rights to Monopoly for its "Harry Reid Amnesty Game" website." As of 10:45 am ET, the Angle site was still up.
... Meanwhile, in nearby Colorado, on the eve of the election Sarah Palinendorses xenophobic loonTom Tancredo for governor.
Campus Progress gives us a reason to vote (this is a spoof on a conservative ad that YouTube took down because of copyright violation claims):
Michael Kinsley in Politico: "This conceit that we’re the greatest country ever may be self-immolating. If people believe it’s true, they won’t do what’s necessary to make it true."
"Young Republicans with axes! New York firemen run amok!" Adam Goodheart, in a New York Times op-ed: You think this election cycle is characterized by a lack of civility? "Welcome to election week, 1860"!
Absurdity Is Reality. On one of Krugman's posts some weeks back, I hypothesized, mostly in jest, that tea partiers who railed against President Obama's "Keynesian economics" were really expressing their opposition to his "Kenyan economics." Maybe tea partiers are smarter than the people who rallied for sanity last Saturday. In any event, watch this video of Andy Cobb of Second City interviewing folks who attended the Rally to Restore Sanity:
Bob Herbert: "... political scientists Jacob Hacker of Yale and Paul Pierson of the University of California, Berkeley, argue persuasively that the economic struggles of the middle and working classes in the U.S. since the late-1970s were not primarily the result of globalization and technological changes but rather a long series of policy changes in government that overwhelmingly favored the very rich." ...
... I think my pal Karen Garcia has made the smartest observation of the day in her comment (#6) on Herbert's column:
We're finally beginning to realize that the two-party system - indeed, the whole three-part government system of checks and balances - has collapsed into itself to form one plutocratic whole.
The corporations run the executive branch, the legislative branch and now the judicial branch with the Citizens United case - which has given corporations their own human rights status. Even the so-called "fourth estate" of a free press has begun to be subsumed by the propaganda machine of News Corp and other media conglomerates. -- Karen Garcia
Darrin Bellfinds a couple of guys who agree to disagree. Is this what Jon Stewart had in mind?
Click image to enlarge.
ABC News Gets Its Just Desserts. Greg Sargent. "Andrew Breitbart ... is now accusing the network of lying about whether they had tapped him to do on-air election night analysis. ABC News ... adamantly denied Breitbart's latest attack. But it appears he will still have some kind of role with ABC's coverage. This is worth noting, because it shows how insane it is for any serious news organization to play footsie with this guy." ...
... Eric Boehlert of Media Matters remarks that ABC News execs & Breitbart are feuding over the meaning of their e-mailed correspondence. Boehlert asks, "If ABC doesn't think Breitbart can read emails, why do they want him to comment on Tuesday night's election results?"
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