tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-615277 2013-05-21T21:34:38-05:00 writing is only real on the first draft: liberal manifestos, media & journalism discussion, political crack & general mayhem TypePad Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily Rotation tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191026525c6970c 2013-05-21T21:34:38-05:00 2013-05-21T21:34:38-05:00 Athenae Apparently we de-annexed or excommunicated or whatever the Virgin Islands, because we don't have any responsibility to take care of them anymore: “[Sandy aid] was totally different,” Inhofe said on MSNBC Tuesday morning. “They were getting things, for instance, that... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191026516e0970c 2013-05-21T21:34:28-05:00 2013-05-21T21:33:16-05:00 Adrastos I have a friend who maintains that mainstream European Conservatives aren't all that wingnutty. I hope that he's paying attention to the intra-Tory party debate over marriage equality. Here's what former Party Chairman and Thatcher intimate, Lord Norman Tebbit had... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c6d1abe970b 2013-05-21T15:37:05-05:00 2013-05-21T15:37:05-05:00 Athenae How dare journalists question his stance on disaster relief after a disaster in his state: Funding questions show the crassness of Washington over the sensitivity we need for Oklahoma. Oklahoma does, indeed, need "sensitivity." They also need money. Lots of... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0192aa28f93c970d 2013-05-21T09:23:48-05:00 2013-05-21T09:24:23-05:00 Athenae Surprisingly, people are not satisfied by his "thoughts and prayers:" Your thoughts and prayers are wonderful, Senator, but they're not going to house, feed, and clothe the families that lost their homes. It is not governmental overreach to help those... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0192aa24f784970d 2013-05-20T23:11:17-05:00 2013-05-20T23:11:17-05:00 Athenae Or, at the very least, needs to fire his press secretary: Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn will seek to offset federal aid to victims of a massive tornado that blasted through Oklahoma City suburbs on Monday with cuts elsewhere in... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01910256eef4970c 2013-05-20T16:41:59-05:00 2013-05-20T16:41:59-05:00 Adrastos Style and substance go hand in hand in the best episodes of Mad Men. It is *always*stylish in a variety of ways and sometimes style overwhelms substance, The Crash is one of those episodes. It's made up of some great... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0192aa18d911970d 2013-05-20T12:08:00-05:00 2013-05-20T12:08:00-05:00 Athenae Via Jeff on Facebook, sweet baby Jesus: Last week, on the first stop of the $45 tour, guide Lynn Battaglia, from Pittsburgh, pointed out a housing project. She then mocked the Grand Concourse, modeled after a Parisian boulevard. “Do you... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef019102437420970c 2013-05-20T06:10:00-05:00 2013-05-20T06:10:00-05:00 Tommy T Good morning, everyone! I see there's quite a few drums of concentrated stupid lined up in the staging area with "Ben Gazzara" stamped all over them. Let's suit up and investigate, shall we? The first one just says - But...but....but....BENGHAZZZZZIIIII!‏... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef019102538c82970c 2013-05-19T22:52:17-05:00 2013-05-19T22:52:17-05:00 Athenae These two. It's like somebody sat down and said let's invent something that will make your heart explode. If the actors sucked maybe my chest wouldn't ache. Here's what Davos was getting at, from the books: “‘There’s much I don’t... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c5d71f7970b 2013-05-19T22:41:54-05:00 2013-05-19T22:41:54-05:00 Adrastos Governor PBJ has weighed in on the fake IRS "scandal:" “You cannot take the freedom of law-abiding Americans, whether you disagree with them or not, and keep your own freedom, When you do that, you go to jail." The "scandal"... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191023a4bf3970c 2013-05-19T00:00:00-05:00 2013-05-16T22:54:23-05:00 Adrastos I still have Star Trek on my mind. I stumbled into this documentary on cable the other day and watched it again. The fans are a bit nutty but also pretty darn intelligent, just like my readers. My favorite is... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c549c7c970b 2013-05-18T21:35:39-05:00 2013-05-18T21:37:01-05:00 Adrastos As you may have noticed, I love British politics; especially when one of the major parties is committing seppuku. The quote comes from an unnamed close associate of David Cameron's and it is aimed at local constituency branches of the... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c4fe60f970b 2013-05-18T08:40:24-05:00 2013-05-18T08:40:24-05:00 Athenae We're having a few friends over at Casa Athenae today, and I'm making spinach-sweet-potato pizza, loosely based on this recipe. What's your favorite party food? A. tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191023ed483970c 2013-05-17T15:19:58-05:00 2013-05-17T22:09:08-05:00 Adrastos The good news is that they got the putrid gangbanger who opened fire on the second line in Treme. I should say alleged shooter but the case looks rock solid unless, that is, they blow it. Mayor Landrieu and Chief... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191023d65af970c 2013-05-17T10:01:55-05:00 2013-05-17T10:01:55-05:00 Doc Every fan who has ever experienced it has “that moment” etched in their minds. For the folks who loved the Brooklyn Dodgers, it was the demolition of Ebbets Field by a wrecking ball that was painted to look like a... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191023d3dfd970c 2013-05-17T09:38:10-05:00 2013-05-17T09:36:43-05:00 Adrastos Yeah, I know they call them trousers there but I'm following up on the Pierce/Gohmert theme. The populist right wing UKIP party is facing more scrutiny after its recent success at the polls. One of its donors is engaged in... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c44633e970b 2013-05-17T08:27:58-05:00 2013-05-17T08:27:58-05:00 Adrastos It comes from the great Charles Pierce in a post entitled Louie Gohmert Gets Pantsed: Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, perhaps the dumbest mammal to enter a legislative chamber since Caligula's horse, and Gohmert's only the half of that, pretty... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef017eeb440291970d 2013-05-17T07:21:37-05:00 2013-05-17T07:21:37-05:00 Athenae Pick which of these statements "rings truer," because that is the standard by which we measure truth: Hard as it may be, then, set aside your own politics and ask yourself which of these Monday statements rings truer: "The whole... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c468620970b 2013-05-17T07:01:18-05:00 2013-05-17T07:01:18-05:00 Athenae How do we get a Bucky, a chicken-Riot, and an itty-bitty Claire up and about? Tell them there's a treat in the other room: A. tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c444227970b 2013-05-17T06:30:00-05:00 2013-05-16T22:47:11-05:00 Adrastos We have a trunk as a coffee table. It's attractive, sturdy and it's marked House of Representatives. It was a hand me down from my late boss, friend, and mentor Congressman Gillis Long who died many years ago. We used... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191023a316c970c 2013-05-16T22:37:51-05:00 2013-05-16T22:37:51-05:00 Adrastos This is not an original observation, but I'm sick and tired of gate being apended to every political feeding frenzy that comes down the pike. Watergate was a sui generis scandal that was rooted in the sick, twisted and paranoid... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c3738e5970b 2013-05-16T10:26:45-05:00 2013-05-16T10:25:27-05:00 Adrastos This was one of the last times Orson Welles directed a picture at a major Hollywood studio. It's a good one, but the stories surrounding it are better than the movie itself. Orson royally pissed off Columbia Studio goniff Harry... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0191023482bf970c 2013-05-16T07:18:01-05:00 2013-05-16T07:18:01-05:00 Michael F From Album4 In January the puke funnel was strictly partisan, but now the courtier (or if you prefer, courtesan) press is joining in. Sigh. I noted in a comment to Adrastos' post on a similar article that the only thing... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef017eeb34b6db970d 2013-05-15T18:33:00-05:00 2013-05-15T18:33:00-05:00 Adrastos Here's a swell cover of the Badfinger classic by the great Aimee Mann: tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef017eeb3108be970d 2013-05-15T11:19:39-05:00 2013-05-15T11:21:25-05:00 Adrastos I have Star Trek on my mind. There's a lot of hype surrounding the second JJ Abrams prequel/reboot/whatever in addition to Matt Yglesias' amusing exegesis of the franchise at Slate. It's got me thinking about the Star Trek super villains,... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c34967d970b 2013-05-15T09:42:47-05:00 2013-05-15T09:42:47-05:00 Athenae Just look at these faces. Look at the joy on their faces. Look at what the future looks like. Look at what happens when you keep pushing forward. Look at that song of joy sung upwards to the sky and... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c3470a8970b 2013-05-15T09:21:31-05:00 2013-05-15T09:21:31-05:00 Athenae Joe Biden is like my favorite thing about this administration right now. A. tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef019102097cb1970c 2013-05-15T08:34:16-05:00 2013-05-15T08:34:17-05:00 Adrastos It's not exactly a mystery that I'm a hardcore Tull fan. So hardcore, in fact, that I decline to use the jarring word Jethro. Broadsword is a very underrated LP musically, but there's widespread agreement among the Tullerazzi about the... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef017eeb1d73cc970d 2013-05-13T23:22:56-05:00 2013-05-13T23:22:40-05:00 Adrastos The merger of SCDP and CGC is on, but the new agency remains a horse with no name. Hold on, that's a Seventies song. Never mind. The overall theme of Man With A Plan was power. Don started the episode... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef01901c248975970b 2013-05-13T19:33:56-05:00 2013-05-13T19:33:56-05:00 Athenae If you know me, you know what it cost me to say that just now: While legislation legalizing same-sex marriage remains stalled in the Illinois House and Gov. Pat Quinn calls for the House to vote on the bill before...