Thought-provoking and insightful.

Posted at July 5, 2008 9:17 PM in response to Top signs of Netroots overreach

Hey, folks, "flip-flop" is dangerously close to becoming cliche -- along with "changing hearts and minds", "swift boating", and other such worn-out and empty phrases. McLuhan had it right when he taught us that a cliche is a dead metaphor. When everybody with a keyboard relies on tired journalese instead of bright writing... Well, "nuff said".

BTW, "muckraking" continues to be honest work, more exhilarating than tiring. Why not get back to it?

Posted at July 3, 2008 9:32 PM in response to A Time-line Of Obama's Statements On FISA

Spread this wide and far -- the power of the Internet will prevail!

Posted at June 11, 2008 5:56 PM in response to House GOPer Accuses Dem Foe Of ... "Grotesque Medical Experiments" On Human Guinea Pigs

Thoughtful and thought provoking analysis. Thanks so much.

Posted at June 1, 2008 8:57 PM in response to Obama's Strategy. Keeping Cool. or Killing Her Softly WIth His Song

Thanks for the timeline. A question: Is the judge a Navy captain, equal to a full colonel? In any case, it appears that he is taking the fun out of being a brigadier general.

I am reminded of a book published during the Vietnam war with this title: "Military Justice Is to Justice as Military Music Is to Music. (Robert Sherrill)"

Posted at May 12, 2008 4:00 PM in response to Politicizing Gitmo: A Timeline

Ma'am, you and your family are what Maya Angelou meant when she wrote "Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without it we can't practice any other virtue with consistency."

I´m a sole-surviving son of a WWII pilot. Gee, lucky that I'm here at all...and I am very glad to be able to read your words. Thank you, and thank your husband...

Posted at April 21, 2008 9:30 PM in response to "SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK"

No, no. Not comparable. She is in a much different league. The guys at ABC are the big guys, lots of years of experience inside the Beltway, lots of scars from playing gotcha in the halls of government and in the plushest newsrooms in America, lots of money at stake. Mayhill is a kind of savvy travel writer, jenny-come-lately, would-be political writer. I intend no put down. I like her. She has style and is a keen observer, only maybe just a little fresh to the fray, though, and still learning the game. I doubt she had any idea what the consequences of her report would be. Note: Jay rosen knew. His ax to grind is so-called citizen journalism, which I can favor, amateurish though it can/may be. Fowler was used.)

Posted at April 17, 2008 10:24 PM in response to The gaping hole in George S's defense of last night's debate.

HusseinTenaX, you rock!

Posted at April 14, 2008 4:39 PM in response to NRCC-Backed Candidates In Mississippi And Louisiana Have Both Flirted With White Supremacist Groups

Ever since Obama made the speech, I could not get the song out of my head. It is worth listening to again. The lyrics (1982) establishes a time-frame and spells out reactions to which Obama alluded:

"Well we're living here in Allentown
And they're closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem they're killing time
Filling out forms
Standing in line.

"Well our fathers fought the Second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
Met our mothers at the USO
Asked them to dance
Danced with them slow
And we're living here in Allentown.

"But the restlessness was handed down
And it's getting very hard to staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
aaaaaaah aaahhhhh ooooooooh ooooooh ohhhhhhh.

"Well we're waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved.

"So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke,
Chromium steel.

"And we're waiting here in Allentown.
But they've taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaah.

"Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got.
Something happened on the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our faaaaaaaace, oh oh oh.

"Well I'm living here in Allentown
And it's hard to keep a good man down.
But I won't be getting up todaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy
aaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaah.

GUITAR SOLO

aaaaaaah aaaaaaah aaaaaaah oh oh oh.

"And it's getting very hard to staaaaaaaaaaaaaay.
"And we're living here in Allentown."

Posted at April 14, 2008 1:31 PM in response to Video: Pennsylvanians discuss 'bitter' comments

ARG has not been proved to be particularly stable, issuing results that swing around a bit.

Posted at April 14, 2008 1:25 PM in response to Clinton and Obama Today in Pa. Poll