Archive for February 9, 2010
The Infrastructure Thing and the Haves and the Have Nots
Snow Storms & Roads — Steve Clemons:
In snow-challenged Washington, DC, Nebraska Avenue and the roads around Vice President’s Naval Observatory home are immaculate, completely cleared of snow and ice — but the major artery of Massachusetts Avenue is a horizontal snow slush, barely plowed. DC Mayor Adrian Fenty would probably be in bigger trouble with citizens if there were not another ten or so inches of white stuff on the way giving him ‘another chance’ to get the city’s infrastructure back in operation after a storm.
Tea Partiers Buying Ammo, Preparing for a “Post-Islamic” America
I subscribed to one Tea Party Patriot on Twitter about five months ago — and there are hundreds if not thousands of them out there — and I get this kind of thing all day long:
Hello. Is anyone out there keeping an eye on this? John Boehner? Eric Cantor? Glenn Beck? Michele Bachmann? Sarah Palin? The FBI? Anyone?
I feel like I’m watching a murder plot taking shape in plain sight.
Palin, Air America, RIP and Psy-Ops
I have two must-read articles open on my desktop — Air America Radio, RIP. It Didn’t Have to Be This Way, and Palin, Psy-Ops and Condescending Libs — that I must take the time to read (they aren’t your usual 10, 20-sentence posts).
I’m putting them up here as a way to remind me to do that because, the influence — or, more accurately, the stranglehold — the right-wing has on the media in this country is, in my opinion, the most critical issue facing this country
So, check them out if you’re interested.
Rupert Murdoch Must Be Crying in his Sarah Palin Hanky
I love this news: Facebook Sharing Quintuples in 6 Months. I love it because Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News, bought MySpace three or four years ago, and he was hoping he’d be the one getting headlines like this. But no, everyone’s turning to Facebook.
Hah hah hah.
The Sarah Palin Channel (FNC) Defends Palin Again the Meanie Robert Gibbs
Man, imagine being a presidential candidate and having your own 24/7 “news” channel to broadcast your stuff and to defend you against every little thing:
Quite an advantage there, to say the least.
Americans Blame Republicans for Health Care Delay
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll is out. It shows that (1) Americans think Republicans aren’t doing enough to compromise with President Obama on important issues; that they’re “too unbending,” and (2) “nearly two-thirds of Americans say they want Congress to keep working to pass comprehensive health-care reform.”
So, the next time you hear a conservative insist that “American’s don’t want health-care reform,” as they do, endlessly, slap them with this poll.
And to the Republicans in Congress, keep doin’ what you’re doin’.
Is CNN Now the Weather Channel?
I cannot believe how much time CNN is devoting to snowstorms.
Break Time — Food
The FDA is considering changing the rules as to how a “serving size” is calculated and then displayed on food packages. It contends manufacturers make serving sizes unrealistically small (in order to hide high amounts of fat, sugar and salt), which they do.
Consider the humble chip: most potato or corn chip bags today show a one-ounce serving size, containing a tolerable 150 calories, or thereabouts. But only the most disciplined snacker will stop at an ounce. For some brands, like Tostitos Hint of Lime, that can be just six chips.
In the real world, many people might eat two or three times that, or more. Munch half a bag of Tostitos while watching the Super Bowl and you could take in about half the 2,000 calories an average person needs in a day.
“We are actively looking at serving size and evaluating what steps we need to take,” said Barbara O. Schneeman, director of the F.D.A. office that oversees nutrition labels. “Ultimately, the purpose of nutrition labeling is to help consumers make healthier choices, make improvements in their diet, and we want to make sure we achieve that goal.”
Great idea. I hope they do it. (Should have been done a long time ago.)
Robert Gibbs Mocks Sarah Palin
At today’s press briefing, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs curiously had some words written on the palm of his hand:
Eggs. Milk. Bread. Hope. Change.
Come on now Sarah…have a sense of humor!
New Boss Same as the Old Boss
The Credit Card Act of 2009 is set to go into effect on February 22. It’s supposed to protect consumers from lending agencies who charge sky-high credit card interest rates and huge late fees, etc.
Well, surprise, surprise. The banks are devising ways to get around it:
In other words, he has an 8.99% APR that jumps to 29.99% immediately (retroactively, actually, since it can apply to the previous month’s balance) if he misses a payment. Furthermore, the 8.99% rate does not have to be restored after six months of making payments, because the official rate was always 29.99%, and the 70% credit is just a “program.”
This Should be Breaking News All Over the Television
Stimulus Foes See Value in Seeking Cash:
Sen. Christopher S. Bond regularly railed against President Obama’s economic stimulus plan as irresponsible spending that would drive up the national debt. But behind the scenes, the Missouri Republican quietly sought more than $50 million from a federal agency for two projects in his state.
Mr. Bond was not alone. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers, while denouncing the stimulus to the media and their constituents, privately sent letters to just one of the federal government’s many agencies seeking stimulus money for home-state pork projects.
Know Fear
Andrew Sullivan has a good post up this morning about Sarah Palin: Tomorrow Belongs to Her.
Do You Miss Bush?
If you do, you haven’t been paying attention for a long, long time. Kinda like this guy:
