I admit that as I’ve seen Governor Palin flailing for answers when being interviewed by Katie Couric I’ve cringed. I’m not alone, as the links in this Salon article by Rebecca Traister point out. But Traister has a clear-eyed view of this: Sarah Palin is no wilting flower. She is a politician who took the …
The House has (for now) voted down the proposed bailout plan. It astonishes me that Republicans are getting away with bashing Wall Street as the root of all evil after licking its boots ever since Ronald Reagan took office.
Weather was a national obsession and had been for centuries. Countless men, including some of the most prominent of their times, kept daily track of the weather and often for decades on end. Thomas Jefferson kept a lifelong weather journal and on July 4, 1776, despite certain other pressing matters, noted the temperature in Philadelphia …
I haven’t spent more than four days of my life in NYC, so it’s not surprising that I have no memory of Yankee Stadium, which is due to be torn down this winter. I actually did attend a game at Shea Stadium, also closing this year. The game I saw was in 1965, when we …
Has anyone else discovered that after downloading iTunes 8.0.0.35 the background colors for the library have gone berserk? In list format my background is an awful magenta and the sidebar is dark green. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the new enhancement Genius is turned on or off. Does anyone know how to turn iTunes …
Yes, says Bruce Bartlett. When you make a bank deposit, you’re essentially lending your money to the bank, which relends it in mortgages, to businesses and for other purposes. It makes a profit on the spread between what it pays depositors and what it receives on commercial loans. Thus, there’s an inherent mismatch between a …
James Fallows may have the best take on last night’s events in Oxford, MS. Side note: I read somewhere that the debate took place almost exactly 46 years after the then-chancellor of Ole Miss denied James Meredith entry to the school. I imagine that symbolism was considered when debate sites were being discussed.
My impressions: Obama was cool, collected, and polite. McCain was grouchy, contemptuous and condescending. McCain was also factually challenged in spots. Since optics are often more important than content (regrettable but true. Al Gore sighed!), I’d say Obama won the bout on points.
Senator McCain parachuted into the negotiations for the bailout bill, blew up the deal, and then decided that his work was done and he could in good conscience go off and debate. So what kind of bill does he back? One which removes even more regulations on capital. He’s certainly proving that he doesn’t really …
The Dodgers win the pennant! The Dodgers win the pennant! Without throwing a pitch tonight, no less. By virtue of the Cardinals’ defeat of the Diamondbacks this afternoon, the Dodgers are going to the playoffs this season. Who are they gonna play? Undecided. the Dodgers still have three possible opponents for the Division Series scheduled …