Still no word from the State Senate's "Independent Democratic Conference" on Kevin Parker, despite my call for their action (which I KNOW they’ve seen).
Being outclassed by Marty Golden, Andy Lanza and Ruby Diaz must really hurt.
Gingrich's problem with the President's policy is not the policy, it’s the President. Weigel : Newt Gingrich Completely Changes Position on Libya in 16 Days www.slate.com
Wieseltier: “Is it hypocritical of the United States to act against Qaddafi and not against Al Khalifa? It is. But there are worse things in this suffering world than hypocrisy. Are we inconsistent? We are. But should we abandon people to slaughter, should we consign freedom fighters to their doom, for the satisfaction of consistency? Simone Weil once remarked that as long as France retained its colonial possessions it was morally disqualified from the struggle against Hitler. It was a breathtakingly consistent and stupid remark. We should be candid. All outrage is selective. Nobody cares about everything equally. Nobody can save everybody, and everybody will not be saved. If everybody who deserves rescue will not be rescued, should nobody who deserves rescue be rescued? If we cannot do everything, must we do nothing? The history of help and rescue is a history of triage. There are also philosophical and moral and political preferences that determine the selectivity of our actions, and those preferences must be provided with valid reasons. Maybe we should be intervening in Burma or Bahrain: let the arguments be made, the principles and the interests adduced. But of course it is not the expansion of American action that interests these writers. What they seek is its contraction.” We Intervene In Libya: Obama's Speech And A Commentary | The New Republic www.tnr.com
The case for being "unsure;” a must read for Hackshaw. Do You Need To Take A Position? | The New Republic www.tnr.com
South Dakota imposes Sharia Law. S.D. Requires Visit to Pregnancy Center Before Abortion www.nytimes.com
Phil Ochs: “And here's to the government of Mississippi
In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down
And criminals are posing as the mayors of the towns
They're hoping that no one sees the sights and hears the sounds
And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown
…Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of” Barbour flew to CPAC on taxpayer dime – Ben Smith www.politico.com
Wisconsin Republican are screwing public employees–one way or another. State officials justify worker’s 35% salary boost addins.wkow.com
The first writing I've seen (besides my own) that gets it–the really fervent opposition to bikes comes not from motorists, but pedestrians!
Money Quote: "Drivers, of course, are used to operating within given constraints and might eventually come around to coexisting with bike lanes. Pedestrians—who have had the most visceral reactions to bike lanes—are another matter entirely."
Mo money: “The New York pedestrian gets good at judging his or her foot speed against the velocity of onrushing vehicles. But the addition of bike lanes, and the bikers they carry, has made jaywalking a more fraught proposition. “You know about the cars. You know about that potential danger when you’re crossing the street. You know you might end up a bag of blood and guts and bones. But that is a finite realm of danger,” says Jack Brown, who used to own a bike shop in the East Village. “When it comes to cyclists, that danger is infinite. Cyclists can be anywhere, at any time: on the sidewalk, riding the wrong way down the street. And you have no peace. The anarchy that has been allowed to prevail is astonishing. According to butterfly theory, according to chaos theory, I am sure that the level of emotional and psychological damage wrought by the bicycle far exceeds the damage done by cars.” Not Quite Copenhagen nymag.com
Pinetop Perkins dead at 97; another life cut short by smoking: Pinetop's curse was no matter how great he pounded those keys, he would never be Otis Spann.
But one of life's great lessons is that there's only one Otis Spann, so you had best strive to be a Pinetop Perkins. Pinetop Perkins, Blues Piano Player, Muddy Waters Sideman, Dies Aged 97 www.bloomberg.com