I want to draw you a picture. The President of the United States is sitting across the table from the leader of the second most powerful country in the world. An agreement of historic proportions is about to be made - or unmade. The tension in the room is palpable, billions around the world hang on every nuance. The future of the species hangs in the balance.
Then the President glances down. He frowns, trying to focus on...
...the scribbled and sweat-smeared notes scrawled on the palm of his hand.
For the Sunday Sofa Surfers amongst us, tonight presents a choice of Bruisers or Blusterers.
Sacking vs. Speechifying.
Saints vs. Sarah.
Tackles vs. Terrorists.
Brees vs. Barbie.
Careering vs. Comedy.
Manning vs. Moose Meat.
Force vs. Falsehoods.
Colts vs. Crazy.
Beers vs. Bullsh*t.....
It's been a stormy time in the science of climatology since various emails were hacked that revealed the British-based Climate Research Unit, a major contributor to the IPCC, had used bad data and dodgy coding in some of its reports.
The minimal scientific impact of this has been explored widely, but I'm more interested in the way it has regalvanised a movement which, dominant in the US blogosphere, and now increasingly vocal over here, seeks to deny the agreed probabilities of both climate warming, and human contribution to it.
Once again, the blogosphere, while providing wonderful resources for fact checking, data analysis and corroboration, actually seems to be working in reverse, and actively promoting groupthink, irrationality and faith-based argument...
C-Span has been running the videos from the Tea Party Convention in Nashville all night, and I started watching when I got up in the morning... and, believe me, this is scary stuff. I especially was taken by one Joseph Farah, who is the Founder, CEO and Editor In Chief of WorldNetDaily.
This is scathing stuff about the country's move to Socialism over 90 or so years, the Marxist description of President Obama, and the focus on changing our underlying culture with its non-political organizations away from the socialist-leaning entities that, he says, they have become.
Earlier this week mysterious 'bulletlike objects' were seen in the sky off the coast of Newfoundland. Theories of its origins range from a UFO, French Missile to a toy rocket.
Despite repeated statements by voices on the US political Right about the need to torture terrorist suspects in order to get actionable intelligence, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - the Crotch Bomber - is singing like a bird from his US Federal prison cell near Detroit.
The "underwear bomber" has begun cooperating with FBI counterterrorism agents and has provided "useful, current" intelligence, a law enforcement source told POLITICO. The source said: "It started last week, and has continued for several days. ... We have been following up. The intelligence is not stale." He certainly sees that there are incentives provided by the criminal justice system to cooperate.
For the Sunday Sofa Surfers amongst us, tonight presents a choice of Bruisers or Belters.
Sacking vs. Singing.
Saints vs. Swift.
Tackles vs. Tenors.
Brees vs. Beyonce.
Careering vs. Crooning.
Manning vs. MGMT.
Force vs. Falsetto.
Colts vs. Caillat.
Beers vs. Bravos.....
VS.
**edit: Yeah, Kysen is outed as a non-football fan, tonight is not Super Bowl..it is the 2010 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. Super Bowl is NEXT Sunday...and Kysen is stuck with the Grammys (and chili, and nachos, and chips'n'dip, and beer...hmmm..perhaps the Grammys can be fun as well. Or not.)...and I bet the commercials suck during the Grammys. ;)
A little bit of political history was made today when President Obama addressed Republicans at their conference in Baltimore:
President Obama traveled to a House Republican retreat in Baltimore on Friday and delivered a performance that was at once defiant, substantive and engaging. For roughly an hour and a half, Obama lectured GOP leaders and, in a protracted, nationally-televised question-and-answer session, deflected their policy critiques, corrected their misstatements and scolded them for playing petty politics.
In a live television broadcast the president delivered a prepared address and then participated in a question-and-answer session with Republicans which is unlike anything in recent domestic political history. Coming at a time when Obama's presidency is under increasing criticism for messaging and policy it was a masterful performance which demonstrated his keen grasp of policy and the process of politics as currently practiced in Congress.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has successfully reenergized many among the disillusioned Left, declaring that health care reform is not in fact dead, as some of the more cynical voices among us may have come to fear. At this point, the confusion over what's going on with HCR has become thoroughly discouraging to many who have spent the last few months (or years) championing the cause. The debate became muddled early on in the midst of GOP outrage and hysteria, and as the process progressed, the Left split along ideological lines. We were having enough trouble when we were largely united, and the growing number of divisions have simply confused the issue further.
And though I personally am fond of the president, I still feel that his lack of leadership on health care has been damaging in the long run, and possibly his largest failing thus far. Mixed and ambiguous messages from the administration about key components of the package like the public option only helped to muddy the debate. The lack of vocal support for progressives in Congress and the eagerness to praise disappointing compromises with conservadems has frustrated the liberal and progressive blogosphere to no end, and understandably so. Some among us, myself included, still believe that the better path to HCR would have been an initial push toward single payer, gradually adjusting and making concessions until we worked our way down to a strong public option, which would then have been seen as the marginal compromise that it really is, rather than the socialist government takeover of health care that the Right likes to pretend it would be.
Then again, hindsight is always 20/20, and if we really wanted a president who would push for single payer to begin with, we should have all voted for Dennis in 2008, now shouldn't we?
This week we saw right-wing radio talkshow host JD Hayworth announce his resignation as a broadcast personality so that he could run against John McCain for his Senate seat in Arizona. Last night, after the State of the Union address, John McCain sent out an email offering his counter to the President's speech, and included as usual is a call for donations. The letter strikes a strong yet sharply oppositional tone, disagreeing with the President but showing due respect to the office of Jefferson, Lincoln and Kennedy.
In other words, John McCain has proven that he is a weak socialist homo intent on Eating the Young of the Real Americans who are today being valiantly defended by the Tea Bag Party.
For this reason, I recommend that Democrats across the country donate to the John McCain re-election campaign. The alternative may well be to become accustomed with the term "Senator Hayworth".
I volunteered to do a live blog 'cause our aged member across the pond claims it'll be past his bedtime. I'm posting it a bit early to give folks a chance to settle in and discuss what they want the president to say or not say.
The president steps up to the podium sometime after 9:00pm ~ after the entrances by the cabinet and whatnot. And after he's gladhanded members of Congress who reach out their hands like teenaged groupies (I hollered like a 12-year-old when I saw him during the primaries so I can say that). Just, please, no Bachmann/Bush-style kissing allowed. Blech!
Then the president will stand at the podium for five minutes saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" while members of the Democratic Caucus cheer and Republicans ... don't. Then all with settle down and the president will begin his address.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has successfully reenergized many among the disillusioned Left, declaring that health care reform is not in fact dead, as some of the more cynical voices among us may have come to fear. At this point, the confusion over what's going on with HCR has become thoroughly discouraging to many who have spent the last few months (or years) championing the cause. The debate became muddled early on in the midst of GOP outrage and hysteria, and as the process progressed, the Left split along ideological lines. We were having enough trouble when we were largely united, and the growing number of divisions have simply confused the issue further.
