Month: August 2006

Martian Melee.

“‘We certainly have not convinced the community, and that’s been a little bit disappointing,’ said David McKay, a NASA biochemist and leader of the team that started the scientific episode.” Ten years later, CNN summarizes the simmering scientific dispute over a Martian meteorite, and the possible (albeit now seemingly quite unlikely) signs of life within.

Joe’s Hill | From Loser to Embarrassment.

Is Lieberman’s MoJoe rising, or have Ned Lamont and his YouTube army stymied the Joementum for good? It’s decision time in Connecticut today, and the political world is watching with bated breath. My hope? Lamont in a walk. Update: As expected, Lieberman is defeated by a margin of 52-48%. Alas, after spewing forth some staggeringly self-serving GOP talking points about “partisan polarizers” in the Democratic Party (which several of the media glitterati are taking at face value), Lieberman has already announced his independent bid. Well, say hi to Zell for us on your way out of the party, Joe, and good riddance.

Way Down in the Hole.

“What The Wire says, repeatedly, is that The System — government, business, law enforcement, everything that runs this country — is broken and that the guardians of The System are too committed to defending the status quo to even try fixing it. It’s not a case of corrupt or evil people choosing to ruin things for the rest of us; it’s people of all moral calibers making decisions within the established context of their own institutions (the police force, City Hall, drug corners) without regard to how they affect the world at large.” The Newark Star-Ledger‘s Alan Sepinwall previews Season 4 of The Wire. (Via The House Next Door.)

Madison Square Jared.

Defensive-minded swingman Jared Jeffries is now a New York Knick, after the Wizards declined to match Isiah’s $30 million offer and picked up DeShawn Stevenson instead. Not exactly what you’d call a silver bullet (6.1 points, 4.8 boards), and we almost definitely overpaid…still, it’ll be nice to have at least one player on the floor who plays D and doesn’t require the ball all the time.

Ney Away | DeLay won’t Stay.

Oof, it’s been a bad 24 hours for Casino Jack’s cronies in the House. With the public in an increasingly unforgiving mood towards congressional incumbents, GOP fave and Abramoff flunky Bob Ney drops out of his Ohio House race. And, one day after losing a bid to get his name off the ballot in Sugar Land, Boss DeLay announces he’ll step aside for a write-in candidate. Update: It appears Ney’s leaving will cause some ballot trouble as well for the GOP.

Inconvenient Truths | Convenient Gaming

And, while I’m snarfing links from other blogs, two choice entries from PlasticBag: (1) A rather lame “amateur” anti-Gore YouTube video turns out to be the work of GOP agit-prop artists, likely at the behest of Exxon; and (2) to keep up with the times, everyone’s favorite real estate robber baron simulation, Monopoly, is forsaking the multicolored cash for debit cards. “It is inserted into an electronic machine where the banker taps in cardholders’ earnings and payments.“

Bowling alone.

“‘People are increasingly busy,’ said Margaret Gibbs, a psychologist at Fairleigh Dickinson University. ‘We’ve become a society where we expect things instantly, and don’t spend the time it takes to have real intimacy with another person.’” CNN delves into the broadening landscape of American loneliness, which, according to the NYT, is becoming particularly acute among middle-aged men without college degrees.

No rest for the wicked.

“‘It was a political calculation that his advisers persuaded him that he needed to do, and I think he knew it,’ said one Republican with close ties to Mr. Bush, who would discuss internal White House decisions only if not quoted by name. He added, ‘I don’t think he is resentful or angry or anything; I think he is resigned to it.”‘ Well, shucks. Sometimes it just sucks to be the leader of the free world (which, you may remember, is “hard work!”): Dubya’s vacation gets cut to only ten days.

Hamstrung by Choice.

“This has constrained U.S. foreign policy in many damaging ways…The United States does not have effective diplomatic channels for managing the situation, much less resolving it.” Former members of Bush administrations past and present criticize the Dubya White House for their complete lack of diplomatic avenues with Syria, Iran, the Palestinians, or anyone else that might be able to mitigate the current Middle East crisis. “As unattractive as they are, the Syrians are in a position to affect U.S. interests in Iraq and Lebanon…We should be having a broad-based dialogue with them — not as a favor to them but as a favor to ourselves.“