“‘The short-term politics of this are pretty clear. The long-term politics are pretty clear. And they’re both at odds,’ said Mike Buttry, a spokesman for Sen. Chuck Hagel.” With Republican unity already shattered by Dubaigate, the contentious question of immigration reform threatens to divide Dubya and the GOP anew, as 2008 hopefuls Frist and Tancredo attempt to outflank Dubya on the right on the issue of border security, while McCain tries to shore up his standing with the Bushies. “For Republican presidential candidates, immigration offers up a difficult choice: Appeal to conservatives eager to clamp down on illegal immigration who could buoy your position in the primaries, or take a moderate stand to win independents and the growing Latino vote, which could be vital to winning the general election.”
Cheney gets his chill on.
Entertaining the Vice-President? Set the thermostat, turn on FOX NEWS, stock up on Diet Caffeine Free Sprite, and hide the shotguns. The Smoking Gun gets ahold of Cheney’s “Downtime Requirements,” which have since been confirmed by the veep’s office. Update: Kerry’s requirements get unearthed as well, and they’re even more specific.
Dissipating Duchy.
“The congressman’s tastes were eclectic and a little ostentatious. The man drove a Rolls (a bribe). His furnishings have a similar plea for attention: They shout ‘antique,’ even when they are reproductions.” So pass the wages of sin: As Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s ill-gotten lucre is auctioned off, the Pentagon announces an investigation into how Duke managed to wrangle earmarks for MZM. (Speaking of the demise of Dukedoms, I think my NCAA bracket is now officially busted.)
L for Lowry.
“Nothing better illustrates the simplism of V for Vendetta, or better highlights the unflattering contrast with Brazil, than V’s motto: ‘There are no coincidences.’ The comic beauty of Brazil’s portrait of totalitarianism is that everything rests on random coincidence, which nudges the bureaucracy into its own blind and murderous momentum: A dead fly falls into a computer printer and — voila — poor law-abiding Buttle is mistaken for dangerous subversive Tuttle.” Slate‘s Matt Feeney compares Brazil and V for Vendetta.
The Lion (Finally) Sleeps Tonight.
Hush, my darling, don’t fear, my darling, the Lindas have been done right. By way of Ed Rants, Vidiot tells the story of Solomon Linda and his 1939 hit song, “Mbube” (a.k.a., “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,”) for which his family has — at last — been paid.
Frye’s to go.
Yes, sports fans, it can get worse. The woeful 19-47 Knicks lose rookie Channing Frye for the rest of the season to a ligament sprain in his left knee. Since New York was already way out of contention for the playoffs, playing the rookies (Frye, slam-dunk winner Nate Robinson, David Lee) would’ve been the only positive aspect of the remaining games. Sigh…now, it’ll just be Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury endlessly jawing at Larry Brown.
In the dime stores and bus stations.
“In his conversation with Robert Kennedy, King refused to heed an appeal for moderation: ‘I am different from my father. I feel the need of being free now.’ This impatience for freedom, acted out by the courageous young Freedom Riders, helped propel a reluctant America at least part of the way down the road to racial justice.” In the same NYT Book Review as the Brinkley piece posted on Monday, Columbia’s Eric Foner favorably reviews Raymond Arsenault’s Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice. And, also in history news, the AP profiles historian, Dylanologist, and recent Bancroft winner Sean Wilentz. “There isn’t much that’s gone wrong with the country’s institutions that a good election can’t cure. Or a few good elections. So I have a kind of willful optimism.“
The Raptors Bite Back.
“‘We rely on those transactions,’ Mr. Lay said during the September meeting, according to Mr. Glisan. ‘They are imperative for us to hit our numbers and we will continue to do them.‘” Prosecutors begin to wrap up their case in the Enron trial with the testimony of former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan, Jr., who is currently serving a five-year prison term for his part in the fraud. (He created Enron’s “Raptors,” “four fragile financial structures…used to house assets and investments and to hide losses.”) According to the NYT, he “provided some of the strongest testimony against Mr. Lay heard by the jury so far.”
I’ll miss you most of all, scarecrow.
“Some say that if you’re Muslim you can’t be free.” In a piece that’s drawn some controversy — God forbid our newsmedia call out the President when he’s making stuff up — the AP‘s Jennifer Loven scrutinizes Dubya’s rhetorical reliance on straw man arguments. Many find Loven’s piece convincing.
Massive Spoilers.
“These are just slush funds for conservative interest groups…These organizations would not be in existence if not for the federal dollars coming through.” The Post looks into the Dubya’s administration’s social spending priorities, and finds that during Dubya’s tenure the government has “funneled at least $157 million in grants to organizations run by political and ideological allies.” Says Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.): “I believe ultimately this will be seen as one of the largest patronage programs in American history.“