Other Thoughts

If anyone isn't going out tonight (or tomorrow morning, given when I'm posting this), and has access to C-Span, you might want to check out The Nation Institute rebroadcast of a talk from last October featuring the editorial board and (most of) the writing staff of The Onion. I began reading this paper up in Madison right after it first came out (partly because a friend of mine shared an apartment with one of the then writers). In ten years, The Onion went from being a conduit for take-out restraunt coupons to perhaps the leading voice in social and political satire in this country. The rebroadcast will be at 1:55 am Central Time, and, if I do make it out tonight, I'll try to catch some of it upon returning home.

For the record: Yeah, The Onion is a weekly read (it comes out on the website late Tuesday most of the time). The only reason I haven't made a permalink to it is that I've figured most people who stop by my site already know the url or have a bookmark.

It's also a good, free New York souvenir--whenever I'm in the city, I'll pick up a few copies of the printed edition, and pass them along to friends (along with NYC transit maps). And, no, that's not the ONLY thing I get for said friends, but it's usually what they appreciate the most.

Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention when they revealed who the six people are whose photos appear in the What Do You Think section. Damn. And worse, this is NOT in the C-Span video archive, although it IS in the C-Span store (for $45 bucks).

In Other News

I came across a couple of good posts over at Bad Attitudes, first, a quick piece regarding Halliburton and price fixing--sorry to incorporate the entire post, but it's that good:

The best teacher I ever had told me that a reader can only really remember three points. Anything more complex will fail.

1) Cheney was head of Halliburton before he became vice president of the United States.

2) Halliburton was awarded a no-bid contract to supply fuel to the U.S. armed forces in Iraq.

3) Halliburton overcharged for the fuel by $61 million.

The beauty and clarity of it all brings tears to my eyes.

And second, which is entitled Uncle Strom's Cabin, gives a good account of the Republican Southern Strategy which, in a nutshell, is an absolutely shameful political strategy that they've used since the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Basically, it consists of appealing to the ever present racist tendencies of certain white voters down here in order to consolidate political power. By all means check out the article and the link to The Black Commentator, who has an excellent analysis of the December 7th Howard Dean address. The Black Commentator goes on to explain the necessity of the Kucinich and Sharpton campaigns in keeping pressure on the Doctor (or, should it happen, anyone who takes over the frontrunner position for the Democratic nomination) regarding issues of poverty and race. It makes for good reading.

Oh--speaking of Strom, here's the Washington Post article about Essie Mae Washington-Williams, one of the late Senator's daughters. Reading it makes it clear that the dynamics of race, particularly in the South, are complicated. And, to her credit, I think Ms. Washington-Williams has handled this situation with grace, dignity, and courage.

And on that note, I think I'll close for the evening. The Prine concert last night was just what I expected, and more, by the way--two solid hours of good music, funny stories, and an appreciative audience. This was a good investment of 40 bucks. Might add more comments about it later during the day...