July 26, 2008 10:08pm


Archive for January, 2007



Open Thread and Diary Rescue

Wednesday 31 January 2007 @ 11:03 pm

(Tonight’s selections are brought to you courtesy of the Rescue Rangers. SusanG)

Tonight's first 3 diarists engage their readers with original writing and storytelling at its best (--BentLiberal):

If you're a fan of factual, well-written and politically relevant diaries, feast upon these: I know I did.

These next two are no less than informational epics - thoroughly researched and impeccably written.

Finally...Carnacki picks up where GreyHawk left off concerning "who serves whom" followed up by excellent takes on Libertarianism, the recent peace marches, the GAO and the profit motive.

Tonight's Rescue Rangers were paragraph, Unitary Moonbat, ybruti, nyc in exile, vcmvo2 and Erika, with BentLiberal as editor.

sardonyx has tonight's Top Comments diary.

Add your favorite diaries from the past 24 hours and use as an open thread.




Biden clarifies — says he was quoted accurately

Wednesday 31 January 2007 @ 10:37 pm

There was no misquote.

Biden said of the Observer piece: "I believe I was quoted accurately but they weren't meant to take shots."

So much for trying to find a formulation of the quote that didn't make Biden look so terrible.




Will Meehan Leave Congress?

Wednesday 31 January 2007 @ 9:03 pm

According to the Boston Globe, Marty Meehan (MA-05) is considering taking a position as chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

The opportunity to become chancellor, however, could pose a difficult choice for Meehan, with Democrats in control of the US House and Senate after a dozen years of Republican rule. Meehan, as the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations, is hiring a new staff and laying the groundwork for investigations and hearings into fraud and abuse in the spending of Iraq reconstruction funds. He is scheduled to lead a delegation of its members to Iraq in mid-February.

On the other hand, Meehan, who leads most other incumbent congressmen with a $4.9 million campaign war chest, saw one of his political ambitions fade last week, when John F. Kerry dropped out of the 2008 presidential race and announced he would seek reelection to his Senate seat, which many members of the delegation had hoped to pursue. There has not been a US Senate vacancy in Massachusetts since 1984.

It seems incomprehensible that someone would leave an important House subcommittee chairship to be chancellor of UMass-Lowell,  but, well, what if?

Remember that Meehan was one of the notable misers of the House back before the elections, when we were trying to get members of Congress without meaningful opponents to give some of their campaign funds to the DCCC so that it could support more candidates and get more Democrats elected to Congress.  At the time he was presumed to be saving his money for a Senate run should Kerry run for president, but that didn't stop Barney Frank, who was believed to have the same ambition and had less cash on hand, from giving 30% of what he did have.

While Meehan is a Democrat and would almost certainly be replaced by a Democrat, therefore, what kind of Democrat he's replaced by could be interesting.  (And hey, special elections are always mid-cycle fun for us junkies, right?)




Molly Ivins has died

Wednesday 31 January 2007 @ 7:14 pm

She was 62.

She was a hell of a lady and this loss is gonna hurt.

Thank you for everything, Molly.  Your words will resonate for years and years.

Use this thread to pay your respects.

Update: Jmonch posted this Texas Observer tribute.  What a smile.

Update 2: Here's the AP story




Gear Up, Bauer Style

Wednesday 31 January 2007 @ 6:41 pm

The following blog post was written between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. …

Like most of America, many of us on the Electronics team love the Fox show "24". Sure, the storylines are over the top and it’s really impossible to believe that so much can happen in the span of a single day. But, Jack Bauer rules. Seriously. The dude is awesome.

Gadget freaks have probably noticed that Jack has some sweet gadgets at his disposal. Turns out many of them are not Hollywood creations, but actual stuff that you can buy.

The good folks at Uncrate recently posted a lengthy feature highlighting a lot of Bauer’s favorite tools of the trade.

Sadly, the PDA with the remote trigger detonation button is not included.

~Chris B., Amazon Current




Sienna and Hayden Exhibit Extreme Dedication to Their Craft by Banging For Reals

Wednesday 31 January 2007 @ 6:09 pm

Millerhayden013107

Sources say that the sex scenes between Sienna and Hayden Christiensen in Factory Girl are so authentic because he's really putting it in her . No acting here!

"It's not simulated," an insider tells us. "They're really doing it."

"They spent about a month hanging out," says one pal of Christensen. "But then she decided she didn't want a relationship. Hayden was devastated. He really fell for her."

When it came time to shoot the love scene, word is the former lovers dispensed with the flesh-colored socks and pads favored by actors on less familiar terms. And, once the cameras were rolling, the two 25-year-olds fell into old habits.


Sexy! Even director George Hickenlooper isn't denying it. At the premiere, he said "no comment" and instructed the reporter to "ask Sienna." That's nice. They must have been really going for it. Because I've seen Hayden Christiensen act. He can't. So I doubt he can actually simulate anything. Except a reason for why prequels should never be made.




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