By Michael J.W. Stickings
To all of you, from all of us here at The Reaction, a Happy New Year. We wish you all the best for 2009.
**********
On a personal note, what a year it's been.
With two small children, including a baby, time seems to pass so quickly. My youngest daughter is now over a year and a half old. Hard to believe. I remember the day she was born, and when I first held her, so clearly. My other daughter, now eight, almost seems to be a teenager already. She's growing up so fast. It's scary, in a way, and I'm just trying to take it all in.
And here we are now, still settling into our new house, now our home. I cannot possibly explain the happiness I feel when I look at my family, as I do now, at the end of 2008. I am deeply in love with my beautiful wife. I have two amazing and beautiful daughters whom I adore. I even have a beautiful cat who has been with me through so much over the years. Their happiness is my happiness. They are the wonders of my life.
As for the blog, it was our best year so far, with October and November, in terms of traffic, the best months of the blog's existence. We wrote about so much this year -- it isn't all politics all the time -- but, obviously, the big story for us was the election. This time last year I was in England, watching from afar, preparing for the primary season ahead, but mainly taking a break. Back then, I was an Edwards supporter, more or less, and undecided between Obama and Hillary. I welcomed Obama's win in Iowa, but then also Hillary's in New Hampshire. And then, over time, I grew to be an enthusiastic Obama supporter, declaring my support just before Super Tuesday. There were divisions, then, between those of us on the same side, even here at The Reaction, but we eventually made it through a long and at times bitter campaign and united again behind Obama.
What an incredibly exciting, and anxious, time it was, not so long ago, and then, on Election Day, November 4, we witnessed history. I still cannot explain how incredible that was, and what Obama's win meant to me. It was perhaps the key political moment of my adult life, and, as a blogger, the culmination of so much. I may not be a celebrity blogger, or an A-lister, and this may not be the biggest blog around, but we all worked so hard for this, giving up so much of our time, all of us blogging as a hobby, as something we love to do.
And so I look ahead to 2009 with hope that it is another great year for us, for this blog and for my co-bloggers' and contributors' blogs, but more importantly that it is a great year for us all personally, and for all of you. It is a difficult time, I know, with so much uncertainty and instability at home and around the world, but let us hope that there is significant progress towards a better future in 2009.
Happy New Year to my friends and family, including my family far away in England, to my fabulous co-bloggers, to my friends in the blogosphere, and to all of you, our readers. Be safe out there, be kind to one another, and celebrate in peace.
See you all in 2009.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wise to the words
By Capt. Fogg
This being the last day of 2008, it's customary to bring out my consultant Dr. Syntax and air his views about how none of you speak English properly. Indeed there are a number of stupid neologisms, platitudes,clichés, malapropisms and other linguistic transgressions I'm sick of hearing and you should be too.
It seems however, that academia has scooped old Syntax and released a more official list of awful verbal offal yesterday. Michigan's Lake Superior State University has taken it upon itself, or at least the English Department has, to ban a number of recent common usages, and although my cranky friend is a bit offended at the lack of respect and recognition he feels he deserves, he's used to it and he quite agrees with most of their condemnations.
Carbon footprint has been spewed forth from journalistic smokestacks all year and it deserves to be at the top of the list for many reasons, not the least of which is the inherent misunderstanding of basic chemistry. It's the compounds of carbon fouling the air and carbon dioxide is no more carbon than water is hydrogen, nor does either substance lend itself to having footprints. Find a better term, says my friend Syntax, or you may find his footprint on your you know where.
What else has brought forth the wrath of Syntax this year? Green: yes it's easier to type than ecologically advantageous and easier to attach to every trivial thing, action or policy the creativity of Madison Avenue and other enthusiastic simpletons can dream up. A thermos bottle isn't particularly green, for instance, unless it's made by Stanley, and virtually all things advertised as such wouldn't make a bit of difference even if most of the world bought them -- unless being green in the face from disgust counts. Algae is green and we could do with less of it in our rivers and ponds. Organic? Crude oil and snake venom are organic. Don't look for them at Whole Foods.
Syntax, you'll note I'm not calling him "the good doctor" because that's vapid cliché number 147 on his list, remains thoroughly opposed to a number of hackneyed metaphors, so overused that they have often obliterated more accurate and legitimate words. The now permanent fatwa on the carrion metaphor impact has been joined by ass kicking and references to suction to indicate incompetence or disapproval. These stopped being creative or even mildly humorous before you were born. Stop it.
Perhaps it will be another 4 years before we have to arrest anyone for using stumping and campaign trail, but please use the time to think of more direct replacements for these bits of verbal road-kill.
Syntax has nearly beaten efforting and texting to death, as he does with "verbed" nouns in general, but nearly isn't enough, is it?
Euphemisms such as right-sizing don't disguise the fact that your company is firing your department and it just makes your boss more of a jerk then you knew he was.
Changing the sign on your Chinese, Korean, Thai, Indian or Japanese restaurant to say "Asian cuisine" makes you sound like a moron and it's an insult to the ethnicities you're attempting to cover with some gluey "Asian sauce." There's no such category as Asian, Asiatic or Oriental food - or sauce, and yes all three words mean exactly the same thing. And while we're on the subject of food, what the hell is comfort food and what would discomfort food be?
Graphic doesn't mean scary, and issue isn't synonymous with problem or concern. A bowel movement is an issue -- constipation s a problem.
There's been nothing new in rocket science since Newton and as a metaphor for technical difficulty, you'd be better off talking about rocket technology. All you'd lose thereby is the association with the lemmings of language.
Warfighter. Did we really need that one and doesn't it serve to dehumanize a soldier? As the military ( right after the business school) is often at the forefront of promulgating misleading and opaque usage, I'm suspicious, although I will admit with some degree of guilty feelings that I've always liked Overkill.
So anyway, the old man is getting a bit tired of you and the thoughtless way you talk and of having to remind you of it every year. We both know you'll be eating double bacon cheeseburgers in front of the TV by next week regardless of all your resolutions and you'll still be using "fell swoop" and "control freak" as though you knew what you were saying, you reprobate you.
(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)
This being the last day of 2008, it's customary to bring out my consultant Dr. Syntax and air his views about how none of you speak English properly. Indeed there are a number of stupid neologisms, platitudes,clichés, malapropisms and other linguistic transgressions I'm sick of hearing and you should be too.
It seems however, that academia has scooped old Syntax and released a more official list of awful verbal offal yesterday. Michigan's Lake Superior State University has taken it upon itself, or at least the English Department has, to ban a number of recent common usages, and although my cranky friend is a bit offended at the lack of respect and recognition he feels he deserves, he's used to it and he quite agrees with most of their condemnations.
Carbon footprint has been spewed forth from journalistic smokestacks all year and it deserves to be at the top of the list for many reasons, not the least of which is the inherent misunderstanding of basic chemistry. It's the compounds of carbon fouling the air and carbon dioxide is no more carbon than water is hydrogen, nor does either substance lend itself to having footprints. Find a better term, says my friend Syntax, or you may find his footprint on your you know where.
What else has brought forth the wrath of Syntax this year? Green: yes it's easier to type than ecologically advantageous and easier to attach to every trivial thing, action or policy the creativity of Madison Avenue and other enthusiastic simpletons can dream up. A thermos bottle isn't particularly green, for instance, unless it's made by Stanley, and virtually all things advertised as such wouldn't make a bit of difference even if most of the world bought them -- unless being green in the face from disgust counts. Algae is green and we could do with less of it in our rivers and ponds. Organic? Crude oil and snake venom are organic. Don't look for them at Whole Foods.
Syntax, you'll note I'm not calling him "the good doctor" because that's vapid cliché number 147 on his list, remains thoroughly opposed to a number of hackneyed metaphors, so overused that they have often obliterated more accurate and legitimate words. The now permanent fatwa on the carrion metaphor impact has been joined by ass kicking and references to suction to indicate incompetence or disapproval. These stopped being creative or even mildly humorous before you were born. Stop it.
Perhaps it will be another 4 years before we have to arrest anyone for using stumping and campaign trail, but please use the time to think of more direct replacements for these bits of verbal road-kill.
Syntax has nearly beaten efforting and texting to death, as he does with "verbed" nouns in general, but nearly isn't enough, is it?
Euphemisms such as right-sizing don't disguise the fact that your company is firing your department and it just makes your boss more of a jerk then you knew he was.
Changing the sign on your Chinese, Korean, Thai, Indian or Japanese restaurant to say "Asian cuisine" makes you sound like a moron and it's an insult to the ethnicities you're attempting to cover with some gluey "Asian sauce." There's no such category as Asian, Asiatic or Oriental food - or sauce, and yes all three words mean exactly the same thing. And while we're on the subject of food, what the hell is comfort food and what would discomfort food be?
Graphic doesn't mean scary, and issue isn't synonymous with problem or concern. A bowel movement is an issue -- constipation s a problem.
There's been nothing new in rocket science since Newton and as a metaphor for technical difficulty, you'd be better off talking about rocket technology. All you'd lose thereby is the association with the lemmings of language.
Warfighter. Did we really need that one and doesn't it serve to dehumanize a soldier? As the military ( right after the business school) is often at the forefront of promulgating misleading and opaque usage, I'm suspicious, although I will admit with some degree of guilty feelings that I've always liked Overkill.
So anyway, the old man is getting a bit tired of you and the thoughtless way you talk and of having to remind you of it every year. We both know you'll be eating double bacon cheeseburgers in front of the TV by next week regardless of all your resolutions and you'll still be using "fell swoop" and "control freak" as though you knew what you were saying, you reprobate you.
(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)
The legacy tour continues
By Creature
As if hearing from George, Dick, Condi, and Laura weren't enough, here's Alberto Gonzales playing the victim as he tries to shit-shine his forever tarnished image:
Alberto, leaving aside your disrespect for the actual casualties of the war on terror, you are not portrayed as evil because you implemented "policies people disagree with." You are portrayed as evil because you helped shape and implement policies people consider illegal. You're lucky we have a feckless and almost equally guilty Congress, otherwise you'd be in jail. If the United States ever finds its footing and becomes a country of laws again, I hope to heck one day you, and your buddy Dick, will be swapping war stories behind the same set of iron bars.
Think Progress has more.
(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)
As if hearing from George, Dick, Condi, and Laura weren't enough, here's Alberto Gonzales playing the victim as he tries to shit-shine his forever tarnished image:
"What is it that I did that is so fundamentally wrong, that deserves this kind of response to my service? ... "[F]or some reason, I am portrayed as the one who is evil in formulating policies that people disagree with. I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror."
Alberto, leaving aside your disrespect for the actual casualties of the war on terror, you are not portrayed as evil because you implemented "policies people disagree with." You are portrayed as evil because you helped shape and implement policies people consider illegal. You're lucky we have a feckless and almost equally guilty Congress, otherwise you'd be in jail. If the United States ever finds its footing and becomes a country of laws again, I hope to heck one day you, and your buddy Dick, will be swapping war stories behind the same set of iron bars.
Think Progress has more.
(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)
In the rearview mirror
By Carl
The year is ending today. Please accept my best and fondest wishes for a healthy, and happy New Year. May your best day of 2008 be your worst day of 2009.
I think I suffer from Bush Fatigue. Eight years of a good president is wearing. Eight years of a bad president is exhausting. Knowing full well that he's leaving at the end January, one is tempted to ask if there's any way he can hurry along.
I have hopes for Obama's presidency. They used to be high hopes, until the markets melted away and the economy went in the pan. Now, I just hope he can stop the bleeding and sew up a few of the bigger wounds. He should win a second term (it's hard to unelect a president -- just look at 2004), by which we will have been firmly on the road to recovery.
I think. I hope. It would be hard to imagine a crisis so severe that it would outlast a President's term but there you have it.
Barring a major outbreak of amazing news -- it could happen! -- I should end 2009 about as well as 2008 ends. 2008 saw the collapse of several things in my life, from my health to some family issues that really need to be taken care of. The shocks are over, the regrouping has begun. I figure it will take about a year to recover. This is my time to praise my Jesus for keeping an eye on me, and giving me good friends who have not been afraid to stand up to me and question what I'm all about.
I've made it hard on a lot of you this year, and for that, I am sorry. I've purposely distanced myself in order to give myself some breathing room to examine all that's gone on in the world and in my world. I hope you'll understand. If our friendships cannot survive that, then perhaps we were not meant to be friends in the first place.
I started the year with some goals, and I think I've achieved a few of them. One was to make my blog Simply Left Behind a voice in Blogtopia (© Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo).
More important, my blog won the Weblog Award. I'm nominated again (I'll link the pages and such later this week). I hope to work my magic one more time.
I guest-blogged at Crooks and Liars for a week.
More important to me is not to watch my hit counter rack up points every day, but to see my ideas echo along the corridors of Blogtopia and the blogosphere from time to time. Every so often, I'll see someone quote a piece of mine (I can see the incoming links) and read a discussion about the idea. This is good. This is why I blog. I got this massive brain, the size of a planet, and it would be a damned shame to keep all of the thoughts inside. And for convincing me to do this, I have to thank Katrina. Again.
I promise to work harder on this, to hone my writing and critical thinking (and to perfect my grammar and spelling) and make it easier to coalesce the way I see this world into things that can be talked about. I don't have the time, like a lot of the furry mammalian bloggers, to sit and think and read and edit. I write these posts sitting at my desk at work, and even MIS is getting antsy about that much time spent. It means I will have to work harder at making myself clear.
I want to do this without losing sight of something valuable to be: the transparent thought process. A careful reader of my work will notice every once in a while I'll post something disjointed. This simply means I haven't considered everything yet, but that I feel strongly one way already. I don't want to lose that, because in sharing my thoughts, I share a bit of myself with you.
As well, it gives my reader the opportunity to take his or her own journey with me. It's been fun sometimes to correspond, in comments or email, about a nugget of information and see where things go.
2009 projects to be a quiet year, from a blog standpoint. I don't see where Obama has many choices about what he can and cannot do, so I can't imagine he'll make any significantly controversial decisions. We've pretty much hashed out his policies for the first half of the year, and I don't see him as having the courage to take a real risk with the economy as tattered as it is.
I hope I'm wrong, of course. I like watching my hit counter soar!
(Cross-posted at Simply Left Behind.)
The year is ending today. Please accept my best and fondest wishes for a healthy, and happy New Year. May your best day of 2008 be your worst day of 2009.
I think I suffer from Bush Fatigue. Eight years of a good president is wearing. Eight years of a bad president is exhausting. Knowing full well that he's leaving at the end January, one is tempted to ask if there's any way he can hurry along.
I have hopes for Obama's presidency. They used to be high hopes, until the markets melted away and the economy went in the pan. Now, I just hope he can stop the bleeding and sew up a few of the bigger wounds. He should win a second term (it's hard to unelect a president -- just look at 2004), by which we will have been firmly on the road to recovery.
I think. I hope. It would be hard to imagine a crisis so severe that it would outlast a President's term but there you have it.
Barring a major outbreak of amazing news -- it could happen! -- I should end 2009 about as well as 2008 ends. 2008 saw the collapse of several things in my life, from my health to some family issues that really need to be taken care of. The shocks are over, the regrouping has begun. I figure it will take about a year to recover. This is my time to praise my Jesus for keeping an eye on me, and giving me good friends who have not been afraid to stand up to me and question what I'm all about.
I've made it hard on a lot of you this year, and for that, I am sorry. I've purposely distanced myself in order to give myself some breathing room to examine all that's gone on in the world and in my world. I hope you'll understand. If our friendships cannot survive that, then perhaps we were not meant to be friends in the first place.
I started the year with some goals, and I think I've achieved a few of them. One was to make my blog Simply Left Behind a voice in Blogtopia (© Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo).
More important, my blog won the Weblog Award. I'm nominated again (I'll link the pages and such later this week). I hope to work my magic one more time.
I guest-blogged at Crooks and Liars for a week.
More important to me is not to watch my hit counter rack up points every day, but to see my ideas echo along the corridors of Blogtopia and the blogosphere from time to time. Every so often, I'll see someone quote a piece of mine (I can see the incoming links) and read a discussion about the idea. This is good. This is why I blog. I got this massive brain, the size of a planet, and it would be a damned shame to keep all of the thoughts inside. And for convincing me to do this, I have to thank Katrina. Again.
I promise to work harder on this, to hone my writing and critical thinking (and to perfect my grammar and spelling) and make it easier to coalesce the way I see this world into things that can be talked about. I don't have the time, like a lot of the furry mammalian bloggers, to sit and think and read and edit. I write these posts sitting at my desk at work, and even MIS is getting antsy about that much time spent. It means I will have to work harder at making myself clear.
I want to do this without losing sight of something valuable to be: the transparent thought process. A careful reader of my work will notice every once in a while I'll post something disjointed. This simply means I haven't considered everything yet, but that I feel strongly one way already. I don't want to lose that, because in sharing my thoughts, I share a bit of myself with you.
As well, it gives my reader the opportunity to take his or her own journey with me. It's been fun sometimes to correspond, in comments or email, about a nugget of information and see where things go.
2009 projects to be a quiet year, from a blog standpoint. I don't see where Obama has many choices about what he can and cannot do, so I can't imagine he'll make any significantly controversial decisions. We've pretty much hashed out his policies for the first half of the year, and I don't see him as having the courage to take a real risk with the economy as tattered as it is.
I hope I'm wrong, of course. I like watching my hit counter soar!
(Cross-posted at Simply Left Behind.)
Ownership Society+Unregulated Markets=Crash+Burn
Guest Post by Ted Leibowitz
As mentioned at State of the Day a couple of times back in September, the conservative "ownership society" slogan and blind push has greatly contributed to the economic meltdown currently sucking poor and middle class Americans out their homes and into homeless shelters or the street.
The New York Times ran an in-depth piece on the subject last week.
For the Bushists, it's another "we couldn't have known" moment like the flying of planes into skyscrapers and the devastation wrought on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina:
The fact is they should have seen it coming, there were warnings, but as was typical for the Bush Administration, ideology trumped reality:
Read more here. (Believe it or not, there is more! Tons more! Including other Heckuva Job Brownie-like nepotistic political appointments!)
(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)
As mentioned at State of the Day a couple of times back in September, the conservative "ownership society" slogan and blind push has greatly contributed to the economic meltdown currently sucking poor and middle class Americans out their homes and into homeless shelters or the street.
The New York Times ran an in-depth piece on the subject last week.
From his earliest days in office, Mr. Bush paired his belief that Americans do best when they own their own home with his conviction that markets do best when let alone.
He pushed hard to expand homeownership, especially among minorities, an initiative that dovetailed with his ambition to expand the Republican tent — and with the business interests of some of his biggest donors. But his housing policies and hands-off approach to regulation encouraged lax lending standards.
For the Bushists, it's another "we couldn't have known" moment like the flying of planes into skyscrapers and the devastation wrought on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina:
“There is no question we did not recognize the severity of the problems,” said Al Hubbard, Mr. Bush’s former chief economics adviser, who left the White House in December 2007. “Had we, we would have attacked them.”
The fact is they should have seen it coming, there were warnings, but as was typical for the Bush Administration, ideology trumped reality:
Bushco tried to fire the head of the goverment office that oversees Fannie and Freddie, Armando Falcon, Jr., on the day he was to give a speech outlining how the two companies could default on debt and how that could lead to a financial meltown. The report also called attention to Fanny and Freddie's expanding use of derivatives. Does this remind anyone of the 4-star General Eric Shinseki, who the Bush Administration fired because he said it would take hundreds of thousands of troops to pacify post-war Iraq? Shineski's take on things seems to be far closer to the mark than the "intelligence" the Bushists like to blame for the mess they created, so it is good to see that President-Elect Obama has picked the smart guy to be his Secretary of Veteran's Affairs.Lawrence B. Lindsey, Mr. Bush’s first chief economics adviser, said there was little impetus to raise alarms about the proliferation of easy credit that was helping Mr. Bush meet housing goals.
“No one wanted to stop that bubble,” Mr. Lindsey said. “It would have conflicted with the president’s own policies.”
Today, millions of Americans are facing foreclosure, homeownership rates are virtually no higher than when Mr. Bush took office, Fannie and Freddie are in a government conservatorship, and the bailout cost to taxpayers could run in the trillions.
Also of note in the article is how the warnings of an economic advisor, Jason Thomas, were completely ignored:
Typically, as home prices increase, rental costs rise proportionally. But Mr. Thomas sent charts to top White House and Treasury officials showing that the monthly cost of owning far outpaced the cost to rent. To Mr. Thomas, it was a sign that housing prices were wildly inflated and bound to plunge, a condition that could set off a foreclosure crisis as conventional and subprime borrowers with little equity found they owed more than their houses were worth.
Read more here. (Believe it or not, there is more! Tons more! Including other Heckuva Job Brownie-like nepotistic political appointments!)
(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)
Stunningly superficial
By Michael J.W. Stickings
In case you missed it, former NSA Zbigniew Brzezinski yesterday called out Joe Scarborough -- directly to his face -- on his "stunningly superficial knowledge" of the situation in the Middle East.
Specifically, Brzezinski said: "You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it's almost embarrassing to listen to you."
Hilarious. And right on the money.
For more on the substance of the exchange, see Steve Clemons.
(I can't seem to get the video to work, but both links above take you to it.)
In case you missed it, former NSA Zbigniew Brzezinski yesterday called out Joe Scarborough -- directly to his face -- on his "stunningly superficial knowledge" of the situation in the Middle East.
Specifically, Brzezinski said: "You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it's almost embarrassing to listen to you."
Hilarious. And right on the money.
For more on the substance of the exchange, see Steve Clemons.
(I can't seem to get the video to work, but both links above take you to it.)
The book larnin' president
By Libby Spencer
I couldn't bring myself to read Rove's column announcing Bush is really a closet braniac because he's such a prodigious reader but I choked down Richard Cohen's column to find out what he read. Hundreds of books they claim. It's probably true. It's not like he spent a lot of time socializing.
All I can say is I don't find the mere fact that he had an ongoing contest with Karl over who could read the most books all that compelling a case for Bush's intellect. I might best sum up my reaction by saying, you can lead a man to a book, but you can't make him absorb the content, or take any lessons from it.
(Cross-posted at The Impolitic.)
I couldn't bring myself to read Rove's column announcing Bush is really a closet braniac because he's such a prodigious reader but I choked down Richard Cohen's column to find out what he read. Hundreds of books they claim. It's probably true. It's not like he spent a lot of time socializing.All I can say is I don't find the mere fact that he had an ongoing contest with Karl over who could read the most books all that compelling a case for Bush's intellect. I might best sum up my reaction by saying, you can lead a man to a book, but you can't make him absorb the content, or take any lessons from it.
(Cross-posted at The Impolitic.)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Minnesota Senate Recount -- update 8
By Michael J.W. Stickings
(Update 8? Something like that? See here.)
The latest: "Franken lead at 50 with absentees left to count," according to the Star Tribune. And a winner may be declared as early (late) as next week in what is "on track to go down as the closest Senate election in U.S. history. Franken's current lead is two one-thousandths of a percent. Put another way, that's one vote for every 58,395 cast."
Senator Al Franken.
Get used to it.
(Assuming that everything goes as anticipated from here on out. Franken's lead should expand with the counting of the unopened absentee ballots, but, of course, Coleman could -- and at this point likely will -- launch a court challenge.)
(Update 8? Something like that? See here.)
The latest: "Franken lead at 50 with absentees left to count," according to the Star Tribune. And a winner may be declared as early (late) as next week in what is "on track to go down as the closest Senate election in U.S. history. Franken's current lead is two one-thousandths of a percent. Put another way, that's one vote for every 58,395 cast."
Senator Al Franken.
Get used to it.
(Assuming that everything goes as anticipated from here on out. Franken's lead should expand with the counting of the unopened absentee ballots, but, of course, Coleman could -- and at this point likely will -- launch a court challenge.)
Ignorance and racism, alive and well in the GOP
By Michael J.W. Stickings
You would think -- would you not? -- that a contender for the top spot of a major American political party who sent out a CD to party members with the song "Barack the Magic Negro" on it would no longer be a contender.
Oh, how wrong you would be.
Because this is the GOP we're talking about, and many Republicans, it seems, are unabashedly racist -- and in a complete state of denial about it, mainly because they're just too damn ignorant to know any better.
As the Politico is reporting, Chip Saltsman's fortunes haven't quite dimmed as expected. The former head of the Tennessee GOP is even benefitting from the controversy, with party members actually rallying to his side.
Consider these representative comments:
-- Mark Ellis (chairman, Maine GOP): "When I heard about the story, I had to figure out what was going on for myself. When I found out what this was about I had to ask, 'Boy, what’s the big deal here? because there wasn't any."
-- Carolyn McClarty (committee member, Oklahoma GOP): "I don't think he intended it as any kind of racial slur. I think he intended it as a humor gift. I think it was innocently done by Chip."
-- Paul Reynolds (committee member, Alabama GOP): "Chip probably could have thought it through a bit more, but he was doing everyone a favor by giving us a gift. This is just people looking for something to make an issue of."
Really? People are just making "an issue" of this? It's no "big deal? "Magic Negro" isn't a racial slur? It was just a "gift," and all in good fun?
Surely these three idiots aren't alone. The song was first played on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, and I'm sure that many Republicans laughed heartily at its racist depiction of Obama.
As Carol noted, not all Republicans are amused, but it's a pretty damning indictment of what really makes the GOP tick.
(Make sure to read Capt. Fogg's post on the controversy from last Saturday.)
You would think -- would you not? -- that a contender for the top spot of a major American political party who sent out a CD to party members with the song "Barack the Magic Negro" on it would no longer be a contender.
Oh, how wrong you would be.
Because this is the GOP we're talking about, and many Republicans, it seems, are unabashedly racist -- and in a complete state of denial about it, mainly because they're just too damn ignorant to know any better.
As the Politico is reporting, Chip Saltsman's fortunes haven't quite dimmed as expected. The former head of the Tennessee GOP is even benefitting from the controversy, with party members actually rallying to his side.
Consider these representative comments:
-- Mark Ellis (chairman, Maine GOP): "When I heard about the story, I had to figure out what was going on for myself. When I found out what this was about I had to ask, 'Boy, what’s the big deal here? because there wasn't any."
-- Carolyn McClarty (committee member, Oklahoma GOP): "I don't think he intended it as any kind of racial slur. I think he intended it as a humor gift. I think it was innocently done by Chip."
-- Paul Reynolds (committee member, Alabama GOP): "Chip probably could have thought it through a bit more, but he was doing everyone a favor by giving us a gift. This is just people looking for something to make an issue of."
Really? People are just making "an issue" of this? It's no "big deal? "Magic Negro" isn't a racial slur? It was just a "gift," and all in good fun?
Surely these three idiots aren't alone. The song was first played on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, and I'm sure that many Republicans laughed heartily at its racist depiction of Obama.
As Carol noted, not all Republicans are amused, but it's a pretty damning indictment of what really makes the GOP tick.
(Make sure to read Capt. Fogg's post on the controversy from last Saturday.)
Year in Review
By Carl
OK, so it's the penultimate day of 2008.
I wait all year to use that word, "penultimate". It reminds me of the Parker ballpoint I got for graduating from junior high school.
Careful readers of my blog might recall that, back on January 4, I ran a special "Nobody Asked Me, But..." in which I predicted the top ten stories of 2008.
Let's look at those predictions again:
1) Sub-Saharan Africa - What can be said about what I picked as the most important story of 2008 except that I hate being right. Cholera and ebola outbreaks in Zimbabwe and the Congo, a stolen election in Zimbabwe that's threatening to overrun South Africa, tribal warfare in Nigeria, Somalia in chaos again... did I mention the pirates?
2) Global Warming - Well, what can I say? Two devastating wildfires in Santa Barbara, tornadoes at Christmas (!?), Hurricane Ike and five other storms touching down in the US as well as Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (which killed 85,000 people, tho you never read about it), and 87 tornadoes on Super Tuesday. Apparently, God didn't like His choices much.
3) Oil - Crude futures averaged $100 a barrel this year, and that's with the high of $147 a barrel in June. This likely caused #7 below.
4) 2008 Elections - I'd say I was right about this being an important story. I'm tempted to say this should have been swapped with number 2 for importance. The Congressional races were, as I pointed out, the real story of the general election. Even now, the entire story has not been written, as Minnesota is taking its time announcing the winner of its senate race.
5) Biotechnology - Believe it or not, this was a big year for biotech. For example, despite the cool Spring temperatures and June floods, the corn crop was the second largest ever produced in America, thanks to biotech. Soy had it's fourth largest crop. And who can forget the Gardasil battle? The genes for lung cancer were identified. And the crowning achievement: the transplant of a patient's windpipe grown from her own stem cells.
6) Beijing Olympics - pictorial proof:
I wait all year to use that word, "penultimate". It reminds me of the Parker ballpoint I got for graduating from junior high school.
Careful readers of my blog might recall that, back on January 4, I ran a special "Nobody Asked Me, But..." in which I predicted the top ten stories of 2008.
Let's look at those predictions again:
1) Sub-Saharan Africa - What can be said about what I picked as the most important story of 2008 except that I hate being right. Cholera and ebola outbreaks in Zimbabwe and the Congo, a stolen election in Zimbabwe that's threatening to overrun South Africa, tribal warfare in Nigeria, Somalia in chaos again... did I mention the pirates?
2) Global Warming - Well, what can I say? Two devastating wildfires in Santa Barbara, tornadoes at Christmas (!?), Hurricane Ike and five other storms touching down in the US as well as Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (which killed 85,000 people, tho you never read about it), and 87 tornadoes on Super Tuesday. Apparently, God didn't like His choices much.
3) Oil - Crude futures averaged $100 a barrel this year, and that's with the high of $147 a barrel in June. This likely caused #7 below.
4) 2008 Elections - I'd say I was right about this being an important story. I'm tempted to say this should have been swapped with number 2 for importance. The Congressional races were, as I pointed out, the real story of the general election. Even now, the entire story has not been written, as Minnesota is taking its time announcing the winner of its senate race.
5) Biotechnology - Believe it or not, this was a big year for biotech. For example, despite the cool Spring temperatures and June floods, the corn crop was the second largest ever produced in America, thanks to biotech. Soy had it's fourth largest crop. And who can forget the Gardasil battle? The genes for lung cancer were identified. And the crowning achievement: the transplant of a patient's windpipe grown from her own stem cells.
6) Beijing Olympics - pictorial proof:
7) Economic disaster - Your 401(k) lost 40% of its value in 2008 alone, 50% since October 2007. The Bush administration, yet again, proved its inability to respond to any crisis that didn't involve sending troops in.
8) Nationalism - I put this forward as an economic issue, never imagining that when the US sneezed, the world might catch its flu. No one really stepped up to absorb weakened US companies. We saw Saudis invest heavily in Citigroup, but they already had sizable investments there. Nomura Holdings did buy Lehman Brothers, but any chance of GM or Ford being bought is in abeyance as the bailout program is rolled out. I'd take this one off the list.
9) Indonesia - Again, I focused on natural disaster in Indonesia. This was a bit of a gamble, to be frank. altho I couched it in terms of "near term". Java did suffer some landslides, and many other parts of the island chain had fires, floods and landslides as the year closed. Estimates are that some 500-1,000 people died as the result of these events. The prediction I made was for a catastrophic event to occur. These were mostly do to deforestation and bad land management practices.
10) Avian flu - Fewer human deaths this year than last, however the disease remains as virulent in the avian population as ever and is spreading farther afield now. However, this is pretty disturbing news.
I'll have my predictions for 2009 up on Friday. Tomorrow, I look back on the year passed with a bit more reflectivity.
That's right, I'll put on my tin-foil hat!
8) Nationalism - I put this forward as an economic issue, never imagining that when the US sneezed, the world might catch its flu. No one really stepped up to absorb weakened US companies. We saw Saudis invest heavily in Citigroup, but they already had sizable investments there. Nomura Holdings did buy Lehman Brothers, but any chance of GM or Ford being bought is in abeyance as the bailout program is rolled out. I'd take this one off the list.
9) Indonesia - Again, I focused on natural disaster in Indonesia. This was a bit of a gamble, to be frank. altho I couched it in terms of "near term". Java did suffer some landslides, and many other parts of the island chain had fires, floods and landslides as the year closed. Estimates are that some 500-1,000 people died as the result of these events. The prediction I made was for a catastrophic event to occur. These were mostly do to deforestation and bad land management practices.
10) Avian flu - Fewer human deaths this year than last, however the disease remains as virulent in the avian population as ever and is spreading farther afield now. However, this is pretty disturbing news.
I'll have my predictions for 2009 up on Friday. Tomorrow, I look back on the year passed with a bit more reflectivity.
That's right, I'll put on my tin-foil hat!
(Cross-posted at Simply Left Behind.)
What qualifies as news on a slow news day?
By Carol Gee
This is news -- "Death Toll surpasses 350 in Fourth Day of Conflict," at Memeorandum from the New York Times. Twenty-one different stories follow the site's same Middle East theme. This disturbing conflict broke out, hundreds are dead and our future and current presidents remain on vacation, "getting regular briefings" as they say. So far, President-elect Obama has deferred to President Bush, not commenting directly on the outbreak of violence. Transition/vacation/holiday time in the USA appears to be the perfect period for the protagonists. All of us are waiting for THE CHANGE except the Israelis and the Palestinians. They are in predictable sync after decades of THE SAME, unable to think new thoughts or try new solutions. And it will not be over by January 20, as Steve Benen wisely reminds us.
What about Congress and this issue? Congress is also on vacation, and that usual Tuesday theme is almost devoid of any meaningful items these days. However, Congressional Quarterly yesterday reported on what various legislators are saying about the conflict between Hamas and Israel. Predictably, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev), up for reelection in 2010, Reps Howard Berman, D-CA) and Illeana Ross-Lehtinen, Chair and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, all come down on the side of Israel. In contrast Rep. Dennis Kucinich is calling for a UN inquiry into the Gaza situation. To quote:
“Israel is leveling Gaza to strike at Hamas, just as they pulverized south Lebanon to strike at Hezbollah,” Kucinich said. “Yet in both cases civilian populations were attacked, countless innocents killed or injured, infrastructure targeted and destroyed, and civil law enforcement negated. All this was, and is, disproportionate, indiscriminate mass violence in violation of international law. Israel is not exempt from international law and must be held accountable. It is time for the UN to not just call for a cease-fire, but for an inquiry as to Israel’s actions.”
The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli air strikes has reached 300 so far, and Israeli officials said they were expecting a lengthy campaign to destroy Hamas’ military capacity. Israel has called up 6,500 reservists for a possible ground assault on the Gaza Strip.
So far, Hamas rockets have killed two Israelis and wounded scores of others.
Any other news about Congress? Rep. Rahm Emanuel will resign his House seat on January 2 to become President-elect Obama's Chief of Staff. A special election in the spring will fill the vacancy, the WaPo's Anne Kornblut reports. Senator Norm Coleman and would-be senator Al Franken are still in a tussle over counting rejected ballots, the count stalled by their lawyers, and facing a court imposed deadline to finish. And because the Illinois seat of Barack Obama will remain vacant for a time, the Senate will have 57 Democrats, a majority short of being able to break a Republican filibuster. What would the Congressional Republican opposition target? Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) are already signalling that they intend to slow down any early passage of an economic stimulus package by demanding "a more methodical process that might delay the legislation's passage will into February," according to the Washington Post. Ironically, they are now calling for fiscal responsibility and opposing "more pork-barrel spending." Why are we not surprised that bipartisanship has not broken out all over the Hill? Watch and take notes, as this minority tactic will be a model for the 111th Congress starting January 6, 2009.
This is not news -- Also at Memeorandum from People.com: "Bristol Palin welcomes a son." A couple more stories follow along, including sites named appropriately, The Dish Rag and The Swamp, along with the predictable Anchorage Daily News. So what else is new? I admit that I am doing here what I hate in the MSM -- repeating inane gossip. So Sarah Palin is a grandma; so am I (six times). You know it is a slow news day when I join the chattering class to once again discuss Sarah Palin.
(Cross-posted at South by Southwest.)
AMANI THE BABY AARDVARK
AMANI THE AARDVARK ARRIVES PEACEFULLY AT DETROIT ZOO
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Detroit Zoo’s newborn aardvark, Amani (Swahili for “peace”), was born at 1:05 a.m. on December 8 to mother, Rachaael, and father, Mchimbaji. The Zoo is awaiting DNA test results to determine the sex.
The 23-inch infant arrived hairless, weighing 3 pounds, 10 ounces, with ears measuring 4 inches. “This baby can only be described as hideously cute,” said Director of Conservation and Animal Welfare Scott Carter. “Rachaael is a first-time mother and is showing great maternal instincts.”
Due to the aardvark’s clumsy nature and poor eyesight, veterinary and zookeeper staff are assisting Rachaael with raising the fragile baby to prevent the possibility of it being injured. Since the birth, Amani has more than doubled in size. Adult aardvarks can weigh from 90 to 145 pounds and grow 5 to 6 feet in length.
The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is an African mammal whose name derives from the Afrikaans word “earth pig”. The animal’s unusual appearance plays a part in its success as a forager. The ears point forward to enable it to listen for the sound of insects. The snout is long and filled with hair that acts as a filter, letting scents in and keeping dirt out. Strong limbs and spoon-shaped claws can tear though the sturdiest of termite mounds, allowing the aardvark to trap insects with its long, sticky tongue which can be up to 12 inches long.
Amani will be seen with Rachaael and Mchimbaji across from the giraffe habitat in the spring of 2009 with the Zoo’s other aardvarks, Amy Bob and Lily.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Macho doesn't work as a foreign policy
By Creature
Trying to leave aside every tit for tat, every historical complication, every raw nerve of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and just look at what Israel is doing today (bombing the fuck out of Gaza), it's hard not to see their actions as anything but just plain dumb. If I'm willing to criticize the hawks here in the U.S. for inflaming anger and creating another generation of terrorists, I'll do the same to Israel (a country I have visited, have relatives in, and love, BTW). If the dumbfucks who are leading Israel, Hamas (and America, for that matter) cannot see that bombing people is counterproductive to the ultimate goal of living peaceably, side by side, then I have to assume I am wrong about the ultimate goal and really this is all about continuing the cycle of violence.
(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)
Trying to leave aside every tit for tat, every historical complication, every raw nerve of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and just look at what Israel is doing today (bombing the fuck out of Gaza), it's hard not to see their actions as anything but just plain dumb. If I'm willing to criticize the hawks here in the U.S. for inflaming anger and creating another generation of terrorists, I'll do the same to Israel (a country I have visited, have relatives in, and love, BTW). If the dumbfucks who are leading Israel, Hamas (and America, for that matter) cannot see that bombing people is counterproductive to the ultimate goal of living peaceably, side by side, then I have to assume I am wrong about the ultimate goal and really this is all about continuing the cycle of violence.
(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)
Captain Obvious! Your story is up!
By Carl
Well, I mean, duh!:
Now, look, I understood and could even support to an extent the concept behind virginity pledges: If you've raised a fairly obedient kid, and have lectured him or her about the evils of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and sex (particularly any combination of the four), likely you can expect to raise a child who remains unmolested by at least one of the above.
If you are really, really lucky. And I mean, "hit the lottery the same day that your rich uncle dies and Michelle Pfeiffer (or Pierce Brosnan) asks you on a date" lucky.
That lucky.
So hey, it could happen and hey, it's not a bad idea to reinforce your belief that a child shouldn't be having sex. Parents are supposed to set boundaries. Children are supposed to knock them down if they can.
Here's what is laughable about this whole trope, the way it's been rolled out in America: the exact people who SHOULDN'T be using this form of contraception ARE!
The only scenario in which this kind of paternalistic parenting approach works is a family environment where love, tolerance, acceptance and education prevail:
The kid's likely to fail. Take it as a given. However, this type of relationship is likely the ONLY one that will produce a marked record of success. The child is making the promise out of a sense of security and safety, not out of fear.
It is in the climate of fear, however, that this promise is usually made:
You get the picture. Not only is the second kid less likely to keep the promise, but is more likely to be unprepared for when he or she does break it. After all, it's not likely that this kid is going to find birth control, and certainly unlikely that he or she will keep it on hand. Worse, this kid is going to work overtime to make sure that Dad never finds out, that Mom never finds out, and that means he or she will have to lie like an area rug when Mom and Dad begin the formal inquisition.
Anyone who believes this kind of program is going to make the excitement and stimulations of teenaged sex go away is deluding themselves. You can throw all the cold showers and church retreats and PG-rated activities you want, the simple fact is, kids will have sex, which will influence their friends to have sex, which will influence more friends to have sex, and so on.
You want to know what will stop kids from having sex? Nothing. You want to know what will make kids think responsibly about sex?
Thinking responsibly about kids.
(Cross-posted at Simply Left Behind.)
Well, I mean, duh!:
Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.
The new analysis of data from a large federal survey found that more than half of youths became sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they had taken a "virginity pledge," but that the percentage who took precautions against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases was 10 points lower for pledgers than for non-pledgers.
Now, look, I understood and could even support to an extent the concept behind virginity pledges: If you've raised a fairly obedient kid, and have lectured him or her about the evils of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and sex (particularly any combination of the four), likely you can expect to raise a child who remains unmolested by at least one of the above.
If you are really, really lucky. And I mean, "hit the lottery the same day that your rich uncle dies and Michelle Pfeiffer (or Pierce Brosnan) asks you on a date" lucky.
That lucky.
So hey, it could happen and hey, it's not a bad idea to reinforce your belief that a child shouldn't be having sex. Parents are supposed to set boundaries. Children are supposed to knock them down if they can.
Here's what is laughable about this whole trope, the way it's been rolled out in America: the exact people who SHOULDN'T be using this form of contraception ARE!
The only scenario in which this kind of paternalistic parenting approach works is a family environment where love, tolerance, acceptance and education prevail:
DAD: You know I respect you and love you, but I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you won't have sex until you are married and that you will come talk to me and be honest with me if you decide to break this promise.
CHILD: Dad, because you've always been honest and open with me, and given me guidance, I will promise not to have sex until I am married, with the understanding that mistakes happen, and I may not always be in control of how a promise like this might be broken. When it happens, I will need your guidance and trust, rather than your anger and disappointment.
The kid's likely to fail. Take it as a given. However, this type of relationship is likely the ONLY one that will produce a marked record of success. The child is making the promise out of a sense of security and safety, not out of fear.
It is in the climate of fear, however, that this promise is usually made:
DAD: Goddamit, don't you EVER have sex until you're married! I will not support you and some tramp/boy and your baby while you two figure out how to play house. Promise me, dammit, now!
CHILD: Um, OK, Dad, I promise. Can I go play with my, um, Wii now?
You get the picture. Not only is the second kid less likely to keep the promise, but is more likely to be unprepared for when he or she does break it. After all, it's not likely that this kid is going to find birth control, and certainly unlikely that he or she will keep it on hand. Worse, this kid is going to work overtime to make sure that Dad never finds out, that Mom never finds out, and that means he or she will have to lie like an area rug when Mom and Dad begin the formal inquisition.
Anyone who believes this kind of program is going to make the excitement and stimulations of teenaged sex go away is deluding themselves. You can throw all the cold showers and church retreats and PG-rated activities you want, the simple fact is, kids will have sex, which will influence their friends to have sex, which will influence more friends to have sex, and so on.
You want to know what will stop kids from having sex? Nothing. You want to know what will make kids think responsibly about sex?
Thinking responsibly about kids.
(Cross-posted at Simply Left Behind.)
Saying goodbye to 2008
By Carol Gee
When it comes to 75% of Americans,# we cannot say "Goodbye to all that," including George W. Bush, soon enough. To set the stage for this post, check out "Bush by the Numbers 2.0." from ProPublica: ". . . our look at the 43rd president's impact across American life." This piece is a set of great graphic comparisons of before and after Bush, a catalyst in America's declining influence.#
Say Goodbye to "That's not my fault" --
Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are "betmo"* and Jon#.
When it comes to 75% of Americans,# we cannot say "Goodbye to all that," including George W. Bush, soon enough. To set the stage for this post, check out "Bush by the Numbers 2.0." from ProPublica: ". . . our look at the 43rd president's impact across American life." This piece is a set of great graphic comparisons of before and after Bush, a catalyst in America's declining influence.#Say Goodbye to "That's not my fault" --
- Regrets? Bush has too few to mention, according to this 12/23/08 story at Politico.
- Christopher Cox, SEC Chairman: (from ProPublica and WaPo) "When Cox was asked whether he should be blamed for a culture of lax enforcement that allowed multiple warnings about . . . [allowing Madoff] fraud to go undetected, he said: "Absolutely not. In fact, it's in the DNA here that people thrive on bringing big cases."
- "Browse Iraq Reconstruction History for Yourself" (12/15/08) Read it and weep.
- "HUD Secretary Steve Preston told the Washington Post that the [Hope for Homeowners'] program is a flop: Only 312 people have applied because it’s "too expensive and onerous for lenders and borrowers alike."
- Robert F. Dacey, GAO chief accountant's report: "Since a consolidated federal financial report was first required by law starting in fiscal year 1997, the GAO has said that agency systems for keeping track of finances were flawed." [Agencies that cannot pass an audit: Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, for example]
- Why Detroit got the kitchen sink of questions: (from 12/9/08 TPM Muckracker) A GAO report on how treasury disbursed bailout monies gives us "two kinds of news about the TARP program - bad news and worse news," says Rep. Barney Frank.
- Watch the old movie It's a Wonderful Life to learn how it all happened (from Newsweek).
- Read Arianna Huffington# (at AlterNet) who says, "The Right-wing Economics That Got Us Into This Mess Should Go the Way of Soviet Communism."
- CNBC's Biased Reporting on the PPT# [Plunge Protection Team]: (from Funny Money Report) -- Did the government manipulate the financial market?
- "The 10 Worst Corporations of 2008#. The financial meltdown and economic crisis illustrated that corporations will destroy even themselves in search of profit." (from AlterNet): "AIG: Money for nothing. . . Cargill: Food Profiteers . . . Chevron: 'We can't let little countries screw around with big companies' . . . Constellation Energy: Nuclear Operators . . . CNPC (Chinese National Petroleum Corp): Fueling Violence in Darfur . . . Dole: The Sour Taste of Pineapple . . . GE: Creative Accounting . . . Imperial Sugar: 13 Dead . . . Philip Morris International: Unshackled . . . Roche: Saving Lives is Not Our Business . . . "
- Robert M. "Mike" Duncan#: (from Newsweek) The chairman of the Republican National Committee said Saturday he was "shocked and appalled" that one of his potential successors had sent committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a 2007 parody song called "Barack the Magic Negro."
- Year-end Whoppers # (from Newsweek): "Consider some of the bogus claims we've debunked just since Election Day." And from Think Progress: "Limbaugh's Crazy Conspiracy Theory: Democrats Started the Economic Crisis to Help Elect Obama."#
- Get Ready for a Lost Decade# (from The Wall Street Journal): Pure pessimism -- "Our point here is that the bad policy vicious circle probably has a long way to run. While it's still possible to entertain wild hopes about an Obama administration, such hopes are partly self-liquidating on closer inspection -- they exist in the first place only because Mr. Obama has given us so little to go on, except campaign boilerplate. Bottom line: Politics is in charge -- in a way that makes a lost decade of subpar prosperity more likely than not." The Plank adds its own "Depressing Thoughts"* about the world's fiscal future.
Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are "betmo"* and Jon#.
(Cross-posted at South by Southwest.)
ANN SAVAGE - Femme Fatale - 1921 - 2008
Detour is one of the best film noir , femme fatale and independent minded films ever !
From Bittenandbound.com
Ann Savage, born Bernice Maxine Lyon, was a motion picture actress for more than sixty years. Her publicist Kent Adamson issued a statement indicating that the actress died in a nursing home
at age 87 on December 25, 2008 from complication following a series of strokes.
The actress was known for her cigarette-puffing femme fatale role in Detour, where she blackmailed a stranger. Savage and her Detour co-star Tom Neal made three other movies: Klondike Kate, Two Man Submarine and Unwritten Code. They also appeared together in a television show
Gangbusters.
Savage appeared in 30 films and in later years attended numerous film festivals and earned the respect of several generations of independent film directors. Wim Wenders called her work in Detour “at least 15 years ahead of its time”. Ann more recently earned rave reviews for her stunning performance as Canadian director Guy Maddin’s mother in his most acclaimed film My Winnipeg (2008).
Ann Savage discussing her role in Edgar Ulmer's DETOUR
From Bittenandbound.com
Ann Savage, born Bernice Maxine Lyon, was a motion picture actress for more than sixty years. Her publicist Kent Adamson issued a statement indicating that the actress died in a nursing home
at age 87 on December 25, 2008 from complication following a series of strokes.
The actress was known for her cigarette-puffing femme fatale role in Detour, where she blackmailed a stranger. Savage and her Detour co-star Tom Neal made three other movies: Klondike Kate, Two Man Submarine and Unwritten Code. They also appeared together in a television show
Gangbusters.
Savage appeared in 30 films and in later years attended numerous film festivals and earned the respect of several generations of independent film directors. Wim Wenders called her work in Detour “at least 15 years ahead of its time”. Ann more recently earned rave reviews for her stunning performance as Canadian director Guy Maddin’s mother in his most acclaimed film My Winnipeg (2008).
Ann Savage discussing her role in Edgar Ulmer's DETOUR
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The Reaction in Review (Dec. 28, 2008)
Looking ahead to a Happy New Year for all our readers . . .
Here are a weekend's Reactions that deserve a second look:
Sunday
By Carol Gee: "End of the year national security wrap-up" -- Summarizing the latest significant news items connected to the world of Intel, Gitmo, Court decisions, etc.
Saturday
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Truth, justice and the Zimbabwean way" -- Michael concludes, "The Mugabe regime is the enemy of truth and justice. There won't be any of either in Zimbabwe until Mugabe is gone."
By Creature: "Another disaster on Bush's watch" -- Creature's short-and-sweet comments on the "largest environmental disaster of its kind in the United States," that will go on Bush's growing list.
By Capt. Fogg: "Light at heart" -- The good Captain takes on Rush Limbaugh, "Chip" Saltsman, et al for their distribution of a disturbing, shameful, racist piece of garbage . . . at Christmas time!
By Mustang Bobby: "Harold Pinter (1930-2008)" -- A great writer's personal reflection on the life of a playwright who inspired so many with his unique style, keen mind, prolific pen and fierce independence.
Here are a weekend's Reactions that deserve a second look:
Sunday
By Carol Gee: "End of the year national security wrap-up" -- Summarizing the latest significant news items connected to the world of Intel, Gitmo, Court decisions, etc.
Saturday
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Truth, justice and the Zimbabwean way" -- Michael concludes, "The Mugabe regime is the enemy of truth and justice. There won't be any of either in Zimbabwe until Mugabe is gone."
By Creature: "Another disaster on Bush's watch" -- Creature's short-and-sweet comments on the "largest environmental disaster of its kind in the United States," that will go on Bush's growing list.
By Capt. Fogg: "Light at heart" -- The good Captain takes on Rush Limbaugh, "Chip" Saltsman, et al for their distribution of a disturbing, shameful, racist piece of garbage . . . at Christmas time!
By Mustang Bobby: "Harold Pinter (1930-2008)" -- A great writer's personal reflection on the life of a playwright who inspired so many with his unique style, keen mind, prolific pen and fierce independence.
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