On the Outs

The DLC’s New Democrats Online has one of the better pieces on Sen. Zell Miller that I have seen lately: http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?cp=2&kaid=127&subid=177&contentid=252210

In the scandals dujour portion of this log, one cannot help but notice the continued problems Rep. Karen McCarthy of Kansas City seems to keep getting into, including mistreating employees so much that they actually go public, on the record (something that is rarely done) and using campaign cash for unrelated purposes: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/7314103.htm. It’s kind of sad, really, but with a steady drumbeat of her problems and indiscretions heralded by the area’s only daily, the Kansas City Star, and energetic campaigns by two Democrats and a Republican, maybe McCarthy should retire before the people of northwest Missouri ask her to leave.

Friday, finally!

Charles Krauthammer's piece on the opinion page of today's Washington Post, about the besting of an advanced computer by chess champion Kasparov provokes some thought: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2165-2003Nov20.html

Love them, hate them, or think their just milquetoast, the New Democrats are aggressive and organized. Their fundraising is pretty solid, too: http://www.newdem.org/press/newsreleases//2003-11-10.686.phtml

And the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote a few weeks ago about a blogger who lost his job because of a photo he posted: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/146115_blogger30.html

Eloquence is just a hooker

"Eloquence is just a hooker if it will serve as a short-term, no-commitments release for any idea that comes along." This comes from Michael Kinsley's effective piece in today's Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38532-2003Nov13.html

Did you see Sen. John Kerry trying to look cool and hep (think Bill Clinton with a sax) by riding in on a Harley in a leather jacket on Leno a few nights ago? Absurdly staged, though I thought Tucker Carlson took it a bit far when he juxtaposed the shot with the infamous one of Dukakis in the tank.

Also, today's National Journal (Dated November 15), has a funny cover/title: http://nationaljournal.com/members/news/2003/11/1114nj1.htm. It's got a picture of the House Majority Leader and the title: The Evolution Of Tom DeLay. The only problem is that DeLay doesn't believe in evolution. Woops!

Dean Again

If, for some strange reason, you have not been closely following events related to the race for the Democratic nomination for president, you might not know that Howard Dean’s stars seem to be lining up for good. Specifically, two of the largest and most powerful unions in America, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal employees are set to endorse him. I won’t go into the details, but you can find them in the Washington Post or New York Times – this is big. And if you have not, take a moment to read “Organization Man” in the November 17th edition of The New Republic. Food for thought.