Blah Blah Blah, I Love Digby, You Know the Drill

Though she always makes me miss Billmon and the Whiskey Bar.
It’s only 18 months until a new administration comes in and they figure they’ll deal with all these issues when a Democrat gets in the white house. Or not. There’s always the possibility that at least some of them believe these extra-constitutional powers really are [...]

"Seriously. What the [insert your choice of swear word here]!?"

The title is borrowed from someone else. It was too good not to use, so my thanks.
Lebanon scares me:
LEBANON — Lebanon High School coach Rob Allen is among the latest residents to publicly ask the Lebanon School Board to bring back Bo Yates as high school athletic director.
…
Allen, who coaches varsity football and track [...]

Iowa!?!?!?!

Being the pessimist I am, I can only wonder about the backlash. Nevertheless, I say get it while it’s good:
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa’s law banning gay marriage and ordered the county recorder to permit gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Less than two hours after word [...]

Pretentious Intellectual Honesty

I hate this, but I think I hate it because I agree with the sentiment and see myself falling short:
Perhaps people will think I’m too optimistic. But this is for certain: these things can’t be true if no one takes the chance of believing they’re true. Because if we don’t believe they are true, we [...]

The Simpsons Movie

Ezra Klein says almost exactly what I was thinking about the Simpsons movie:
It was a film during which the lead female character realized her husband was a senseless brute who would always put his happiness before her own, and where her son realized the father was an abusive drunk who was continually denying him the [...]

Reactions to the Larry Tilford Piece

Someone clued me in to the fact that the Tilford piece, which ran as an op-ed in the Lebanon paper, ran as a letter to the editor in the Albany paper. The same person also reminded me that the D-H has a comments section.
There was also an interesting letter to the editor by one [...]

Hometown Sanity!

As I finished reading the Lebanon paper, I found this oped regarding the recent events in the Lebanon Community School District.
It makes me happy. Someone finally stood up and said something sane:
We all have a tendency to get tunnel vision when our personal interests are involved, and teachers and principals are not immune. Similarly, [...]

Please. Make. It. Stop.

I think I am – rather absurdly – looking forward to new editions of the Lebanon Express.
Why?
Because there’s usually another story regarding the school board.
Admittedly, this is somewhat like looking forward to the next major train wreck.
This week, our saga continues with yet another low. I was sure the Board had hit rock bottom, [...]

It’s Not Hypocrisy Because We’re Not Perfect, Or Something

Seriously, though. The title is actually an argument I’ve heard pretty consistently from Christian Republicans who are trying to defend the atrocious behavior of (usually) Republican lawmakers. I think it relies on the assumption that people are inherently sinful/imperfect and tempted by the Devil. However, since I don’t buy that assumption, I [...]

Um, What?

I’m a little speechless:
Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue – In one of history’s more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission.
…
By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, [...]

Get Off My Lawn, Part X

I’m getting tired of fisking (I know, I know) Hering’s editorials. But this is just too annoying not to note:
The resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is another sorry example of how our political system works. He was hounded out of office based on accusations, not because anyone had actually shown that he [...]

Shame

I don’t think shame is an effective tool, as people who know me might have picked up on. I think it’s degrading, and that it strips dignity from people, and that it’s the sort of training “tool” that people use on, say, dogs. It’s not a good way to learn anything but a [...]

Hometown Insanity, Part Hiatus Interruptus

I have some brief Internet access, and what do I do? Go straight to Blogger.
I missed the latest Lebanon School Board meeting – apparently, the Board rescinded its earlier decision to “appoint” Ken Ray as interim Superintendent, leaving Assistant Steve Kelley in charge.
While the Lebanon Express story I got that from confirms it, the [...]

Break Time

This blog is on temporary hiatus until I have reliable Internet access again. Just sayin’.

Problem

I read Americablog. I like Americablog, for the most part. John Aravosis is funny, and gay, and not afraid to really mess with people.
But I wonder sometimes where he stands on things that aren’t explicitly part of the American political scene.
For example:
He lives in the 11th, on Rue St. Maur. It’s a gentrifying, [...]