January 2010
67 posts
Big Red
Cornell beats Harvard like they stole something, winning by 36 at home. I think this will probably kill any talk of the Ivy being a 2 bid league for the NCAAs.
Tonight's Most Important Basketball Game Was... →
A good summary of some of the issues with tonight’s Cornell-Harvard faceoff for 1st place in the Ivies. Enjoy.
Meet the GOP
The President met the House GOP today and C-SPAN’s cameras were there. I really encourage anyone interested in politics to watch because it was fascinating.
I thought the President really made one observation in particular which struck me at the time as obvious but upon reflection, I realized that if the media actually explained this to viewers/readers frequently, no one would ever watch...
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State of the Union React
It is events like this one which make me thankful that I live on the West Coast because I’m not embarrassed to admit that I have now adapted to the time change….and promptly dozed off at the end. But I saw most of it. Good speech. Justice Alito is a prickly guy for mouthing “not true” but I think we already knew that he was a bit of a jerk. Sorry Supreme Court but...
Rudy G. Is Turning Into That Jon Lovitz Liar...
Note to all cable TV producers: do not let Rudy Giuliani on your show without briefing the on-air talent that he/she should simply respond to every factual assertion Rudy makes with a “are you sure about that?” because the last two times he’s gone on national tv, he’s flat-out lied. The first time was a couple of weeks ago with his no “we had no terrorist attacks...
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iPad is here
It’s slightly cheaper than I thought it would be. If you opt for the wireless plan (and you’d be nuts not to) not being on a contract is nice. No removable battery, but Apple claims it has a 10 hour battery life, which I bet real-world tests out to around 5 or 6 hours (which still isn’t bad.)
Still, a lot of the stuff it does? It’s hard to see how it improves upon the...
Ford, part 2
Good article in the New York Observer about Harold Ford’s visit to Buffalo, the quote about him being like a kid with a new pair of Converse going out of the house for the first time without any scuffing on them is priceless. What I also pick up is that apparently after the quasi-disastrous Times interview I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, he’s doing a lot of his interviews with...
Kentucky
If three of their starting five weren’t going to jump to the NBA, it would be hard to see how these guys would lose one game come next year. Amazing game by South Carolina although I’m wondering why John Wall didn’t just take the ball to the hoop every time down the court during the final 5 minutes as Devan Downey did for South Carolina. SC had no one who could stay in front of...
Ford
Being in New York gives me the luxury of the tabloids. I was sitting in Grand Central this morning getting my shoes shined (ample supply of shoe shine stands in NYC drives the price way down by the way compared to SF) and had a chance to read the Daily News. Apparently, Harold Ford continued his war of words against Senator Gillibrand yesterday, but this time Ford tried to bring in Chuck Schumer...
ihopethisthinghasbatterylife
I type this aboard a United flight headed back east. Since the last time I flew on one of their PS flights, United has installed for-a-fee wireless Internet service. Apparently, there are two power outlets under my seat although I haven’t looked for them and heaven knows what would happen if all three passengers wanted to plug in at once. Well, in the spirit of adventure, I bought some...
Thank your preferred deity that the Saints won. Could not have handled a Manning/Favre Super Bowl. Favre’s INT pretty much sums up latter-era Favre to me. (Sorry, should have specified that I meant his final INT.)
Citizens United (or not)
I hope to be able to read all 180 pages of the Supreme Court’s decision issued yesterday in the Citizens United case over the weekend. It’s going to revolutionize campaigning and return us to the pre-McCain/Feingold era. Except with the internet. Which sort of makes me think how this is all going to play out in practice.
What interests me more today are the naked politics of the...
New Rules for Banks
This Economist article is a very good summary of the new rules which the President proposed yesterday for the banking industry, it’s worth the read in terms of the pros and cons of the new approach (which Secretary Geithner is reportedly not thrilled with).
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WatchThis is me stopped on a closed I-80 in the Sierra. Fun!
Greatest Craigslist Post of All Time →
Wow is all I can say to this. Amazing CL post.
newsweek:
frangry:
“This craigslist ad goes from great to batshitfuckinginsane in 3.5 seconds.” —nedhepburn
Random Health Care Thought
Sorry for the volume of posts on the politics of this but rarely has a party come so close to passing a piece of legislation this big and turned back for what will, in retrospect, be seen as minor reasons.
One thing Democrats would be well-served to remember: if they thought that the Administration and Democrats had problems describing and selling what the actual bill contained, they ain’t...
“[C]orporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no...”
– Justice Stevens, dissenting in Citizens United v. FEC (via alcaniglia) (via think4yourself) (via abcsoupdot)
2 big stories today
(1) It’s official - Pelosi says not enough votes in the House to pass Senate bill. They can talk all they want about passing smaller bills but it’s not going to happen. Reform is dead until 2011.
(2) U.S. Supreme Court overturns McCain/Feingold campaign finance law. (This is a huge, huge deal.)
So where do Dems go from here?
Two weeks ago, the idea of gently moving Harry Reid out of his Senate Majority Leader slot (over his stupid Obama comments) was crazy, it would doom health care. Now that doom has officially hit health care, is there any downside to at least considering doing this and finding someone who is willing to actually bang some skulls within the caucus? (I suggest Chuck Schumer.)
Mind you, I’m...
Great email from a Senate Dem Staffer
Put simply, GOP governed with a 51-49 seat Senate majority as if they had 65 seats, Democrats govern with a 59-41 seat Senate majority like as if they are in the minority. I really, really recommend that you read this concise summary of Congressional politics since Clinton’s re-election in 1996.
I think Matt Yglesias makes a great, somewhat related, observation. Senate Democrats went...
Late Update on Health Care
So Coakley lost (I had privately predicted she’d lose by 5 and I think I was about right). As I said earlier in the week, the real reasons why are important only insofar as they drive any future course of action. This is being sold as anti-Obama and it’s a pretty easy sale. There are indications that Obama will indicate tomorrow that he gets that people are frustrated with what...
Reminder
The new blog address is: http://jcsnotes.tumblr.com There won’t be any new original content over here. So go over there if you want the latest on Giants, Warriors, Genentech bus schedules, etc…
Health Care Post-Election Update
Josh Marshall has it precisely right. The differences between the Senate health care bill and the proposed reconciled version of the bill if the Senate still had 60 “yes” votes after today would be minimal. Were I the President, I would gently point out to fence-sitters in the House that his brand is much more powerful and popular than theirs or the generic Democratic brand. The Obama...
Giants Re-sign Molina
Although it had seemed to many observers that the Giants’ relationship had ended with Bengie Molina, it turned out to be (bitter) water under the bridge as the club brought back the fan favorite catcher for a one-year $4.5 million deal. This strikes me as a pretty good deal for the Giants as, for all of his shortcomings, Molina was the best free agent catcher available, arguably the best...
Tomorrow, No Matter What Dems Should Put Their...
Should Martha Coakley lose in tomorrow’s special election for one of the U.S. Senate seats from Massachusetts, I really hope that (if the election is fair and decisive) that Democrats do not delay the seating of Scott Brown. Democrats have, in the past, complained about folks like Norm Coleman stretching out challenges, etc… for purposes of delay and this presents a chance for them to...
Peter King is Insane
This quote from his Monday Morning QB column caught my eye:
I think, if I had to guess right now, I’d say the best shot for Tim Tebow on draft day is San Francisco, at number 13. No proof. No solid evidence. Just this: The Niners gave a tepid endorsement to Alex Smith as their quarterback of 2010 after the season; and Mike Singletary didn’t draft him; and Singletary is going to fall in...
Politics and "Game Change"
Quickly, on the Massachusetts special election, regardless of whether this election is actually seen by that commonwealth’s voters as a referendum on the President, it will be interpreted that way. It is what it is. If Coakley (the Democrat) loses, Democrats’ only chance to pass health care will be to have the House simply rubber stamp the Senate Bill. Should be an interesting...
Um, Scary Weather Email
Anybody who knows me well knows I’m a bit of a weather nut. This email has made the rounds today (Friday) and is from the USGS, which I didn’t think was really on top of weather per se (especially after a week of quakes both in the US and in Haiti) but I guess there is a geology angle to flooding. Here is the text of the email (Sent on Thursday):
Get ready. This is what the...
NBC Latenight Thoughts
One, Conan’s Tonight Show in its first seven months was barely half as interesting as his truly good Late Night stuff. (I still fondly remember the week he took Late Night to San Francisco. Some truly great bits.) That has been said by Goodman, Simmons, etc… and I think it’s true. Then again, wasn’t this true for Letterman too? I find his CBS 11:30 show almost...
Welcome, Giants, Warriors, and Harold Ford
So I guess this is day one of the “everything is here” era on the blog. Except for what’s on twitter. Or when I forget and put something on the old site. (Kidding on the last one.)
As I said yesterday, there are some new elements of this platform which are pretty cool. For instance, the ability to have people ask questions or even compose their own posts. Which for some...
Tumblr...where it's at
It’s official. I’m moving the blog. Blogger is a great platform but I’ve been tooling around with a different platform for a while and I’ve become convinced that it’s going to be easier for me to use going forward. If you go to the new address, which is a lot like the old address: http://jcsnotes.tumblr.com ….you’ll find the new blog. It looks a...
Tumblr...where it's at →
It’s official. I’m moving the blog. Blogger is a great platform but I’ve been tooling around with a different platform for a while and I’ve become convinced that it’s going to be easier for me to use…
Pat Robertson, Ugh...
Can we agree on a standing rule that Pat Robertson thinks all large horrible events are somehow the fault of the people upon whom they are visited? His take on Haiti is just gut-wrenchingly inappropriate.
Break from boring political zzzzz
Lane Kiffin is reportedly dumping Tennessee (and the SEC) to become the next head coach of USC. I don’t want to make this a “down with the SEC” thing because it’s not. It’s really a “USC is better than almost every job in the SEC” thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kiffin had a contractual out to take the job but this has to be absolutely...
First audio post - on military commissions
Another Game Change Post...Connecting the...
The authors of “Game Change” had another interview today where their view of journalistic practices was briefly explored. The host, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, has always been one of my sentimental favorites because he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve. Alas, he’s no Ted Koppel and today’s interview confirmed it. Over the past couple of days, a couple of different...
Changes
As you can see, I’m making some changes to the way I blog. For the time being, posts I make to the “regular” blog will appear here. I’m debating moving the whole shebang over here but am in the process of exploring mobile blogging and some other stuff as well. Stay tuned.
What won't they remake →
Apparently, they’re doing a film version of the “A-Team.” Wow. What is it with 1980’s nostalgia? It’s unfortunate that I know this, but to have any sort of appreciation for the old concept, you…
Another Game Change Post...Connecting the... →
The authors of “Game Change” had another interview today where their view of journalistic practices was briefly explored. The host, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, has always been one of my sentimental…
Break from boring political zzzzz →
Lane Kiffin is reportedly dumping Tennessee (and the SEC) to become the next head coach of USC. I don’t want to make this a “down with the SEC” thing because it’s not. It’s really a “USC is better…
The Do's and Don'ts of Online Publicity, For Some...
Even though I’m not a publicist, this strikes me as ridiculously reasonable advice.
newsweek:
Nwk hearts this so much it hurts:
lindsayrobertson:
[This is long and obvious, but it’s been driving me nuts for years. So here is my Guide to Online Publicity (For Dummies).]
There’s a question that has been bugging me for years: why are 99% of publicists and promotion/marketing people...