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Friday, December 20, 2002 |
More Breathtaking Dishonesty From the White House. Michael Kinsley has a good column marvelling at the "breathtaking dishonesty" of the Bush White House's sudden embrace of deficit spending, that their relabeling of concern for balancing the budget from its old labels--"Bush-the-Elder-onomics," "Reaganomics," "Eisenhoweronomics"--to "Rubinomics." It is marvelous and ridiculous. There's one angle that Kinsley doesn't pick up on and that I wonder about: Why try to pick on Bob Rubin? Kinsley writes that the name "Rubinomics" is "promoted by people who apparently believe that the best way... [Semi-Daily Journal]
11:25:19 PM Permalink
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Top Twenty most annoying liberals of 2002 [FARK]
Funny stuff. But this is an interesting comment:
In all of my life, I've never heard someone incessantly whine as much as Gore did about the 2000 elections. Gore talked about how unfair it was that he lost in interviews, while he was campaigning for Democratic candidates in 2002, and it even came up over and over again in the episode of Saturday Night Live he did. It was so bad that I wished someone, Bill Clinton, Tipper, Janet Reno, anyone, would grab Gore by the lapels, shake him and scream, "You lost the election! Get over it already you big baby!"
Couple Gore's incessant complaining with his flip-flops on national health care and the invasion of Iraq, along with his shrill carping about the Bush administration and you have one annoying lefty.
Jeez, it seems to me that until the last month or so, Gore has been pretty quiet. "Incessant whining?" Man, this person is awful defensive about Gore winning the 2000 eletion.
11:13:57 PM Permalink
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Gangs of New York
Just back from the new Scorcese movie. It tells, very well, a very brutal story. The acting, by all parties, but most especially Daniel Day-Lewis, is really fantastic. Leonardo DiCaprio is great, as is Cameron Diaz. Jim Broadbent disappears into his role, as always. It's a gorgeous movie, not in beauty, but in the depth of the world it portrays. You get the feeling that the world of the movie doesn't stop at the edges of the frame, but exists beyond the frame. It includes some of Scorcese's trademark dramatic pans. It's not as powerful as the best of Scorcese (Raging Bull, Goodfellows, The Last Temptation of Christ), but then not much is. Highly recommended, but not for the faint of heart or stomach. The last shot in the movie is really impressive, really moving.
(There's a nice site about the Five Points area here. And though the movie is not based on it, its author is credited as consultant, and I very higly recommend Low Life by Luc Sante.)
10:59:13 PM Permalink
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Bookweb - Bookselling This Week: via The Shifted Librarian - Congressman Set to Introduce Legislation to Address Constitutional Concerns About the USA Patriot Act . Vermont Congressman Bernard Sanders will be holding a press conference on Friday, December 20, at 11:00 a.m., at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont, to announce his plans to introduce legislation that eliminates what he believes are unconstitutional provisions in the USA Patriot Act. Joining Sanders at the press conference will be Karen Lane, president of the Vermont Library Association (VLA); past VLA president Trina Magi; and Linda Ramsdell, owner of the Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vermont, and president of the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA). Sanders' announcement comes in response to a letter from members of VLA, sent to the congressman in November, which states that the Patriot Act contains provisions that "undermine" Americans' constitutionally protected right to read and to access information without government interference. [Privacy Digest]
Looks to me like Sanders is a hero.
11:12:49 AM Permalink
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Script Editor 2.0 Beta. Apple has released a beta of Script Editor 2.0, a totally rewritten version of the AppleScript editor for Mac OS X. [MacMegasite]
Amazing. It's been something like 10 years since 1.0 was released! This looks to be mostly cosmetic changes, though the addition of Script Services does look useful.
11:10:42 AM Permalink
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What a gorgeous photo
Of course, looking at the great nebula in Orion through binoculars or a telescope is never this dramatic, or quite this beautiful. But if it's not cloudy where you live or too cold (heck, if it's too cold, bundle up good), get out and take a look at this thing. It's easy to find, and it is really something to see with your own eyes. (Be sure to click on the image itself on this page to see a bigger version of it.)
9:14:08 AM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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