Monday, August 02, 2004

Orange alert in New York. What to pack? Nothing I have goes with orange. Dial-up. Stupid hotel. I must have flown into LaGuardia a hundred times in my life, but I don't remember ever coming in at quite the angle we took today, a small jet from GSO, sharp drop, watching the rooftops approaching at speed I'm thinking hmm, it would be nice to avoid those, right as we crack that altitude we're over the Grand Central Parkway, then on the ground. I've come in many times by that route, just never at that pitch. Related: once my uncle and I were flying into LGA in a vicious rainstorm. Night. Wind. Generally unpleasant. We chatted casually, then once we were safely in a cab we started swapping scary plane-ride stories. Then our cab had a wreck. A long day of meetings tomorrow. 10:45:38 PM    comment []

Signe Waller responds to my post on Nelson Johnson's close ties with the Truth and Reconciliation project. I don't want to silence Nelson Johnson, or remove his voice from this conversation. I do want the Truth and Reconciliation panel to be obviously independent to even skeptical observers. The current fundraising letter, which asks for contributions to be made to the GTCRP via Nelson's Beloved Community Center, gives me pause. Again, the lack of official support for this project may be forcing it into a corner, but I worry that will make it harder to make any report convincing to a broad public. 11:36:10 AM    comment []

Jay Rosen is taking questions about blogging the Democratic convention. I posted one. Don't be shy. 11:01:52 AM    comment []

John Edwards and the two Chapel Hills. 10:45:50 AM    comment []

Rolling Stone: The Secret File of Abu Ghraib. "The Pentagon is stalling on several investigations, and congressional inquiries have ground to a halt. The foot-dragging is astonishing, given that Congress has access to classified documents detailing the abuses outlined by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba in his report on Abu Ghraib. Rolling Stone obtained those files in June and offers this report on their contents." (via Oliver Willis) 10:41:32 AM    comment []

The one way conversation: No comments at Bush blog; paucity of GOP campaign blogs in general; Cheney audience vetted for loyalty, etc.   Republican Party Animal P.J. O'Rourke says he's tired of being yelled at by people with whom he agrees. "Arguing, in the sense of attempting to convince others, has gone out of fashion with conservatives. The formats of their radio and television programs allow for little measured debate, and to the extent that evidence is marshaled to support conservative ideas, the tone is less trial of Socrates than Johnnie Cochran summation to the O.J. jury. Except the jury—with a clever marketing strategy—has been rigged. I wonder, when was the last time a conservative talk show changed a mind?" O'Rourke on O'Reilly: "We've all backed away from this fellow while vigorously nodding our heads in agreement. Often the fellow we were backing away from was our own dad." 10:31:38 AM    comment []