Welcome, one and all to the most intense night read anywhere on the sphere… The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble
[1]This is the Rail car Graffiti Edition. Sorry about the blur, the thing was moving at track speed. (yeah, right)
- They’ve let us down before, Yvonne: Over in Hartford, Yvonne Davis demonstrates how Bush- type centrism has lost favor, [2] as the Bush Appointee Defends of Chris Dodd:
Over the years, Dodd has done many great things for our state. He continues to do so. Many residents call his office with desperate pleas for help that most politicians ignore. He has stepped in at the eleventh hour. These people say, “I’ll never forget what he did for me or my family.”
I won’t crucify Dodd nor join Republicans or Democrats who want his head. A person’s leadership can’t be measured only by the mistakes made, but in the lessons learned and the overall trend of their leadership. How’s Chris Dodd doing? The people of Connecticut will decide in 2010.
What you seem to be missing Yvonne, is that this is not about what he’s done for the state, but rather, what he’s done to it, and with it, the nation.
The voters of your state were led into supporting Dodd because he was “doing things” for the state, and because he handled one family or another’s issues for them with the government… something anyone in his position is likely to do. Sorry, what it is, Yvonne. Anyone you replace Dodd with will give you that, with possibly the added advantage of not being a first class screwup. Oh… and Yvonne? Generally speaking, “doing things” means bringing in Federal money. It’s amazing how many elections are bought with other people’s money, and how often other people’s money blinds voters to the moral and ethical problems a candidate brings to the table. Chris Dodd is a case in point. William Jefferson… he of the cash in the freezer fame… seems another. The voters of Jefferson’s state kept returning him to office too. And I’ll bet you he got between residents of his district and the full weight of government, too, eh?
It’s time for us to stop judging the performance of our elected representatives by how much tax money they managed to divert to port projects within their state, and by how often they intercede between those constituents and government. Judge them rather by how much damage they succeed in doing the nation by creating a government that requires intersession. then, too, there’s the screwup factor. I would argue the Chris Dodd who unquestionably had a larger hand than most in the collapse of our financial sector, deserves serious scrutiny, followed by either a hasty exit or jail time.
- When the going gets tough, Obama goes for Ice Cream: Note to Ed Driscoll at Pajamas Media: : This situation [3] isn’t just a matter of tone deafness [4]…it’s a matter of being bloody well oblivious. Seriously, now, what has Obama got to worry about? If the Iranian revolution fails, he’ll simply blame it on Republicans somehow, and probably George W. Bush. If on the other hand the thing by some miracle succeeds, we’ll hear all about how it was his secret plans and behind the scenes activities the job the job done. We will hear nothing about Iraq and Afghanistan being what helped push the domino of Iran over. Yes, that would be ignoring the contributions made by Mr. Bush. Which in fact is the point.
- I can’t see a thing: Isikoff notices that Obama’s not all that ‘transparent”, after all. [5]It’s not like you weren’t told, Mike.
- What do the first six months of Obama Mean? VDH explores the question over at Pajamas Media. [6] I think we’ve discussed this, but Victor says it better.
- Label guns: No, Benen. Wrong as usual [7]. All it is, is yet another example of why I call George Will a Willing tool. The number of times you’re willing to quote him, is directly linked to the number of times he’s willing to carry the water for the left. Think I’m kidding? Well, let’s see. Postulate a John McCain Presidency. Add to that our current situation… An Iranian election obviously falsified. 24 reporters jailed to silence them [8], and the rest of the press, they hope, with them. . Around 20 people killed by the Iranian government, in a rather public fashion. Explain to us how Steve Benen woldn’t be on the front lines, tar and feathers in hand, if Mccain had treated the thing as lightly as this misadministration has done.
- Too big to fail? The New York Times has begun to ask the question [9] about being too big to fail means being too big to exist. Only about four months behind the rest of us. But notice; the one organization that that question is not being asked about is the Federal government. I think it clear, that that’s the locus of the problem.
- More details on Neda: Hot Air Has ’em [10] . Meanwhile, Robin Wright over at Time [11] suggests there will be serious consequences for this woman’s death.
The first clashes in January 1978 produced two deaths that were then commemorated on the 40th day in mass gatherings, which in turn produced new confrontations with security forces — and new deaths. Those deaths then generated another 40-day period of mourning, new clashes, and further deaths. The cycle continued throughout most of the year until the shah’s ouster in January 1979.
The same cycle has already become an undercurrent in Iran’s current crisis. The largest demonstration, on Thursday of last week, was called by opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to commemorate the deaths of protesters three days after they were killed.
Shiite mourning is not simply a time to react with sadness. Particularly in times of conflict, it is also an opportunity for renewal. The commemorations for “Neda” and the others killed this weekend are still to come. And the 40th day events are usually the largest and most important.
“Neda” is already being hailed as a martyr, a second important concept in Shiism. With the reported deaths of 19 people Saturday, martyrdom also provides a potent force that could further deepen public anger at Iran’s regime.
Ironically, and as Wright points out, the tactic of exploiting martyrdom was used by the current regime. We’ve now come full circle, and that tactic is about to be used against them. Truth is, I think they know it. Whether or not they can do anything to stem that tide, remains to be seen. Personally, I doubt it.
- Looks almost like an ACORN Job: I know it’s not, or at least I think it’s not, but with stories like this one in the Iranian press [12]you have to wonder just a bit.
Iran’s Guardian Council has suggested that the number of votes collected in 50 cities surpass the number of people eligible to cast ballot in those areas.
The council’s Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, who was speaking on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Channel 2 on Sunday, made the remarks in response to complaints filed by Mohsen Rezaei — a defeated candidate in the June 12 Presidential election.
“Statistics provided by the candidates, who claim more than 100% of those eligible have cast their ballot in 80-170 cities are not accurate — the incident has happened in only 50 cities,” Kadkhodaei said.
That’s news that is not likely to quell the disturbance is going on over there. Indeed, it will fuel them. There seems a number of American cities who could fall under that description after one of our elections, these last few years. The difference is in our case, nobody cares. And I wonder in the end, which path is the more damaging.
- Even the French? Did anyone notice the French Foreign Minister calling the actions of the Iranian Government “Brutal Repression’? [13] Explain to me how saying something of the like would have caused Obama problems,eh? Meanwhile, French President Sarkozy has left no doubt where the French Government stands [14]:
“In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,” Sarkozy said to extended applause in a speech at the Chateau of Versailles southwest of Paris.”The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement—I want to say it solemnly,” he said. “It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.”
How bad is it when the French stand taller than the American President does? And how much worse is it likley to get?
- Bye Bye Analog: I spoke last week about the stations around the country dropping analog signals that had been around for decades. Scott Fyfush today has lots of links and pics about that transition [15]. And vid links, too.. YouTube, mostly,made by folks who wanted tocatch the transition for posterity. An interesting and rare look behind the scenes. Not that the transition was without problems, as Scott explains in his weekly news reporting at NERW [16], along with the I-D-10 T factor so common to all technical transitions:
…just about every station we’ve talked to has received at least one frantic phone call starting out, “why didn’t anyone tell me this was going to be happening?!?,” proving that no public education campaign can ever reach absolutely everyone…
[17]
How disconnected need one be to claim with any degree of credibility, that this thing snuck up on them? And if indeed, it did sneak up on them, it strikes me that they’ve not been watching the tube ror the last year or so and that thereby it not working for them now is hardly to be considered an emergency, requiring federal help. Give them an Etch-A Sketch and tell them its the newest flatscreen design. They’ll love it. Just remind them that these new digital TV’s tend to lose their picture when you shake them. - Perez Punch: There are so many directions I could take this…. There’s word from the good city of Toronto that the Black Eyed Peas manager punched Perez Hilton [18]. I wonder how many people reading the report wish they’d been the one to do that?