The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    CVille Dem's picture

    The Narcissists Among Us

    By CVille Dem on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 9:56pm |

    This is more of a rant than a thoughtful blog, but I just want to register my opinion on this concept of billionaires using THEIR OWN MONEY to run for office. I have been struck by the way this has been portrayed, as though it stemmed from some altruistic motive of the billionaires to serve our country. How about reporting that most of the self-financing politicians run on the backs (and donations) of poor schmucks who give a hugely larger percentage of their income in the false belief that the wedge issue republicans are on their side.

    Donal's picture

    Kids Serving Time as Adults

    By Donal on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 2:25pm |

    One of my college profs told us that the concept of childhood is fairly recent. In Western culture, children were considered, and depicted, as small adults until the 17th century, which is roughly coincident with the early beginnings of the industrial revolution. Children always had chores in agrarian societies, but were thrust into more dangerous industrial jobs in tanneries and mills, leading to arguments by Rousseau, and later Dickens, that childhood be given special consideration and protection.

    Richard Day's picture

    KING PERRY

    By Richard Day on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 1:16am |

    File:NastRepublicanElephant.jpg
                                      THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

    Frank Rich in describing O’Donnell the candidate for Biden’s old Senate seat in Delaware gave the best description of the Republican Party I have come across in some time:

    trkingmomoe's picture

    Election Cake and Campaign Quilts: Whig Rose, Whig Defeat, Democrat Rose, Rose of Sharon and Baltimore Album Quilts

    By trkingmomoe on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 4:25pm |

    Before women were able to vote, they supported their political ideals with their home arts. One of these arts was quilting and they have left us with a history of political quilt patterns that are still made and enjoyed today. To understand how these quilts played a roll in our elections in the first half of the 19th century, we will have to look at how they lived.

    Firefighting and Capitalism, from Marcus Licinius Crassus to Obion County, Tennessee

    By NCD on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 12:56pm |

    Public services, the call to duty and empathy for fellow citizens reach a new low in Tennessee. Even craven rich slave owning ancient Romans were not so odious as to offer no relief whatsoever to victims of a fire.

    My Adopted Progressive

    By AmericanDreamer on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 10:15am |

    We are entreated to adopt a progressive. 

    I'm giving to the DCCC.  That doesn't mean it's going to progressive candidates in all cases, obviously.  But they have as good a sense as anyone which races are winnable with a little extra money and which aren't.  Priority #1 is to keep the House Democratic.  If that doesn't happen, progressives in the House will have close to zero influence.

    The individual progressive I'm adopting is Jeff Barnett, candidate for Congress in the Virginia 10th (northern Virginia/DC burbs), where we live.

    Michael Maiello's picture

    The Third Party Challenge

    By Michael Maiello on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 10:11am |

    We got into a discussion of third parties a bit over the weekend.  Over the last week, there were a couple of items in the larger media that touched on this, but as is usually the case, not in the way that we would like.

    Donal's picture

    No Gotcha Allowed

    By Donal on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 9:38am |

    The Daily Dish mentioned a "news snippet" about the Montana governor's race, which led back through The Lost Ogle not to a news snippet, but to FallinFail, a site presumably opposing Republican candidate Mary Fallin.

    Richard Day's picture

    MONSTER MASH

    By Richard Day on Sun, 10/03/2010 - 10:48pm |

    File:The Broken poster.jpg

     

    Barth's picture

    Winter

    By Barth on Sun, 10/03/2010 - 8:30pm |

    As it is, by the way, it arrived only eight days earlier this year than it did last year, but it is here.

    And there is no use in mourning its arrival. It is inevitable as the last actual Commissioner of Baseball has explained to us:


    cmaukonen's picture

    Why Public Education Sucks Even More Now

    By cmaukonen on Sun, 10/03/2010 - 6:29pm |

    I remember the first day of Kindergarten. Playing with blocks and interacting, sometimes not so well, with the other kids. First grade, not so much but 3rd though 6th fairly well.  One of my sixth grade teachers would even take us out side in the afternoon some times to play touch football. All that is gone.

    GotToBeMe's picture

    Political Cartoon: Discussion With Insanity

    By GotToBeMe on Sun, 10/03/2010 - 4:14pm |

    Debate With Insanity Political Cartoon by Kaveh Adel Copyright 2010

    Just an observation after watching countless interviews with Mr. Ahmadinejad, the so-called leader of Iran, in his recent visit to the U.N. in New York City. 

    Crossposted at www.Kavehadel.com/blog

    The attempt to frustrate a Palestinian state by illegal expropriation of land in the West Bank

    By colindalelondon on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 8:04pm |

     

    The West Bank contains approximately 250 settlements, illegal under international law, with  500,000 Israelis who control  over 62% of the area in which live 2.4 million Palestinians.

    This being a deliberate strategy  to establish facts on the ground in order to try to frustrate the establishment of a Palestinian state by the illegal expropriation of land.

    Donal's picture

    Waiting for Zuckerberg

    By Donal on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 7:53pm |

    In 1994 my former wife and I were snowed in for three days at her teacher's convention in Hershey PA. Afterwards, someone had a t-shirt printed, "I Survived The Paradigm Drift." That was an in-joke because some greybeard had given a talk about his book advocating a paradigm shift in American teaching. Jaime Escalante had also spoken about his achievements in teaching higher math to lower class kids.

    Barth's picture

    Being There

    By Barth on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 2:43pm |

    As well described by cmaukonen the other day,there are things that cannot always be fully understood unless you lived through it. The unspeakably brilliant Jill Lepore explained to Rachel Maddow last night why that is not always so, and, frankly, why Barth the amateur historian is truly an amateur,but to have missed the Vietnam War period means that much of what passes for political thought these days must be confusing.

    Richard Day's picture

    THE END IS NEAR!!

    By Richard Day on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 11:49am |

    File:Bo10.jpg

    A week from tomorrow, it will be 10/10/10.

    The tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the new millenium.

    Ominous?

    I am sure God is attempting to tell me something.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxr-fbtV1-8

    A little over four years ago I decided to prepare for the end of things.

    Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi and His Teabagging Epiphany

    By NCD on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 9:05pm |

    A must read at link, Matt goes to a rally in which Sarah Palin harangues masses of scooter mounted white supporters in Kentucky.

    Michael Maiello's picture

    No, TARP Was Not A Success

    By Michael Maiello on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 11:07am |

    We're now getting a flurry of stories from the Treasury telling us that TARP, unpopular though it may be, was not only effective but cheaper than the worst case scenarios that the government envisioned when the program began.

    The New York Times says the program is only going to wind up costing $50 billion, rather than the $700 billion committed or the nearly $400 billion spent.  If our exits from AIG, GM and Ally Financial go well, we could even make money!

    Your Drama Hurts My Dharma

    By LisB on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 2:07am |

    The world is round
    and what goes around comes around
    It's all a cyclical sphere
    It's pain v. good and ignorance v. thought
    trapped inside a small, closed atmosphere

    So you'd think that the people inhabiting this world
    would be thoughtful, kind and aware
    One would hope that we'd all treat each other (and this earth)
    with much tenderness, and with care

    So how come so much cruelty
    Why does ignorance still exist
    Why is it with all of our wisdom
    there are some who choose to resist

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