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

    The 1948 Plebescite on the future of British Mandatory Palestine. Better late than never.

    By jollyroger on Mon, 01/05/2009 - 2:35am |
    In its succession to the Ottoman Empire, Britain received sovereignty over a Semitic population in a unified territory called Palestine (yes, it was…). When the collapsing British Empire acceded to the wishes of one Semitic tribe to sever the previously...
    jollyroger's picture

    Divest Now!

    By jollyroger on Sun, 01/04/2009 - 3:12am |
    One of my few media moments of fame came from standing during the anti-apartheid demos at Cal side by side with some technician from KQED,. As a result, the voiceover for numberless teasers for the resulting documentary had me chanting...
    stillidealistic's picture

    What is it About Hawaii?

    By stillidealistic on Fri, 01/02/2009 - 4:28pm |
    I'd been contemplating a blog about Hawaii, when I came upon an article in the Washington Post that says it better than I could.I have read criticism about the time our PE is spending in Hawaii, rather than getting down...
    jollyroger's picture

    Ceasefire, Israeli def.:We cease firing at your soldiers, and start starving your children instead

    By jollyroger on Fri, 01/02/2009 - 12:30pm |
    Uri Avnery draws our attention to the fact that shooting off the odd unaimed rocket is just one way to break a ceasefire. In fact, the Israelis “broke” it the first day they turned off the electricity so the Palestinians...
    Barth's picture

    A Public Service

    By Barth on Thu, 01/01/2009 - 4:15pm |
    The World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 2001 just as I finished reading this Tom Friedman column (a link that may not work unless you subscribe to the NY Times):[T]he status quo is politically quite tolerable for both...
    Barth's picture

    Teach Your Children

    By Barth on Thu, 01/01/2009 - 2:31pm |
    Yesterday was, of course, last year and day to look back on what, surprisingly from this vantage point, might be a year we look back on with great fondness because it started our country and planet on the way back....
    acanuck's picture

    U.S. on Gaza: Don't stop the killing just yet

    By acanuck on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 10:57pm |
    President George W. Bush and his top advisers conducted an urgent round of telephone diplomacy Tuesday to help end the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas, but insisted that if any new cease-fire is to work, it must be...
    Barth's picture

    Hopes for 2008

    By Barth on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 8:47pm |
    No. That's not a typo sitting up there. A year ago I posted a few hopes for the new year... skipping the blatantly personal...: 1. A political campaign that is based at least in some part on the best aspects...

    Android Market expansions on the way.

    By kgb999 on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 8:27pm |
    Last night an email came in from the AndroidMarket team laying out some plans for the new year.  Thus far, participation in the Android Market has been sort of like living as a mushroom, so it was really nice to...

    On Gaza: Say it, Mr. Johndroe. Say it.

    By Wordie on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 4:00am |
    Say the word that's always missing from White House pronouncements about the situation in Palestine. Say the word that we never hear when the administration talks about how Hamas is a terrorist organization that wants to destroy Israel. You know...
    mageduley's picture

    Welcome the Newest Baby Palin - Tripp!

    By mageduley on Tue, 12/30/2008 - 1:02am |
    From Alaska Daily News: Gov. Sarah Palin is a grandmother. The baby's name is Tripp, and he was born Sunday, People magazine is reporting. Palin's daughter Bristol gave birth to the healthy 7-pound, 4-ounce baby in Palmer, the magazine reports...
    SleepinJeezus's picture

    Barney Fife Offers Extraordinary Rendition?

    By SleepinJeezus on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 9:35am |
    "How can anyone be sure this guy actually worked for the CIA as a clandestine operative?"
    mageduley's picture

    Idiots Guide to the Economic Crisis

    By mageduley on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 4:41am |
    The US Economy as described by Calvin and Hobbes For a larger image, and easier reading, click on the image above. Who needs high priced economists? Calvin pretty much explains it all....
    jollyroger's picture

    You cannot guard Prez in the open floor--he will look right and go left. Watch his feet, not his eyes.

    By jollyroger on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 1:13am |
    I have decided to take Joe Biden’s advice. Remember, when he said that Prez would be tested, yadda yadda yadda, and what he might do might seem fucked up to us but it was really going to be the cool...
    SleepinJeezus's picture

    CLASS WAR: "We Ain't Your Human Resource!"

    By SleepinJeezus on Fri, 12/26/2008 - 3:53pm |
    "Let the wealthy corporations and the 'ownership' class know that we are not their 'human resource.' We are not simply another commodity - like steel, or utilities, or raw materials - to be bought cheap, used up, discarded and replaced."
    Barth's picture

    December 25

    By Barth on Thu, 12/25/2008 - 2:11pm |
    My memory, which can be less than photographic sometimes before surprising with a sharp and verifiable recollection of obscure events long ago, says that the device of calling this day "December 25" was imposed on me during childhood. Whether that...
    Barth's picture

    A question for the journalists on this site

    By Barth on Wed, 12/24/2008 - 2:54pm |
    What value, other than commercial, is there in MSNBC and other broadcast outlets, letting us here the anguished calls for help to 9-1-1 operators from panicked people caught in yesterday's torrent of water in Maryland?I know how you will answer...
    wws's picture

    A Heartfelt toast to a first husband's third wife

    By wws on Wed, 12/24/2008 - 2:05pm |
    M:Tomorrow we will gather together to celebrate Christmas... and you. All of us -- the multi-generational, multi-national group that is part my family and part your family, but which is, because of you, our family. And when we are all...
    acanuck's picture

    Kumbaya, Boss, Kumbaya!

    By acanuck on Wed, 12/24/2008 - 6:08am |
    OK, Obama's in Hawaii right now with a little free time on his hands. He's said in the past TPM is among his favorite websites. I don't know if he he scans the reader blogs; if not, maybe some staffer...
    MrSmith1's picture

    MTA to Disabled: Drop Dead

    By MrSmith1 on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 4:01pm |
    New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority's 2009 budget calls for fare increases:   http://www.mta.info/mta/09/2009_fare_service_notice.pdf   " ... Increase fare for NYCT paratransit service (Access-a-Ride) to as much as $6 per trip ... "   (Fare increases for able-bodied passengers on Subways...
    jollyroger's picture

    Direct Treasury to Consumer loans, the remedy for no-lending banks and their toadies at the Fed.

    By jollyroger on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 12:38am |
    We are going through absurd hoops simply to avoid disintermediating the banks and the federal reserve (which is owned by them). We build in all this vigorish, supposedly to compensate the banks for rationalizing the credit markets, and then when...
    SleepinJeezus's picture

    "Just Joshing, I Hope?"

    By SleepinJeezus on Sun, 12/21/2008 - 11:07am |
    From Josh Marshall on TPM: The Fed has set up something called the TALF, the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility, which will offer "low-cost three-year funding to any US company investing in securitized consumer loans" including hedge funds. Says the...
    Barth's picture

    The Season of Hope

    By Barth on Sun, 12/21/2008 - 8:07am |
    It's an old saw, this celebration of the "holiday season." According to Olbermann who I watch (or, more accurately, podcast), O'Reilly, who I don't, is bothered by all this and, in a way, so am I. Christmas is not my...
    SleepinJeezus's picture

    CLASS WAR: Bailout Questions From The Worker's Perspective

    By SleepinJeezus on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 7:47am |
    "Why should we not compel the other automakers to pay a UAW wage rather than compel UAW members to take a major reduction?"
    SleepinJeezus's picture

    Warren-style "Ecumenism" Undermines 1st Amendment

    By SleepinJeezus on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 4:31am |
    "To now offer (Warren) the honor of representing all God's People in prayer at this Inauguration... is to legitimize his confounding of Religion and Government."

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