Archive for March, 2009
Just Throwing This Out There
Posted on March 30, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under DC enfranchisement, electoral college | 2 Comments
I’m guessing the answer is, “No,” but do any of my readers know whether DC would be allowed to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact if it wanted to? I’m not opining on whether or not I think it should, I’m just wondering whether it could. The text of the 23rd Amendment, which gave [...]
Higher Education
Posted on March 30, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under education | 1 Comment
Just out of curiosity, how many students(‘ families) can actually afford to pay full price for a college education? Who has $120,000 for a private school or $75,000 for a public school1 set aside and ready for those tuition checks? We’re talking about a country where the median family’s annual income (a bit under $50,000) [...]
Carol’s Critter Corner: Road Trip Edition
Posted on March 27, 2009 by Carol- Filed Under Carol's Critter Corner | Leave a Comment
Need some more leopard cub action? Here’s a video of one of them being fed. Other baby animals in the news this week are a francois langur at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney and a mandrill at the Munich Zoo.
Willie the parrot has been given the Red Cross’ Animal Lifesaver Award for alerting his owner [...]
Harry Reid Paints A Target Sign On Himself
Posted on March 27, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Harry Reid, Netroots | Leave a Comment
If I know anything about the netroots, they’ll totally listen to Harry Reid and not at all see him as the enemy now, because they’ve always really liked him in the past and have also always responded well to people who tell them to stop being so liberal.
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Our Journalists Is Broken
Posted on March 25, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Chuck Todd, Economics, NBC, the media | Leave a Comment
I’m positively dumbfounded by Chuck Todd (of NBC)’s question at the president’s prime time press conference last night:
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Some have compared this financial crisis to a war. And in times of war, past presidents have called for some form of sacrifice.
Some of your programs, whether for Main Street or Wall Street, [...]
Stop the Presses! Cuteness Ahoy!
Posted on March 25, 2009 by Carol- Filed Under Carol's Critter Corner | Leave a Comment
Huge coup for the National Zoo: two newborn clouded leopard cubs were born yesterday, the first birth in North American zoos in six years. The baby leopards will be hand-raised to prevent their mother from accidentally or intentionally killing them. Statement of approval from Andrew: “they’re almost as cute as a baby panda.”
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A Random Thought Regarding Andrew Sullivan
Posted on March 24, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Andrew Sullivan, Ron Paul, blogosphere, libertarians | Leave a Comment
Andrew Sullivan’s blog has been around longer than pretty much every other blog (well, political blog, at least) on the intertubes. You could easily argue that “force of habit” must be one of the reasons I read him every day without fail. However, I’d like to think that the real reason I read him every [...]
Sarah Palin: Still Stupid
Posted on March 20, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Sarah Palin | Leave a Comment
Ignoring the whole Special Olympics thing1, Sarah Palin’s use of the English language continues to infuriate me:
“This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world.”
That sentence is atrocious.
What Obama said was totally wrong. He and his advisers realized this was the case [...]
Carol’s Critter Corner: Happy Spring Edition
Posted on March 20, 2009 by Carol- Filed Under Carol's Critter Corner | Leave a Comment
A new baby anteater was born last Thursday at the National Zoo. This is only the second anteater ever born there; interestingly, the FONZ calendar features a photo of the first baby anteater for the month of March. Meanwhile, a pair of polar bear cubs debuted at the Owehands animal park in the Netherlands, the [...]
A District Leader Who Actually Wants Congress To Take Away His Power
Posted on March 20, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Adrian Fenty, DC enfranchisement | Leave a Comment
Guess who I’m not voting for in the 2010 mayoral election.
Brackets I Can Believe In
Posted on March 19, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Barack Obama, Maryland Terrapins, basketball | Leave a Comment
Maybe the president is playing politics with his NCAA picks. I don’t care; the important thing is that he picked Maryland to win its first round game against Cal this afternoon. With Obama’s support, I think we’ve got a real chance.
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If I Were A 79-Year-Old Survivor Of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma…
Posted on March 18, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Arlen Specter, Employee Free Choice Act | Leave a Comment
…I would totally just vote the way I thought was “right” on EFCA and then announce my retirement effective at the end of my current term.
But as far as being an observer of politics goes, I just hope Specter votes for the legislation. Regardless of what Specter chooses in terms of his party affiliation, I’d [...]
Carol’s Critter Corner: Primate Party Edition
Posted on March 13, 2009 by Carol- Filed Under Carol's Critter Corner | 3 Comments
Monkeys in Japan were observed teaching their young how to floss, confirming that primates are able to teach their offspring how to use tools. Meanwhile, a “belligerent” chimp at the Furuvik Zoo in Sweden showed that apes can plan ahead: he collected a large pile of rocks one morning to later throw at zoo visitors [...]
Get Off My Lawn!
Posted on March 12, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under John McCain | Leave a Comment
Cranky Grampa John McCain was a lot funnier when he was a candidate for president. Now the whole thing is just a little sad.
I mean, seriously, he wants to hold up a nominee over this nonsense? Can you imagine the crazy shit he would have pulled had he actually won the presidency?
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The Joke Isn’t That Complicated
Posted on March 10, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under CNBC, The Daily Show, television | Leave a Comment
This post reminds me of a tangentially related point that often occurs to me when the larger media comments upon Jon Stewart’s comedy:
There is an aspect to the satire contained in The Daily Show (and its spin-off, The Colbert Report,) that no one in the corporate media seems to consciously recognize (or, at the least, [...]
Introducing Kirby
Posted on March 9, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Kirby | 1 Comment
This is my new friend Kirby, a six-week-old parakeet:
She just came home yesterday, and she was feeling a bit camera-shy, so I only got a picture of her back. Anyway, she’s a very sweet bird; she already knows how to “step up”, and she is quite the little chatterbox. I’m very pleased to have her [...]
The Continued Hilarity Of The Michael Steele Show
Posted on March 6, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Michael Steele, Republican party | Leave a Comment
Steele’s ongoing effort to improve the standing of the Republican Party in “urban-suburban hip-hop settings” has taken yet another hilarious turn for the worse:
CALLER: I hope that Paul Bagalla and Emanuel and Carville don’t convince you to resign your position.
STEELE: Aww, trust me. Not me Baby! Nuh-uh. Not happening. No way, no how!
Note to Steele: [...]
Carol’s Critter Corner: Sleepwalking Edition
Posted on March 6, 2009 by Carol- Filed Under Carol's Critter Corner | Leave a Comment
A small but inquisitive octopus at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium disassembled a valve at the top of her tank, flooding the facility with 200 gallons of seawater. Meanwhile, a giant octopus at the New England Aquarium squeezed itself into a very small box in order to retrieve a treat.
The National Zoo needs your help [...]
You Can All Thank Us For Bringing Steele To National Prominence
Posted on March 4, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under Maryland, Michael Steele, Republican party | Leave a Comment
I just want to take this opportunity to point out that no one who follows Maryland state politics is remotely surprised by Michael Steele’s performance so far as RNC Chairman. It’s become much funnier than I anticipated much faster than I anticipated, but the guy is exactly who we thought he was.
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Americans Confused By Concept Of A State
Posted on March 3, 2009 by andrew- Filed Under DC enfranchisement, polls | Leave a Comment
A new Rasmussen poll on the DC Voting Rights Act is getting some attention, as it appears to suggest that Americans don’t want DC residents to have the right to vote. I’m not surprised by the poll’s results, but that’s because the poll doesn’t actually demonstrate what Rasmussen claims it demonstrates.
I’ve always said that the [...]
