On the local front, the same DFL insiders who decided that El Tinklenberg wasn’t half the Bachmann killer that Patty Wetterling was two years ago, have decided in all their holy modal majestic majesty that El Tinklenberg is “the Man“ to stop Bachmann this time.
No one is so full of themselves as political insiders playing God. In a saner state, the primary would precede the endorsement convention.
Minnesota is, as proven by our voting history, not a sane state, politically speaking. Was Bob Olson a better Bachmann killer than Tinklenberg? Well, common sense says that a primary would have been a much better indicator than an incest fest attended only by those who’ve mastered the art of jumping through hoops and getting elected by their peers (i.e., other wonks) TWICE before being permitted to humbly vote on such a matter.
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MPR, introducing the National Press Club segment just now:
Rev. Wright, as you will hear, is NOT apologizing.
Fuck Gary Eichten and his daily financial masturbations. The Rev. Wright has NOTHING to apologize for. The apologies are all due from the media, who have shamelessly sensationalized words ripped out of context. Eichten never betrays any excitement unless he has a Republican guest on who’s talking about cutting taxes on Gary’s retirement investments. [Seriously, did they clone Eichten from a used rubber in Bob Potter's wallet, or what?]
And yes, the National Press Club is touching itself inappropriately as they introduce the Rev. Wright in the most sensationalistic manner possible.
God but I fucking despise the American media. And if you’re listening, all that applause is from non-reporters present who are being as loud and supportive as they can. Wright has truly entered into the lion’s den.
[Wow, not even five minutes in and he's dropped Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes on his audience. "As the Vice President has told you, that applause does not come from the working press." No shit.]
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Jeff Shaw rummages through Paul Demko’s things [scroll down], looking for story leads now that CP’s most prolific newshound has moved on to MinMon.
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Ron Paulistas fuck up Nevada’s GOP state convention so thoroughly, it’s adjourned and will be held later after the discombobulated Republican powers that be figure out how to stifle democracy at their convention.
Meanwhile, in Indiana, two young Republican frontrunners ran such fabulously nasty campaigns that a third candidate ended up winning their primary.
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More on all the depth of study and profound insights that went into Rubinomics.
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Been wondering about Afghanistan? You’re obviously not paying attention. You should be worried about Afghanistan. Worried, if not actually shitting bricks.
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If you’re from Minnesota, you already know darned well that Tim Pawlenty isn’t fit to be a governor, enamored as he is with hyperpartisanship, eroding infrastructure, obscenely unnecessary tax cuts and — yes — still more pork for the richest few.
So you wouldn’t think that Bob Collins’ post on whether Pawlenty is ready to be Vice President would be the first such item from a news organization anywhere. (It is.)
Like Senator McCain’s jet fighter during the Vietnam war, McCain’s campaign will go down in flames. I hope — if he picks Pawlenty as his Veep — that McCain has the common sense to tell Pawlenty to replace his gasoline cannister with a fire extinguisher. It’ll come in more handy when they crash and burn. (And they will.)
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Eric Black liked Frank Rich’s last column. I won’t argue with him.
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The Rev. Wright isn’t the only one unloading with both barrels lately. Elizabeth Edwards popped up on the NY Times editorial page on Sunday.
The vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country’s inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the mainstream media, to occasional articles. I am not suggesting that every journalist for a mainstream media outlet is neglecting his or her duties to the public. And I know that serious newspapers and magazines run analytical articles, and public television broadcasts longer, more probing segments.
But I am saying that every analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away from the truth until what is left is the Cliffs Notes of the news, or what I call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we cannot really see the whole picture.
Well worth a read.
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Last week’s answers, this week’s quiz.
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