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Inspired by Sean's comment on my last LEGO post:
I'd like to be the first James Bond Villain with an evil island fortress made of Legos. I don't know if I can make an Interrogation Laser or Obvious Self Destruct Button out of plastic, though...Marc
It's 1968 and the country is involved in an increasingly unpopular foreign war. There's big issues on the horizons, including civil unrest, urban rioting and rural poverty. Now imagine that this contest was centered, not on the candidates' ideas about Vietnam and how to combat the loss of domestic tranquility, but around what Nixon and Humphrey were doing during World War II.
It's hard to make the case that 1968 is 2004, (believe me, Iraq is no Vietnam) but this election still has its fair share of big issues, including war and peace. Not to mention the fact that a couple of years ago people who really don't like us starting flying planes into our buildings. The domestic issues in 2004 may be less urgent than they were in 1968, but they are no less important. Our country is facing mounting budget defecits and an entitlement train wreck in the making. And yet, our president and Congress have shown an unwillingness to confront these issues head on. In fact, most of their efforts (expanding prescription drug coverage for the wealthiest demographic in America and tax cuts that accompany spending increases) are doing real and lasting damage, in spite of perceived short-term benefits. The candidates have different ideas about these issues, so why not talk about them?
There's been alot of hand-wringing over the past couple of decades about the vacuous nature of contemporary presidential campaigns. And most of the time it's the media doing the wringing. Well, we've got those big issues that you've been lamenting. And we've got a race with candidates who have some real differences on these issues. And yet, the press has thus far dropped the ball.
There are two reasons that I can surmise for why that is: the real issues are either too complex for the news media, as it is structured, to adequately explore or the media believes the average voter is too stupid to understand these issues. Whatever the reason, we are now wallowing in irrelevant trash.
The time has come for the press to pick that damn ball up, stop whining and be, for the love of Jesus Christ, news reporters.
Tony
He says he opposes gay marriage, yet voted against the federal Defense of Marriage act. He voted for the North American Free Trade agreement yet now talks in protectionist terms, promising he will provide American workers "a fair playing field" while accusing Mr. Bush of "selling them out." Would a President Kerry seek additional free trade agreements in Latin America and elsewhere? What's his position on whether his own state should adopt a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage? So far, the answers aren't clear.MarcThe most important confusion surrounds Mr. Kerry's position on Iraq. In 1991 he voted against the first Persian Gulf War, saying more support was needed from Americans for a war that he believed would prove costly. In 1998, when President Clinton was considering military steps against Iraq, he strenuously argued for action, with or without allies. Four years later he voted for a resolution authorizing invasion but criticized Mr. Bush for not recruiting allies. Last fall he voted against funding for Iraqi reconstruction, but argued that the United States must support the establishment of a democratic government.
Marc
I don't want this election fought as the Adulterer vs the Deserter. The "politics of personal destruction" is insufficient to the times, and an insult to the entirely non-metaphorical personal destruction of thousands of Americans that took place on September 11.Marc
Mayor Martin O'Malley...said he has no plans to ask the state for any emergency or stopgap aid to avert the layoff of up to 1,200 teachers and school employees. 'We need to get our own house in order,' O'Malley said.Just 28 Days Later...Baltimore Sun, Thursday, January 15, 2004
'I would hope the governor might step up. I'm somewhat exasperated...'I hope to see this headline in the Sun very soon:Mayor Martin O'Malley Baltimore Sun, February 13, 2004
According to today's Baltimore Sun, a secret anti-terrorism evacuation plan, codenamed The Genesis Project, that designates Frederick as an evacuation site in the case of an attack on Washington or Baltimore, will be discussed with Frederick's municpal leaders, but not the pubic at large. The plan would call for, among other things, the Frederick fairgrounds to be converted into a medical treatment and decontamination center.Tony
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett, who has been pressing his charges in the national news media this week, says he even heard one high-ranking officer issue a 1997 order to sanitize the Bush file, and later saw another officer poring over the records and discovered that some had been discarded.MarcBut a key witness to some of the events described by Burkett has told the Globe that the central elements of his story are false.
George O. Conn, a former chief warrant officer with the Guard and a friend of Burkett's, is the person whom Burkett says led him to the room where the Bush records were being vetted. But Conn says he never saw anyone combing through the Bush file or discarding records.
"I have no recall of that," Conn said. "I have no recall of that whatsoever. None. Zip. Nada."
Conn's recollection also undercuts another of Burkett's central allegations: that he overheard Bush's onetime chief of staff, Joe M. Allbaugh, telling a Texas Guard general to make sure there were no embarrassments in the Bush record.
Burkett says he told Conn, over dinner that same night, what he had overheard. But Conn says that, although Burkett told him he worried that the Bush record would be sanitized, he never mentioned overhearing the conversation between Allbaugh and General Daniel James III.
Democratic presidential frontrunner John Kerry is planning a response to a DRUDGE REPORT exclusive which first revealed the frantic behind-the-scenes drama surrounding a woman who recently fled the country, reportedly at the prodding of Kerry!Here's the weird part:The nature and details of a claimed two-year relationship, beginning in the Spring of 2001, between a young woman and Kerry is at the center of serious investigations at several media outlets.
Kerry is scheduled to appear on IMUS IN THE MORNING on Friday. Later he is scheduled to join General Wesley Clark, who, in an off-the-record conversation with a dozen reporters earlier this week, plainly stated: "Kerry will implode over an intern issue."As Drudge would say, "Developing..."Reporters who witnessed Clark making the stunning comments marvel at the General's reluctance to later confirm they were spoken -- only to later endorse Kerry for the nomination!
Marc
Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams has agreed to terms that will bring him to the front office of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Williams, who won the Super Bowl with the Redskins during the 1987 season, joined the Skins in 1986 after a five year stint with Tampa Bay during which he led the Bucs to three playoff berths, including a loss to the Rams in the 1979 NFC championship. Following the 1982 season Williams left Tampa as a result of a contract dispute. The Bucs didn't return to the playoffs until 1997. After leaving Tampa, Williams played with the Oklahoma Outlaws of the USFL for a couple of years, before joining the Skins in 1986.Williams will resign as the head football coach at Grambling, where he was only the second football coach in school history. He will leave his alma mater with a 52-18 record in six seasons. Williams will work as a personnel executive in the Bucs scouting department. The team will hold a press conference to introduce the former quarterback tommorrow.
Tony
School system spokeswoman Vanessa C. Pyatt said the delay in payments to bus companies, officials and some coaches results from a "staffing shortage."Marc
Addendum: International Brotherhood of Lazy Brothers-In-Law
The unions are voting today on whether to accept the temporary pay cuts proposed by Mayor O'Malley. But don't expect them to vote on their own time:
The Baltimore Teachers Union vote will be held from noon to 4 p.m. today at the Baltimore Convention Center.Teachers and teachers' aides may enter through the entrance at Pratt and Howard streets. Free parking will be available in a lot at 200 W. Lombard St., and in a garage at Pratt and Howard. City schools will close at 12:30 today to allow for the voting.
Check out the coffee Jello.
Marc
Addendum: It's a Draper bonanza! - The Story Of Bread
Two robberies, three stolen cars - it could certainly be worse in this town. Check out your neighborhood!
Marc
With Wesley Clark dropping out of the race and Howard Dean holding on as long as possible in the hopes that Kerry does something stupid enough to derail his virtual lock on the nomination, the media has moved on to the second phase of the Democratic nominating process: The Veepstakes.This turn of events spells the most trouble for North Carolina Senator John Edwards, whose campaign has, almost from the beginning, been dogged by questions about his feelings toward acceptng the VP slot. The youthful Edwards, who has repeatedly rebuffed this questions, is now being treated by most reporters as if he is, in effect, running for vice-president. But asking him this question over and over again, as today's Media Notes points out, is an exercise in futility.
If Edwards would say yes to this question it would mean the end of his campaign. If he says no he would make it all the more difficult to accept the nomination if it were offered to him.
Of course Edwards is considering a VP nomination. Why in the hell wouldn't he? He's young, he's not running again for the Senate and he could use the slot as a launching pad for 2008.
Here's the answer I think he should give:
Ted, Sam, George, Cokie, Tim, Bob, Wolf, Tom, Peter, Dan, Brit, I am focused and committed to the goal of becoming the next president because I truly believe that I can help bring about the real change that America needs and wants. If that does not happen, I would of course consider any opportunity to further serve my country.
Would people think this was bullshit? Maybe. But my gut tells me its closer than anything else he's said to the way he really feels
Tony
