PSoTD

The All Spin Zone has the details.

If it takes a blue ribbon panel to study if Republicans close elections better than Democrats, then it would be worth it just to shut him up - as long, of course, as he isn't part of that panel or selection of it.

Don't we need a clearer term - and don't Iraqis deserve a clearer term for purposes of history - for where that "country" is today?

Unfortunately, we may be at a point where we need to more specifically classify civil wars to cover those instigated by attacks from another country. The term "Civil War" implies that the society pushed apart at the seams, rather than pulled apart by other-sovereign forces. According to Merriam-Webster, civil war is defined as "a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country."

But Iraq isn't just that while we're there, and it didn't start because of those opposing groups. The U.S. and other foreign powers broke Iraq and allowed civil war to arise. It's unfair to Iraq to label this solely as a civil war at this point, a label that implies that this is solely their issue and fault that it's at this state at this point.

So we need a more specific term than just "civil war". Maybe it's Foreign-Induced Civil War. Maybe it's Exported Civil War. Suggestions?

Update: The Editors at BBC say that the fighting in Iraq defies simple categorisation.

We're having construction done on our house, and that means we leave the garage door open since supplies and tools and whatnot are being moved in and out.

For whatever reason, the UPS person who delivers to our house sees that as an invitation to drop off boxes inside the garage and not ring the doorbell. It's happened three or four times now, and it's no big deal except that one of these days something's going to get dropped on or buried with other stuff and I'm either not going to get it in a timely manner or it's going to be broken.

It also makes me curious as to if this is some sort of trespass. If they enter a house without notice I'm assuming that's not quite proper. Is an attached garage any different? Seems like they could get in trouble with some folks by doing this.

Not that it matters to me if they leave it in the garage as long as they just ring the doorbell so I know the package is here. Of course, I probably will have to catch the UPS delivery person in order to get that to happen.

I just discovered this blog, and I have to admit, I really enjoyed this post:

Corporate Blogging, Time of Death 7.17.06

Don't slow down the motorcade...

A HARARE motorist spent four nights in police custody last week for allegedly blocking President Robert Mugabe's motorcade.

Simba Mabasa, a driver employed by quasi-state organisation, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) was arrested and detained at Harare Central Police station last Thursday after he allegedly interfered with President Mugabe's motorcade along Julius Nyerere Way in the capital. He got into hot soup because he allegedely failed to give way to the motorcade. The convoy was on its way from the Harare International Airport after the presidential party arrived from a Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) meeting in Djibouti.

TIMB is a statutory body, which issues licences to tobacco auction floors, buying companies and tobacco contractors.

In addition to arresting Mabasa, police impounded the TIMB shuttle bus that he was driving after ordering all passengers to disembark.

Workers at the TIMB said Mabasa was released on Monday after four nights of rigorous interrogation. The impounded bus was returned to the organisation on the same day. "They (police) said his docket is being worked on," said one worker at TIMB who requested not to be named.

An apprehensive Mabasa confirmed his release when contacted by The Financial Gazette on Tuesday, but refused to answer further questions. Under Zimbabwe's tough security laws, which include the amended Road Traffic Regulations (2002), it is an offence for the public to say or do anything "within the view or hearing of the State motorcade with the intention of insulting any person travelling with an escort or any member of the escort."

His odds are only slightly better than Joe Lieberman's at winning the Democratic 2008 nomination. I'd say he's neck and neck with Vilsack.

Newt Gingrich is helping the terrorists win. The terrorists hate freedom, the Preznit keeps telling us. And Newt Gingrich recommends we capitulate, giving away the freedom of speech.

Just imagine if we did curb freedom of speech in our war against terrorism... wouldn't Gingrich's speech be one of those to be curbed? After all, we wouldn't want to have Americans AND terrorists think the terrorists are making us change our philosophy because we're afraid... that would be a victory for the terrorists. So, apparently Newt Gingrich is recommending that Newt Gingrich's comments be curtailed. But because Newt Gingrich can't do that for himself, he needs the Federal Government to step in and stop it, because Newt Gingrich doesn't know what is wise and unwise to say.

Have a question, and I hope to read opinions... several blogs I visit have a nice sidebar feature where they show the most recent comments made at that blog. Do you think that promotes more comments - and more interest - in the blog by providing that? I haven't seen a way to do that here on Powerblogs, but if it helped add to the debate at the blog, maybe I'll change to a format that will allow it.

I had a weird idea...

Take 50 political talk radio talk show hosts from around the country, including some of the national ones. Make it half and half, conservative and liberal. Ask each one of them for one legislative idea that they'd like to see passed by Congress.

And welcome to the newest reality program: "The Senate".

Each talk show host is a Senator, and must try to convince a majority of the remaining members of Congress to pass their idea. Each Senator puts their one idea in the hopper as a bill, and then they begin to try to work each other to pass their ideas. They're all locked in some huge estate until a bill is passed. The bill passed will win some ungodly amount of money for the author(s) of the idea. However, no bill can pass that encompasses more than 3 ideas.

And then videotape all the intrigue and dealmaking.

hat tip to The Countess...

Busted. Indiana to California to Pennsylvania, I don't hear much accent in me.

Had the brains and the guts to make such a political assessment.

When president Anwar El-Sadat removed Egypt out of the Soviet sphere of influence he was acting in the belief that the US held 99 per cent of the cards to solving the Arab- Israeli conflict. Some may have questioned that assessment, but the collapse of the Soviet Union and US deployment in the region following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait made it clear that a US-dominated era was beginning.

In the 1990s, the world accepted that the Middle East was a zone of US influence. No other power dared to make any initiative in the region without Washington's approval. The US should have used that opportunity to establish its credibility as a patron of peace and stability. Instead, it was arrogant and greedy. It pushed its support of Israel to the limit while ignoring legitimate Arab concerns. It acted as if the Arabs were fit only to receive orders, not as partners in friendship and cooperation. With the US invasion of Iraq any hopes for a US change of heart were dashed. From then on the writing was on the wall. Faced with spiralling violence in Iraq, the US plodded on, unable to mend its ways, incapable of inspiring trust. If anything, the US fomented mistrust by supporting Israel's crimes against the Palestinians and Lebanon, acting belligerently towards Syria and engaging in suspicious schemes regarding Sudan.

Eventually Washington lost all credibility and now risks the prospect of a disgraceful retreat, even by the judgement of senior US experts. Richard Hass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, says we are seeing the end of the US era in the Middle East. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser, believes history is repeating itself, with the US likely to pull out from the Middle East following the Iraq war in the same way that Britain made its exit following the Suez campaign.

Other foreign powers are now competing for a foothold in the region. Europe is offering a Spanish-French-Italian peace initiative. Russia is trying to improve its ties with Egypt and other Arab countries. And China hopes for a major economic and political role in the region. Meanwhile, the US seems unable to think beyond exiting Iraq and protecting Israel.

One would think that this is the right moment for Arab nations and regimes to break free from foreign influence and find their own voice. It could well be their last chance.

For those who celebrate the holiday: What day or event do you consider to be the beginning of the Christmas Season?

At least that's what the coal industry is planning for...

We're still a work in progress.

That Dick Cheney won't be on his show after the current administration ends.

Is that Matthews' reading of Cheney's choice of programming? Or is this Matthews' standard for this determination? If so, is it the Tom DeLay line of deceit? The Ann Coulter line of lack of credibility? The Pat Buchanan line of ridiculousness?

CRAWFORD: Again, I gotta ask, where does that leave Dick Cheney if the neocons are heading for the hills. Where does he end up in this administration?

MATTHEWS: I know what he does. He moves out to the eastern shore of Maryland and waits there like [indecipherable] with a gun. And he waits until the next administration comes into office. If it’s a Republican administration — like McCain — he has a lot of influence. If it’s a Democratic administration, he starts coming on programs like this. He won’t be on this show, but like this.

Of course I agree, Rex Grossman is blowing offensive opportunities for the Bears. But I also have to say, I think the offensive coordination of the team is doing a LOT more damage. In the 17-13 loss against the Patriots, the Bears shouldn't have passed more than 20 times. This was a ball control game. Instead, there were 35 pass plays by the Bears. Why? They were running the ball just fine. I know balance is desired, but sometimes you have to stick with what is working. And Sunday, that was rushing the ball. Sunday night's loss was a failure of coaching.

Secondly, there's a play the Bears need to start calling on passes. It's called the wide receiver screen, and I know they have it, because they ran it a lot last year. Berrian, and even better, Bradley, could be very effective and it'll slow down this blitz crap. They have to quit using the speed receivers just on deep routes.

Finally, the Bears probably win that game if Urlacher doesn't get faked out of his cleats by Tom Brady on a run in the 4th quarter. I'm not sure what Urlacher was thinking, but it wasn't stopping Brady from making the first down no matter what.

The kids enjoyed it. Yesterday was a long day of walking but the weather was great. Dean Shostak's holiday concert was probably our favorite part of the Colonial Williamsburg, but today's walk about Mount Vernon was really pretty cool, too.

For your weekend reading...

I dunno, I think the show "Seinfeld" lost a lot of its comedy spark after every episode's first viewing. Althouse has a post today saying that Richards' racist remarks last week have ruined it for her, that until that point she always found it funny. But to me, Seinfeld isn't a series that ages well - and part of that is because almost every character is an extreme caricature, and repeated viewings don't seem to add any depth or new laughs. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Don't get me wrong, in the 1990s I was a regular and dedicated viewer. But the repeatability comedy value of the series seems pretty limited to me now.

of mobile home parks.

When the lease runs out, aren't you without any negotiating position at all?

I'd say that there's probably a big opportunity in the t-shirt/bumper sticker industry for an attractive design that incorporates an "OK" hand graphic and a wink.

Just a short memory to share. When we moved to California from Indiana in the early 1970s, our family was separated from most of the rest of the family, and no holiday really brought that home as much as Thanksgiving. Our grandparents would come to visit during Christmas every year, and although we would get together with family on many other holidays during the year when we lived in Indiana, Thanksgiving was the obvious "missing family" holiday around our house those first years in California.

My Mom used to love listening to John Denver albums, and he performed a song on an album that I, for whatever reason, always associate with Thanksgiving. It wasn't actually written by Denver, but by a fellow named Jim Connor.

Anyways, enjoy your family and friends today.

GRANDMA'S FEATHER BED (Jim Connor) John Denver

When I was a little bitty boy
just up off a floor
We used to go down to Grandma's house
every month end or so,
We'd have chicken pie and country ham
'n' home made butter on the bread
But the best darn thing about Grandma's house
was her great big feather bed

It was nine feet tall and six feet wide
soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty eleven geese
took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick
It'd hold eight kids 'n' four hound dogs
and a piggy we stole from the shed
We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun
on Grandma's feather bed

After supper we'd sit around the fire
the old folks'd spit and chew
Pa would talk about the farm and the war
and Granny'd sing a ballad or two
I'd sit and listen and watch the fire
till the cobwebs filled my head
Next thing I'd know I'd wake up in the morning
in the middle of the old feather bed

It was nine feet tall and six feet wide
soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty eleven geese
took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick
It'd hold eight kids 'n' four hound dogs
and a piggy we stole from the shed
We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun
on Grandma's feather bed

Well I love my Ma, I love my Pa
I love Granny and Grandpa too
I been fishing with my uncle
I rasled with my cousin
I even kissed Aunt Lou ooo!
But if I ever had to make a choice
I guess it ought to be said
That I'd trade 'em all plus the gal down the road
for Grandma's feather bed
I'd trade 'em all plus the gal down the road...

It was nine feet tall and six feet wide
soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty eleven geese
took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick
It'd hold eight kids 'n' four hound dogs
and a piggy we stole from the shed
We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun
on Grandma's feather bed
We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun
on Grandma's feather bed

Do you go shopping on "Black Friday"? If so... why?

Nuclear families, made up of married couples with children, fell to 23.5 percent of all households in 2000, down from 45 percent in 1960.

Maybe Laurence O'Donnell might want to consider this factor when pontificating that "Advocating war is easier when you and your family are not endangered by it." Because the same can be said for advocating the draft. This isn't the 1960s, and a lot smaller percentage of folks have kids available to be impacted by the draft.

This is a fool's exercise. Rangel's not helping the debate here, he's muddying it. We want out of Iraq? Bringing up the draft isn't going to get us out. We owe a focus on the real issues of getting out of Iraq. Stop this shit.

Lots and lots of excuses from Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings for losing to Lenny of Laverne and Shirley in Jeopardy!

(Good job, Michael McKean!)

Remember them? What the hell do they do the years between Presidential elections? Are they trying to figure out how to make the debates better and more useful for voters? Their website makes them look like they're in storage until 2008.

Thank God we're not flying this weekend.

On another note: when did we start calling the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving "Thanksgiving Eve"?

I'm somewhat appalled by the "discussion" of the draft over at DailyKos. I wish people would actually think about it before suggesting that a military draft would reduce the possibility for war. The two biggest wars we've had since World War II came with the draft. The draft legislates a responsibility for every citizen to potentially provide a period of time for the purposes of the government. That's servitude. If you're going to have arguments for servitude, you better bring a whole slew of them, you better have a real cost/benefit analysis, and you better not be hiding behind the dodge that it would somehow make America "better" and that being against the idea is somewhat less "American".

The whole "debate" is playing with fire, and I really think people should put considerably more thought into it before jumping in the flames.

In honor of the holiday:

What is the least "traditional" meal you've ever had on Thanksgiving Day?

Funny thing... I didn't realize this component of her recent Bahamas controversies/tragedy:

Wanting to weigh in on the swirling controversy that continues to surround actress Anna Nicole Smith, members of the Workers Party will protest in front of the Government House today to voice their "disgust" of how the celebrity's permanent residency status was handled by Minister of Immigration Shane Gibson.

"We are taking a petition to Government House to complain about Mr. Gibson," said leader of the Workers Party Rodney Moncur on Monday. "A delegation from the Worker's Party will march from the corner of Huyler Street and Blue Hill Road to the Government House. After leaving Government House, we will proceed to the Post Office where the Ministry of Immigration is located and picket there also."

Mr. Moncur said the Party is still concerned that Mr. Gibson granted permanent residency status to the US celebrity, reportedly without conducting due diligence. "She is purported to have spent $90,000 on the conveyance, but she has failed to pay the stamp tax, which is 10 percent on $90,000," Mr. Moncur claimed. "Had the Minister done due diligence and insisted that Callender's and Co. [the law firm that processed Ms. Smith's permanent residency application] first pay the stamp taxes, they would have had to disclose to him the reluctance on their part of Anna Nicole Smith's refusal to sign the mortgage."

"The whole purpose of an economic permanent residency is for the investor to invest a minimum of $500,000 and for the country to derive any taxes or other economic benefits deriving there from," Mr. Moncur said. "The Minister had a duty to ensure that all taxes due and owing to the public treasury were paid before the permanent residency was granted to Mrs. Smith."

For whatever reason, this reminds me of Lou Dobbs' Space.com foray...

It seems that all those years of John Madden hype over the Thanksgiving poultrystein has worked. I've stumbled more about turducken in regular news sources this year than ever before. It's even being written about in college newspapers...

Thanks, New York Post.

Your message

To: Letters
Cc:
Subject: Dear Judith Regan
Sent: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:34:02 -0500

was deleted without being read on Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:09:29 -0500

Just wondering: In the history of the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, what grossly overweight head coaches or managers successfully lead their teams to a championship?

(your operational definition of grossly overweight for this purpose: being the physical condition of the person that dominates your mental image of that person)

Roxanne and Amanda have a great idea how Judith Regan can make turn something useful out of her O J Simpson book. Send Regan an email.

This idea of volunteering other peoples' kids for military service is a loser. A LOSER. A LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, not really.

A long time ago, back in the early days of the Internet, I used to post strange skits on Usenet.

They were known as Play-A-Days, because I posted almost daily. At the time, I worked for another company, and one of the things I would have to do is sit in very boring legislative sessions for several hours, and another thing I had to do was travel, and in both cases, it would allow my mind to wander about what I saw, or heard, or imagined. (Lengthy exposure to legislative sessions can lead to insanity, I believe) So I'd scribble goofy things down, which eventually became the Play-A-Days.

At some point in the late 1990s, I decided it would be a good idea to make a place to archive these items, as if they were gems or nuggets or something semi-precious. At that time, on the Internet, with the creativity JUST beginning, perhaps they were semi-precious. But today I recognize them for what they are - literary gravel.

Which is a long way to say that when the domain for the Play-A-Day site ends in mid-December, I'll be removing the site. Here's your chance to experience the immature dabblings of a bored mind, at least my earlier immature dabblings, before the site is decommissioned. Of course, the blog continues with my current immaturity...

Ghosthood.

I'm not an Eagles fan, I'm a Chicago Bears fan. But I feel kinda sad that McNabb, the Eagles and Eagles fans are having to go through a big injury to McNabb once again.

I don't believe in the draft. I don't believe it's good for the country, and I don't believe it fits within our country's mythology of freedom or fairness. And I don't believe it's a good anvil to pound for responsibility in choosing our military efforts.

So I think Charlie Rangel is completely misguided in this effort to pound the anvil. Either he actually believes that the country needs a military draft, or he believes that the prospect of a draft will change the way people see our military choices because he doesn't believe the country wants a draft. I think this is a fire the Democrats should not even consider playing with, because I don't see this as a wedge issue. There are other forces at play, and it should be this simple: if you believe there should be a military draft, period, at all times, then support the idea. Otherwise, oppose it.

If the British thought the same thing about penny papers and other very low cost journals in the American colonies.

Blogging is evolving. One of the key things that this article fails to mention is that blogs - real blogs, at least, not just homages to speechifying - allow comments. Comments and commentary can either focus or dissolve the point of a post. Take a look at DailyKos, it happens all the time.

The problem that government is having is an attention span issue. If everyone says everything needs work - which is no doubt true - the job of government is to prioritize. And that's the problem. The political process is not setting clear set priorities. The governing process is confused because of this, and the governed are confused because of this. If it was clear, the debate would include prioritization. It does not.

So, first step: what are the priorities for a politician and for a member of governance? Try establishing that clearly, and keep working on making that clear. Muddling it allows politicians to claim they are all things to all people, yet it also increases the confusion and the spectrum of complaints.

It's a simple thing to recognize: Wars get names, and periods of peace don't. This just compounds our human failure to recognize the most important contributions made to avoid war and continue peace for a given time period.

Also, and sadly, the ratio of historians who write to explain the causes of a war, versus the ratio of historians who write to explain the causes of a peaceful time, does not exist. That's because you have to have at least one historian who chooses to write about the causes of peaceful times. I'm not talking about one political move, or one incident... I'm talking about how nations go through period of times of relative peace, and what the root causes of that peace are?

I know, who will buy such a book? No blood? No dramatic death totals? No obvious villains, no sinister fools? It would take a historian with quite the writer's flair to write an interesting piece about the periods of peace in our world's history. But if done... it would stand out.

What Donut are you?

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

I dunno, I must be dense. I'm still not understanding the need for .mobi.

A municipal golf course is not economic revitalization. Please, don't use that guise. It's pathetic.

I would have dressed better.

Glad to see some of this Democratic Party response to James Carville and his comments about Howard Dean earlier this week:

Stephen Crockett: Carville Simply Wrong on Howard Dean and DNC

Harold Ford: I think Governor Dean has done a good job. I'm not interested in taking the job.

According to sources in the DNC and DCCC, Emuanel called Dean this morning to distance himself from the tone and general tenor of Carville's remarks.

Former DNC Chair Don Fowler: This is is nonsense... Democrats won a great victory on November 7; control of the United States House of Representatives, control of the United States Senate, majority of Governors, and majority of state legislative bodies. Governor Dean deserves to continue as DNC Chair.

But it should be more like a hot lava eruption on Carville for his remarks. That's how to prevent a repeat of such stupidity by Carville in the future.

Which, of course, now costs more to make than it is worth.

It looks like lobbying firms are starting to try Google AdWords advertising. Check out the results (sorry, no links, they didn't pay me!) for these searches:

"Government Relations"

advertisers include

Carmen Group Lobbying
Cicero Consulting
Cassidy & Associates
Rome Smith & Associates
The Talon Group, LLC

"Lobbying Firm" includes:

Public Policy Advocates
The Public Advocacy Group
Wheat Gov't Relations
The Talon Group, LLC
Rome Smith & Associates
Jim Arnold & Associates
Burland & Associates
Carmen Group Lobbying
Cassidy & Associates

"Lobbyist Firm" came up with

Cassidy & Associates
Rome Smith & Associates
Advantage Associates Inc.
Burland & Associates

There's a possible trend here. 20 years ago, lobbying firms were trying to get away from that moniker, strongly preferring "government relations firm", for public image purposes. And for purposes of promotion that might work. But it appears that most advertising firms still believe that their marketplace thinks of them as "lobbying firms", which explains why there are more advertisers under that term than under "government relations". In a way, Google AdWords makes business define themselves as their market defines them - because they are dependent on the search terms that market comes up with in order to find their advertisements.

The National Catholic Register doesn't go for artsy-fartsy language when discussing politics. Oh, no.

Republicans were bludgeoned in the midterm elections Nov. 7 as Catholic voters abandoned them in the midst of a bloody Iraq occupation and scandals in Congress.

Those angry voters...

Reflection of a tree in a puddle left by the previous downpour today...

Global warming may be threatening the survival of polar bear cubs in Alaska.

Not to worry, National Review wingnut Jonah Goldberg proposes a simple solution!

It seems to me that if A) we believe that man is responsible for the dire plight of polar bears (or even if he's not) and B) we think the polar bears are worth saving and C) we think that doing so won't have outsized negative consequences elsewhere in the ecosystem, Why not intervene to save polar bears? Would building big, free floating docks help? Would moving polar bears and their families to different areas do the trick?

Next Jonah will suggest football helmets to protect baby seals from clubbings.

Isn't this the kind of flaky idea that conservatives used to mock lefties for? Guess we at least have to give Jonah some credit for caring about polar bear cubs. That's a big step forward for right-wing wackos! But he should probably leave the global warming problem-solving to someone better equipped.

Good opinion piece in the Pocono Record today about possible priorities for the Pennsylvania General Assembly next year. The Record asks, and then points out:

Why can't Pennsylvanians have zoning laws that protect the quality of life? The uniqueness and charm of our small towns? The natural resources?

We don't, you know. Not only do our laws tilt toward the "right" of developers to make a profit, the laws actually make taxpayers subsidize those profits. We the taxpayers finance new infrastructure and services, including schools. Those who make the profits do not.

It's a great point. Why don't zoning laws reflect the will of the people who live in a community, rather than the will of the people who want to profit from a community or want to move to the community? Why can't there be a bit more democracy in zoning policy?

It's really time for the shit to fall on Carville. This isn't about Dean, this is about pissing all over a great win and complaining about deficit spending. That's right, Carville is crying that the Democrats didn't borrow more money.

I don't care what Carville has done in the past. The Democrats should tell him to get off TV, now and for the longterm foreseeable future, and if they don't, he doesn't get any more jobs. I can not believe how moronic it is to try to damage Dean after the Democrats big win. We should now be moving forward on the next two years of goals. But no, we get this. Fuck Carville. He's a prima donna.

Hey James Carville: WHERE'S THE COMPLAINT OF HOW WASTEFUL HILLARY CLINTON'S SPENDING WAS? AND HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU SPEND ON LOSING CAMPAIGNS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER SPENT WITH SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN MANAGERS? HOW MUCH MONEY ENDED UP IN CARVILLE'S COFFERS IN THE 2006 CAMPAIGN?

Americans need to work during "retirement": poll

The survey, which polled 2,500 baby boomers between September 26 and October 7, will be released in the next few days.

Faced with the cold, hard fact that they have not saved enough to live out their years comfortably, 43 percent of Americans say they will have to re-enter the work force almost as soon as they leave it, according to the survey.

There was a nice window in the 20th century in America to allow for retirement. It was a nice concept. But frankly, it seems to me to be damn near impossible to expect now, at least as how we've envisioned retirement so far, and the economy and human nature conspire against sufficient saving for most folks in the middle class.

If you're wealthy, then retirement is an option. If you're lucky enough to be in a for-the-time-being-stable retirement program through your employment, then it can be an option. Everyone else? Contingency plans make a lot of sense to me. Working when you're older doesn't seem such a horrible fate if you like what you're doing. It seems to me that there needs to be more effort in our society to get the baby boomers there - determining how employers can find 20-25 hour work weeks for still valuable 70-year-olds that these individuals will enjoy and appreciate.

Because we're going to need it.

He's heading for Dick Morris territory, on a bullet train.

And I think it's time the national media poll every Democratic Party member of the 2007 Congress and see if they agree or disagree with Carville's assessment - on the record. Starting with Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emanuel.

Can somebody enlighten me as to the real, if any, benefit of having a .mobi domain?

I don't care whether organizers call their parades Christmas or Holiday parades. Christmas or Holiday parties. Whatever... it depends on the point of the event. Is it to celebrate getting together for any holiday during December? Or is it a religious get-together to celebrate specifically Christ's birth? That's the difference in the two phrases.

So, when I see a pastor say something like this, I feel it is arrogance beyond (and before) the flock:

The Rev. Ed Nettles of Freewill Missionary Baptist Church saw removing the word "Christmas" as part of a dangerous trend. He thinks it's important to respect the way people celebrate religious holidays.

"We have to take a strong stand because these are our beliefs," Nettles said. "It's a blessing to see Americans reject 'Happy Holidays.' It should be a Merry Christmas."

Gyyyyaaaahhhh... Look - people say Happy Holidays because they're not sure what holiday a person celebrates. That is the ultimate in respecting religious holidays - not making an assumption that everyone celebrates the same holiday you do, but wishing them a pleasing celebration nonetheless. "Happy Holidays" is not only an appropriate thing to say, but the preferred thing to say when wishing relatively unknown others cheer and happiness during a religious season in which there are many different holidays being celebrated.

These people ought to quit attacking the saying "happy holidays". Would they rather have strangers just say "have a good day" all through December? Give it up already, and find something actually important to accomplish.

I have to admit, I like Paid/Unpaid MUCH MORE than Pro-Am. But there's a recognition in this business model for "pro" reporters.

Gannett Co., the nation’s largest newspaper chain, plans to create stories with information from bloggers, people who post in Internet discussion groups and other non-journalists in hopes of winning readers from the Internet, television and other news sources, officials with the company said.

Gannett, which operates 90 newspapers, including the nation’s largest, USA Today, is hoping “citizen journalism” will reverse the company’s part of an industrywide trend of declining circulation and advertising revenues, officials said.

“It’s pretty big,” said Michael Maness, Gannett’s vice president of strategic planning. “It’s a fairly fundamental restructuring of how we go about news and information on a daily basis.”

Under the plan, the “Information Center” will be divided into seven areas: public service, digital, data, community conversation, local, custom content and multimedia.

Of course, I'd be more hopeful of my own success in this arena if they had an area called "total crap".

Not a theoretical.

We have a business client for which we did a graphic design job for about six months ago. The project for which the design job was done has been dormant since shortly after that time (for reasons not related to anything we were involved with) - I'm not sure of the project's status, but we have a signed contract for our work on the project and we've billed several times. We've been promised payment, but still... no check.

Should a small business use a blog to notify the public of such behavior as lack of payment? If so, how long should the businessperson wait, and should they use the threat of such posting to speed up payment? I realize there are legal options to pursue for payment, but their costs are higher than publicly announcing on the internet the damaging slowness in which an organization may pay their bills.

But this will open up career opportunities for ultimate frisbee stars.

I just discovered LegiStorm - which provides information on Congressional Staff Salaries. Ought to be worth looking at when looking at staffers going into lobbying. Somebody's gotta pay for Russell Caso's next $14,400 trip to Italy...

Damn. We decided we would use tiffany sconces for wall lights in our addition, and unfortunately, after deciding that, we realize that there must be a billion trillion different options in tiffany lamps, and every web site we find had 50 million options. Overload. Overload.

Public Appearance training for the Archbishop of York.

Whenever there's a transition of political power from one party to another, there's a whole new line of hungry mouths in the lobbying community waiting to feed at the public trough. If Americans are going to get control of federal spending - real control, and real discussion of expectations - it is at a time like this, during a transition and before the damage begins in earnest.

This seems to me to be a natural time for bloggers to come to the fore and report on lobbying efforts in an effort to control spending. Since Democrats are likely to control the Congress, and a Republican controls the White House, it also seems like something that conservative and liberal bloggers could agree to do in a reporting format. This isn't about reporting what is actually shows up in legislation, since that's usually too late - the deal has been made. It's about a blogging consideration of lobbyists, in general and in specific, at the federal level. If there were a process where bloggers could volunteer to cover lobbying firms - like what we do when we choose to cover a specific electoral race - perhaps bloggers could do a part in controlling lobbying. When you take a look at the dollars reported in lobbying, you realize that shedding any light on the process can make a difference. It's a staggering amount.

and the game.

This guy stands for nothing but power, just like the Republicans that elected him over Lamont.

As a Bears' fan, obviously I watched the tale of two halves last night, with the Bears pulling away from the Giants and winning the game handily at the end.

I thought a comment by Al Michaels last night to be pretty insulting to sports fans anywhere - but most particularly, fans that blog. He was talking about the Bears ups and downs the past month, and what online talk about the Bears was based on that - one week the Bears suck, one week they're the best team in the NFL, etc. He said there was a lot of blogging and blather - and that it was all blather. He said it more than once, so obviously he felt there was an important point to this, that NFL fans that blog about their team just contribute blather. In essence - not worth listening to.

We've heard the same kind of arrogance from political types in the past, and reality has re-shifted that belief into something closer to an ecosystem about politics. I do believe that the NFL should recognize that a blogging ecosystem exists for pro football as well, and make damn certain that they don't have nationally televised generalized jabs at it, because that's really not going to be beneficial to the NFL. Sports fans pay the freight for the NFL. There are varying levels of fans, but "magnet fans" - the kinds that organize fan clubs in different cities for teams, the kinds that organize season ticket sales for groups, the kinds that talk about the local team in the local coffee shop on Monday, promoting that team - are vociferous, and always have been. Yes, some of those fans blog now. That's a technology evolution and nothing else. Yes, the quality of the discussion is all over the map. But seriously, who is Al Michaels to talk about fan blather? He's worked with some champions in that department. Remember Dennis Miller? Boomer Esiason? Tim McCarver?

It's pretty clear that Michaels is familiar with blather. But if he's going to rip it as an issue for the NFL, perhaps he ought to focus on the "paid" blather, rather than what comes from the fans - the folks actually doing the paying. The best of free NFL blogging is equal to much of the paid sportswriting and announcing we've all grown accustomed to - so why rip the entire process?

Unfortunately, we're in for a bit of an internal fight once the Democratic Congress rolls in. Lobbyists - and lobbying firms - whose main strengths have been that they have access and ability to lobby Democrats have been waiting for this day for years. They feel they have been getting crumbs, at best, while their Republican lobbyist cousins feasted at the federal trough. There is now a growing sense of "our turn" in the Democratic lobbyist ranks.

The Democrats cannot afford their own version of "the bridge to nowhere." And knowing Bush, if something like that shows up in a budget or spending bill for the Democrats, he'll let it go to give Republicans something to campaign on in 2008. Democrats have to practice fiscal responsibility, and they have to keep the lobbyists disappointed but hopeful. Anything less will be disastrous, political and financially.

Sure was a bit strange to hear them in Central Pennsylvania on a November evening...

Just thought I'd highlight some Central PA blog posts of the recent past that could be of interest:

Best of Harrisburg v1- Giant Groceries
5 Things About This Weekend
What A Great Meeting in Harrisburg and Rep. Conyer's Support!
Introducing blogHarrisburg mobile
Harrisburg/State Capital
Hidden voices must be heard
Toby

About the dustup between Carville and Howard Dean: I couldn't say it better myself. Except, Carville deserves blame as well. He chose to carry this water.

And news media: Ask Hillary Clinton if she agrees with Carville. ASK HER.

From the Philly Inquirer:

It's never a good thing for an incumbent senator to spend $27 million running for reelection and lose by 18 percentage points.

But for Rick Santorum, getting steamrolled on Tuesday by Democrat Bob Casey Jr. may prove to be liberating in a strange sort of way.

"I think Rick can write his own ticket," said his Senate colleague and fellow Republican Arlen Specter.

Among the available options: Becoming a spokesman for national conservative causes, taking a role in the Bush administration, positioning himself to run for statewide office in Pennsylvania in 2010, and maybe even mounting a candidacy for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

Apparently everyone believes that Santorum's best chances are at wasting more campaign money. With the exception of taking a role in the Bush Administration, everything else seems to be pointed in that direction. Why do Pennsylvania's pundits think his political career can recover from this trouncing? He's not likeable enough of a public persona to accomplish that. He'll always start any future campaign with some serious negative voter attitude. And frankly, he was absolutely embarrassed in this election, final vote-wise. So... who wants to invest in that?

Are Pennsylvania's voters - and campaign contributors - going to forget than in 2 or 4 years? Not in the world I live in...

Just because coaching kids' basketball is a very rewarding way to spend a few hours each week.

Ugh.

One prominent lobbyist who hires Capitol Hill aides said that, in general, Republicans can expect to slash about $50,000 from what they might have commanded before the election returns came in. Yet, another lobbyist who runs his large firm said there are senior-level Democratic aides for whom he would offer as much as $600,000 in total compensation to lure them to his bipartisan shop because of simple supply and demand.

Veteran lobbyists and headhunters said some of the soon-to-be-unemployed aides and Members will find new jobs in the Bush administration, where a flurry of turnover is expected.

Some aides will look to fill other posts on the Hill, while others will catch on with trade associations, lobbying firms and corporate offices — though perhaps for a smaller salary than other Republicans commanded as little as six months ago.

Other Congressional and downtown sources said some staffers are preparing to send their résumés to the likely campaigns of GOP presidential hopefuls such as outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

$600K for a brand new lobbyist? No wonder the cost of government keeps going up.

From Forbes

Regardless of their political leanings, the majority of American adults (80.4 percent) favors a balanced approach to sex education in schools, including teaching children about both abstinence and other ways of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, a University of Pennsylvania study finds.

The findings suggest that the U.S. government's support for abstinence-only programs doesn't reflect broad public support for comprehensive sex education, say researchers from the school's Annenberg Public Policy Center.

They noted that 25 percent of American youth have sex by age 15, 37.5 percent by age 16 and 46.9 percent by age 17.

Sex is like any other topic that kids have to learn about. Parents can provide education, detail, philosophy - but there's clear benefit to providing health, scientific and statistical information through the schools, as well. Most Americans understand that. If the Bush Administration can't understand that, then the Congress needs to take the lead to show support for comprehensive sex education.