Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Because of What, Exactly?
Two months ago, I had named Sen. Ted Kennedy Liar of the Week because he pledged to keep an open mind on the nomination of John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court:
I will not decide whether to support or oppose him based on any single issue…what all Americans deserve to know is whether Judge Roberts respects the core values of the Constitution and falls within the conservative mainstream of America, along the lines of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Well, Senator Kennedy has just proven me right to call him a liar. Actually, not quite. As one of the five senators to vote “No” on Judge Roberts in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Kennedy asserted he would oppose the Judge on the Senate Floor as well.
Yes, yes, I know. He said he wouldn’t decide on “any single issue,” and maybe he didn’t. And Roberts has been nominated to the role of Chief Justice, whereas two months ago he was up to fill Justice O’Connor’s seat. And in all likelihood, the official line is going to be “lack of information” about Judge Roberts’ judicial philosophies or some such.
This is what cheeses me off. Nobody with an ounce of intelligent really, truly, in their heart of hearts, believes any of the above has any weight on the issue. No sentient being who has paid attention to the saga, speaking with complete sincerity, is going to say Senator Kennedy was being genuine back in July.
I miss the days of “gotcha” politics. Nowadays, when any elected official lies his ass off the way Sen. Kennedy routinely does, we have to indulge in this wheel-spinning exercise of debating whether he lied about something of any consequence. Good heavens, the matter might be on the “about sex” side of the line, and then we’d have to drop it like a hot potato. Result: Even if the lie is extraordinarily consequential, we have lost our determination to do anything about it. We don’t demand sincerity from our public servants. On any issue. At any time. Anyplace. Under any circumstance whatsoever.
Yes, it’s true, Kennedy has always been a lying asshole and he’s always gotten away with it because of his last name. Nowadays, though, he can get away with it with greater reassurance. Remember when he ran around that room shaking hands after having won re-election in the middle of that massive Republican revolution in ’94? From a hundred feet away, the cameras picked up that thick layer of nervous sweat that coated every exposed inch of his flabby skin. Remember that?
That was then. This is now. Back then, even an aristocratic powerhouse like Kennedy would have had to explain the departure of his current actions from the apparent intent of his recent words. No explanation is necessary now. Lying is just business as usual, from here on.
You’ll never see a lying dickhead like Sen. Kennedy sweat the way he did in ’94, ever again. This is a bad thing.
And we are to blame.
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