Tom Friedman is dead to me

Obama/Cheney '08?

That's it. I'm sick and tired of putting up for this schmuck. I've defended him way too long. I've been a huge fan of his since "From Beiruit to Jeruselum" and have tolerated his delusions and bullshit for a while. I thought his earlier genius and economic insights would reemerge, but I've now come to the conclusion that he's lobotomized himself.

I remember reading that he was one of the highest paid journalists in the biz. To think that the Mainstream media pays him to live in a palace, while much better writers like Taibbi and Dave Zirin struggle to get their work out there.

Please, NY Times! Put him back behind the pay wall so nobody will read this junk anymore!

I'll let 23/6 handle the rest for me...

Odds and Ends - 1 October 2007

Is the GOP suicide intentional? Whoever wins in '08 is going to have a hell of a mess to clean up. One of the things that scared me about Sicko is how we're still cleaning up Nixon's mess. How long is it going to take to undo all of W's fuckups? UPDATE- More GOP defectors- businessmen

Amtrak quietly chugs along for 5 straight years of record ridership. Amtrak is almost completely forgotten about by most people. It's not fast, but it's large and luxurious. The food is FANTASTIC. Great steaks for a pretty good price. The biscuits and gravy are the best in the country (trust me). If they could just work out the business end of their capital-intensive business, they might reach profitability soon.

The 5 Companies that control everything you read, watch, and hear. If I won the presidency, the first thing I'd do is start 5 anti-trust cases. If any presidential candidates are reading this and it sounds appealing, DO NOT SAY A WORD ABOUT IT UNTIL YOU WIN! Coming out in favor of breaking up Big Media would be worse than publicly admitting you're in favor of drug legalization, higher gas taxes, and were caught with a live boy and a dead girl in your bed all at the same time. It will kill your campaign. Just sit there and quietly bide your time. Once you win, spring it on them!

BP Atlantis about to come online? Atlantis will be the one of the biggest platform in the Gulf, if BP can ever get it finished. It's years behind schedule and I've heard that some analysts put the cost overruns at a BILLION dollars. (NOTE- I just realized I was confusing Atlantis and Thuderhorse, two similar platforms in the same area. Both are big and over budget. Thunderhorse is the bigger of the two.)

CEO of Dow Chemical talks about the Sci/Tech shortage. In the National Review Online. I think the Sci/Tech education crisis could unite the left and right.

Head I win, tails I get bailed out. Bernake is bailing out the bad guys and hurting the good guys.

Very long article about the economics and oil. The Petrodollar thesis was one of the most buried news stories of the past few years. I don't know whether or not I completely buy it, but it's earth-shakingly powerful. The long article ties together Iraq, Iran, economics, the unfolding dollar collapse, China, the Fed, the Saudis, the Russians, and just about everyone together in a huge, high-stakes geopolitical chess game. I'm in awe of the journalism it took to put this together. A complex thesis like the Petrodollar takes a lot of things interlocking to work, but if it holds true (and a cursory search of the subject checks out), it's frightening.

Good Journalism

Most mainstream journalists either can't or won't do their job. There are a few decent journalists, like Brian Williams and Garland Robinette, but he's overwhelmed by an army of Katie Couric's, Sean Hannity's, and Rob Couhig's.

If you know where to look, though, you can still find great journalism. There are certain traits that they all hold to: very smart, very direct, and all know the powerful effect of humor. I'm going to label this the "Wise Guy" school of journalism. Here's my list of Wise Guys:

Michael Lewis. He's the first one to really break into the mainstream with Liar's Poker and Moneyball.

The eXile. A magazine founded by Mark Ames and Matt Taaibi (see below) for expats in Russia. Never had to worry about libel, so they had complete and total freedom. While Taibbi moved on, the eXile still turns out a quality product. Scathing and real.

Matt Taibbi. Nobody represents the "Wise Guys" more than Taibbi. A literary decendant of the Gonzo journalism movement, he fashions himself as a modern day H. L. Mencken.

Dave Zirin / Will Leitch/Deadspin. I'd heard of Zirin before Rising Tide, so he's not just on the list for that. I also suppose I could put the whole Gawker group (Wonkette, etc.) in there as well.

The Beast. The American version of the eXile. They have to watch what they say far more than the eXile because of libel laws, though.

I'm also going to say that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are intellectual cousins of the Wise Guys, so I'll include them on the list, too.

There you have it. This is the cream of the crop of modern journalism. One can only hope someone from the networks reads this and gives one of them an anchor chair.

1982!

Don't blog on too many national scandals, but this was pretty amazing.

So, a pedophilia scandal sweeps Capital Hill, everyone speculates on who might be involved, Larry Craig issues a denial (just to be on the safe side)... What year is it?

The title sort of gives it away...

In the words of Jeanette Maier, "Do you really think [Vitter] became a trick when he went to DC!?!?"... Larry Craig has had secrets to hide for years... Mark Foley gave really creepy speeches about congressional pages... Lest you think I'm being partisan, everyone knew about Morial and while few people know O.T. was a crook, lots of people knew he had a gambling problem. AND NOBODY IN THE MEDIA EVER DECIDED TO GET OFF THEIR FAT, LAZY ASS AND INVESTIGATE! Could it be that certain members of the media have mistresses? Like a certain star at a certain local TV station that is now giving WWL a run for its money... I'd say more, but then I might get sued (or at least kicked in the balls by a certain anchor's wife).

My point is the "Tribune of the People" is asleep at the wheel/passed out drunk/hiding behind the skirts of hookers/peeing in their pants in fear (circle all that apply). Pathetic. That's the REAL reason bloggers are so popular.

Hey, CBS, still like Couric?

If I watch the evening news, it's Brian Williams (who is a real friend of New Orleans) or nothing. I liked Scheifer when he temporarily had the role after Rather departed. Big mistake, and they're paying for it with the ratings...