Albany, NY -- I Like the Same Car As Alan Shore Does
I was watching the (really good) Spurs/Mavs game tonight, when I caught a commercial for the Acura RL, which happens to be at or near the top of the list of the next car I want to buy in a couple of years ($60,000 wasn't quite in my price range this time around)... I knew I recognized the voice on the voiceover. I played it back a few times (thank you, DVR!) and realized that it was none other than the venerable James Spader!
That is all :)
Binghamton, NY -- Ouch. 29%.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Only 29 percent of Americans now believe President George W. Bush is doing a good job, according recent poll.
The poll, conducted by the Wall Street Journal, is the latest to indicate a slump in public support for the US leader as his Republican party heads into the campaign for mid-term elections in November.
In the poll, released in the newspaper's online edition, Bush has lost six percentage points in a month.
Iraq remains the main concern. Twenty-eight percent of Americans say it is one of the two most important topics, up from 23 percent in April, followed by immigration (16 percent) and the price of petrol (gasoline) (14 percent).
Only 24 percent of the 1,003 people asked between May 3-8 said they believed the United States was "heading in the right direction". According to the Journal, 69 percent said "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track".
Bush is closing in on the unpopularity level of President Richard Nixon (24 percent) at the moment of his resignation in 1974 over the Watergate scandal.
Binghamton, NY -- Israel Finally Getting Full UN Recognition
Due to certain technicalities within the UN, certain committees are only open to member countries that are part of alignments (ex. the Western Bloc or the African Bloc). Israel's not exactly on the best of terms with some of the Asian Bloc nations so its only option has been to try to get into the Western Bloc. Certain European countries have resisted for the last few decades but today Israel has finally been accepted.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry released the following statement:The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) today (Thursday, 11 May 2006) approved Israel's acceptance to the council's committee on non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Membership in the ECOSOC committee is for four years, beginning in January 2007.
Albany, NY -- OK, Now Israel's Just Being Cruel
An
Israeli company is stopping fuel deliveries to the Palestinians, as the Palestinians haven't been able to pay their debts. Why haven't they been paying their debts? Because Israel hasn't been handing over Palestinian tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority since Hamas took power.
The head of the Palestinian petrol commission, Mujahid Salame, said he expected gasoline supplies to run out by Thursday. "If this happens, there will be a humanitarian crisis," he said.Essentially, Israel is laying siege to the Palestinians because it doesn't like the Palestinians' democratically elected government. They're going to leave millions of impoverished people without fuel because of a nonexistential threat in Hamas. There, I said it. Hamas is not an existential threat to Israel.
If Israel is going to be unwilling to hand over money to the Palestinians that is rightfully Palestinian, they're going to have to let Hamas/the PA collect the taxes themselves.
Albany, NY -- Wonder What Political Party David Kelley Belongs To?
More about Boston Legal... still only a few minutes into it, but with all the talk about fistulas, this episode could've been written by Nick Kristof. Believe it or not, all of the left-wing talking points in this show bother me (though I agree with 'em). "Nothing says democracy like imperialism."
By the way, this is the 500th post on my site! Who'd've thunk I'd make it this far? I certainly didn't.
Albany, NY -- Tonight's Boston Legal
I'm just starting it on my DVR, but man, Parker Posey isn't cute anymore!
Albany, NY -- Bob Herbert on Jonathan Tasini
Something good to wake up to -- Jonathan makes a long-overdue showing
in the New York Times:
Mr. Tasini favors a withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq as quickly as possible, within several months at most. What is more important than whether his timetable is feasible is his insistence that the Democratic Party needs to come to grips with this war. "What makes us different from Republicans?" he asked. "Where is the soul of the Democratic Party if we do not stand against immoral, illegal wars? Pre-emptive wars."
After more than three years of fighting and more than 2,400 American deaths, you still need a magnifying glass to locate the differences between Mrs. Clinton and the Bush administration on the war. It's true, as the senator argues, that she has been a frequent and sometimes harsh critic of the way the war has been conducted. In a letter to constituents last fall she wrote, "I have continually raised doubts about the president's claims, lack of planning and execution of the war, while standing firmly in support of our troops."
But in terms of overall policy, she seems to be right there with Bush, Cheney, Condi et al. She does not regret her vote to authorize the invasion, and still believes the war can be won. Her view of the ultimate goal in Iraq, as her staffers reiterated last week, is the establishment of a viable government capable of handling its own security, thus enabling the U.S. to reduce its military presence and eventually leave.I'm going to see Mike McNulty, our congressman, speak tonight. I'll post later or tomorrow about that.
Albany, NY -- Another Show Bites the Dust
It's 9:14 PM, I'm home, and I'm NOT watching Desperate Housewives. It's just gotten uninteresting... it's a shame, seeing as Season 1 was really excellent.
Oh well, that's an added 40-60 minutes to my week... to be taken away again when I start watching Season 3 of Lost (after catching up on Season 2 this summer).
Albany, NY -- Mr. Pete's Blog
One of my favorite high school teachers and local personalities, Mr. David Petersen (aka the evil Santa Claus),
has started his own blog. Dude likes "quotes," let me tell you...
Albany, NY -- Tonight's West Wing
Great episode -- all CJ, all the time. The final two scenes, with Toby and Danny Kincannon, were unbelievably powerful.
Last week is it...
Binghamton, NY -- About Freaking Time
The day we (68% of America anyway) have been waiting for has finally arrived:
The Democrats finally came up with a legitimate agenda! Howard Dean calls it a "bold new direction" in which the party has laid out a six-point plan for 2006:
1.
Honest Leadership and Open Government: a government that embraces the truth
2.
Real Security: openness and truth with troops, civilians, and allies
3.
Energy Independence: clean up America by finding alternatives to oil
4.
Economic Prosperity and Educational Excellence: create jobs, drive innovation, and restore opportunity -- finally someone's noticing that education and job growth go hand in hand
5.
A Health Care System that Works for Everyone: time to join the rest of the world by offering universal health care coverage
6.
Retirement Security: "retirement with dignity is the right and expectation of every single American"
This post is brought you you by the letters D for Donkey and T for truthiness.
While none of this really anything new, it's finally in a nice bite-sized package that anyone and their dog can understand. That's been the problem the Democrats have been having -- even when they have a good idea it becomes convoluded to many people. And it can really all be boiled down into three words: security, opportunity, and responsibility.
Up next: copy the Republicans and send out spokespeople to just repeat the agenda a billion times any chance they can get on any news channel they can get on.
One thing I still don't agree with is the concept of "fair trade." I'll post about that next time I get a chance, so Jason, get your counterpoints ready.
