The Old Eighteen

Today's Featured Blog: The Conscience of a Liberal

My featured blog for Monday is The Conscience of a Liberal, Paul Krugman's blog over at the New York Times web site.  Despite his support of Hillary Clinton, which at times has tipped over the edge into irrationality, Krugman is still one of the smartest people out there, and his take on economic matters is essential reading.  Take, for example, this recent post, in which he explains the difference between embedded and non-embedded inflation in a broader discussion of why he thinks that the recent rise of inflation is a temporary problem and not the harbinger of entrenched '70's-style stagflation.  I don't know if I agree with him, because he seems to base his position on the idea that oil and food prices are eventually going to top out, and I don't know if that can really be said, for oil at least.  But then again, he has a PhD in economics and is considered one of the world's leading economists, whereas I have a blog, and am considered one of the world's many bloggers.

Today's Featured Blog: Capitol Annex

My featured blog for Friday is Capitol Annex, a progressive blog with a laser-sharp focus on Texas politics.  The blog is authored by Vince Leibowitz, a former editor of the Van Zandt News and Canton Herald, who was awarded the inaugural 2002 Nancy Monson Award by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and the Texas Press Association for his reporting on open government issues.  Vince has covered Texas politics since 2000 and is also an active member of the Democratic party, having served as the party's county chairman in Van Zandt County an as a board member of the Texas Democratic County Chairs’ Association.  Capitol Annex is an excellent source of information about Texas politics, which is often a depressing topic for those of us who are progressives here in the Lone Star state but which looks to be less so as our fortunes have begun to improve.  Keep yourself informed by checking out this blog regularly.

Today's Featured Blog: Jesus' General

My featured blog for today is a particular favorite of mine, Jesus' General.  This is a satirical blog presented in the vein of the Betty Bowers web site, and it's likewise devoted to skewering right-wing extremists.  Here's a sampling of recent posts:

Do Androids Dream of Electric O'Reillys:

Dear Rep. Brod,

I just finished reading your open letter to Al Franken, and I have to say I'm very impressed. I particularly enjoyed the part where you wrote:

While you may attempt to defend your writing as satire, we hardly find anything defensible about your finding humor in your desire to have sex with women or robots that look like women simply to give yourself a good time.

I couldn't agree more. There is nothing funny about desiring to have sex with women or even robot women. Such desire is a sickness. It's a form of masochism. No real man enjoys the humiliation that always accompanies the sex act. It's not fun to be laughed at every time you drop your shorts. We undergo it because it's our duty--it's the only way to procreate. We sure as hell have no desire to be called "Vienna Sausage Boy" or "Admiral Tiny Dingy" between hysterical eruptions of laughter.

And the whole concept of doing it with a robot woman is just plain pathetic. No man wants that. There are other options that are far more desirable. That's especially true now with all the earth-shaking advances Bill O'Reilly's made in the field of dildonic technology.

Heterosexually yours in a biblically acceptable and absolutely non-robotic kind of way,

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

::

High Priorities:

Todd Holland
Ramblin' Express
Casino Bus Service

Dear Mr. Holland,

Thank you, sir, for your doing your part in the war against Islamunistosantanofascism by accepting $382,000 in anti-terrorism grants. By God, if we don't fight them on your casino shuttles, we'll be fighting them in our bingo parlors.

Although $382,000 isn't much--I imagine most of it will go to special anti-terrorist booze and escort services like those upon which the House and Senate Republican Caucuses lavish so much funding--I hope you'll consider adding "Shuttle Marshals" to each of your runs. If so, please consider hiring me. I think I could take on at least 80% of the seniors you transport without backup, and 100% if you issued me a taser.

Throw in rubber gloves and I'll even implement a more intensive passenger screening process. You'd be surprised at where I was able hide an RPG launcher while I was conducting research on weapons concealment. It hurt like hell, but by God, I can sure as hell spot "the walk."

I hope you will consider it.

Heterosexually yours,

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

Today's Featured Blog: jobsanger

My featured blog for Wednesday is jobsanger, a blog focusing on Texas and national politics that is run by Ted McLaughlin.  Ted blogs out of the Texas Panhandle and is also the Texas editor for BlogNewsNet.com.  Recent posts at jobsanger have included an article about a new sanctuary movement that recently started in San Antonio; a look at Democratic prospects in the Panhandle; and a cogent take on the clear differences between Barack Obama and John McCain:

John McCain will make sure the Republicans remain the party of war. For all his protesting that he is different than Bush, you certainly could not tell it by looking at his views on the Iraq War. He is actually trying to put forth the idea that we can win the Iraq War.

In fact, yesterday he made the statement that he would NEVER surrender in Iraq. It looks like he was serious about that "hundred years". Whether you call it "surrender" or "withdrawal", the conflict will not end until American troops leave Arabic soil. Surely he does not think the Iraqis will surrender their country to a foreign invader.

Ask yourself, would we ever surrender our own country to a foreign invader and accept a puppet government put in place by that invader? I think not. Why would we then expect the Iraqis to do so?

On the other hand, Barack Obama understands the dirty truth about the Iraq War. He opposed it from the very beginning. He says we must start a dialogue with countries in the region and get them involved in negotiations for peace in the area. He believes we can have our soldiers home in no more than 12-16 months.

Some say we cannot leave because there would be a bloodbath between Sunnis and Shiites. But that might be avoided with a multi-party Arab peacekeeping force established through diplomacy and negotiation. But the killing will never stop as long as Americans are based on Arab soil -- and Obama realizes that.

Today's Featured Blog: Texas Liberal

My featured blog for Tuesday is Texas Liberal, an excellent blog run by Neil Aquino, who lives in the Houston area and blogs about national, Texas, and Houston-area politics, as well as other areas of interest.  In addition to his own blog, Neil is a featured blogger at the Houston Chronicle and also  contributes to Where's the Outrage?, a blog operating out of North Carolina.  Neil is a good citizen of the Texas netroots, having been one of the first people to link to my little corner of the intertubes.

Recent posts at Neil's blog include a profile of Dorie Miller, an African-American WWII hero who grew up in Waco; a look at the dispute over a planned memorial for Martin Luther King Jr. to be erected on the National Mall in Washington; and an original poem written by Neil called "Endings."

Today's Featured Blog: There... Already

My featured blog for Monday is There... Already, which is presented by a group of bloggers in the Houston area looking at politics and current events from an African American perspective.  Recent posts have included a heartfelt plea to Hillary Clinton to "Please, Just Go Already", and "B*tch A** N*ggas," about the conundrum that Barack Obama's presidential candidacy presents for many in the African American community.  Here's an excerpt:

Although most Blacks nodded in approval when Obama talked about his candidacy transcending race, they knew that he was either naïve or simply making a politically correct statement. We even came to his defense when Smiley decided to take as a personal slight his decline to attend the State of The Black Union. Then Rev. Wright spoke at the National Press Club and brought all the combustible material he could muster to enrage a fire that had been simmering. Even though most of us agreed with a majority of what Pastor Wright said, we accepted the fact that Obama had to denounce him and sever any identifiable relationship with him. In many other circles we would have considered this to be a bitch ass move and Senator Obama to be a Bitch Ass Nigga. Yet it seems that since the stakes are so high, we must allow him the latitude to approach this without the weight of appearing as though he is catering to Blacks.

Today's Featured Blog: Blognetnews

My featured blog today is not really a blog so much as a collection of blogs: Blognetnews is a blog aggregator that includes the top bloggers from both sides of the political spectrum.  It focuses on local blogs and divides them into states, including Texas (which is the one I regularly check, since I'm, well, from Texas).  It's an excellent resource, and it's introduced me to a few new blogs that I didn't know about prior to seeing them here, some of which you can find on my blogroll.  And I'm not just saying all this nice stuff because they added me to their blog listing.  :-)

Today's Featured Blog: 2008 Democratic Convention Watch

My featured blog for Saturday is 2008 Democratic Convention Watch, an excellent source of information for just about anything you'd want to know about the upcoming convention in Denver.  This blog is where I have gotten my delegate counts from, because it uses a hard count of people who have publicly announced their endorsements so its numbers are more reliable.  It's also a useful source of information about the upcoming DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting, which will determine the status of the Florida and Michigan delegations.

Today's Featured Blog: TV in Japan

My featured blog today is another one that I recently discovered, called TV in Japan.  Its subject, as the title suggests, is the wild and wacky world of Japanese television, which is often entertaining even when it's not subtitled.  Recent posts of interest include a commercial for mints featuring trannies in 60's skirts; a fat man with a combover, singing and dancing (badly) to a Michael Jackson song in an ill-fitting suit; and that staple of Japanese television, the extreme gameshow featuring cute Japanese girls in perilous situations, in this case hosted by a man with very, very large hair.  Yes, this web site is awesome.

Today's Featured Blog: Wil Wheaton

Today's blog of the day is one that I rediscovered last night while tinkering around on the internet.  Wil Wheaton made a name for himself playing Gordie LaChance in Stand by Me and Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, after which he quit acting for a while and pretty much fell off of the popular radar.  Since then he has emerged as an excellent writer, as well as a computer geek and a pretty decent poker player.  Recent posts at his site include a review of a new album by Scarlett Johansson (yes, apparently she can sing, too), featuring a playlist of tracks from the album; a look back at his experiences shooting Stand by Me along with River Phoenix (who died in the early 1990's), Corey Feldman (whose acting career died in the early 1990's), and Jerry O'Connell (who appeared in Kangaroo Jack, which is a fate worse than death); and a post on Hillary Clinton, the "the psycho ex-girlfriend of the democratic party."