Be A Man, Be A Krugman!
China unpegs the yuen from the dollar! What the hell does this mean? Take it away, Mr. Krugman.
Welcome Back (Your dreams were your ticket out)
China unpegs the yuen from the dollar! What the hell does this mean? Take it away, Mr. Krugman.
When I first heard about this Judge John G. Roberts fellow, he didn't sound too threatening. Sure phrases like "career Republican operative" and "corporate lawyer" raised warning flags, but I figured that he was just a place holder, someone to maintain the Republican majority on the court until Rehnquist dies. Being bereft of any substantial judicial record, Roberts could just as easily turn out not to be a conservative hack. Bush needed to knock Rove off the front pages and Roberts seemed like he'd get some press and be easily confirmed. Then, when his hand was stronger, Bush would try to swing for the fences with the bastard offspring of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. That's what I figured anyway. But E.J. Dionne is worried, and when he's worried, I get worried.
In an attempt to distract from the 24-hour Roveathon enveloping Washington, Bush has moved up the timetable on the Supreme Court nomination. He's supposed to announce his nominee at 9 p.m. ET tonight, with early speculation settling on Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement of New Orleans. The elevation of a relative unknown to the top of the potential-justice pile raises several questions. Most pressing among them is this: are the rumors of Judge Clement's impending nomination just a clever ruse in order to disguise Bush's true choice, Red Sox starter Matt Clement? The hints are certainly there. Clement is listed as both batting and throwing from the right (wink, wink). Though his lifetime decisions may mark him as a centrist (79-78), he is currently listed at 10-3 in favor of the Red Sox (nudge, nudge). While it's just a rumor, and one that admittedly I started, it would finally give the Supreme Court softball team a pitcher who could throw the circle change.
I realize that this is a tired gripe of mine, but what would happen if a Yankees game occurred and ESPN didn't air it in its entirety? Would it make a sound?
Seems like apologizing is the hot new trend of the week. Ken Mehlman apologized for the GOP's Southern Strategy (to little acclaim), Jude Law apologized for diddling the nanny, and everybody in government is demanding everybody else apologize for Rovegate ("He's a thug!" "No, a hero!"). At least abortion-clinic bomber Eric Rudolph isn't falling into the trap. Screw Love Story, it's being a crazy fucking right-to-life lunatic that means never having to say you're sorry.
It must be hard to name new products these days. So much historical baggage (and more every day). I don't consider myself an aficionado of naming stuff, but I know when a name works (e.g. Snickers) and when a name doesn't (e.g. McGriddle). Still, I really feel that the namers of the Chevy "SS" and the Dairy Queen "MooLatte" could have tried a little harder, unless of course Nazis and America's dark legacy of slavery were the associations they were aiming for.