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Sometimes you learn something new about someone you know well. For example, today I learned that Matt lies awake at night wondering whether Jon Arbuckle went crazy. Oddly enough, a fellow Tumblr-er has been addressing the question. Check it out. (via garfieldminusgarfield)
~Amy
Well, there goes my productivity for the afternoon. Consider yourself warned.
Spin the Black Circle~ Matt
If we end up with the (tax) rebates, we’re going to borrow the $150 billion from China. And when we turn it into rebates, most people are going to go out and buy some consumables like a pair of shoes that they probably don’t even need, but they’re going to buy them, and they’re most likely an import from China. My point is, whose economy are we stimulating when we do that?-Mike Huckabee, saying something not crazy (via Secret Enemy Hideout)
Intellectual exercise: think of creative ways to spend $600 that have nothing to do with China. It’s hard! (No cheating with everyday expenses like food and subway rides! Can you spend it in one shot?) I was thinking about using $600 for a puppy, but of course most of his things (carrier, leash, toys, etc.) would probably come from China.
~Amy
In response to Chris Matthew’s idiotic “gotcha” interview with one of Obama’s supporters, a guest-blogger at Andrew Sullivan’s site has posted a great rundown of the Senator’s legislative accomplishments to-date:
Last night, Texas State Senator Kirk Watson, an Obama supporter, was embarrassed on national TV when he couldn’t name any of Obama’s legislative achievements….As it happens, Obama does have substantive legislative achievements. I have written more about them here. A few highlights, all of which became law:* Ethics Reform…
* The Lugar-Obama initiative to strengthen the Nunn-Luger framework for securing loose nukes…
* Various bills concerning the response to Hurricane Katrina…
There are also a lot of good bills he worked on that did not make it, including the compromise immigration bill and a proposal to create an independent Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission, and some that are on the Senate calendar now, like a bill to criminalize various deceptive election tactics, like deceptive robocalls, providing misleading information about where to vote or what conditions you have to meet to be eligible to vote, etc.
There’s a lot more. Honestly, there is. I wrote a summary here (and an earlier one here), and provided lists (1, 2, 3) of all the bills and amendments sponsored or co-sponsored by Clinton and Obama in the 109th and 110th Congresses, just so it would be as easy as possible for people to see for themselves.
The post goes on to point out that the real empty shirt here isn’t Obama, it’s Matthews himself:
But I’m just an amateur. I have a full-time job doing something else. Chris Matthews, by contrast, is paid large sums of money to provide political commentary and insight. I assume he has research assistants at his disposal. He could have done this work a lot more easily than I did. But he didn’t. He was more interested in gotcha moments than in actually enlightening the American people.So here’s a challenge for Chris Matthews, or anyone else in the media who wants to take it up. Go over Clinton and Obama’s actual legislative records. Find the genuine legislative accomplishments that each has to his or her name. Report to the American people on what you find. Until you do, don’t accept statements from either side about who has substance and who does not, or who traffics in “speeches” and who offers “solutions”. That’s lazy, unprofessional, and a disservice to your audience.
Do your jobs. Don’t leave it to bloggers like me to do it for you.
Damn straight.
~ Matt
“What I was clearly talking about was that I’m proud in how Americans are engaging in the political process. For the first time in my lifetime, I’m seeing people rolling up their sleeves in a way that I haven’t seen and really trying to figure this out - and that’s the source of pride that I was talking about.” —
Michelle Obama, on her recent comments about being “proud” of her country.
Well, that’s not a very exciting explanation. Maybe Bill O’Reilly will decide not to lynch her after all. Or maybe Bill O’Reilly will stop making lynching comments period. Not that I want to get too excited here.
Also, check out this WSJ profile.
Sorry, Boys, This Is Our Domain -
This is awesome! It looks like the skinny, geeky, D&D-playing boys are being edged out by smart girls who design web pages, keep blogs, and run online businesses. They’re not just sparkling up their Myspace pages - many of them are teaching themselves html code, and one girl has had more than half a dozen paying advertisers on her weekly podcast. It’s great to see well-adjusted girls enjoying something that’s long been considered the domain of geeky boys who take the time to figure out complex computer codes. Teaching oneself while expressing oneself seems the ultimate geek chic, and being able to add some sparkle to a Myspace page all by oneself is a fabulous bonus. (NYT)
~Amy
Hi Mom! (We’ll leave this ambiguous, to be certain all of our readers feel included here.) You can comment on our blog posts now! Click on the link that says “[x number] Comments” at the lower right corner of each post, type your comment in the box that says “Type your comment here,” and hit post.
[Incidentally, if you are not either one of our mothers but somehow found yourself reading our blog, we would love to hear from you, too! Steps are the same as above.]
Love,
Matt and Amy
Who knew New Yorkers would get so excited about punctuation? This dude’s been getting lots of praise for the appropriate use of a semicolon on a subway poster that reads, “Please put it in a trash can; that’s good news for everyone.” Grammar experts have been calling his semicolon use “lovely,” “impeccable,” and “a burgeoning of punctual literacy in unlikely places.” No word on whether the speaker said that with a straight face.
PS. If you’re looking for a really geeky laugh, scroll down to the bottom of the article, where the Times corrects its improper grammar in an earlier version of the article. (Celebrating the Semicolon in a Most Unlikely Location, NYT)
~Amy
An Israeli museum is displaying 53 French-held paintings that were looted by the Nazis and have yet to be placed with the heirs of their rightful owners. There are approximately 2000 such pieces being maintained by French museums. A parallel exhibit displays looted artwork held by the Israel Museum. (NYT)
~Amy