New year, same old voices. ABC looks especially revolting today.

Thanks, Elliott – been a bit offline, since getting into the new comments over at eschaton got me knocked out of wireless connection while I was travelling. The pits. Am now back home in N.TX. in time for the ‘coldest spell in six years’ according to our local forecasters. Joy to the Curled, I suppose.

Don’t knw if I can stand Matthews this a.m., he starts with suggesting Obama is perceived as weak on the international front(he gives his view as others’ ideas as usual) – and while Rather and Helene Cooper say it’s a problem, Harris Drudges it entirely, he’s just shooting down Merkin exceptionalism. Sorry, not gonna take this seriously. Giving Politico talking rights just isn’t journalism.

Ick, okay, now Tweety is giving Politico’s article; 7 stories O doesn’t want told, beginning with looking lovingly in the mirror … this is not reporting, it’s tripe. off it goes.

Watch the faces…with the right / tea baggers and the left living with disappointment..our elected officials face losing in 2010.

This is a little something extra. Anger from the right and left.Am seeing a lot of anger toward Snowe and Collins here in upper state ME , which is conservative. The anger from the right is that the ladies are too liberal.Our DC reps. are facing unemployment.

Snowe initially talked about health care reform.So she has been crossed off the conservative list. This would be funny if it were not so heart breaking. They were both lockstep with bush’s agenda.

So as Naomi Klein says in Shock Doctrine..taking advantage of disaster..maybe progressives could use the same approach? The disaster is our country. Taking advantage is electing progressives.

Would like to see a post about different areas of the country’s reactions to their reps. in DC.

Unbelievably bad bookings for the first Sunday.

Will the truth about this fake Al Qaeda attack see the light of day? This was some sort of intel sponsored fake attack to put more fear into Americans. The pols and the media bought the false flag (as usual) hook, line and sinker. Google Kurt Haskell.

We live in an age of disinformation and propaganda.

All our institutions have failed, yet the lumber along as if everything is peachy keen.

We have lost all notion of accountability.

We have a beltway of fiddlers while to nation and the world is going to hell in a hand basket.

No acknowledgement of progressives at all by Sens in TX – Hutchison keeps running for Gov by insisting she will protect us from the gov’t takeover of health care – which is the basis of her own great health care.

Dunno that doing the same as the wingnuts, and trying to dump the country for political gain, is going to be a plan. We are progressive because we think the gov;’t is Of the people, by the people, for the people – and I’m comfortable with letting the wingnuts be the obstructive, destructive elment instead of us.

Good Morning…Can’t be worse than Chertoff….idiot, now, conflict of interest….So, we should listen because?

So right about Kay: no gov’t takeover, not at the state, not the fed. What else does she have to say? ya da ya da.

Dismally, this reflects what her paymasters want. And as with all the rightwingers, she’s devoted to the butterers of her bread. No public service types need apply.

Morning all. Not a real democrat among the “guests” and not a Progressive within a hundred miles. Definitely a football Sunday.

Question. Why is it that talking heads never use their heads while talking?

The only thing missing from Meet the Press is John Bolton. EJ Dionne and Doris Kearns Goodone, deep thoughts.

I liked the exceptionalism discussion….also, the SNL spots.

The corporate media is not interested in “journalism”. Their prime directive is indoctrination and propaganda.

Good morning everyone.

Elliott, clicking orange juice glasses with you. But for later, I have some eggnog that I made yesterday, premixed with rum. You especially deserve something nice for all your hard work.

Don’t know what my excuse for avoiding the talking heads will be today. I’m cooked out for now. (Got a pumpkin flan in the refrigerator that I made yesterday.) Maybe I’ll have to dig through my unread books for something exciting. I’m ploughing thru Ataturk biography but it’s not very well written.

But Prediction that Cheney will be Repub “big” fundraiser….Something about taste…just don’t know what to say. Maybe gag.

did someone mention eggnog?

Gets me mad to hear Tweety leading his panelists to parrot his own tho’ts, tho. And the SNL highlights struck me as much superior commentary to the usual analysis by the usual pundits.

AND Flan.

hmmmm, since I brought back 151 proof rum from the islands…

in case it’s a boring game day.

Yes. If you prefer it for breakfast, just hold out your glass.

That’s what’s in the eggnog.

I’ve not made flan before, so keep your fingers crossed. If it turns out well, I’ll share for dessert after dinner.

thank you ecahn (and revbev and ruth)! i haven’t done anything to deserve it, but for some reason eggnog with rum sounds really yummy right now. maybe it is the cold wind and snowing this morning.

U.S. & Brits have closed their embassies in Yemen. Preparing for a full scale invasion?

The story behind the eggnog is this. My niece buys gourmet eggnog. I was only there for a day for Christmas, so I got only one glass. Somehow that didn’t seem to satisfy my seasonal desires, so I bought a quart when I got back. I drank it, but it wasn’t very good, so I thought I’d try to make it myself. It’s pretty good, but not as great as what my niece buys. I used light cream, not heavy cream, which is probably the difference.

Oh, and selise, I still owe you for helping me with my diaries, so, yes, you have done a lot to deserve it.

My only offer of eggnog was for breakfast, with the rum in. Couldn’t do it that early, so thanks for reminding me, I will go looking for the good stuff at our local dairy store (Braum’s).

Seriously? OMG.

I’ll be satisfied for another year, once I finish off what’s in the refrigerator.

i see that your niece is a good influence on you *g*. i haven’t made or had eggnog in years (sad, i know). but now i’m thinking that situation needs correcting.

… the woodpecker on the suet just gave up with the last blast of wind. so no one is left on my bird feeders. a few minutes ago there were a couple of house finches and a titmouse, but they gave up before =when the wind blew one of the finches right off the feeder. i’m feeling sorry for the birds this morning, but at least i filled the feeders last night.

The closing of the embassies was announced on WJ. Reason was not given, so I’m speculating.

I’ve had lots of birds on my feeders since snow has covered the ground. Lots of titmouses (or is it titmice?), a gorgeous cardinal & his wife (he sometimes sits on a branch of the white pine by the garage, looking like a Christmas tree ornament), and I have a handsome flicker who visits often.

that was my pleasure.

yikes re yemen. so hope there is no invasion. hmmm, can’t help wondering though if berube is going to support the administration position if there is.

Here’s a BBC story on the closing of the U.S. & British embassies in Yemen. Attributed to an AQ threat.

Sounds like a hard morning for birds seeking breakfasts, glad of the suet particularly. I’m hearing temps predicted later this week that are going to be hard on my bird population. But good for tulips over-wintering.

You funny.

Link @36 attributes the closing to an AQ threat. As I’ve typed before, the U.S. has figured out how to do perpetual war in a way to fool the U.S. public. They attack us because we attacked them, so we attack them again.

excellent! my feeders are situated (in my very small yard) so that i have a perfect view from the window over my desk. glancing to the left, is my imac and slightly to the right i can look out the window.

what i really should be doing is cleaning and reorganizing my office. i started this morning, but now i’m procrastinating. having the computer (and bird feeder view) in the same room is too tempting at the moment.

I see no one has commented about that. I think everyone is just trying to keep our breakfast down.

Well, at least they have 2 Rats and 2 Pukes. Fair and Balanced.

it’s 11F here (and the forecast is for slightly warmer weather the rest of the week). which is cold, but not that cold. it’s the wind, i think, that makes it especially hard for the birds. i am at the very top of a hill (so we do get the wind), but at least there are trees for some protection.

a couple of gold finches are now attempting some breakfast.

what kind of tulips do you have? i’ve never attempted much with them.

Nice. My feeders are visible from the kitchen. I sited them so I could watch while I cook.

Truthfully, for tulips I simply trust my local gardeners’ knowledge, and get bulbs from a neighborhood supplier. All red last year, and usually they wouldn’t come back up this year, but with the cold they will ‘set’ and re-bloom, so celebrations are in order.

Good morning all. Freezing cold here in CNY with gray skies and a bitter cold wind. Today is my first-born’s birthday so there will be another party. Soooo partied out.

I can’t do tulips, unless I wish to give the deer gourmet food.

thanks for the bbc link.

i thought the book salon was very interesting. although i didn’t mention it, i’d read some of the back and forth between herman and berube in 2003 iirc — so i was curious to get berube’s side of the story. also, both guest and host have been blogging for a long time (although i probably haven’t read them in years), so i thought that angle was kinda interesting too.

That was said yesterday and I offered the following quote as our policy:
“The beatings will continue until morale improves”.
Not that I have the answer.

excellent! you’ve reminded me of the few tulip varieties i planted when i lived in tx. not many (more just an experiment) but all species so that they would have a chance to naturalize. i confess i am a VERY lazy gardner. almost all perennials (and frequently native) is my preference. once established very little work required.

The map at the bottom of the link is pretty interesting. Which causes me to remind folks of something obvious I just learned recently: you can’t take over a failed state, as there is nothing to take over.

The book salon discussion was all new to me. As I mentioned, sounded a lot like angels & pinheads to an uninitiated. Didn’t observe much command of the obvious.

Yep.

I don’t have a surefire answer, but stopping the bombing would seem like an obvious place to start.

Oh, and bite your tongue. There will be sooo many days ahead with no parties, so just think about it as stocking up. *g*

Anything I try to grow gets eaten by the local critters. My sister, who lives next door, wants me to get a husky to keep them away. She had one once and they’re quite the hunters. We had a wonderful vegetable garden that made it to harvest. But, huskies are a ton of work and I don’t know if I’m up to it.

happy birthday to your first born.

Yes, dogs are too much work for me. I like them, but not that much. The last thing you will see me doing is getting dressed first thing in the morning so I can take a dog outside to poop.

Next door neighbors have a dog, and their growing efforts work pretty well (though they did have to fence in their vegetable garden, as the dog isn’t outdoors all the time).

The rotten squirrels seem to get more feed than the birds. Earlier this year I borrowed an air gun from a friend and removed a number of squirrels from the premises however they seem to return in greater and greater numbers, spiteful little buggers, you’d think that “removing” most of the population would drive the others to submit to my wishes. I guess I will have to “re-educate” the entire dray(?) just like the American Government does to recalcitrant populations.

Used to look forward to Sunday talk. Have lost intrest over the past year. MTP really sucks. ABC sucks even more. John King thinks it’s still 2003. Thanks to the electronic gods, I have cable TV. Will be watching “Two mules for sister sara’ on AMC. It’s more fun being in “The Twlight Zone’ with Shirley than watching This crap.

Party on bravely to the end! and there’s a medal in there for you.

Truly, having a tulip year in TX is a mixed blessing.

and stop the bombing works for me, too.

however they seem to return in greater and greater numbers

ah, no doubt they’re cousins to the starfish, if you divide them they reproduce!

Good luck with the reeducation business. *g*

Contemplating morning lineup raises just one question…

Will Jon and Stephen be back live this week?

The squirrels ate the darn tulip bulbs leaving us with very few after planting about a hundred two years ago.

I’m counting on it.

Aren’t we all….

Borger subbing for King at CNN.

yes – saw an ad promoting their return in HD last night

Morning All

that was a good map, thanks. it is at times like these that i most miss bernhard (a german blogger, mostly on the “west’s” foreign policy and on practical econ matters, who gave up blogging earlier this year). he questioned everything and thought for himself.

ok. i’m going to try to go back to chores…. later friends…..

Good Morning everybody!

What a treat, homemade eggnog with 151 proof rum and birdwatching while dreaming of tulips! Definitely takes the sting out this morning’s lineup.

I’m with you jfoster, used to really enjoy the Sunday talking heads, they are all talk and no heads, as nomolos points out.

Happy New Year, selise

thanks PS, will add that uptop

Have heard this happening to others, I divert them with my pecan trees, and yes, not by design. I understand it helps to plant the bulbs, then cover with chicken wire.

I still enjoy the talking heads, for their demonstration of media concepts of the day/minute – right now, it’s all about selling out to get tips, which is why serious news seekers are on the internet instead.

Oh for gawd’s sake, Chris Wallace is grilling Brennan on why the underpants bomber isn’t being treated as an enemy combatant. Won’t let it go.

Darth rules. Just the thing, the authority they want is from the very one who gave us two unpaidfor wars.

and not that there’s any real difference, but Chris is represented by Dave Gregory on MTP today.

Elliott -

Thanks so much for putting together the *good, bad and ugly* run-up for us every Sunday. *smooch*

Something is FUBAR with my satellite so I can’t get the abc/nbc/cbs programs and I don’t know why…….not that it’s any great loss.

At Statesman.com there is a more detailed obit of Deborah Howells who was a UT grad and started her career in TX….for anyone interested.

Meanwhile, over at CNN, an intelligent, forceful exchange between Borger and Brennan. Strong questions, strong answers. Not bullshit agenda-pushing from the host. Asked. And answered.

Worth my time.

Chris Wallace? David Gregory? Who are these hand puppets you speak of?

Strong questions, strong answers.

Could it be a trend? Would the public accept it? Tune in same time tomorrow….

We can keep hoping.

*sigh*

Now Kit Bond is on pontificating about it all, but admitting he knows no facts.

And the Somali pirate should have been treated as an enemy combatant, so there.

Can it be true!?

Wish I got CNN.

treated as an enemy combatant

When in doubt, torture…for the voyeur voter, which is all the wingers have.

you’re welcome, sorry about your sat

it’s grotesque

It’s now
“The Christmas Day Terror Attack”

Morning all.
Needing a break from the nonsense.
When does football start?

Good Morning and thanks Rev, I didn’t know she had passed

. . .”Mistakes should be acknowledged and quickly corrected”

probably went over well in a J-School lecture, but in real life not so much

happy new year, haven’t seen you in a while – did I read Tech won, with an interim coach ??

Yep. They beat Michigan State.

Good morning. Extremely cool video. thanks.
My perspective, politically, was formed in the 60s, so I have seen the shift to the right over my adult life. Sunday TV confirms that conservatives have succeeded in re-defining politics and re-writing history, as far as the MSM and the Village are concerned. What was once called Conservative is now “centrist” or “moderate”. What was once conservative is now centrist or even Liberal (as in the Obama administration). We who considered ourselves to be traditional Liberals are now considered far-left. The old far-left were the people who were advocating revolution; they are now off the radar. The old far-right is now considered Conservative. etc. Socially, what were once considered young people are now recalled as “hippies”. The former Young Republicans are now Regular Americans. etc.
It’s a Twilight Zone experience. Don’t even get me started on the perpetual re-run of Vietnam.
What am i doing writing at this ridiculous hour (6:30 on the West Coast)?

It’s now
“The Christmas Day Terror Attack”

The War On Christmas!! to the barricades!!

That should get some shekels in the collection plates.

When in doubt, torture…for the voyeur voter, which is all the wingers have.

Don’t forget the bullet in the brain pan. That got quite a rise.

Hume: enemy combatant! enemy combatant!

Kristol: closing the British and American embassies in Yemen is a victory for al-Qaeda.

agreed

Oooh they loove it when you talk dirty. At least, now on MtP Doris Kearns G. is insisting that it’s history, not old news, that the previous worst admin got us into all this.

That duo nevers misses a chance to be wrong.

sorry, that was meant as a reply to alan1tx

Hume: Prediction terrorism returns as political issue. No easy answers

Nina: 2010 election a nailbiter, Dems will win but lose the 60 vote

Kristol: Iranian regime falls

Juan: HCR passing, immigrations and card check could lead to a third party.

I know, sheesh

Sure it is ! It’s a present to the military industrial complex !

LOLOLOL
Hume: Go Christian and all will be forgiven

indeed

Whence the resemblance to a lump of coal … for us.

eCAHNomics
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:05 am 26U.S. & Brits have closed their embassies in Yemen. Preparing for a full scale invasion?
…………………
Maybe they are just trying to stop the flow of refugees from Somalia from showing up on Israeli beaches ?
http://current.com/items/89881249_the-beach-of-death.htm

We’re in far greater danger from drunk drivers than we are from wannabe terrorists, but that’s not the point.
I’m going back to bed. I was awakened at 5:00 by three people down on the corner having a loud debate. They were sitting in the middle of the intersection, in the light from a street lamp, with two of them trying to persuade the third one to stand up and get out of the intersection.

Perspective is what’s needed.

I certainly hope they decided the wiser course of action before getting run over.

After Brennan, Borger interviews Tom Kean of 9/11 Commission note. While not the crackle of the Brennan segment, thoughtful comments from Kean that terrorism threat hasn’t gotten enough attention due to the understandable focus on health care, economy issues, etc. I think he gave reasonable reaction, benefit of the doubt to Obama administration…expectations for more attention on the national security issue going forward. Reality.

Segment after, DeMento and Claire McCaskill. I admit I missed most of this, went out and cleaned up dog poop instead. And it’s about 20 below, so you can tell my expectations for the segment. The minimal I heard at the end, DeMento whining that he’s not holding up the TSA administrator appointment. Muted, I’m just trying to process… think he’s been feelin’ the heat?

Segment after, DeMento and Claire McCaskill. I admit I missed most of this, went out and cleaned up dog poop instead. And it’s about 20 below, so you can tell my expectations for the segment.

Boy that does say it all, he prolly is feeling the heat, talking out of both sides of their mouth if they want to blame this on Obama, yet they do nothing to get the people in place to do the job.

Lovin’ Terence Smith on Reliable Sources.

is he sitting in for Howie?

any reference to this on Reliable Sources?
Calls Begin For Washington Post To End Content-Sharing Agreement With Pete Peterson-Funded “Fiscal Times”

epu-ed I know, but noting. Kurtz unable to resist commenting on how some progressive bloggers picked on good ol’ Rush. Totally ignoring preponderance of progressive bloggers/comments that said this is time to simply wish the guy recovery…and maybe some enlightenment from the circumstance. [see Joan Walsh, Howie.]

Not a chance of that of course, as Terence Smith noted. Can he be the Reliable Sources host? At least I’d feel like I was hearing legitimate media critiquing instead of topics as opps to slip in the Mrs.’ Republican needles.

Jane Hall. May Deborah Howell R.I.P. and condolences to her family. Feels close to home with her Minnesota ties.

Hall seems ready willing and able to fill the shoes Ms. Howell wore during her WaPoo tenure.

[Small typo edit, mods, please keep my paragraph stops. edit seems to eat them.]

nada.

Thanks for the link. (You meant to say Yemeni, not Israeli, beaches.) I didn’t know that part of the story. Amazing how the U.S. just goes around the world fucking up one part after another.

David Gregory asks Chertoff about his interest in the body scanner business, that question is ignored as Chertoff goes on to say how effective they are.

it only looks like the paragraph breaks are gone, when the edited comment is published the breaks are still in there.

It had been a while since I had seen to video ,new Yemen was the focus but thought Israel was included which it isn’t , I stand corrected. Then I thought well maybe it will appear as sarcasm Israel is not all that far away .
If our leaders(?)were really interested in preventing extremism our nation would launch a full scale assault on poverty world wide !
But money would have to be diverted from the war machine and how much profit can be made from compassion ?

Current Vanguard has several other excellent pieces on poverty and the effects of war in Africa .Well worth watching because if you aren’t part of an NGO or Unicef you would never see the actual situation in the MSM .
It might effect the comsumer orgy and bring down the party .

Is that the firm where he holds an interest? I think that’s what I read.

On MTP, David Gregory asks Brennan about the Newsweek report of the attempted assassination by underpants bomb in Saudi Arabia. Brennan confirmed it, and even said he had been to the room where it happened. But then he said no one considered the possibility such a bomb could be used on an airplane.

That sounds a lot like the classic Condi Rice “no one anticipated” defense. I don’t want to hear that one anymore. I want the names of the people who are being fired for not doing their jobs.