Quotable

"The Dreamgirls--at last, some energy! Beyonce is some new kind of gorgeous. But I really can't abide this American Idol caterwauling in which every song has to be wrestled like a crocodile into thrashing submission."

- James Wolcott, blogging about last night's Oscars.

Where do you fit?

Here's a link to the Pew Research Center's on-line quiz to determine where you fall on the blue - red continuum:

Where do you fit? Political Typology

We're all shortchanged by today's music industry

At the new blog, P = M*V, there's a post devoted to the problem of there being a lack of opportunities for teens to see and participate in safe venues for live music. True. This is an observation of a piece of a larger problem. That big problem is the corporatization of music. Here's a preview for a film I hope to see very soon. This is for you, OSG, enjoy.


Before the Music Dies

Gore's presidential guessing game

...the Associated Press reported that supporters of his campaigns past met in Boston earlier this month to mull a potential Gore run in 2008.

Though the tone of the meeting was described as informal by one of the attendees, Chris Mackin, a Boston consultant and Gore supporter, told the A.P. it was "an early stage conversation" and added: "We're very serious about exploring this."

Source: ABC News

Quotable

'"So far, I think the emperor has some clothes, but not a full wardrobe,"' says Sen. Sheila Kuehl, commenting on the governor's health care proposal."

~ California State Senator Sheila Kuehl, Governor's health plan faces tough critic today (Sac Bee)

In addition to today's hearing in the legislature, there are two informational meetings for the public this evening, both featuring staff from Sen. Kuehl's office:

El Dorado County League of Women Voters
6 to 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room at Denny's, 99 Fair Lane in Placerville. The film "One Care Solution" will be screened.

Capitol Area Progressives
7 p.m. at the Paradise Cafe, 2427 Marconi Ave. in Sacramento. Speakers include Dr. Bill Durston (recent congressional candidate in CA-03) and Sarah Rogers from Sen. Kuehl's office. A short film on universal health care will be shown.

Added: Barbara Ehrenreich has a post about our current outrageously corrupt health care system at Huffington Post.

the smiles returning to the faces

Edwards - electable, authentic & experienced

Big story on John Edwards in today's NY Times by John Broder. Interesting how Broder frames Edwards self-assessment as compared to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama:

He is campaigning as a harder-edged economic populist now, which he says represents more a change in tone than in substance. He says he is both more electable and more authentic than Mrs. Clinton, and more experienced than Mr. Obama.

Familiar Face, but a New Tone to the Message

[Photo: Erik Jacobs/NYT]

Quotable

"Her friend Linda Lewis brought the crowd to their feet when she shared a quip from one of Ivins' columns: '"The next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention."'

- One Last Party for Molly

[Photo: R. Gonzalez/American-Statesman]

Darth Cheney

Quotable

"I can’t claim to have known her well. But I spent enough time with her, and paid enough attention to her work, to know that obituaries that mostly stressed her satirical gifts missed the main point. Yes, she liked to poke fun at the powerful, and was very good at it. But her satire was only the means to an end: holding the powerful accountable."

~ Paul Krugman, Missing Molly Ivins

This is how I want to remember Molly Ivins

"Have a good time while you're fighting for freedom." - Molly Ivins

Edwards - we need to be about action not reaction

This short video of excerpts from John Edwards' speech at the DNC Winter mtg. is too good not to share, so here it is:



"We have always been the party of promise who stood with the working man and woman, the party of hope who stood with the needy, the party of compassion who stood with the young and the old and the frail. It is who we are. In times like these, we don't need to redefine the Democratic Party; we need to reclaim the Democratic Party!"

Sounds like you can hear Howard Dean at the very end. BTW - Edwards will be Tim Russert's guest tomorrow on Meet the Press.

Groundhog Day - Rex Babin

"This is the time for political courage" Edwards at DNC Winter mtg

"This is the time for political courage - not only when it comes to speaking out against Iraq, but also about the challenges we face here at home.

Because, when it comes to 37 million Americans living in poverty, silence is betrayal...When it comes to 47 million Americans without health care, silence is betrayal...And it's time we stood up for an energy policy that's not dictated by the profit margins of Big Oil -- and an environmental policy that's not promoted by or regulated by polluters. Today, not tomorrow, or in the next decade or in the next generation. Today, our planet is at risk, and here, again, silence is betrayal."

[Cross posted at Edwards in 08.]