Monday, March 30, 2009

Where is LBJ?

Given Sen. Schumer's gift for gab and outsized persona, I had pegged him as someone who could be an LBJ-like leader in the Senate, getting wary colleagues to come along through a combination of threats, compliments, back-scratching, and profanity.  For various, that hasn't happened, and as such, articles such as this one accurately detailing the uncanny ability Senate Democrats have shown in derailing presidents from their own party appear.  You might think that Democratic Senators would hitch their fortunes to the most popular politician in the country at this point--particularly when he's a Democrat, too!--but The New Republic piece gives some of the backstory explaining the curious case of Senatorial egos/motives.  

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Missing the Point

According to ESPN, NFL owners passed four new safety proposals at their annual meeting, including banning the wedge formation on kick-offs, which I hadn't understood to be dangerous before.  However, at the same meetings, NFL owners are considering expanding the regular season to 17 or 18, which, as this Washington Post post points out, would be a major culprit in league-wide injuries.  It's understandable to some extent, given ownership's focus on profitability, that they wouldn't see the connection between expanded seasons and expanded injuries (and their focus, to be fair, is on limiting violent injuries to defense-less players).  But it's also emblematic of a group of people who see players as commodities: widgets in an incredibly violent industry that can be replaced, so long as ratings are up.  

Snapping on Ed Henry

It's probably not going to be a good night for your news agency when the President thumps your correspondent's follow-up question.  But such is the life of CNN and Ed Henry tonight, whose attempt at gotcha regarding AIG received the response of the evening (video to follow): "I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."  

Bonus points for using "to talk" and "to speak" in the same sentence.  It's the kind of grammatical formulation that will be helpful for those learning English from the President's speeches.  

Monday, March 16, 2009

Ron Silver, Ctd.

An appreciation from TIME's Joe Klein, a friend of Silver.

Ron Silver, RIP

Ron Silver, award-winning actor and frequent guest star on The West Wing, died yesterday at the age of 62.  Unmentioned in the obituary is how his West Wing character, Bruno Gemelli, had a mirror, left-to-right political shift to Silver's real life realignment. 

Prayers for him and his family.

Too Many Volunteers

Having been both an underutilized volunteer and a harried coordinator when more people than expected show up, I can relate, on some level, to both sides of the equation in this article on the influx of volunteers in the aftermath of the recession/the President's call for volunteers.  Particularly given the funding cuts at many non-profit agencies, it's understandable that many of the directors are struggling to best use the volunteers.  But as a volunteer coordinator, the attitude should be finding ways to say "Yes," rather than ways to say, off-the-record, "No."  After all, it might be a hard time to run a non-profit, but it's a harder time to rely on a non-profit's support.  

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Where Are They Now?

Maurice Clarett, former Ohio State running back and briefly of the Denver Broncos, is blogging while serving a term in prison for a hold-up and police chase.   It's a pretty interesting read, revealing Clarett's own journey, presenting a look at life inside the prison system, and demonstrating new media's ability to share that information.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Lefty! Lefty! Part 2

Via bittman, NYTimes food writer, a National Geographic article that cites scientific research on the advantages and disadvantages facing lefties out there in the big, bad world.  There seems to be a bit too much talk of "mortal combat" for the 21st century (unless of course they meant Mortal Kombat), but it's good that they've reiterated the danger of serious accidents in this right-handed oriented world.