This is basically an interview with John Gaeta about the approach taken in the upcoming remake of Speed Racer. The movie looks great, and I’m such a fan of the Wachowski brothers that this is on my must see list. The Matrix and V for Vendetta are among my favorite movies in large part because of the visual and stylistic weight of their films.
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I want to watch the Phillies game, but don’t want to spend $200+ on DirectTV’s MLB package or $120 on MLB.tv’s package. So, it’s MLB.com’s radio player instead. Not quite the same as being able to watch any game, any time at my desk.
It’s February 5th. Do you know what day your primary is on? For most of our readers, there’s a good chance it’s today. CT, NJ, NY, MA, CA, and 19 other states have at least one party’s primary today.
If you live in any of those states, get out and vote!
Remember, in some states, for example CA, you can vote in a primary even if you’re an independent. I don’t believe this is the case in CT, and it’s unfortunately too late to change your party affiliation.
I’m voting for Barack Obama today. I won’t go into why again, but I will point to two blog posts that reflect why I’m choosing Obama over Clinton. The links are at the end of the post, but here’s an excerpt from Katherine’s post at Obsidian Wings:
And, I feel foolish saying this, but I think Barack Obama understands this in his bones:
Those glittering abstract nouns aren’t sufficient, but they can be damn useful. They aren’t accurate descriptions of this country right now, and probably they never have been, but a lot of Americans are sincerely attached to them. And sometimes, when presented with a stark contradiction between the bedtime stories we learned about this country as children, and concrete effects of our actions, we will choose to make the bedtime story true rather than give it up entirely.
The contradiction is truly, painfully glaring in 2008. And I think that an Obama presidency is our best shot in quite a while at making those bedtime stories a little bit more true. Hell, even electing him would make the stories a little more true. I think that’s why his campaign has come this far.
…
There are no guarantees in any of this. It IS a roll of the dice; what election isn’t? He might be effectively knocked out of contention tomorrow. He might lose in November. He might be a one termer and a huge disappointment.
But whether that happens depends, in part, on us. And damn–don’t you want to try?
I do. Obama ‘08.
I do too.
Of course, Publius had the best line:
He had me at Scarlett Johansson.
Indeed.
I’d suggest reading the first three at least, especially if you’re undecided. The first two are mostly summary posts pointing to lots of other posts and articles about Obama, but the third one points out a few policy items that might be new to many of you. Also, Obama has been endorsed by TechCrunch and Larry Lessig, a good sign for the tech minded among us. The rest of the links are just FYI.
Get out and vote!
The top brackets look to benefit the most from a regular inflation adjustment. I know, surprising…
Hilzoy has an excerpt of Paul Krugman’s latest column and it’s a can’t miss. The crux of the column is that debate reporting is still terrible, pointing to a statement by professional panderer Mitt Romney who made a preposterous statement:
Mr. Romney said that war could only have been avoided if Saddam “had opened up his country to I.A.E.A. inspectors, and they’d come in and they’d found that there were no weapons of mass destruction.” He dismissed this as an “unreasonable hypothetical.”
Except that Saddam did, in fact, allow inspectors in. Remember Hans Blix? When those inspectors failed to find nonexistent W.M.D., Mr. Bush ordered them out so that he could invade. Mr. Romney’s remark should have been the central story in news reports about Tuesday’s debate. But it wasn’t.
He’s right. A gaffe of that magnitude should be grounds for ridicule and instant disqualification from running for President. It’s basic history and if a candidate can’t understand the basic timeline of the war, they shouldn’t be running. Period.
Krugman’s ultimate point, which Atrios has built an entire blog around, is that the media is still reporting on stupid surface stories rather than actual substantive issues. They should be criticizing both Republicans and Democrats when they make collosal errors like this. Instead, they revel in pointing out the trivial and the theatrical. Demand better.
But, he did say he was able to walk freely through the market without worrying about his safety. It’s just like New York, see?
The slow descent of McCain into Right Wing Hackery continues unabated. At least it’s obvious he’s no longer a maverick.
(via Atrios)
McCain deserves to lose big in the primary. He is simply the most useless candidate possible without Bush running again. I say this will all due respect, but a man who has withstood the torture of an enemy military should be stronger than this on his principles in politics. I would expect a dilletante like Bush who’s never sacrificed in his life to be better than this… how can you not know what you stand for? It’s clear that McCain has a brain and he’s unable to completely contradict himself directly, so he hits a wall and freezes… ugh.
John McCain has been in the news a lot over the past few weeks but a couple of recent stories have prompted me to lay down my thoughts on him and his eventual campaign to be our next President.
I get asked often enough whether I would ever vote for a Republican. I sincerely believe that I would, if the right candidate appeared. I’m not a fan of either party, really, and believe heterogeneity is generally the best situation for the country. The two parties tend to work best when both share power rather than the way thing are right now.
Of course, I still don’t trust President Bush, and I was opposed to his candidacy in both elections. The modern Republican party and Bush’s path to power both have much in common. Dirty campaign tactics and and their embrace of the far, far right wing of this country have been critical to their victories.
McCain’s candidacy brings a particular light to the ascendency of the far right in the Republican party. The Arizona Senator wants to be seen as a maverick, but has been acting more like a standard issue Republican. The better he sees his chances at becoming President, the further and further to the right he moves. It has been especially clear on those issues where McCain demonstrated his maverick tendencies.
McCain began his move to the far right in earnest during the 2004 campaign. He, rather suddenly, embraced President Bush, ending speculation that he would join the Democratic ticket. Rumors circulated at the time (and still do) that he made a Faustian bargain to boost his own chances in 2008.
Recent reports have started confirming some of this. A front page WaPo story a few months ago detailed the behind-the-scenes moves McCain is making to build out his campaign with Bush staffers and supporters. Where he once called out the likes of Jerry Falwell, he now has reached out to Falwell and to other far right wingers. He’s now supporting the tax cuts he once “[couldn't] in good conscience support”.
Former supporters have begun noticing. Arianna Huffington, a former passenger on the Straight Talk Express, has jumped ship:
There can be no doubt: McCain’s blatant desire for the White House has caused him to abandon the Straight Talk Express and hop on board the Bullshit Express. Talk about “pimping your ride.”
I find it deeply ironic that, at a time when voters are desperately longing for a political leader with authenticity, a man who defined the authenticity brand has now decided to screw with the formula.
The New McCain is the political equivalent of New Coke — and will meet with the same disastrous results.
Michael Kinsley has my favorite observation so far:
All successful politicians must have at least some talent for telling lies about what’s in their hearts and convincing people that it is the truth. But Sen. John McCain has a unique genius for telling the truth from his heart and making people believe that he is lying. And these people are his supporters! They admire him as a straight-talking truth–teller, and they forgive him for taking positions on big issues that they find repellent on the grounds that he doesn’t really mean what he says.
It’s time to call him on this hypocrisy, much as Jon Stewart did on the Daily Show. He should be asked about this at every single public interview and appearance. If McCain wins in 2008, he will owe much to his reputation as a straight talker and a maverick. He will campaign on this issue, as well. I hope to see numerous “he was against the tax cuts until he was for them” ads on TV, as well (OK, not really).
At one of John McCain’s recent commencement appearances, a graduating student dropped her original remarks for a speech prepared to address McCain’s presence directly. The more remarkable thing to me is that he was painted as part and parcel of the Republican establishment and, judging by the reaction, people are buying it. (by the way, what the hell was he thinking showing up at the New School anyway??)
His candidacy will be an interesting one. He’s become a pragmatist who values his own aspirations more than the principles he claims to hold dear. The path to the far right will not be easy to return from. The pressure to remain with the far right will remain until he wins re-election and is free campaign politics. If he’s able to convince enough moderate and left-leaning Americans that he’s still a maverick, he’ll win. That’s all it comes down to. He hasn’t convinced me, and I hope he convinces few others.
