I Haven't Heard Obama Much

Hillary is dominating the California debate. Obama looks passive at times, almost conciliatory. I think if he was banking on Edwards' endorsement, contingent upon his ability to fight, this performance is not necessarily helping that effort.

And now, Let's take a look at the Monster Employment Index

Sounds like a line from a scene in a Pixar flick featuring ghoulish newscasters. I had no idea it actually existed, and to be honest, it's not as funny as I hoped it would be.

2008 Tough Year for Fox News?

Eric Boehlert over at Media Matters does a nice job with a run down on the tough campaign season for Fox News. He echoes my earlier post regarding how potential viewers might see Fox Business channel:

"Why would investors and day traders in search of reliable business information turn from CNBC over to the Fox brand, which is so well-known for passing along one-sided information? News Corp. always assumed Fox News would help launch the business channel. But Fox News is taken seriously by so few people, it may be hurting the business launch."

Fox News anchors' angst is something to behold.

Wrong, But Funny

This is wrong, but still very funny. Almost as funny as this (also wrong and office inappropriate).

Youth Vote in SC Triples

Via Atrios, the Youth Vote, which is skewing Dem for this generation continues to trend upward. Good news.

CityBeat: Dems Deal with Repubs Drives Candidacy

I'm glad to see this is getting some traction. I didn't like it when it was first announced, and I thought Tim Burke did a less than effective job suggesting that the arrangement was financially motivated.

Open Thread: On the Road for the Last Week

Good to be home.

Transparency: Thy Name is Oversight

From a Republican standpoint, anything to eliminate a view into their machinations represents the worst kind of governmental intervention. Should it surprise then that the White House is maneuvering to eliminate the office that handles FOIA requests? I didn't think so.

Zoo poo won't go to waste: Enquirer

The cynic in my would think that there are more plentiful supplies in the area, e.g. the editorial board of the Enquirer.

Bill Moyers provides First Hand Historical Perspective

on the underlying commentary from Hillary/Obama flap. Great Commentary from a Great American.

Keith Olbermann Runs MSNBC - Fox Comedy

If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was a bad SNL skit. Best line:

Shill 1 (former weatherman): "Keith Olbermann is now doing a blog for the DailyKos (short o sound) which is a...[motions with his hands sweeping - - in a decidely sinister fashion -- to the left]

Shill 2 (former sportscaster - interrupting, exasperated): "For the DAILY KOS?!!? (short o sound)

You can't make this stuff up!

Single Passenger Hybrids To Drive in HOV Lanes

Yet another good reason to buy a hybrid. Damn, I wished they'd do that here!

Romney Wins Michigan`

Don't know how much of this happened, but it looks as if the best Republican candidate many Democrats would prefer to face has won resoundingly in Michigan.

UNC Coach, Player Settle Harassment Suit

In the soccer community, you can't pick up a book, magazine or article without seeing some reference to Anson Dorrance, the Pat Summit of Women's soccer (only he's a guy, and well, Summit is a lady, but you get my point - - anyway). So it's somewhat disappointing to see this. I've not heard alot about what kind of coach he was personally; just know that he walks on water in the soccer community.

Bengals New Defensive Coordinator

From Atlanta. They finished 29th in team defense. Maybe it's a sympathy hire.

Edwards: DLC's persona non grata

I'm not surprised by the disregard of the MSM for John Edwards, but the open disdain directed his way by the DLC remains somewhat of a surprise to me.

Tappity Tap Tap, Da Tap Tap Tap

Former White House Shill T. Snow on Bill Maher, tap dances his way through this last segment when former Judge Catherine Crier commences listing the impeachable offenses of the Bush Administration.

Has the Same Positive Effect as the 2001 Riots

Bill Cunningham, wingnut called up from the minors on occasion to appear on Hannity, does his Cincinnati roots proud with his recent commentary on Obama.

Wha...? Cincinnati had two newspapers?

This is a wrap-up from City Beat of the last days of the Cincinnati Post. It's tragic that there wasn't some exploration around some alternative media models that would allow the Post to continue in some fashion with a more aggressive, branded online presence than the muddled and buried mix of content within cincinnati.com.

I think timing may as well had something to do with the lack of focus on the survivability of the Post. At the same time that any rescue effort was underway for the Post, Scripps was working on its own corporate split. Judging from the way these things typically progress, my guess is that there was insufficient time available to review alternative business models that would sustain any new venture.

Chris Matthews' Hillary Fixation

Jamie Foser over at Media Matters does a nice review of the blind spot that Chris Matthews has for Hillary. Not that I am a Hillary fan, but when one reviews the body of work against Hillary, you can't help but think there's some psychopathy.

Rudy's Health Care System of Choice

This, from the best columnist at the New York Times. When do we move up to #10 -- at least?

And when are they going to hire the foil to Bill Kristol (i.e. someone with intellect, and a conscience)? Natch, I settle for double Krugman, hold the foam.

For Entertainment Purposes Only

By no means am I putting them on a pedestal, because there are so many other segments of our population who deserve more, but I was struck by the details contained in this article on the the plight of retired football players in the NFL. I hope that between the league and the Players Association, there can be some recognition that this is one subsegment of our population that has the wherewithal to reasonably sustain the health and welfare of its own.

Democrats for Mitt!

Wow

With a history of meddling in our primaries, why don't we try and return the favor. Next Tuesday, January 15th, Michigan will hold its primary. Michigan Democrats should vote for Mitt Romney, because if Mitt wins, Democrats win.

Markos goes on to explain the rationale for the effort. Could Democrats actually pull this off, and if so, would they do it? I, as one who loves a good political fight, would love to see how this plays out.

Update: Edited to fix HTML

Believe it Or Not!

Ford had a diesel Escort in 1985. It got an amazing 52 MPG! This must have been an accident.

Stewart, Colbert Struggle to Stay Fresh

Judging from the two nights thus far, it's barely working. They can't last too long without the writers before their shows will be coming a rambling stream of mumbled consciousness. I think Jon Stewart may run into more challenges than will Colbert just by virtue of how the show is structured. There's such an intense need for research, perspective, and good writing that is rounded out by Stewart's delivery. Colbert has it easier, because his is more pure blowhard schtik. And seeing how effortlessly he is able to imitate O'Lielly, it can't be that hard.

Title Edited for clarity

New Hampshire: Record Setting Turnout

There was a 14% increase increase in turnout over the next highest total. Notably 55% of the vote went Democratic. Top 5 vote-getters below:

Candidate Party Votes % of Total

Clinton Dem 110,550 21%

Obama Dem 102,883 20%

McCain GOP 86,802 17%

Romney GOP 73,806 14%

Edwards Dem 47,803 9%

Fox Business Channel

A lot has been written about the fact that the new Fox business channel is averaged approximately 6,300 viewers per day, which represents approximately 1/30th of the audience that its chief rival, CNBC garners.

I wonder how much this can be attributed to the thought that some portion of the respective audiences for Fox offerings (likely a key target segment for Fox Business Channel) is comfortable with the FoxNewsification of their News but not the FoxNewsification of their business information. I mean when you get down to it, the markets work well with good information -- truthful information, delivered in a timely and concise fashion. But that is not Fox News's stock in trade. So when you package fiction, opinion and supposition wrapped with a right-wing agenda, it runs at cross purposes with the fundamental information needs of your typical business executive.

Nice Job by the Greenhills Journal

Natalie Corzine, Managing Editor, and what I understand are a dedicated troupe of volunteers, have continued to provide an excellent public service with the Greenhills Journal. I wish it had an online presence, but nonetheless it remains informative and reflective of our community. The closing of Johnny's Toys, news that I had not heard, made the front page this month, within days of the posting of the sign. That's lightning fast, stop-the-presses stuff.

Update: More information on the Greenhills Journal is available from editor@greenhillsjournal.org, or 513-825-2525.  You can also post on the Journal Facebook page.

First time since the 19th Century

Money quote:

"The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001..."

I'm trying to recall, who took office in 2001? Thinking...Thinking...

Ha! CheneyCare! Ha!

(My best Chris Matthews Impression)

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/07/cheney-care-for-all/

By 2050 solar power could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil

Lengthy read, but a positive and thorough review from Scientific American . This rises above the concerns regarding Global Warming, presenting a hopeful roadmap that solar energy presents.

Fox's F.A.B. (Fair and Balanced) short for FABricated News

Word at DailyKos is that Frank Luntz, Shill-Extraordinaire, has the same "undecided voter" in the two separate state focus groups 4 months apart. See diary and video here. . Update: Not sure this was a truthful post over at Kos. There's so much honest material to slam Faux with, why promote dishonest content?

NPR Highlights

Huckabee wasn't at the Republican debate, and the Dems didn't debate at all, or so it seemed.

More on the O'Lielly Meltdown

Laugh Out Loud funniness from Crooks and Liars. The loofah or a falafel comment is classic enough, but Sekoff goes for Double Jeopardy with the iced tea reference. How did it get by the FauxNews censors?

Bronson Feigns Compassion, and

ends up making his commentary about immigration. For the unitiated, this is the story of 4 Mexicans, violently murdered in their apartment in Sharonville. They remained undiscovered for nine days. It's a tragic crime, without a lot of leads.

Bronson says, in his 2nd to last paragraph:

We all feel pangs of sympathy. But maybe we should evaluate the moral consequences of open borders that allow illegal immigrants to live and die in the shadows, vulnerable to extortion, intimidation and exploitation, without the common privileges and protections of citizenship.

But truly, was their murder really a result of "open borders"? I think Peter almost (but not quite) hit on it when he suggested that many in the community dismissed their deaths because they were illegal. It's not whether or not they were "illegal" that drives the disinterest, Peter. It's broader than that. But by suggesting that the underlying problem relates to immigration puts a nice bow around it, for easy compartmentalization in his and the broader communal conscience.

Prediction: $4 Gas by Spring

There are a number of reasons why economists worry about an impending recession. This might be a real contributor to that concern. How will the nation react? Will consumer behavior change as a result?

Edwards On Fighting The Status Quo (from Crooks and Liars)

I think Stephanophlagus was positioning for a "gotcha" moment this morning with John Edwards on today's MSM manipulation specific to the topic as to whether Edwards would have one of his trial lawyer sponsors in his administration. Notably, Edwards was one of only two Dems on the Sunday shows, while, there were NINE (count'em - NINE) Republicans.

This is O'Reilly Funny

I can't help but think that maybe, perhaps, the cast of characters at Fox News are in the act of jumping the shark with this election cycle. This reaction certainly reinforces that impression. Probably too much to hope, but something to watch for.

Voter Choice Denied

A deal was cut between the Hamilton County Dems and Repubs to assure that there would be no endorsement of the Republican candidate against Democratic Commissioner Todd Portune, and no Dem candidate against Hartman for Dewine's vacated seat. I agree with Marilyn:

Marilyn Evans, a Democrat from Millvale, learned about the deal Friday afternoon when she came to the board of elections to file her petition to run as a Democratic precinct executive.

“That makes no sense to me,’’ Evans said. “Why would we not have a candidate running for county commissioner? People should have a choice. We’re not supposed to hand elections to the other party.”

In addition to the loss of choice, I'm not convinced that this deal is really all that balanced (our candidate still has opposition, there's doesn't). Also, it has a scent of capitulation to the way Republicans like to do business -- rig the system to maintain power. That's not an example Democrats are supposed to set.

Remember to Ask for a Paper Ballot

Our new Secretary of State is on the case. The analysis, and the subsequent directives coming out of her work are impressive.

Trend Watch: Green Collar Jobs

This is the first list of green collar jobs, along with a definition. The concept, floated on occasion during the presidential campaign, is positioned as a mechanism to create new opportunities for under-employed in industries focused on improving the environment.

Good Speechifying

After seeing Obama's speech, I looked up another favorite; this one from the Democratic National Convention in 1984.

By Comparsion, No Comparison

I had the opportunity to see John Edwards speech. Edwards pretty much gave his stump speech, and I think in the final analysis, it was bit flat. By comparison, Obama's speech was outstanding. It harkens back to the Democratic National Convention speech in 2004.

The New Math

Looking at Iowa, this could be a big year big year for Dems.

Krugman On Theme

I have not had an opportunity to read his book, but I believe the fundamental argument is http://www.slate.com/id/2180178/pagenum/all/#page_start spot on

Progressives need to go for the jugular, and cannot hope to win the middle:

What progressives should be focused on now is taking on the political movement that brought Bush to power. In short, what we need right now isn't Bush bashing—what we need is partisanship.

Amen, Brother.

More of the Same

Mukasey stays inside Justice to investigate the CIA interrogation tape destruction saga. Why establish some degree of independence and be held accountable when it's so much easier to keep it in the family?

We've Got Trends

Gotta love this.

When Republicans Attack

It's bad enough when they go after Dems, but they don't hold back when they go after each other it seems. This anonymous Christmas card was sent to homes in South Carolina.

Peter Bronson Rings In Ad Hominen Attack New Year

Keeping with the tradition that has become his rite of passage, the rant of an angry white man, Peter Bronson continues his tradition, specifically attacking Al Gore (a favorite target), citing a recent "report" from Senator Inmhofe,R-Global Warming Denier, found its way into Sunday's local monopoly. Peter's subtle reference to the 400 "scientists" is deliberately evasive, failing to mention that in fact some of these scientists were in fact economists (one was a weather man at midwest TV station). Now, Peter, be honest: there was no intentional effort to give the impression that this group of "400" some how offset the weight of the legitimate, and Nobel winning IPCC.

Here's more on Inhofe's 400.