http://www.democraticunderground.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:22:16 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:22:16 Our illustrious (cough, cough) White House press corps showed it could get to the bottom of a story with impressively journalistic and probative skills this week. The story that so obviously required multiple questions to President Obama on his trip to Asia? Whether he's eating enough, and whether... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/70 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:16 There was an absolute prime, Grade-A example of media cluelessness this week which is still unfolding, much to my bemusement, so I thought I'd start by pointing it out. Nothing to perk everyone up like a little well-deserved media-bashing, eh?

I speak of the resignation of White House Counsel Ro... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/69 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:13:21 I will explain that silly subtitle in a moment, but first we've got to delve even deeper into rampant silliness. If such silliness and unseriousness does not appeal to you, then I strongly suggest you skip down and begin reading with this week's [b]Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week[/b] award. C... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/68 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:25:24 Happy [i]Samhain[/i], everyone, if that isn't an inherent oxymoron.

For those of you who expected (and were, of course, waiting for with bated breath... what the Hell is bated breath, by the way?) Volume 100 of my weekly [b]Friday Talking Points[/b] column, I will begin your Hallowe'en weekend by... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/67 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:11:36 When a stage magician makes a flourish, causing a puff of smoke and a flash of light to appear, there's a reason for it. It is called "misdirection." It is meant to dazzle the audience with a shiny object, so that they don't notice what is going on elsewhere on the stage, or perhaps even in the ma... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/66 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:04:12 I have to admit before I begin that I don't watch cable television "news" during the day, because I consider it largely to be a waste of my valuable time.

Which, I have to say, the whole "balloon boy" episode proved beyond any reasonable shadow of a doubt.

The cable media apparently went wall-... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/65 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:56:01 In a surprising turn of events today, the Nobel committee awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize to "Not George W. Bush." The chairman of the committee was quoted saying, "Lordy, Lordy, we were so happy to see the United States run by someone who wasn't George W. Bush -- even for eleven days -- that... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/64 Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:05:21 First, let's get rid of the distractions this week. Chicago will not be getting the Olympics in 2016, even after President Obama went over to Copenhagen on a personal charm offensive. While I think Rio is a good choice, personally (come on -- it's not just Rio's first Olympics, or Brazil's first O... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/63 Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:00:40 [i]"Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party."[/i]

Of course, this really should be (in today's inclusive society): "Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party." But what it really should say is something more like: "Now is the time for all... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/62 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:24:43 How time flies. This column marks its second anniversary today, by the calendar if not the Volume number. For the second straight year, we only produced 47 columns, but by the calendar we've gone two full years and a few odd days. Actually, now that I think of it, more than just a [i]few[/i] odd ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/61 Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:41:04 This column (surprisingly, from that title) is devoted almost entirely to President Obama's speech on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress this week. But before we get to the good and the bad in Obama's speech, we've got to at least mention the Joe Wilson fracas.

The title is actuall... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/60 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:01:49 There's a scene in an episode of the television show [i]The West Wing[/i] where the fictional President Bartlet is meeting with a group of elementary schoolchildren. An adorable little girl gets to ask him the first question, which is: "What is your most favorite part of being president?"

Bartle... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/59 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:10:33 Republicans, masters of [i]chutzpah[/i] that they are, have launched a [link:www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/28/conservatives-warning-aga_n_271332.html|pre-emptive strike] against "politicizing" Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral with unseemly Democratic ideals. This should be so ridiculous as to enda... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/58 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:31:58 President Obama stunned the political world today by announcing he will switch political parties, and soon become a Republican. "It seems the only way we're going to get bipartisanship in this town is if I lead the way," he said, in brief remarks before leaving for vacation. "The Republicans have ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/57 Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:36:59 The healthcare reform fracas has gotten so bad, it has forced some in the media to actually do their jobs. This statement will come as a shock to anyone who has become accustomed to the way these [i]soi-disant[/i] "journalists" present just about any issue these days -- by having a center-left poli... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/56 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:27:41 I thought about titling today's column "Sausage Making, Interrupted" in (dis-)honor of the House of Representatives scarpering off on a five-week vacation without finishing their work on healthcare reform (the Senate, it should be noted, is reportedly planning on doing exactly the same thing next we... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/55 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:39:31 Before I begin with the serious stuff, I'd like to indulge in a little gratuitous media-bashing first. If that sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, just skip to the next section now. You have been warned.

A few weeks ago, because of firing Dan Froomkin and selling access to their reporters and ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/54 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:31:42 Much to the dismay of just about everyone who breathlessly follows politics, the Senate hearings on the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor turned out to be mostly a snoozer. Web sites (left and right) were liveblogging and Twittering like crazy all week, and the upshot was: "It's a foregone conclusion... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/53 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:06:24 "Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends..."

All week long, this line has been running through my head. It's from an Emerson, Lake, and Palmer suite of songs called "Karn Evil 9," from the album [i][link:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Salad_Surgery|Brain Salad Surgery][/i]. Which, of... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/52 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:22:07 What separates humans from animals can be summed up as one simple thing -- the mastery of fire. Even "using tools" doesn't cut it anymore, as apes have been shown to use their own tools to achieve their own modest goals. When you get right down to it, the sole dividing line between us and the othe... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/51 Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:01:03 It's been a crazy rollercoaster of a week, and at the end of it, California can proudly state that not only do we no longer have the most embarrassing governor in the country, [i]we are not even in the top three anymore![/i] With the antics of Rod Blagojevich, Eliot Spitzer, and (now) Mark Sanford,... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/50 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:48:25 Welcome back to your weekly Friday Talking Points roundup. This week will be a bit unusual, as instead of the normal list of talking points Democrats everywhere should be using this weekend in conversations (especially with the media), I'm devoting the entire talking points segment to one single is... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/49 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:09:13 That subtitle can be taken two different ways. To be absolutely clear, I meant it in both interpretations. In fact, it is so exasperating that I feel a rather longish rant coming on (relatively speaking -- which makes "longish" even more intimidating, coming as it is from me). Just to warn everyo... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/48 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:07:08 This will be a truncated column this week (which doesn't mean it isn't also a fairly long one). Because every so often I have to devote the entire week's roundup to examining a single speech. And President Barack Hussein Obama's speech to the Muslim world which he just gave in Cairo is important e... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/47 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:04:57 "Judicial activism" (or, alternatively, "legislating from the bench") is defined -- [i]no matter what[/i] your political beliefs -- as "judges not ruling the way I want them to." It's an inherently partisan statement to make, even if it doesn't sound like it. If you are a Republican, using the ter... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Chris Weigant/46 Fri, 29 May 2009 20:20:34