David Corn on the 'Baggers

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I had the pleasure of meeting David some years back. In person, he is as he comes across here: Thoughtful, considerate, and articulate.

The Olbermann Affair

From Keith Olbermann:

Statement To The Viewers Of Countdown

I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support.

Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small.

...I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule – which I previously knew nothing about -- that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC.

Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations.

Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.

You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient 'mistake' by their recipients.

When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.

I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty - support and loyalty that is truly mutual.

This has been the subject of great debate in the blogosphere. Now that I think of it, no one thought to ask about Keith's side of the story.

Mosque of Fear

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Who Do You Love?

Him--


or this man who looks like he's talking through a hole in his throat:


The man who would be Vice-president...


Emmylou Harris, All That I Intended To Be
Who do I love? I love Emmylou Harris, that's who I love. While she doesn't live on the high end of the soprano range any more, her voice has become richer and fuller. It's perfectly suited to this autumnal, elegiac set about the hard lessons gathered from loss, sacrifice, and roads not taken. Harris wryly savors the irony that this wisdom accumulates as we near the end, leaving us  with only enough time to apply all of this hard-won learning to the past. As usual, she sings with great beauty and insight, often assisted movingly by the likes of Dolly Parton and Kate and Anna McGarrigle.  Highly recommended...

Septuagenarian Bill Moyers punks an "O'Reilly Report" producer:



Outraged by the 74-year old Moyers' aggressive violation of the producer's physical space, Bill-o retaliates:



Keith Olbermann explains it all: