Beau Biden on ABC This Week

AG Biden was on a Sunday Yack Show -- ABC This Week -- to talk about his father's performance at the debate. He did a great job, I think. (The video inside is a little over four minutes long).

Saturday Open Thread [10.13.12]

Happy freezing Saturday! Everyone seems focused on the Bodenwiser story today, but PainesMe has reminded us that if we are not doing what we can to elect Jane Hovington today, we are missing an awesome opportunity.

QOTD — Is the Dog Whistling Working?

We already know how they work this scab. The routine invocation of President Obama (even trying to smear those who support him) as the Other isn't even debatable. Take a look at this picture and tell me what you think:

The Price of Lying

One of the longstanding themes of this blog is the astonishing mendacity of the Republican Party, how out of balance that mendacity is within the current political discourse (I mean, damn, we expect politicians to lie, but these guys never stop) and the media's complicity in laundering those lies. This cycle, there has been some effort to point out the lies, misstatements and inconsistencies -- at least in reporting on the results of factchecking organizations or giving your own factcheckers a highlighted role in a reporting package. Lies aren't often named as such -- you get lots of euphemisms, especially from the fact checking organizations who don't want to be seen using the apparently more emotionally charged word -- lie. I wondered if the cumulative effects of the factchecking, a tough primary which featured Republicans calling each other liars, Democratic efforts to sow doubts and Rmoney's persistently low ratings for honesty were starting to take a toll when I saw this piece from TPM on Tuesday

Trey Paradee Standing Up For What Counts

And that is the people of the 29th District. Check out this clip from an event last Thursday where Both Paradee and Lincoln Willis were present to speak. Paradee makes it really clear that he wants to represent the people of his district, rather than some mindless ideology -- then excoriates Willis' Voter ID bill, stepping up (and restricting) the kinds of ID that people in DE would need to vote.

Sunday Open Thread [10.7.12]

A rainy Sunday -- one where you might curl up with the papers and coffee. Except that this morning's NJ has a "Special Report" called Are You Better Off? Have you read it? I did -- pretty much word for word and what a mess this is. Starting with the conceit that the financial problems started in January 2009 and largely undermined by that throughout the pieces, I'm pretty sure I didn't learn anything. And don't get me started on the piece that picked two "right-leaning" economists and two "left-leaning" economists that largely left the "right-leaning" ones alot of cover behind a political start date, rather than the start date of the recession. But hey -- maybe I missed something.

Saturday Open Thread [10.6.12]

Welcome to Saturday! Today I want to bring your attention to a new Bill Moyers interview with Mike Lofgren, the ex-GOP staffer who wrote the incendiary Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult . Mr. Lofgren has written a book extending on his thoughts on the extremism of his old party (and the dysfunction of Democrats) called The Party is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted.

Friday Open Thread [10.5.12]

The James Bond Edition. Today is the 50th Anniversary of the film creation of Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR, spy icon by Sir Ian Fleming. Dr. No was the first movie, starring the always amazing Sean Connery and establishing a formula for (mostly) fascinating movies that have been watched and obsessed over for a half of a century. Yes, these movies (especially the older ones) are sexist, politically incorrect, but I'm a fan anyway. Happy Anniversary, Mr. Bond! Hope you all will join me in having a martini (vodka -- shaken, not stirred) in Bond's honor today.