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- From the "never let a good crisis go to waste" files, Michael Grunwald surveys the one-sixth of stimulus money dedicated to, in his words, "a long-term push to change the country" and finds an array of programs dedicated to modernizing the country's neglected infrastructure. But, contrary to Grunwald's insinuation, including these investments -- all necessary -- doesn't mean the "jobs bill" was passed under false pretenses; I see no contradiction between "investment" and "jobs" during a terrible recession.
- I continue to be amazed by how nonchalantly the press treats the GOP's descent into ignorant madness and how willing they are to take their cues from a conservative media machine that shares none of their supposed journalistic values. Read this opinion piece about the conservative media's deliberate dissemination of misinformation and imagine, as a reporter, how you would justify treating anything they say as "news." Reality, it seems, still has a liberal bias.
- A few selections from David Broder's epic poem, "An Ode to the Greatness that is John S. McCain": "McCain has always been a realist, doing what was necessary to survive a North Vietnamese prison camp or a tough political trap." "The reputation he established for independence -- for being his own man, no matter what the pressures -- has survived the vagaries of an exceptionally long career." "He has almost complete political freedom -- a constituency that plainly will not punish him for following his own conscience." "One obvious area where he will be needed is his favorite field, national security." "In Arizona, he successfully steered the GOP away from an experiment in extremism." "A load of work -- but John McCain has never shirked."
- Remainders: A plea for more numeracy; Lisa Murkowski's options for running as an independent in Alaska are limited; the Obama administration has a funny way of showing its commitment to environmentalists; another Republican endorses punishing the poor to make up state budget deficits; and the latest installment in the ongoing series, "Who Reads Mickey Kaus, and Why?"
-- Mori Dinauer
