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Fair-weather friends
TPM’s Nathan Newman: Polls show the Democratic base is unmotivated to turnout in 2010 — and it’s no wonder given all the rhetoric that Obama hasn’t done much with his 2008 victory. Those attacks from the rightwing are understandable from a partisan position, but many progressives seem to oddly be aping similar rhetoric — wallowing in glass half-empty complaints of
Afghanistan and polling
Steve Coll is always a must-read on Afpak and he sounds a cautionary note on Afghanistan and polling. (See my post from this morning.) Citing a new Oxfam poll, Coll observes that its findings, “like all polling in very poor developing societies, should be received as suggestive, not scientific.” Still, the Oxfam numbers indicate that Afghans regard the Taliban as
Quote of the day
Andrew Sullivan: “If the Catholic church were a secular institution in Ireland and had been found guilty of child abuse to the massive extent the Church has, it would be forced to close. Its top officials would not be issuing statements of apology and regret, but serving sentences in jail.” And yet here in the U.S., the church is injecting
Afghanistan and Obama’s base
There’s a notion gaining ground that President Obama, by opting for a troop increase in Afghanistan, is somehow faltering on campaign promises and thus “betraying his base.” What nonsense. Obama never said he’d withdraw troops from Afghanistan. If anything, he said the opposite. This CNN report is from July 21, 2008, before he had even secured the Democratic nomination: “The
A dead art?
“We seem to be on the edge of a paradigm shift.” Oh my, that sounds important. Let’s read on and see what downtown composer and pretentious blowhard Glenn Branca has to say. “Orchestras are struggling to stay alive, rock has been relegated to the underground, jazz has stopped evolving and become a dead art…” Ok, let’s stop there, because Branca,
On Eskelin-Deutsch-Miller
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: Ellery Eskelin-Erik Deutsch-Allison MillerSun., Nov. 29, 8pm. $12. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215-895-6546 www.arsnovaworkshop.org Along with his husky, exploratory tenor saxophone voice, Ellery Eskelin has displayed a flair for intriguing trio concepts on discs such as Forms and Arcanum Moderne. This new unit features Erik Deutsch, an emerging keyboardist (Charlie Hunter, Madlove) who’s making
On John Hollenbeck
My preview of John Hollenbeck at (Le) Poisson Rouge (Monday, Nov. 30), in this week’s Time Out New York.
A note to Dennis Kucinich
Fresh from his sanctimonious vote against health care reform in congress, Dennis Kucinich of Ohio appeared on “Hardball” tonight to rail against President Obama’s impending announcement on troops to Afghanistan. I’m not taking a position in advance of Obama’s address next Tuesday. But I do want to object to Kucinich’s statement (I paraphrase) that “we owe a debt to Afghan