The Liberal Doomsayer My blog deals primarily with national politics in the U.S. as well as, on occasion, local politics in Pennsylvania. From time to time, I may have something to say about sports and entertainment as well. I try to interpret information that shapes the news and provide context to current events. I am definitely left of center politically, but as far as I'm concerned, neither major party is perfect. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 61 0 60 4272

Articles from The Liberal Doomsayer

Little Ricky Goes To The Movies 2008-01-03 14:26:00 I’m currently trying to avoid any news whatsoever on the Iowa caucuses (hey, it would be cool if John Edwards pulled it out, especially because New Hampshire would be a much tougher slog), partly because I don’t have much “capacity” for the blogging thing at the moment and I want to spread it around as much as I can, and partly because I’m sick of hearing about Iowa and I just want it over and done with, OK?So, with that in mind, I happened across the latest tripe from Former Senator Man-On-Dog in the Inquirer today, and I felt that (as usual), it deserves a response.Little Ricky is waxing philosophic (for him) over what he sees as a positive trend in the movies, and that is “recognition of life in the womb” (which, as we know, is the “soft focus” code language regarding the attempts to criminalize a woman’s right to decide what transpires regarding her body).To wit…U.S. audiences flocked to see five motion pictures with life-affirming texts or subtexts: Knocked u ... Movies

Why I Hate The Corporate Media 2008-01-03 07:50:00 This is "echo chamber time," but I don't care; Richard Cohen brought us this dreck yesterday...John Edwards lied about the cost of his haircuts.Uh, no. As BarbinMD of The Daily Kos points out...Apparently Mr. Cohen decided to ignore the fact that the cost of Edwards' haircut(s) was revealed through...wait for it...the Edwards' campaign's FEC filings.Everyone else maligned by Cohen can fend for themselves, but I just wanted to point that out. ...

Wednesday Political Videos 2008-01-02 23:09:00 Big hat tips to Prof. Marcus and Lukery for this (here - and how right Sibel Edmonds is)......and shifting gears a bit, here's my response to this Atrios post (tongue in cheek, of course) on Rudy! (God, Tweety looks like Murrow reincanated for a few fleeting seconds; I must be dreaming!)....and of course, we must consider this "soft focus" moment with second wife Donna Hanover (hope things are still dreamy between "America's Mayor" and Judi N.)......and here's another tribute to the 2007 "Dregs Of The Year". ...

Wednesday Mashup (1/2/08) 2008-01-02 16:21:00 This analysis of Mike Huckabee in the New York Times last Sunday brought us the following excerpt…“I see Huckabee as more of a Prairie populist than what I would consider a traditional conservative,” said former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a stalwart of the conservative movement once considered a 2008 presidential contender himself. “I don’t see how he takes that show across the East Coast or even the Midwest.”Still, he acknowledged that in some ways Mr. Huckabee’s combination of social conservatism and sympathy for the working class also touched a fault line that ran further through the Republican Party, including in his home state of Pennsylvania.“He would do very, very well in southwestern Pennsylvania, Reagan Democrat country,” where many socially conservative working-class voters “have a heart for the poor and, unfortunately, think of government as the answer,” Mr. Santorum said.Take a look at this, Little Ricky. It tells you that Democrats have w ...

Mark Shields Talks About Government 2008-01-02 13:04:00 He’s not bad as far as it goes with corporate media journos (link here), though he has uttered an unkind word about bloggers from time to time. However, I think this is something to remember periodically (spoken at a commencement address given to Hobart and William Smith Colleges on May 12, 2002).Permit me a word of what has become the mindless demonizing of government.Government at its best has always been and can be a crucial instrument of helping people to help themselves. After all, it was the national government that affirmed the Bill of Rights. Our precious natural resources have been protected, preserved against the shortsighted and the greedy, not by local government but by the national government.The national government has been accused of diminishing freedom, and that is true. Yes, "the freedom" of the privileged and the powerful to work 11-year-old children in mills and mines and in factories was abolished. Abolished by the government, the national government. "The freedom ...

"Shake Your Money Maker," J.R. 2008-01-02 12:22:00 I suppose this will be yet another New Years’ ritual, but Hangin’ Judge J.R. of The Supremes is back to beg for more money again (here).If nothing else, I admire J.R.’s sense of punctuality; I posted on this same subject exactly a year ago (here).Well, if I were an employer, I would decide whether or not I wanted to reward an employee with more dough if they truly understood the value of a dollar. So I decided to do a little digging into some of J.R.’s prior decisions to find out if he qualified.And before I give you my answer, please take a look at this Wikipedia article on the False Claims Act (also called the “Lincoln Law”), which states that it……is an American federal law which allows people, whether affiliated with the government or not, to file actions against federal contractors claiming fraud against the government. The act of filing such actions is informally called "whistleblowing". Persons filing under the Act stand to receive a portion (usually about 15-25 p ...

Bushco's New Years' "CYA" On Bhutto 2008-01-02 11:07:00 This Yahoo News story tells us…The United States provided a steady stream of intelligence to Benazir Bhutto about threats against her before the former Pakistani prime minister was assassinated and advised her aides on how to boost security, although key suggestions appear to have gone unheeded, U.S. officials said Monday.…The intelligence was also shared with the Pakistani government, the officials said.That’s about as good as helping Musharraf figure out how to kill her as far as I’m concerned; as noted here, police abandoned their security posts in Rawalpindi shortly before she was killed, and the preposterous notion that she received a fatal skull fracture by bumping her head on the hood of the car would be laughable except for the circumstances (the absence of an autopsy is most telling of all, though).And besides, if our government was supposedly so cooperative with Bhutto and her supporters, then why was her husband, Asif Ali Zardari (who visited the United States shortl ...

Tuesday Videos 2008-01-01 23:15:00 Alter Bridge ("Rise Today"; a nice, anthemic kickass rocker to start the year)......Hank Williams died of a drug and alcohol overdose 55 years ago today (here's the standard "Lovesick Blues," and this is just about as close to country as I get - a collection of performance clips from the '50s not synched with the song; love the jacket)......and in recognition of some of the unfortunate public statements coming from the Democratic senator of Illinois running for president (here and here), here's "Politician" with Jack Bruce and Rory Gallagher (tongue firmly in cheek here).......and speaking of politics, here is a timely message with the Iowa caucuses coming up in two days (and we'll take all the help we can get). ...

Ringing In The Old, Unfortunately 2008-01-01 13:18:00 Sorry to start things off on a bit of a downer, but the New York Times hit a home run with this editorial yesterday...There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency.It was not the first time in recent years we’ve felt this horror, this sorrowful sense of estrangement, not nearly. This sort of lawless behavior has become standard practice since Sept. 11, 2001.The country and much of the world was rightly and profoundly frightened by the single-minded hatred and ingenuity displayed by this new enemy. But there is no excus ...

New Years Eve Videos 2007-12-31 22:22:00 Redwood ("Falling Down"; I like the song, but it's a shame that the vid is so clueless)......Happy Birthday to Paul Westerberg of The Replacements ("Unsatisfied," and no, I didn't see "Airheads" - not a clue as to what is going on in this vid, but I always liked this song)......I was wondering exactly how to end the year and welcome 2008 on an "up" note, and I saw this on Eschaton a few days ago and thought it would be a good choice; here's "Sweet Georgia Brown," with Sidney Bechet on soprano sax, Teddy Buckner on trumpet, Vic Dickenson on trombone, Arvell Shaw on bass, Sammy Price on piano, and Roy Eldridge on drums (1958 was a good year).......but I can't quite let 2007 go yet without one more tribute to Dan Fogelberg (a slide show accompanying "Leader Of The Band"). ...

New Years Eve Political Stuff 2007-12-31 21:56:00 I forgot to include Fred Kagan in the "Do-Gooders And Dregs" posts, so here he is along with "General" Kristol (Pinch really "screwed the pooch" by bringing him on board)......and "The Pap Attack" brings us "Seven Years In Hell" (this is a good reason for a stiff drink, but of course please don't drive after doing so)... ...

Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2007 - Pt. 8) 2007-12-31 16:22:00 Time to finish this up, at long last (prior related posts are here, here, here, here, here, here, and here)...R.I.P.Art Buchwald, Molly Ivins, Arthur Schlesinger, Tom Eagleton, Kurt Vonnegut, David Halberstam, Mstislav Rostropovich, Steve Gilliard, J.B. Handelsman, Khalid W. Hassan, Doug Marlette, Lady Bird Johnson, Ingmar Bergman, Tom Snyder, Norman Mailer, Hy Lit, Milo Radulovich, Luciano Pavarotti, Oscar Peterson, Dan Fogelberg and Stu NahanHere are some tribute videos, first of Oscar Peterson ("You Look Good To Me"; deleted this earlier by accident)......Brian Williams of NBC News remembers Tom Snyder from earlier this year......Rostropovich plays Allemande from J.S. Bach's Cello Suite No.1......and Molly Ivins is remembered in this tribute on "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer" from last February 1st, a 1986 report on "art" in the state of Texas - sorry that the picture quality isn't better, but it's good enough.I thought these were four of the best political videos of the year; fir ...

Sunday Political Videos - Again 2007-12-30 13:47:00 I thought the embedded videos were messing up the site formatting so I deleted a bunch of them; turns out it was the Impeach Bush Coalition widget instead. I'll try to add back some more of them over the next few days.In the meantime, here are two once more from "The Pap Attack"; the first takes on Pope Benny......and the second takes on corporations and our government, explaining why FDR was a great president and pointing out that we shouldn't take seriously anyone who runs from that legacy......and just for the hell of it, here's "The Legend of Hercubush" one more time from Cliff Schecter and Brave New Films......and here's how to make your own ad for John Edwards (a cool idea, I must say). ...

Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2007 - Pt. 7) 2007-12-30 10:16:00 Winding down with this (prior related posts are here, here, here, here, here, and here)...Lamest Fundraising Excuse Of The YearBuzz Jacobs (Buzz? Where’s Jesse, Woody and The Prospector? - "Toy Story 2" reference...sorry), John McCain’s campaign manager in South Catolina, who sent out a mailer asking for money to “stand up to Rick Sanchez and CNN,” who had the “audacity” to ask McCain whether or not he should have admonished the woman who called Hillary Clinton a “bitch” (here).Dregs Of The Year NomineeThe New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority for permitting a ritual where, during halftime at football games at Giants Stadium, “men gather on a pedestrian ramp at Gate D and engage in an obscenity-laced chant for women to expose their breasts” (reported here in the New York Times - related post appears here).Story Most Ignored By Our Corporate Media (and others –not just for this year also)One name: Sibel Edmonds.Second most ignored story – victims of the sub- ...

Friday Videos 2007-12-28 23:04:00 The 1900s (a nice little cover of Fleetwood Mac's "I Know I'm Not Wrong")......an early Happy Birthday wish to Tracey Ullman on Sunday ("They Don't Know"; love the whole cheeky "'60s girl group parody" thing including the spandex and the bowling alley - and yes, that really is Sir Paul at the end)......and on Wednesday, actor Richard Widmark celebrated his 93rd birthday, believe it or not; hope it was good (here's the trailer for his 1950 film noir tour de force "Night And The City"; his eternally creepy performance as Tommy Udo in "Kiss Of Death" is out there too, but this is a better quality clip)......and Henry Vestine of Canned Heat would have been 63 on Christmas (another cover, this one of Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Work Together" from "back in the day" - groovy visual effects). ...