- Yesterday Al Gore sent us a letter trying to get us to contribute to the DCCC. It was dated “Tuesday morning.”
- I spent most of the night at a city council meeting as moral support for K, whose item was number 21 on the agenda. Last night one company, at the end of its first TIF, was seeking a second handout on the promise of More Jobs™. Apparently, our councilors are happy to oblige: one exclaimed, “It’s the ideal public-private partnership!” Meanwhile, a woman who wanted to build a driveway to her house complained because the city so far hadn’t let her. Given the councilors’ reactions, I doubt she’ll get it anytime soon. K’s thing passed.
- The APA condemns torture! Sort of.
Comments
Today was the slowest day on this website’s had in years. Culprit: vacation/school? or boredom about local governance—YOU DECIDE!
by greg—Aug 22, 04:02 PM
The pattern is holding universally in our local corner of blogland. It’s been excruciatingly boring today.
by JH—Aug 22, 04:38 PM
Everybody must be out rejoicing that we have to avoid another Vietnam by not ending the war in Iraq….
by greg—Aug 22, 04:41 PM
Oh no you di’in’t!
by JH—Aug 22, 05:01 PM
I’ll be a good sport and say more. That whole gambit is shocking in an amusing sort of way. Iraq is now officially like Vietnam. Therefore we must stay indefinitely. I’ll say this about Bush, he really does surprise you every now and then.
by JH—Aug 22, 05:09 PM
“surprise” s/b “bugger”
by greg—Aug 23, 05:34 AM
It can be both.
What I’m wondering is, is this the first act of the post-Rove era, or is this Mr. Rolypoly’s final stroke of “genius?”
by JH—Aug 23, 05:45 AM
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never thought Rove had much to do with foreign policy except to use the occasion to leverage regressive domestic agendas and GOP electoral goals. His gambits aren’t about getting the war on, though he’s perfectly willing to use it; rather, the theory of unitary executive, the establishment of permanent U.S. hegemony over the world, and so forth is all out of Cheney’s office, and I suspect the rhetoric in this speech is from there, too.
by greg—Aug 23, 05:58 AM
I’m talking about the idea to give a speech drawing an analogy between Vietnam and Iraq, making the case that the former was lost because of treasonous liberals and lack of American will, and the latter is now in danger of being lost for the same reaons.
That particular bit seems Rove all over to me.
by JH—Aug 23, 06:13 AM
True dat. I wasn’t thinking of that angle.
by greg—Aug 23, 06:20 AM
Others have been, though… (be sure to follow Yglesias’ link to Packer)
by greg—Aug 23, 07:23 AM
I forgot to add about the city council meeting that there are applications afoot to have Iowa City designated a “City of Literature,” only the second city (after Edinburgh) to be named so and the tenth UNESCO creative city overall.
by greg—Aug 23, 07:53 AM
My absence has been due to a) finally getting my hands on a copy of HP7 and b) catching up on your HP7 comment thread. Epilogue = awful; rest of book = generally satisfying; Christian allegory = shaky at best.
by Laura—Aug 29, 06:58 AM
In the meantime K has reread it; upon finishing, she said the epilogue is even worse on second reading.
by greg—Aug 29, 07:41 AM