I may have been half asleep, but I was sure this is what I read in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning: GOP vows to be more evil in ‘07. I didn’t question it, but I thought, good for the Tribune for daring to print it. Then I stood up and looked more closely at the headline.

Oh. GOP vows to be more civil in ‘07. That, I will have to see to believe. I heard the name “Chris Buttars” this morning on the radio. I shivered.

It’s the opening day of the Utah Legislative Session.

Unlike other state legislatures that work all year (or at least meet all year), in Utah we have just 45 days in January and February of every year to spend our abundance of money and legislate righteousness. (Chris Buttars says don’t prohibit the right to religious expression but he and others want to prohibit expression of solidarity through Gay-Straight Alliances at high schools. It’s important to be selective in order to create [self-]righteousness.)

Thanks to Green Jenni for pointing out that the League of Women Voters of Utah provides an email update during the session (as well as radio and online updates).

read comments (0)

The Iraq Study Group Report. It has dominated the news today. Who says what? What are the comments? How was the book published? What does the report itself say?

It says Iraq is in the midst of a grave and deteriorating crisis. It says Bush policies have failed. According to polls, Americans agree. (All but the red blogging Americans, apparently.) Gore assures Bush the people’s opinions are not about him. Peter Hart of FAIR encourages the media to broaden the debate during the inevitable week of prime time coverage. I haven’t read the report yet, so I don’t know if the report considers the real costs of the war.

The report is downloadable on NPR or for sale in book format on Amazon. There are even reviews on Amazon. The readers bought, received, and read the report already? It was only printed Saturday night and delivered to stores on Monday morning.

Of course, the content of the report blends perfectly with the hearings and Senate vote on the nomination of Robert Gates to be the new Secretary of Defense. I listened to the Armed Services Committee hearings yesterday. As many noted, the committee embraced Gates (even though the Democratic Underground didn’t). I think I heard Hillary Clinton blow him a kiss.

All of the Senators were certainly senatorially polite. Several of them thanked him for his candor. I’m sure that does create a completely shocking new tone to be able to even dream that a Republican nominee would admit that Iraq is a violent mess and staying the course is not a viable option, while all other options remain on the table.

As I listened to him, I wondered if George Bush, a famously stubbon president, would listen to Gates if he made the same observations to Bush. As I listened to coverage of the Iraq Study Group Report, I wondered whether he would actually and personally read it. And, if he does read it, will he genuinely consider the recommendations of his close allies? Given the responses and the insistence that the administration hasn’t used the phrase “stay the course” for three weeks nows (wow, three whole weeks), it seems possible.

Nevertheless, call me skeptical.

Tomorrow the Armed Services Committee will hear testimony on the Iraq Study Group. Hugs and kisses all around.

read comments (0)

PoMo is here. That’s Post Month. National Blog Posting Month.

Every year I think I will participate in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. It’s only 50,000 words. Not so tough. So far, I have not written past the first week for five years.

Fussy is encouraging those of us who “lack the imagination, stamina, and self-destructive impulses required to write a novel that quickly” to post to our blogs every day in November. It’s only 30 entries. We start blogs to write. This encourages us to write. This is good. Clearly one who abandons a blog for a month at a time needs some external motivation. I accept.

During the month of November, I will post every day. I do not promise to be smart or funny, though I will strive for some kind of relevance.

read comments (0)

Air America, frequently rumored to be ready to file for bancruptcy, is saying that they will NOT be filing. I think this may be a IBIWISI (I’ll Believe It When I See It) situation. I’ve never quite understood the appeal of the argumentative talk radio format. I used to watch Al Franken on the Sundance Channel on occasion, but it didn’t grab hold of me. Why listen to endless hash and rehash?

Well, someone likes it, and I like knowing Air America is there even if I can’t quite stand it myself.

I’m also curious to find out more about Green Stone Media, a new radio talk radio group that is “not a left-wing or feminist network” despite the involvement of Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda. I have to invoke IBIWISI again. (Say it “EE-bee-wheez-ee.”) I’ll believe it when I see it and when I hear it. You can listen to a few programs on their site.

I’ll try to squeeze it in, but if they yell at me and insult my intelligence, I’m leaving.

read comments (0)