Liberal Talk Radio

For domestic reasons, I’ve ended up watching more American Idol this season. The show is not very compelling, although it’s clear that some of the contestants are really talented. But the more I watch it, the more I’m convinced that the show — aired on Fox — is actually a subtle propaganda piece [...]

American Airlines is ditching the MD-80:
American Airlines, the world’s largest carrier, is accelerating delivery of 47 previously ordered Boeing 737-800 jets by four years as it begins replacement of some of its oldest planes.
…
The new jets will replace some of American’s 300 MD-80s, which have an average age of 17.2 years and are the [...]

Another Contrarian prediction seems to be coming true.
Watch your head.
PS: no word yet on whether the passengers on the plane planned to crash land on a remote Pacific island only to be terrorized by smoke monsters and crazy people.

This fall, Seattle-area voters will vote on ST2, $9.8B transit package, including light rail to the suburbs. Like any smart bureaucracy, they’re holding focus groups, like this one, which reminds me why I would hate to be the guy who runs focus groups:
[P]eople were worried about encroachment on established residential areas around downtown Bellevue.
It [...]

Lest we forget the punishingly long timelines of counterinsurgency and nation-building, Northern Ireland reminds us that it’s still working out the details of power-sharing after what? A half-century of haggling?

Democrats make a lot of mistakes when talking about the military, as this article in the NYT makes clear. Sen. Clinton, like so many other silly Democrats, thinks that the way to win support from the military is to do nice thigns for the troops, like fund body armor and veterans hospitals:
In the Senate, [...]

When discussing political moves where there may be “more than meets the eye,” The Chief usually reminds me of the West Wing episode where President Bartlett, speaking to a TV show, “forgets” that the camera’s still recording and calls his opponent a “.22 caliber mind in a .357 world.” It later becomes clear that [...]

My day job is keeping me busy these days … seems like all I have time for are these terse Jeremiads from the void of corporate hell.
Anyway, has there ever been a bigger Republican domestic policy blunder than “Just Say No” and its legacy?  All the War on Drugs has ever accomplished is to drive [...]

Hey, Sara Corbett — congratulations, you got your most E-mailed Times story. Too bad one of your three sources seems to have made shit up:
Big trouble at the New York Times Magazine this morning, as an editors’ note reveals that one of the women who appeared in last week’s cover story on female Iraq veterans [...]

You’ve been waiting, so here it is:
Republicans will see a poll that shows 51% public support for their agenda and govern like it’s really 81%. Democrats will see 60% public support for their agenda and govern like it’s really 30%.
Click here for the details.