Come to think of it, Rocky’s not really the greatest metaphor. Well, maybe that’s not fair. Rocky certainly embodied the ultimate never-say-die underdog, and for that, credit where credit is due, and I can see why it’s an appealing political analogy. But thinking back, I don’t think Rocky ever smiled. He woke at dawn, trained [...]
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Posted in History, Media, Politics, tagged ABC, Andrea Mitchell, Barack Obama, Bernard Shaw, Charlie Gibson, FDR, George Bush, George Stephanopoulos, Grover Cleveland, Harry Truman, Hillary Clinton, Lincoln-Douglas, Michael Dukakis, Richard Nixon on April 20, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Last Wednesday’s Democratic debate on ABC, in which Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos asked questions about Reverend Wright, Bosnia snipers, “bitterness” comments, William Ayers, and flag lapel pins for the first 45 minutes, has sparked a chorus of criticism about journalistic responsibility and the battle between substance and sensationalism. Or, to paraphrase Obama, we [...]
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I was just reading through Bill Clinton’s acceptance speech at the ‘92 Democratic Convention (I referenced it in my earlier post today, and figured I might as well read it in full), and wow - that was a pretty conservative speech for a Democrat. I had always figured that he had sold out a [...]
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Posted in History, Politics, tagged Al Gore, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Democratic Convention, Democratic Primary, George Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, John Kerry, Ronald Reagan, Ted Kennedy on March 30, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Since March 4, all of my politically-interested friends have been apocalyptic about the current Democratic in-fighting. And yeah, it’s tough to have stories about both of our candidates sniping at each other, while McCain circles the globe, posing for photos with soldiers. It’s tough to have McCain’s gaffes (Al Qaida in Iran?) go [...]
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Posted in Baseball, History, Politics, tagged centrist, conservative, liberal, Orioles, radical, reactionary, time travel, Wild Bill Hagy on March 18, 2008 | No Comments »
Two thoughts that seem to be entirely separate:
One: In gatherings of family and friends, there are a few predictable hypothetical questions that come up, the whole, “what would you do if you had a million dollars?” or “if you had one week to live…” One of the most common questions is “If you could have [...]
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Died Apr. 9, l900,
Aged 51 years. Kind friends
I’ve left behind Cast your vote for Jennings Bryan
Come on… that’s cool.
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Okay, this is kind of interesting. According to scheduling, the Democratic nominee this year will officially accept the nomination and give the convention speech on August 28, 2008 — forty-five years to the day after Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
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Posted in History, Politics, tagged Barry Goldwater, Bob La Follette, Democratic Party, Eugene V. Debs, Franklin Roosevelt, Populist, Progressive, William Jennings Bryan on February 25, 2008 | No Comments »
I’m about a third of the way through “A Godly Hero,” the William Jennings Bryan biography by Michael Kazin. I know, I know, I should’ve read this book through two years ago when it came out. Better late than never. In any event, the more I read of it, the more I [...]
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Posted in History, Media, Politics, tagged gold standard, John McCain, New York Times, Nick Gillespie, Pat Buchanan, Silver standard, Tucker Carlson, William Jennings Bryan on February 25, 2008 | No Comments »
A quote from Tucker Carlson’s show last week:
NICK GILLESPIE, “REASON” EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: I got to say that it‘s a pretty good day for John McCain and Pat Buchanan is going on and on. To me, Senator McCain is afraid that the “New York Times”—you know, it‘s going from a gold standard to, what, a silver standard? [...]
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Posted in Cities, History, tagged Alabama, Birmingham, Bull Conner, Civil Rights, Fred Shuttlesworth, Las Vegas, Martin Luther King, Memphis, Mississippi, Phoenix, Rosa Parks, travel on February 21, 2008 | No Comments »
Days of lying around reading and watching TV, too sick (and without car) to go anywhere, but too healthy not to be bored out of my mind by this fact are starting to catch up with me. So today, I’ve added vacation planning to my routine. I know, a week out sick from [...]
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