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Fare of the Unbalanced
Why look for the most interesting stuff on the Web when I can just give it to you? LET'S PUT THIS LINK ON TOP, SHALL WE? PolitiFact is a nonpartisan fact-checking Web site produced by the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly. Attacks on other candidates, claims made in speeches, political ads, changes in stances ... you name it, they check it. UPDATED 2:41ish p.m. PT, Oct. 2 THE FINANCIAL DISASTER An economics professor at the University of California explains the causes of the crisis, and rather even-handedly, I might add. "Emphasizing greed and corruption as causes of the crisis leads to a bleak prognosis. We are not going to change human nature. We cannot make investors less greedy. But an emphasis on policy decisions suggests a more optimistic outlook. Unintended consequences cannot always be prevented. Policy mistakes may not always be avoidable. But they at least can be corrected." The BBC seems to think we're not a superower anymore. Says one source, a director of a British think tank: "There is no doubt that President Bush has created some of his own problems. The overstretch of military power and the economic crisis can be laid at the door of the administration. Its tax cuts were not matched by the hammer of spending cuts. The combined effect of events like the failures in Iraq, the difficulties in Afghanistan, the thumbing of its nose by Russia in Georgia and elsewhere, all these lead to a sense of an end of an era." ... On the other hand, everyone is overreacting, insists a columnist with The Times in London.
NPR has a discussion with an economist regarding the crisis' impact on the world economy. ... Here's a proposal from an Oregon congressman that he says would be less costly. CATCH-ALL You think you're multi-tasking? You're not. Just something to keep in mind the next time you try to text somebody and drive at the same time. Exhibit No. 713 that Hollywood is running out of original ideas. Looking for a new home? Can't find a bank to give you a loan? You should've looked on eBay. DEBATES THE TRANSCRIPT for the first Obama-McCain (or McCain-Obama, you're welcome Craig) debate is here. Some parts are better than others. Funny how, in a debate with two grown men, Jim Lehrer has to tell Sen. Obama TWICE to speak directly to Sen. McCain rather than resorting to the "I'm-going-to-talk-down-about-him-by-third-person-even-though-he's-in-the-room" method. And yes, Sen. McCain, we know that you were a POW and that, in the distance past, you were a maverick. Amazing how the man who says Americans are sick of Politics As Usual resorts to Politics As Usual, and that the conductor of the Straight Talk Express has turned in his cap. Somebody save us ... THE CONVENTION SPEECHES Not that they'll live up to their promises, but I have the transcripts of the four major speeches from St. Paul and Denver. John McCain's acceptance speech is here. Sarah Palin's speech -- she was lauded for this, right? Even by that nasty liberal media? -- is here. Barack Obama's speech is here. And Joe Biden's speech is here. THE BEIJING OLYMPICS The Games are over. Were they a testament to Chinese logistics, or a snapshot of what's wrong with the world's up-and-coming superpower? Both, I'd say. And I am not alone. Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says China knows how to run an Olympic Games, but not a country. Columnist Jeff Jacoby -- am I fair and balanced, or what? -- tells us the U.S. had no business being in China, considering how the country's officials lied about how the Games would make them a kinder, gentler dictatorship. Jacoby evokes the 1936 and 1980 Games, and not as a compliment. Reporters Without Borders reminds us of some of those lies, specifically of the freedom they would give the press to report about Darfur, Tibet and other touchy subjects. Salon.com reports what we've known for years: anyone whose sole experience of the Olympics is watching NBC's coverage must think that the Olympics consist of gymnastics, beach volleyball, track and The Star They Beat To Death (in this case Michael Phelps). If I posted every article that ridiculed Jacques Rogge, the Internet would shut down. So here's one that serves two purposes: mocking the corrupt weasel for picking on Usain Bolt as if he had nothing better to do, and showing you why Sally Jenkins is the best sports columnist at The Washington Post. Nothing personal, Wilbon ... Jim Caple of ESPN reminds us that, every now and then, Americans tend to think we're always right and other countries are always wrong. (That whirring sound you hear is Sean Hannity nodding his head.) Meanwhile, across our pond, the BBC gave glowing reviews of the Games, to the point where their reporters say London has no chance of out-doing what China did. (I say just have Michael Palin and Terry Jones burst into every other segment of the Opening Ceremony screaming, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!") For good measure, here are some Closing Ceremony photos from The Beeb. And finally, the Olympics are a sporting event, after all, which is why I've included Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel's review of the winners and losers. |
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