http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082201411_pf.html


A tragedy of epic proportions. Why does the Tribune company do this? They lack a soul and are becoming what they shouldn't be, "evil" for the sake of being evil. Why not get bigger and better? The ridiculous profit margins on newspapers are never enough for Tribune. It's an outrage to the stockholders that they don't get more money. What about owning stock in a civic institution? What about making the community better?

Ehrlich's Position? 1090 on the Dial

I'm not sure that this is a great strategy. The problem with the folks in Baltimore is that they still they are the center of the Maryland political universe. I'd propose that it has shifted away and now the DC Suburbs (PG and MoCo) are more important pillars than Baltimore and the Baltimore County. If Duncan wins his base (as he should), any opponent will have a lot of problems. Demographics, Money are already tops in MoCo, only the realization of this shift is what matters.

:: rogerebert.com :: The Aristocrats

I saw this last weekend. They kept making refernces to Chevy Chase having the contest. I kept wondering what happened to Chevy Chase and why wasn't he telling the joke. It was pretty good and the best parts are like flashes of light on a night train. Some parts are boring and have way too much navel gazing. The point about the joke though is very Taoist in that it is the journey and not the destination that matters.

The Media Mob - NYO:

"Why are we obsessed with the paper being too much, too large? Our counterparts at McDonalds, Google, iTunes, Comcast Digital, The Cheesecake Factory and Barnes & Noble have already learned: People do not complain because something is too big and they can't possibly read, listen to, watch or eat it all in one sitting. "

Best criticsim of the whole focus group driven newpaper design. Most importantly, what about instead of trying to get new better newspaper thats about fast reading, let's try to please the people that already buy the paper. Let's make things better for them. Let's make the paper a must read because their are compelling stories about Afghanistan, City Hall, and whatever else is important in the community. Trying to dumb the paper down only makes people resentful.

Rapper Clears the Field - Los Angeles Times

The world of youth sports. An good anthropolgical look at youth football in the Southland. Learn something new every day :)

Japan's Wartime Savagery? Better to Forget It - New York Times

Hopefully not too forgetful. The war cost my family a heavy price. The savageness of the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War is worse than anything anyone else could dream up.

Fuel Rule Change for Big S.U.V.'s Seen as Unlikely - New York Times

The auto industry has got to change its paradigm and move to something else. This whole bottom line only thinking is dumb. They are commodifying their product and not adding anything of value to their products. Look at the Bug in the 60s, Minivans in the 80s, anbd hybrids now. These are products that are beyond transportation. They make people feel good about what they drive and are good for their families. Ford Excursions are hurt the environment, cause more damaging accidents, etc. etc. etc, but what is Detroits reaction. You can't do that because it will cost us money? What kind of political "leadership" would push something that hurt its citizens?

Celibate Celebs: Some Aren't Promiscuous - Yahoo! News

This is hilarious! Couldn't have come up with a more navel gazing retarded article, but funny at the same time!

Death Tax? Double Tax? For Most, It's No Tax - New York Times

One more thing to consider is the effect of State Estate Taxes and how many states have decoupled themselves from the Federal tax.

That being said, I never understood the argument of stuff being taxed twice. Money is taxed all the time, payroll, income, sales, tariffs, etc. what makes the estate tax different? The worst part about it is that folks that listen to that garbage believe it. Who cares if the country doesn't have enough money for the armoring their soldiers, I don't want stuff taxed twice? Or maybe its a good thing that their be no healthcare for the elderly as long as me and my millionaire buddies can give stuff to our spoiled children for free? Some logic!

G.M. Thrives in China With Small, Thrifty Vans - New York Times

This is another sign of weakness at GM. They are unable to get the right people in the right seats on the bus.

Homes for Everyone

the bigger problem that is overlooked by everyone, is that the problem is not with the market, it's with the zoning regulations that make affordable housing impossible. Sure it starts with stuff like rent control, but edges up to the quarter acre lots and no putting apartments in certain areas. Also the seperation of commercial from residential neighborhoods divides things and doesn't make for a more whole community. I'm not saying that the cement factory has the right to expand next to the residential unit, but that letting the market have its way (I'll moce their b/c I like the other parts of the neighborhood, school, restaurants, etc.) might be a better solution.

Cussing, walking off show gets Novak suspended by CNN

This should be the end to a total propaganda hack of the "conservative/spend your way out of your problems" GOP. We'll never know what he said to Rove and stuff, but at least this guy is out of here!

WSJ.com - Drilling for Broke? Experts Debate 'Peak Oil':

"Specifically, policy should impose a large energy tax that is phased in over a long period, perhaps 20 years. Furthermore, increases in the energy tax should be 'offset' by reducing other taxes, such as payroll or corporate taxes. "

The other thing that they chat about is the externalities and hidden costs of oil. The hard stuff with the Middle East and environmental damage are not fully captured in the cost of gas. Why shouldn't we move toward less reliance on oil?

Writing Agenda A Major Test of Clinton's Skill At Navigation

The blurring is not going to happen. I read some of the lefty blogs out there and they seem to irreconcilable toward the center of the party. I would love to know why the lefties hate the centrist of the party. Do our votes count less? It's the easy romance of the revolutionary, but it's the practical folks that have to govern.

A Big Drug Party - Cheap cocaine on the way, thanks to a new Colombian law. By Daniel Kurtz-Phelan

Crazy Friedman idea .... Why can't the U.S. Government buy cocaine in massive amounts and then destroy it? Wouldn't that drive the prices up? Then the feds could just arbitrarily collapse the market and repeat .... Crazy idea, but just a thought.

WSJ.com - Tracking the Numbers

This is the harvest of investing national security in oil. Why does the government ignore this stuff? Why doesn't it do something to get us off this stuff?

'I Made a Mistake'

It's kind of sad. We'll see what the writers do about the Steroid era. In some ways, they should keep them out of the Hall. They did abuse drugs to get an advantage. More importantly they destroyed some of the most hallowed records in American Sport. It's not just Nolan Ryan getting something over on a hitter. Sammy and McGuire and Bonds are getting something over on Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson. These true HOFs earned their records through decades of hard work and the Steroid Boys got it through "flax seed oil." Doesn't seem like a Hall of Fame to me.

PRWeek

Interesting look from a different perspective on this Rove scandal.