Really Proud

Billmon says what I am feeling as well.

I dunno, I guess that’s when it hit me — the enormity of what I’d just seen. It may not mean as much to you youngsters (get off my lawn!) but for someone of my age, who grew up in the dying days of segregation, who still remembers the colored and white drinking fountains and the monochrome lunch counters, who saw Washington DC burn the night Martin Luther King was killed — who, in some sense, has essentially spent his whole life living in the shadow of American racism, it was completely mindblowing. The party of Jefferson Davis and George Wallace (but also of FDR and Bobby Kennedy) had just chosen a black man as its standard bearer — and God willing, as the country’s leader.

As always, all of what Billmon writes deserves attention, not just this excerpt.

On this day in history

The Edge of the American West says it all.

NewMexiKen for President

The New MexiKen for President WebSite

Once it loads, click on the start arrow.

Thanks J.D.

Never been a Charles Barkley fan until now

WOLF BLITZER: If Obama has his way, you would spend another $701,885 in taxes. $700,000 above and beyond – you pay a lot of taxes right now if you’re making millions of dollars a year as you are. How do you feel about that?

CHARLES BARKLEY: Well, I think that if you’re rich — I thank God I’ve been very successful — if you’re rich, you’re always going to be rich. If we pay more in taxes, I got no problem with that. If you’re making that kind of money, a couple hundred thousand dollars here or there are not going to change your life.

Let’s be realistic. I’ve been very fortunate and blessed. I did a great job of saving my money. But I got no problem if I’m making that type of money, paying more in taxes to be honest with you.

No news would be good news

According to Altercation, yesterday CNN analyzed the tax changes proposed by McCain and Obama. Here’s the four wage brackets they used:

Over $2.9 million
$603,000 and up
$227,000-$603,000
$161,000-$227,000

Notice anything missing?

[Answer: The 95% of Americans who earn less than $161,000.]

A better way

Lewis Black suggested in one of his comedy routines a better way to select the president.

As soon as the next American Idol is chosen, blindfold them and have them throw a dart at a map of the U.S. Then take a monkey, put a parachute on him, and drop him from a plane at the spot where the dart hit. The first person the monkey takes by hand, that’s the president.

Works for me.

August 27th

Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, was born 100 years ago today. He died, at age 64, in January 1973.

William Least Heat-Moon was born as William Trogdon 69 years ago today. He’s the author, among other works, of Blue Highways, an excellent travel memoir published in 1982. (The roads in blue on highway maps go to the out-of-way places Least Heat-Moon wrote about.)

Daryl Dragon, the Captain of the Captain and Tennille, is 66 today.

Once-upon-a-time sex kitten Tuesday Weld is 65. According to IMDb, “At nine years of age she suffered a nervous breakdown, at ten she started heavy drinking. One year later she began to have affairs, and at the age of twelve she tried to commit suicide.” Weld turned down the role of Lolita and of Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde.

Paul Reubens, Pee-Wee Herman, is 56.

Chandra Wilson of Grey’s Anatomy is 39.

More of the same only worse

Insofar as neoconservatives do not understand this, and cannot understand this, they are a clear and present danger to the security of the West. Their unwillingness to understand how the US might be perceived in the world, how a hegemon needs to exhibit more humility and dexterity to maintain its power, makes them - and McCain - extremely dangerous stewards of American foreign policy in an era of global terror. They are diplomatically and strategically autistic.

McCain’s response to the calamities of the past eight years has been to compound them all. It has been to propose a “surge” in Afghanistan, to aggressively embrace open-ended commitment to Iraq (if the Iraqis can be pressured hard enough), and to launch one new hot war against Iran and another cold one - and hot, by proxies - against Russia. And the way in which the question is debated - around asinine concepts of “toughness” or “sissiness” - leads to facile decisions. It also leads to ads like this one: fear-mongering as an argument. It should be noted that Obama’s statement that Iran is “not a serious threat” is so out of context as to be a lie. He said it was “not a serious threat compared to the Soviet Union.” That is a critical, historical point - a way of actually looking at foreign policy outside a box crafted by morons.

Andrew Sullivan

Big Sky Governor

While the talking heads on TV were yammering on last night that the Democrats weren’t criticizing McCain enough, Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana was at the podium doing a pretty good job of just that. This should have been the keynote speech.

By the way, CSPAN carries the convention from gavel to gavel with the focus on the speakers, not the know-it-alls in the network booths. I even watched the closing prayer.

I can’t tell for sure, but I think Governor Schweitzer is wearing the mountain states dress up uniform — sports jacket and Levis.