With President Barack Obama holding no public events on Yom Kippur, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said today that Iran must demonstrate full and immediate transparency on its just revealed nuclear facility.
** QUICK HITS. The Meg Whitman pushback today against the emerging line that she couldn’t be bothered to vote until she started thinking about running for governor of California a few years ago is that Sonny Bono didn’t vote, either. Frankly, if I were Republican wannabe governor Whitman and this was the best my very extensive and expensive PR staff could come up with, I’d fire the lot of them. I’ll have more to say about sophisticated public relations down the line. This ain’t it. Of course, their fault, as my old mentor Regis McKenna would point out, lies in failing to perform an adequate external audit on their client. … A Rasmussen poll shows Jerry Brown with double digit leads over all Republicans and Gavin Newsom trailing all Republicans. But Bill Clinton adding Newsom to his 20-plus list of Hillary Clinton campaign reward fundraisers will change all this, of course. (That’s a little joke. And how much are Newsom’s spinners getting paid for their nonsense?) … German Chancellor Angela Merkel has not yet formed her coalition government with the preferred conservative partner, the Free Democrats. I’ll explain tomorrow why it’s not all that easy. Incidentally, that coalition would lead to a more dovish German foreign policy from the American perspective. …
** MAD MEN REVIEW: “SEVEN TWENTY THREE.” In history, the solar eclipse is an omen of things to come, frequently upsetting. And so it is with “Seven Twenty Three,” an episode which caused some confusion in advance. And some after as well, with a major newspaper blog still failing to grasp what the title is about, mistakenly saying it’s a time in the morning.
As always with these reviews, there be spoilers ahead, so if you’ve not yet seen this key episode, you’ve been warned.
Since the previews on Mad Men, unlike most movie trailers, are structured in such a way that they really don’t tell you anything about what’s coming, and even actively mislead you, I noticed a lot of fan blogging speculation about the cryptic title of this episode. A prevalent theory had it that the title is related to David Ogilvy, the British advertising guru who published the classic “Confessions of An Ad Man” in 1963. But what did the number mean? One favored explanation was that Ogilvy’s funeral was on July 23, 1963. Since he actually died in 1989, that was incorrect.
What “Seven Twenty Three” is is Don Draper’s Waterloo. Or I should say, Dick Whitman’s Waterloo. That’s the day in 1963 on which Don Draper/Dick Whitman gets lassoed. Fitting, as it’s his Westerner hotel magnate friend Connie Hilton who sets it in motion.
But before we get to that, let’s go back to the beginning of the episode. Which was actually near the middle, per the Lost-style flash forward/flashback mode now in vogue. … From my new review.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who control the secret nuclear facility just revealed on Friday, have just test fired medium-range and long-range missiles, the latter of which can reach Israel. Today is, not by coincidence, the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
Another big week on tap in president politics, and another not so big week in California politics. Of course, you never know what might happen. Case in point being last week’s revelation of GOP gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman’s astonishing record of never voting for nearly the first half century of her life. Well, not exactly astonishing, perhaps striking is a better term.
While Obama is working to reconcile various versions of a national health care reform bill, the week will be largely dominated by the controversy swirling around Iran and its nuclear program. Representatives of the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany will meet with Iranian representatives in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday. I’ll obviously be writing more about this, but for now see the Friday column linked below.
The Iranian regime, in its inimitable fashion, has just held a series of provocative missile launches, including a test firing of long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel. Today is the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. Friday prayers in Tehran regularly include the charming chant “Death to Israel.”
While the heretofore secret Iranian nuclear facility, and this is a distinction that is at once significant and insignificant, won’t produce actual nuclear weapons, it will produce the material needed for nuclear weapons.
After a lot of defensive posturing, Iran says now that it will open the facility for inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. But it won’t say when. And as the facility is not yet in operation, an inspection now is fairly meaningless.
There’s been a large and strong reaction around the world to Friday’s revelation. Russia, as you can see in the video below, is now taking a much tougher line on Iran, whose bacon it has saved a number of times in recent years.
Indeed, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev warmly praised Obama in a talk to students at the University of Pittsburgh. China also condemned Iran for its secret facility, but may not be on board for sanctions. China has recently begun shipping gasoline, a critical area of vulnerability in the Iranian economy, which lacks refining capability, to the Islamic republic.
Obama will make an in-person pitch on Friday in Copenhagen, Denmark for the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Chicago. He’s the first president to travel abroad for this purpose. Incidentally, it’s not that far from Geneva to Copenhagen.
Obama is also contemplating a Germany which has just moved further to the right. On Sunday, he congratulated newly re-elected German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats will form a new parliamentary coalition with the conservative Free Democrats. As a result, a more dovish foreign policy may emerge, along with more free market economic policies. The Social Democrats, which have been part of Merkel’s grand coalition, had their worst electoral showing since World War II.
Obama is reviewing a request for more troops in Afghanistan from his new commander there, General Stanley McChrystal.
I rather suspect he won’t be getting them. Amongst others, Vice President Joe Biden is opposed to any further mission creep into nation-building via a counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, preferring a counter-terrorist strategy focused on Al Qaeda.
What’s important to note about the McChrystal report, leaked a week ago to Bob Woodward, as I mentioned in my new column, is that, while the general says the current strategy will fail without more troops, he doesn’t say it will succeed with more troops.
In California politics, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is contemplating when to call the California Legislature back in special session to deal with outstanding issues on water and educational reform, as well as a possible special session on a several times delayed set of recommendations from a special state tax revision commission.
The latter, as I’ve been mentioning for months, looks like a political non-starter.
And he is preparing for his second governors’ global climate summit this week at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
California Republicans, who hold two state conventions per year while the Democrats have a more normal annual convention, just had their second convention of the year in Indian Wells, outside Palm Springs. All in all, it was a very good convention.
For Jerry Brown.
Gubernatorial hopefuls Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, now at each other’s throats — Whitman’s failing being that she never bothered to register to vote until she was in her late 40s and Poizner’s being past family contributions to Democrats and past moderation on taxes — spoke to the highly conservative gathering.
The event was reportedly dominated by former eBay CEO Whitman’s evident failure to register to vote until she was in her late 40s.
Rival Steve Poizner, the state insurance commissioner, again urged her to drop out of the race, noting that no one has ever been elected governor of an American state with such a record of civic non-involvement.
Poizner came under fire from Whitman for his past moderation. Poizner also came under fire from the press and from a third hopeful, former Congressman Tom Campbell, for urging massive tax cuts which he says will actually raise revenues without being able to back up his claim.
Whitman criticized Schwarzenegger, though not by name, for championing California’s landmark climate change program. She said it needs to be eliminated. She also further upped the ante by saying that environmentalists don’t care about people.
Whitman said she’d cut the state budget another $15 billion. But won’t say what she’ll cut till after she’s elected. She should get used to saying “if,” and modifying that with “big.” Poizner also won’t say what he’ll cut from the state budget.
Two years ago, this convention, which was apparently not well attended, was a much bigger deal, at the same resort location in Indian Wells. (Which is why I was there, after previewing Schwarzenegger’s convention speech in a column.) Schwarzenegger chided the party in a major address for turning too far to the right. He got a tepid response, especially in contrast to Texas Governor Rick Perry, who followed him immediately afterwards and delivered the hard right stuff. Perry, you may recall, said earlier this year that Texas should consider seceding from the United States. More recently. he denied that Texas has been in a recession, which will not help him in his re-election campaign.
Maybe he should run for the California GOP nod.
Chancellor Angela Merkel won re-election Sunday in Germany and will form a center-right government. The left-of-center Social Democrats had their worst electoral showing since World War II.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
He has no scheduled public events on this day, the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.
Obama has had his daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with Vice President Joe Biden and senior advisors in the Oval Office.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today, the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.
He is holding private discussions in Los Angeles.
** OBAMA’S SUMMITEERING: HIGH ALTITUDE HEADACHES AND RUMORS OF WAR. As any hiker knows, high altitudes often lead to headaches, and President Barack Obama has had a few at his New York summits. They center around AfPak, the perennial question of Israel and Palestine, and Iran. And today the latter went front and center, with war a real possibility in the wake of this morning’s revelation of a secret Iranian nuclear facility.
Even as he unleashed another masterful speech on the global stage, Obama struggled with a few emerging realities.
First, that his latest apparent strategy of nation-building in Afghanistan is bound to fail without about 200,000 troops, which the nation simply wouldn’t allow, to back it up.
Next, the eternal quandary of Israel and Palestine, with the new right-wing Israeli government refusing, in various forms of gobbledygook, to stop settlements by religious fundamentalists on the disputed West Bank and various Arab actors refusing to fully recognize Israel.
And finally, the apparent intransigence of Iran, which says it doesn’t want nuclear weapons even as it apparently insists on its right to them, notwithstanding its signature on the Nonproliferation Treaty. … From my new column.
** MAD MEN‘S EMMY TRIUMPH COMES AS “GUY WALKS INTO AN ADVERTISING AGENCY.” Last night’s repeat win at the Emmy Awards further enshrined Mad Men as television’s best series on a night when it aired a consequential new episode.
Before getting to the review of “Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency” — a very ironic title, as it happens — replete with the usual spoilers, a few thoughts about Mad Men as the new Sopranos.
While it will never have the populist appeal of a well-written show about angst-ridden mobsters, Mad Men is something I find even more interesting. It’s a highly cinematic time tunnel from a fascinating period, the early 1960s, to the present. It’s a show about the American Dream, about aspiration and identity and value, revolving around some very intriguing characters in perhaps the most quintessential of American businesses. Advertising defines the American Dream and reflects it, all in an endless loop of desire and dissatisfaction, ever adjusting to change and co-opting it. For one purpose: To convince you that you need what it’s selling. … From my September 21st review.
** OBAMA AND AL QAEDA: NEW MOVES SHOW SUCCESS MAY NOT DEPEND ON AFGHANISTAN. While things are going quite ruggedly for America in Afghanistan, they may be going worse for Al Qaeda everywhere. Osama bin Laden’s taunting 9/11 anniversary message was days late and very lame. And President Barack Obama’s lethal approach to dealing with the organization that attacked America on 9/11 took a startling, and still more lethal, turn this week in Somalia.
Which raises a central question: Are we not in fact much closer to achieving our central goal in Afghanistan than most imagine? … From my September 17th column.
** MAD MEN REVIEW: THE FOG.” … From my September 14th review.
** 9/11 + 8: WHERE WE’VE BEEN, WHERE WE’RE GOING. … From my September 11th column.
** MAD MEN REVIEW: “THE ARRANGEMENTS.” … From my September 7th review.
** WHY THE KENNEDY EULOGIES STRUCK THE RIGHT TONE. … From my September 2nd column.
** MAD MEN REVIEW: “MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME.” … From my August 31st review.
** CAMELOT ENDS, AGAIN: THE PASSING OF SENATOR TED KENNEDY. … From my August 26th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** SCHWARZENEGGER’S CALIFORNIA. Here is my series of five columns on the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Los Angeles Times in debate last fall, prior to the global economic meltdown, with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter/editor Bill Boyarsky, whose columns are also included. Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation. You can listen to my recent video webchat with Schwarzenegger here.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil is trading around $67 per barrel.
This is up about $33 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Read 
| Comments (50) |
The Iranians act like thugs.
Why did the German Social Democrats do so badly?
I love it!
BB: California Republicans, who hold two state conventions per year while the Democrats have a more normal annual convention, just had their second convention of the year in Indian Wells, outside Palm Springs. All in all, it was a very good convention.
For Jerry Brown.
Is Germany going to roll back its great solar energy law?
Jonas Blane says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:24 am
Why did the German Social Democrats do so badly?
The Iranians ARE thugs. What kind of animals fire off missiles that can hit Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur?
Jonas Blane says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:21 am
The Iranians act like thugs.
Roger Cohen’s essay in the NYT highlights the nuances in the conflict with Iran.
lol
Capitol Boy says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:29 am
I love it!
BB: California Republicans, who hold two state conventions per year while the Democrats have a more normal annual convention, just had their second convention of the year in Indian Wells, outside Palm Springs. All in all, it was a very good convention.
For Jerry Brown.
Roger Cohen is quite wrong about this. Gasoline is the achilles heel of Iran.
>Three: You don’t bring down a quasi-holy symbol — nuclear power — by cutting off gasoline sales.
Clutch J says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:41 am (Edit)
Roger Cohen’s essay in the NYT highlights the nuances in the conflict with Iran.
I don’t think it’s useful to objectify in these terms.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:33 am (Edit)
The Iranians ARE thugs. What kind of animals fire off missiles that can hit Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur?
Jonas Blane says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:21 am
The Iranians act like thugs.
I can think of someone else who loves it.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:29 am (Edit)
I love it!
BB: California Republicans, who hold two state conventions per year while the Democrats have a more normal annual convention, just had their second convention of the year in Indian Wells, outside Palm Springs. All in all, it was a very good convention.
For Jerry Brown.
I haven’t been involved in German politics for year, so I’m not up on this. Merkel is a popular figure, however, and not nearly so conservative as many supposed.
>#
Jonas Blane says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:24 am (Edit)
Why did the German Social Democrats do so badly?
#
I doubt it, though the Free Democrats are opposed.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:30 am (Edit)
Is Germany going to roll back its great solar energy law?
Jonas Blane says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:24 am
Why did the German Social Democrats do so badly?
This Iran missile launch on Yom Kippur is infuriating.
Don’t forget Gavin. His giant ego won’t allow it.
rotfl
Capitol Boy says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:29 am
I love it!
BB: California Republicans, who hold two state conventions per year while the Democrats have a more normal annual convention, just had their second convention of the year in Indian Wells, outside Palm Springs. All in all, it was a very good convention.
For Jerry Brown.
I’m all for peace but if Iran keeps this up I’m one dove for air strikes. The government there is hateful. It oppresses its own people and it is scarey.
Would the purpose of an embargo on Iranian oil be to harm the Iranian economy to the point that Iranians demand changes from their rulers? That’s one possible outcome, but so is a surge of nationalist fervor.
Not that any strategy is obvious here…
Why not look to the obvious? The Iranians back down since gasoline is too scarce.
Hey, it showed right away!
Oh yeah, the game show host guy.
Truth Teller says:
September 28, 2009 at 10:30 am
Don’t forget Gavin. His giant ego won’t allow it.
rotfl
You answer your own question.
Capitol Boy says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:33 am
The Iranians ARE thugs. What kind of animals fire off missiles that can hit Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur?
Jonas Blane says:
September 28, 2009 at 9:21 am
The Iranians act like thugs.
Let them be “nationalists” with no gasoline.
Clutch J says:
September 28, 2009 at 11:07 am
Would the purpose of an embargo on Iranian oil be to harm the Iranian economy to the point that Iranians demand changes from their rulers? That’s one possible outcome, but so is a surge of nationalist fervor.
Not that any strategy is obvious here…
The bigger issue is each of the Perm 5 can veto a Security Council Resolution. And I don’t see that changing. Some are more equal than others…
>1. Bill Bradley says:
September 27, 2009 at 11:52 am
Who else should be on the UN Security Council? Keeping in mind that there are always 10 other members in addition to the Perm 5.
More video today?
Starving Iranians would not seem to be the best long-term strategy for making friends in the Muslim world. Will sanctions–which Iran will surely subvert via its allies or partners in Dubai, Bejing, etc– harm the regime or enable it to rally the people in opposition to the Great Satan?
Muslim countries are as, or MORE, worried about Iran than we are. Embargo Iran and the Muslim world will complain, but they won’t go nuts.
Keep the oil in and the gas out — young Iranians will rise up.
Oh, and an oil embargo on Iran only helps the rest of OPEC…
No ranting allowed.
I don’t even read this long-winded stuff you post anymore.
Act like a normal person, it won’t be flushed.
That would be nice, but I don’t think they’re MORE worried. After all, well, I’ve leave that for another time …
> Brasky says:
September 28, 2009 at 2:09 pm (Edit)
Muslim countries are as, or MORE, worried about Iran than we are. Embargo Iran and the Muslim world will complain, but they won’t go nuts.
Keep the oil in and the gas out — young Iranians will rise up.
Oh, and an oil embargo on Iran only helps the rest of OPEC…
The Roger Cohen column has no actual strategy to rein in Iran. Of course, he believed that there would be a peaceful revolution there in the aftermath of the vote.
Since Ahmadinejad probably did win the election, I thought that unlikely.
> Clutch J says:
September 28, 2009 at 12:27 pm (Edit)
Starving Iranians would not seem to be the best long-term strategy for making friends in the Muslim world. Will sanctions–which Iran will surely subvert via its allies or partners in Dubai, Bejing, etc– harm the regime or enable it to rally the people in opposition to the Great Satan?
Germany and Japan aren’t members because they lost World War II. That was 64 years ago …
> Dana says:
September 28, 2009 at 11:48 am (Edit)
The bigger issue is each of the Perm 5 can veto a Security Council Resolution. And I don’t see that changing. Some are more equal than others…
>1. Bill Bradley says:
September 27, 2009 at 11:52 am
Who else should be on the UN Security Council? Keeping in mind that there are always 10 other members in addition to the Perm 5.
A surge of nationalist fervor is nice, but if they can’t drive their troops anywhere, well, you see the point.
> Clutch J says:
September 28, 2009 at 11:07 am (Edit)
Would the purpose of an embargo on Iranian oil be to harm the Iranian economy to the point that Iranians demand changes from their rulers? That’s one possible outcome, but so is a surge of nationalist fervor.
Not that any strategy is obvious here…
I am very leery of military options there. Not because I’m a dove, but because I’m a skeptic.
> lorena says:
September 28, 2009 at 10:40 am (Edit)
I’m all for peace but if Iran keeps this up I’m one dove for air strikes. The government there is hateful. It oppresses its own people and it is scarey.
Whitman is just the logical successor to the Schwarzenegger regime, following the advice of uber-libertarian corporatist Grover Norquist who wants to shrink government down small enough to shove down the garbage disposal (or drown in the basinette). Arnold has paved the way with Draconian tax cuts; now Whitman wants to put another 40,000 state workers on welfare and unemployment, as if destroying jobs is good for the economy. Sure, it’s good for the corporate bottom line to cut labor costs – until no one has any money to spend, except Whitman’s servants…
Funny how all these ‘self-made’ hi-tech CEOs made their fortunes off technology and infrastructure subsidized by taxpayers, built on the public infrastructure of the Internet, probably developed by unpaid and uncredited grad students, and fine tuned by end users. All they did was line up some investors and make a windfall when the companies went public or were sold. They have no special business skills or any understanding of how to manage a state economy. They actually do make Jerry Brown look electable.
Can anyone name one thing Poizner has done as Insurance Commissioner? Do we have a functioning Workers’ Comp system? Universal health care with costs controlled? Are insurance companies barred from influence peddling? didn’t think so.
Don’t change, Paul Burton. Forget that Schwarzie engineered the biggest tax increases in California history.
lol
Poizner has advanced pay-as-you-go (i.e., pay-at-the-pump) for insurance premiums. That’s actually quite progressive.
>Can anyone name one thing Poizner has done as Insurance Commissioner?
Good point — just like the nations having the talks with Iran are the big 5 PLUS Germany.
>30.Bill Bradley says:
September 28, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Germany and Japan aren’t members because they lost World War II. That was 64 years ago …
WHITLESS for Dog Catcher!
Entry-level office for entry-level voter…
Good talk by Gibbs on Iran.
Whitman is Whitless. Jerry is Governor. End of story!
** QUICK HITS. The Meg Whitman pushback today against the emerging line that she couldn’t be bothered to vote until she started thinking about running for governor of California a few years ago is that Sonny Bono didn’t vote, either. Frankly, if I were Republican wannabe governor Whitman and this was the best my very extensive and expensive PR staff could come up with, I’d fire the lot of them. I’ll have more to say about sophisticated public relations down the line. This ain’t it. Of course, their fault, as my old mentor Regis McKenna would point out, lies in failing to perform an adequate external audit on their client. … A Rasmussen poll shows Jerry Brown with double digit leads over all Republicans and Gavin Newsom trailing all Republicans. But Bill Clinton adding Newsom to his 20-plus list of Hillary Clinton campaign reward fundraisers will change all this, of course. (That’s a little joke. And how much are Newsom’s spinners getting paid for their nonsense?) …
Meg Whitman seems incredibly substance free and honesty free to me. I cannot believe that Californians will vote for her to be the Governor.
I’m not for a military attack by us or Israel on Iran. But will sanctions work? This is an evil regime.
Bill Bradley says:
September 28, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I am very leery of military options there. Not because I’m a dove, but because I’m a skeptic.
> lorena says:
September 28, 2009 at 10:40 am (Edit)
I’m all for peace but if Iran keeps this up I’m one dove for air strikes. The government there is hateful. It oppresses its own people and it is scarey.
Get a grip on reality, please. Schwarenegger is like Obama compared to Whitman or Poizner.
Paul Burton says:
September 28, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Whitman is just the logical successor to the Schwarzenegger regime, following the advice of uber-libertarian corporatist Grover Norquist who wants to shrink government down small enough to shove down the garbage disposal (or drown in the basinette). Arnold has paved the way with Draconian tax cuts; now Whitman wants to put another 40,000 state workers on welfare and unemployment, as if destroying jobs is good for the economy. Sure, it’s good for the corporate bottom line to cut labor costs – until no one has any money to spend, except Whitman’s servants…
“The Meg Whitman pushback today against the emerging line that she couldn’t be bothered to vote until she started thinking about running for governor of California a few years ago is that Sonny Bono didn’t vote, either.”
I bet Cher voted more often…
People who no doubt have better voting participation than Meg Whitman:
Cher
Captain
Tennille
Tina Turner
Ike Turner
People who voted less than Meg Whitman:
Issac Hayes (since 2008 only)
What new video today?
Incidentally, NWN passed 88,000 comments sometime in the past week.
Very nice!
Brasky says:
September 28, 2009 at 7:00 pm (Edit)
“The Meg Whitman pushback today against the emerging line that she couldn’t be bothered to vote until she started thinking about running for governor of California a few years ago is that Sonny Bono didn’t vote, either.”
I bet Cher voted more often…
People who no doubt have better voting participation than Meg Whitman:
Cher
Captain
Tennille
Tina Turner
Ike Turner
People who voted less than Meg Whitman:
Issac Hayes (since 2008 only)
Obama sanctions on Iran in the works, and Russian wargames on the border of NATO countries.
> Jonas Blane says:
September 29, 2009 at 7:32 am (Edit)
What new video today?
I don’t know. They can work.
> marcos leon says:
September 28, 2009 at 5:54 pm (Edit)
I’m not for a military attack by us or Israel on Iran. But will sanctions work? This is an evil regime.
Bill Bradley says:
September 28, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I am very leery of military options there. Not because I’m a dove, but because I’m a skeptic.
> lorena says:
September 28, 2009 at 10:40 am (Edit)
I’m all for peace but if Iran keeps this up I’m one dove for air strikes. The government there is hateful. It oppresses its own people and it is scarey.
Germany has had a lot of involvement with Iran, more so than Japan.
> Dan says:
September 28, 2009 at 3:59 pm (Edit)
Good point — just like the nations having the talks with Iran are the big 5 PLUS Germany.
>30.Bill Bradley says:
September 28, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Germany and Japan aren’t members because they lost World War II. That was 64 years ago …
The only draconian tax cuts Schwarzenegger did was the car tax. There would have been an initiative to repeal the car tax increase, which was extremely unpopular, had he not eliminated it.
> Paul Burton says:
September 28, 2009 at 2:30 pm (Edit)
Whitman is just the logical successor to the Schwarzenegger regime, following the advice of uber-libertarian corporatist Grover Norquist who wants to shrink government down small enough to shove down the garbage disposal (or drown in the basinette). Arnold has paved the way with Draconian tax cuts;