I'm going to do some Super Tuesday commentary tonight on C-Span, some time between 8 and 9 ET. Help me think up some things to say.
UPDATE: Well, now, I can settle back and luxuriate in the flow of results and commentary, because we aren't going to do it, for various reasons.
February 5, 2008
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52 comments:
"No one could have imagined (fill in the blank) happening."
Snarky or pithy? We got both.
Heh- Will you be calling on the Democrat, Republican or the Independent phone line? Many of your readers want to know.
How exciting. Please where your black sweater-will you be on tv or just your voice on the phone?
Try to be succint-sometimes on your vlogs you tend to ramble.
Be sure to talk about Hillary's laughing, crying, and coughing.
A lot of results will probably coming in while you are on.
8-9 is primetime for polls closing.
Go off on the right wing radio for hating on McCain.
How about - is there any way to determine if racism is a factor among Dem voters in whether they vote for a white candidate or a black candidate?
Speculate on Obama's victory and the 19th Amendment.
Talk about what a mess the Electoral College would be if we picked electors like we pick the delegates to the Nominating Conventions.
If it's interesting, you could talk about this post by Chris Bowers at OpenLeft arguing that given any reasonably likely scenario of how today might play out, the dems are headed for a brokered convention.
I think the Rock-Paper-Scissors thing would be good. Especially with respect to the idea that both parties may not have a candidate with a lock on the nomination AND the Republican convention goes after the Democrats have done theirs.
Ordinarily, senators do not make for compelling presidential candidates, and those senators who've won the presidency were ineffective wielding executive power.
Talk about the inconsistency of the primaries where we:
caucus in one state (face to face intimidation)
allow anyone with a pulse to vote for any candidate (open primary) where we actually allow our opponents to vote for who the party will be electing as candidates. How stupid is that.
winner take all states where the votes of the minority is disenfranchised
and states like California where the primary is closed to opposition party votes and the delegates are awarded by districts.
How screwy and random this whole thing is when we are supposed to be making one of the most important decisions in our political lives. We might as well be choosing by drawing playing cards.
I'll be on camera and in fact I am wearing my black sweater.
Good luck Ann-
Gad-one time I wanted to talk about the military and the pro-effort and when I got my big moment in the sun on C-Span I ended up talking about -
Donuts!
Jeebus.
The topic of the moment is the fantastic degree to which so many Americans are projecting their hopes and wishes onto Sen. Obama.
He's seen as a man who can heal the nation's wounds, racial or otherwise. How, though, is unclear.
More worrisome is the comical perception that he is the peace candidate. In reality, however, based on his Jan. 20 rebuttal to the President's State of the Union Address, his Iraq policy would mirror the present one (a gradual drawdown of combat troops only with no timetable), and he frankly wants to escalate the war in Afghanistan. Given his August 2007 remarks about bombing Pakistan, he reminds one more of candidate Richard Nixon than anyone else. Nixon had a "secret peace plan" which meant invading Cambodia and turning North Vietnam into the bottom of a Shake 'n' Bake bag.
Here's what Obama said on Jan. 20...."immediately begin the responsible withdrawal of our combat brigades so we can bring all our combat troops home...finish the job in Afghanistan...it's time to heed our military commanders by increasing our commitment to Afghanistan...
Damn it Ann!
Do NOT wear BLACK it will drain all the color from your face...
Have you ever seen anyone wear black near their face as a talking head on TV?
Don't do it!
Maybe mention the constant failure of the pollsters. No matter how hard they try to sway teh electorate, the people vote otherwise.
You could drop a hint that the one word slogan "Change" is a vacuity, no matter which candidate employs it. That also goes for "Hope" of course, but that would be Obama specific, and therefore, controversial.
OK seriously.
Say that the illegal immigration issue was really a ruse for "Conservatives" to stab the military in the back and bail on them because -
William F. Buckley of The National Review who seems to spear head that issue was against the war-before Obama even.
Blondes look good in black. Black only drains the color from mouse haired types like me and Maxine.
As supporting evidence-
If illegal immigration was such a "winner" how was it the Gilchrist -"Leader of the Minutemen" could not get more than 14.7% of the vote in heavily Republican Orange County during a special election in the summer?
{In that kind of condition where it is one of the only issues it should have been easier for them to mount a victory but they could NOT do it.}
ricpic-
Blondes look great in black because of the contrast in natural light-however under studio lighting-I don't think so.
Name one talking head that wears all black near their face?
Not even Chrissy Matthews does that.
Real blondes look good in black.
Fakes ones....well, that's something different entirely.
A great post by DBQ as usual.
Open primaries are INSANE!
Cool it. I'm not doing it. The reason doesn't have to do with me.
Oops.
Saw the update.
My gawd I can rest my don't wear black offensive....
Phew! That was a close one.
Don't you have more than 1 black sweater?
Too bad you don't get to go on. I'm sure it would've been interesting.
Robert DeNiro looks good in everything. At least that's what Titus tells me.
Now you have time to watch American Idol.
It's not smart to screw around with your karma.
Trooper York said...
Now you have time to watch American Idol.
Food Netwrok is much more entertaining and interesting. The contests are better too; something about humans weilding shiney knives.
Ann's not doing C-Span tonight?
Damn. I was ready for the phones. I figured I'd ask her which color wine is best poured from a box.
BTW trooper,
Since it is raining here and it will turn to 10-14 inches of snow over night, I put on a pot and am cooking some chiken feet soup.
Sound great. Add a few carrots, some potato, celery, a turnip or two. But one of my favorite secret ingredients that I have been using is this Vietnamese hot chili garlic sauce that I use when I first fry up the meat for the soup or sauce. The flavor it gives off is unbelievable. I have to give you my recipe for Italian Wedding Cake Soup. It's the best for being snowed in. It will feed a family of six for a week. Good stuff.
9 degrees. crispy critter outside. Im drinking scotch and making Italian sausage,tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, onions and red wine sauce over polenta with parmesan cheese.
I never watch American Idol. But I might catch some of the highlights on Youtube at some point.
Of course the best macaroni for your soup is Acini di Pepe. Simply the best and far superior to any noodle or other wheat product as a soup ingredient.
Susan Estrich made a little phone call to the network......
I understand the Friends Of Dr. Paul have you in their cross-hairs.
Don't quit your day job just yet.
Newsflash: You need an AGENT if you are going to do TV.
It doesn't matter if you're an attorney. Guest don't negotiate their own bookings.
The very first comment I ever put up on this blog, was telling you to get an Agent, remember that?
Naturally, you refused to listen, as always.
Acini di Pepe? Those are the little square thingamabobs that turn into round pasta bee bee balls?
We should have an Ann Althouse cookbook.
I prepared veal cutlet Milanese for my lovely wife while enjoying the Idol in the background. The veal is especially tender tonight. Some sangiovese and a cheese platter for desert. Or perhaps some prunes in a red wine reduction with some mascarpone on the side.
Hey we can hijack this thread and turn it into a cooking and recipe fest. All the political nerds are on the thread up above us.
Acini di Pepe is a great filler for soups, especially chicken soups. Far superior to orza or rice or even pastina which should only be eaten when you are sick and mom keeps you home from school.
Wait a minute, did C-span give up Althouse for Lent?
Now on Ash Wednesday, it's a fast day so we only have one meal. No meat. So I think it will have to be my special thin crust pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil in a piquant sauce heavy on the oregano. Maybe with some fresh mushrooms, black olives and red pepper to spice it up a little. We will have to see.
"For various reasons"
Uh-huh.
Namely, they don't negotiate directly with the guest.That's not how business is transacted.
And sorry, you aren't going to reinvent the wheel. Just get an Agent, and go from there.
Now Thursday it will be pork medallions in fresh bread crumbs with brasied fanook and a salad. Also the St. Joseph spinges are out so we might have to split a pastry. Watching our weight don't cha know.
Trooper York said,
I have to give you my recipe for Italian Wedding Cake Soup.
Tell you what, I’ll swap you my recipe for real Jewish Chicken cheese cake soup.
Okay.
You start with some onions and a big hunk of gravy meat. Sautee it in a huge soup pot until the onions are caramelized and the meat is browned. Add a little white wine to debride the pan.
On the side make about thirty or forty meatballs. Now you will use a mixture of beef, veal and pork and use some egg to keep it together. But very limited bread crumbs. Put them on the side in the fridge to chill.
Then fill the pot with at least 2 gallons of fresh water depending on the size of your stock pot.. Add carrots, celery and three soup bones. Alternately, you can add five or six beef ribs. Bring the water to a boil. Add salt pepper and some herbs to give a little flavor. Then add the meat balls. Simmer for about three hours letting the soup cook down. After about an hour, an hour and a half, add a bunch of potatoes, peeled but whole, the bigger the better as they will break apart as they cook. Let the whole pot simmer for the rest of the afternoon until your stock tastes perfect.
Then cook up a separate pot of Acini di Pepe. Drain the macaroni and put it in a separate pot. Add some of the stock, stirring gently. Fill up a soup tureen with this soup and add potato and carrots and meatballs to the mix. Cover it all in pecorino freshly grated. Take the gravy round (remember that) and slice it and serve separately with sliced red onion. Fish out the beef ribs and serve them separately as they should fall right off the bone. But enjoy the meatballs in the soup with the cheese and the vegetables.
A bottle of wine and some crusty Italian bread and you should be good to go.
Note that the meatballs should be realtively small. Not the monster meatballs you would put in a hero. About 1/3 the size of a normal meatball would be best. Enjoy.
The reason it is called wedding cake soup is that you are supposed to put enough cheese on it so it looks like the icing on a wedding cake. Just sayn'
madawaskan said...
"Blondes look great in black because of the contrast in natural light...."
Indeed.
caucus in one state (face to face intimidation)
allow anyone with a pulse to vote for any candidate (open primary) where we actually allow our opponents to vote for who the party will be electing as candidates. How stupid is that.
winner take all states where the votes of the minority is disenfranchised
Et tu, DBQ? There is no option to satisfy ... unless the outcome=personal validation.
What you wrote that got me to comment here, on the eve of not commenting for a long period (and having not, in anticipation):
caucus in one state (face to face intimidation)
You're supposed to be a "conservative." You self-describe yourself that way. You write as if you believe in the smallest (closest-to-individual-voters-where they-live) government. And yet, you write that.
You write that. And with a tone aggrieved.
Which leads one to believe that, in fact, what you're looking for is a national leader--POTUS!--who will lead you, and all of us, out of one wilderness and/or another.
What the hell?
You've lost your own, self-stated moorings. You're not alone in that, on your side, not to mention on the other side, where the criticism applies just as well.
But still, there it is.
***
General observation and comment, not specifically directed:
Anyone who thinks that Democracy should drip downward doesn't actually believe in that concept at all, or at least doesn't understand it. With caveats, I'd say that also applies to so-called believers in Republicanism.
Validation is what most people want, first and foremost, and secondarily, to shape and/or reshape reality to reflect back that vision. From thence stems the passion for control, and all the justifications for that passion, and all the methods used to get that control. From there, it's just a hop, skip and jump to relax and not-so-much notice the executions of that control, once gained.
That's how I see it, anyway, for what it's worth, in terms of human nature.
(And jeez, I'm not even a--shocked whisper--a libertarian.)
I wish you all a blessed Lent.
RIA
RIA: my post was to highlight the chaos and completely out of control method that the parties are using to select their respective candidates.
The process is open to fraud, intimidation and there is no way to know if the "leaders" who have been annointed by the press are the true choices of their party members. Each State is able to caucus,vote,day trip anyway they want to because that is their right, just as it is their right to apportion their electoral votes according to their own method
The primarys seem to be the most ridiculous and the most Rube Roldberg method that we could possibly have chosen.
Seriously. A roll of the dice or cutting of the cards would be just as valid as the system we have now. Would be a lot less expensive and would mercifully be over in a very short time.
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