Battle Royale

Last night far right columnist Anne Coulter and far left comedian Bill Maher met for a debate. I'm of the opinion that neither one does the cause of liberalism/conservatism much good, but they are an intriguing pair of souls so I found this little review at Politico quite interesting.

The White House Briefing Room Seat Conspiracy

Let's see if this one grows legs.

Yesterday Sean Quinn at 538 posted a terrific piece breaking down the game of musical chairs that seats the members of the White House Press Corps in Robert Gibb's briefing room. He looks at seats that may become vulnerable in future months and also at the apparent "process" by which each news organization is seated. He also provided this handy seating chart for those interested in who has the ability nowadays to ask the big questions of our government.


Today, Al Giordano gets in on the action,
calling for more access for "new media" journos and looking at who exactly is on the 9-member WHCA who sets the seating charts and what they have to gain in making those assignments. Money quote from AG:

The obviously better solution would be to assign seats on a rotating basis, assuring that all media, big and small, corporate and independent, get regular shots at being able to ask questions from the front rows. The public would certainly get a wider range of issues and matters attended to that way.

Winner of the Day: Science

Scientists and science lovers everywhere rejoice, Barack Obama just signed an executive order to reverse Bush's order to stop federal funding of stem cell research.

Today, with the Executive Order I am about to sign, we will bring the change that so many scientists and researchers; doctors and innovators; patients and loved ones have hoped for, and fought for, these past eight years: we will lift the ban on federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research. We will vigorously support scientists who pursue this research. And we will aim for America to lead the world in the discoveries it one day may yield.

In addition, former first lady Nancy Reagan issues a statement in support of Obama's decision.

Countless people, suffering from many different diseases, stand to benefit from the answers stem cell research can provide. We owe it to ourselves and to our children to do everything in our power to find cures for these diseases – and soon. As I’ve said before, time is short, and life is precious.”

Pitchfork Gets A Facelift

Pitchforkmedia, one of my favorite websites for the latest music news, got a new design over the weekend.

There is a nice flow to it. It makes sense having a Best New Music link up top and center, instead of down in the lower left corner like in the previous design.

The ethics of a leak

Ed Droste, frontman of Grizzly Bear, knows a thing or two about leaks. He infamously leaked a track from Animal Collective's masterpiece Merriweather Post Pavilion that came out earlier this year. But now that it has leaked and the shoe is on the other foot, it sounds like Droste is of two minds about it all. One one hand, he knew it would leak -"Realistically speaking, it's probably going to leak" - that's him from a Pitchfork interview less than a month ago. But on the other, Droste would like his fans to implement a little of the honesty policy and wait until the record comes out.

"So yeah, it leaked. I'm happy people are loving it. Makes me smile! Just
remember it's not a top notch sonic example. So keep that in mind."

but later on his blog he explains

"I have conflicting opinions about it, as it's really complicated, but ultimately it saddens me that a bummer-quality version of Veckatimest is going around. Please consider putting your energies into a pre-order or into waiting till May 26 for the album the way we intend it to be presented."

All of this can be found in Pitchfork's article about GB's summer tour , I just wanted to re-post it on my blog for posterity, and because I find it interesting.

Hillary in Oz

So, that Hillary Rodham is sure doing a nice job in the State Department. After a hugely successful Asian diplomacy tour last week Mrs. Clinton has moved on to tackling the Palestinian- Israeli conflict with a trip to the middle east this week. Most of what she is doing this week is largely symbolic, reiterating America's commitment to Israel and a two-state solution, while the finer brush strokes of policy detail should come in later trips. But Hillary has handled it with grace, showing how the rigors of the presidential campaign enhanced her abilities as an expert communicator.

Video

Money Shot

continuing on with the economy...

Andrew Sullivan has an insightful post about the Treasury Department's big idea to save the banks - and how Geithner does not inspire much confidence in the markets. I think its becoming obvious that Tim Geithner may go down as Obama's worst cabinet appointee - just one look at the man makes me nervous.