Thoughts on ‘Californication’

I have a post up on my other blog, Bad Pacino, about the first season of the Showtime series.

Dedicated to Phillies (and Soul Train) fans everywhere

Paulson speaks of need for strong China

As the credit crunch has struck markets worldwide, one lingering question has been how the turmoil will affect China’s burgeoning economy. Tuesday evening in New York, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spoke about China’s economic health and addressed its relationship with the United States in a speech to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
It’s clear that [...]

Barack Obama and Justice Stevens: Common Ground

Here’s an article that was published this week in the Tribune about Justice John Paul Stevens.
That’s the concept. Hello Larry and Justice Stevens, side by side. Hello Internet phenomenon.
 

 
by James Oliphant
Washington Bureau
As South Siders go, they could scarcely be more different.
One born and bred in the city of Chicago, whose roots reach so deep that [...]

What can we do to make this sitcom a little different?

I’ve read where Hello Larry has been described as an Internet “phenomenon.” One of the things the net has done has really cheapened that word.
Anyway, I am old enough to remember this show and it was no phenomenon. It was, instead, McLean Stevenson’s second attempt to prove to the world that he [...]

Pressing the RESET button

Hell, if John McCain can do it a couple of dozen times, why can’t I?
We’re going to give this thing another shot. We’ve had our forensic folks pore over the bare bones of the first incarnation of this blog and they’ve given us a fairly damning report of why it has failed to rock Technorati [...]

Leahy responds to Bush speech on judges

 
Here is a response from the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to President Bush’s speech today on judges. 
The balance on our nation’s federal courts is precarious, with seven out of the nine Supreme Court Justices and 60 percent of all Federal judges appointed by Republican [...]

An open letter to Congress

Hey Congress.  You really want to do something? You want to help?
Bail me out.
I’m serious. I’m working on almost 25 years of erratic judgment, poor financial decisions, questionable relationships, employment reversals. The list goes on and on. As a matter of fact, the other day, I bought this comforter that was on clearance at Target. [...]

Global warming ruins my day

Some days, the world spills in.
Take Tuesday for example. I came out of a meeting to find a message on my office phone. It was left by the woman who runs my 3-year-old daughter’s school.
“Please come and get your daughter,” she said. “There is a bomb threat. We are dismissing early.”
That’s all she said. Not [...]

DOUBLETAKE: Strong in the fundamentals

Doubletake, the summer sensation, is back for the new fall season. Join Tribune correspondents Jim Tankersley and Jim Oliphant every day as they tackle the mysteries of the political universe and, well, breed alpacas to make a little cash on the side, because face it, this gig doesn’t pay all that great.
Jim Tankersley: Good afternoon. Once again, [...]