Middle Earth JournalMiddle Earth JournalNews and Opinion from left of center. Politics and current events Articles
Middle Earth Journal
2008-05-07 03:05:00 Middle Earth Journal is now inactive although the pamphleteers aren't. Jazz can be found at The Moderate Voice , Ron can be found at Newshoggers and Chuck can be found at Chuck For... . More About: Blogging , Middle
MEJ
2008-05-02 05:01:00 Ennui, I've been afflicted myself several times in the last couple months. The Democratic Primary drags on, ugly. The economy is stinking. The stupidity of ethanol has gained traction. We are not paying attention to what is going on with oil trading. Our kids are dying in for one man's stupidity. Sometimes I want to either cry or break things or just sit.Does blogging do any good? I don't know, to a certain extent it is preaching to the choir, it also gives concrete voice to what many cannot voice. Sometimes it is a fresh outlook or rationale, sometimes it is just reinforcement. Sometimes it seems an entire waste.Ron has been one of my regular stops from the beginning and he flattered me with an invitation to post here. I 've been an irregular poster, trying to have something fresh for two blogs is difficult for me. I'll miss this place. I hope Ron decides to come back.
Gone Fishing
2008-05-02 04:26:00 After four years we have shut the doors of Middle Earth Journal for a few weeks or months or perhaps for good. I no longer feel that I have anything to contribute. Jazz can still be found at The Moderate Voice. More About: Fishing
Anniversary and the end for now.
2008-05-01 20:14:00 This is the fourth anniversary of Middle Earth Journal and it seems like a good time to shut down for awhile. Jazz has a new a better soap box over at The Moderate Voice and I'm so discouraged I don't really have anything to say. I may be back - I may not, time will tell. I'm not really convinced it will really make any difference who is elected president in November. The country and the world's problems will not be addressed. We have reached Peak Oil and it's too late to avoid the pain. Climate change is real and the impact will be devastating. Now I don't know if it was ever possible to do anything about it but once again it's too late now. We are also at or near peak water and peak food. I think you could say we have reached peak people and there is nothing anyone can do. What will happen is the inevitable resource wars fought over not just oil but water and land where food can still be grown. They will make the War on Terror look like a minor play ground fight. So there... More About: Anniversary
Dreaming of a Clintonless Democratic Party
2008-05-01 00:00:00 Still yet another reason to hope that the Clintons will simply go away: It?s one thing for a good presidential candidate to embrace a bad idea. It?s worse when the candidate knows it?s a bad idea. It?s worse still when the candidate attacks her rival for failing to embrace a bad idea. And it?s the worst when the candidate feels so strongly about the bad idea that she starts running television commercials about it.Of course he's talking about Hillary Clinton and her support of John McCain 's incredibly stupid gas tax holiday. Now we know it's stupid because Fred Barnes thinks it's a good idea. It's so stupid that even Thomas Friedman thinks it's stupid and He's rarely right about anything. Jonathan Alter calls it what it is:Political PanderingSuspending the federal gas tax is a crass ploy for votes. Why Hillary Clinton and John McCain should know better.Hillary Clinton has now joined John McCain in proposing the most irresponsible policy idea of the year?an idea that actually c... More About: Economics , Party , Democratic
McCain's 100 Year "War". The reality of the Germany and Japan comparison
2008-04-30 03:15:00 Much ado has been made of the so-called John McCain "flip flop" regarding his position on the fifty or one hundred year war in Iraq. Josh Marshall made quite a case about this, hinging on the fact that McCain was apparently "against having U.S. troops remaining in Iraq before he was for the idea." As was pointed out by Hot Air's Ed Morrissey, McCain's position may have evolved in light of facts on the ground and, he proposes, people should consider the fact that McCain is talking about a difference between war, occupation and "presence" where Americans are not suffering casualties and the occupied country is more of a partner with the Americans, such as in Germany and Japan . This, however, is exactly the area where I feel McCain has a tremendous weak spot which will be exposed if the media ever gets over the "honeymoon" period they have with Senator McCain as Josh Marshall notably points out.My problem with this theory has long been that the difference between Iraq and Germany or ... More About: Reality , Comparison , Year
The not so Reverend Wright
2008-04-29 23:52:00 Reverend Jeremiah Wright has not looked or talked like a minister in the United Church of Christ. He has looked like a ego driven huckster trying to get as much publicity as possible to sell his upcoming book. In the process he is making life very difficult for Barack Obama with the help of the corporate press and both the Republicans and the Clinton campaign. Was he in Clinton's camp all along or has he always just been in Wright's camp? In any event I think if you dusted his attempt to undo Barack Obama the last few days you would find the fingerprints of active Clinton supporters if not the campaign itself. Now Obama was very critical of Wright today and divorced himself from most of Wright has said the last few weeks. "The person that I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago," he said. "His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately... More About: Hillary Clinton , Reverend
Remind me again - who's running for President?
2008-04-29 17:52:00 The vile and hateful John Hagee is not running for president - John McCain is. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is not running for president - Barack Obama is. When John McCain tried to distance himself from John Hagee that was the end of it. But as Bob Herbert and Andrew Sullivan explain when Barack Obama tried to distance himself from Wright the corporate media, Reverend Wright himself or the Clinton Campaign will allow him to do so. And now we have this from Thom Hartmann - It was a Hillary Clinton supporter who arranged for for Rev Wright's appearance at the Press Club. Hour One - Who arranged for for Rev Wright's appearance at the Press Club? Photo from the National Press Club's website and outed in a story by Errol Louis in today's NY Daily News, captioned: "Rev. Wright gets the inside story from Rev. Barbara A. Reynolds, the Speakers Committee member who organized the Wright breakfast. (Photo by John Metelsky)" According to Louis' article, Reynolds' website, which is now vacant... More About: Running , President , Remind Me
About that permanent Republican majority
2008-04-29 17:14:00 Karl Rove's dream was a permanent Republican majority. After nearly eight years of the Bush/Cheney cabal the reality is far different. Fewer Americans identify themselves as Republicans than at any time in the last 20 plus years. And when you look at those between 18 and 29 it looks even worse. It's no secret that Republicans have a brand problem; the gap between Dem and GOP party identification is greater today than at any point since the vanguard of the Reagan revolution, when Republicans held a double-digit advantage. Researchers at Pew have put a decade's worth of data through their analytical minds and come to the conclusion that the leading edge of the Democratic edge is among young voters. This isn't surprising, but it is noteworthy. Consider: Voters under 30 in the Midwest are twice as likely to call themselves Democrats as they are to identify as Republicans. 63% of women under age 30 identify as Democrats versus just 28% who call themselves Republicans. Democrats even ... More About: Permanent
Neocon Hillary - 2008
2008-04-28 22:45:00 Two years ago I wrote Neocon Hillary where I discussed Justin Raimondo's commentary in the American Conservative Magazine, Hillary the Hawk. He quotes from a Hillary Clinton speech given on January 18, 2006. ?Let?s be clear about the threat we face now,? she thundered. ?A nuclear Iran is a danger to Israel, to its neighbors and beyond. The regime?s pro-terrorist, anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric only underscores the urgency of the threat it poses. U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal. We cannot and should not?must not?permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons.? To be sure, we need to cajole China and Russia into going along with diplomatic and economic sanctions, but ?we cannot take any option off the table in sending a clear message to the current leadership of Iran?that they will not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons.?Now it may appear that Hillary as made a move to the center but the Boston Globe reminds us that not much has changed.Hillary Strangelove AME... More About: 2008
Al Franken is a funny guy
2008-04-28 22:09:00 But he's gotten even more funny since he decided to run for the Senate. Check out Ladies Logic for some information on how that Senate bid is going. Franken apparently neglected to pay his corporate taxes in a couple of states for several years.The DFL is at a cross-roads in the Senatorial campaign. They can either find another candidate between now and their state convention, they can find someone to run a primary challenge to Franken (which will no doubt help Senator Coleman perserve campaign funds since he won't have a challenger until September) or they can stay with a Franken campaign that is self destructing at a rapid rate. Note to Democrats: I don't care how good the polls look. You have to vet your candidates before you put them up against somebody with Norm Coleman's street cred. He may be vulnerable, but you've at least got to make the effort to find a candidate who is somewhere in the realm of reality in terms of political viability. More About: Funny , Al Franken
Mid Stream Radio
2008-04-28 17:09:00 The trouble with being a citizen journalist is it's a part time gig and doesn't pay the bills. Mid Stream Radio has been a success, one of the top shows in it's time slot but the real world has gotten in the way and Jazz and I simply don't have the time necessary to keep the show going. Today will be the final show so tune in for the good byes.
The DNC Primary Process
2008-04-28 10:40:00 A lot of people are sick and tired of the Primary by now and it seems even more are disgusted with the system the DNC uses. Hillary Clinton made sure the Primary was pushed up way early, she was campaigning in fund raising and national attention from the 06 election forward and the only chance anybody had was to come out early also. This isn't the fault of the DNC, it is simply a reality of having an "inevitable" candidate.The stupidity of Florida and Michigan has been exposed for what it is, though blame keeps accruing to DNC. This cost should deter any further such behavior. If it does not, plainly natural selection will soon have to begin operation within State legislatures. There are some very good reasons the system is designed as it is, for Democrats .Proportional delegate selection seems to offend some folks, they'd vastly prefer a winner take all system. There are some very nearly fatal flaws in such a thing for Democrats, it strongly encourages the 50%+1vote that Republica... More About: Process
Fixing the Process
2008-04-28 01:58:00 No matter how many times we come back to the question, there seems to be no right answer as to how the Democrats could "fix" their presidential primary process, nor if it actually needs to be fixed at all. Yes, the current situation looks like a mess and has most of the chattering class all atwitter. Then again, a few months from now it is still entirely possible that the process will produce a nominee whom the vast majority of the party gets behind and this will all seem like a silly, unpleasant memory.But the question still has some merit. Even if the process proves to be fundamentally sound, there's always room for improvement, eh? (See: Mousetrap, Better.) It's a question which is tackled yet again today (albeit in a snarky, sarcastic way) over at Talk Left by Big Tent Democrat. You have to dig through some serious bitterness about how the process is so unfair to poor Hillary Clinton and so advantageous to big, mean old Barack Obama, and the piece was apparently written as ... More About: Process
None of the above....
2008-04-27 23:13:00 ....or what if none of them are electable!I suggested below that Hillary Clinton 's campaign strategy of making Obama unelectable might be working but in the process she was making herself even less electable than he. But what about John McCain . Now here is a candidate that should be unelectable. He is in favor of continuing an occupation that over two thirds of Americans want to end. On nearly ever issue he promises to continue the policies of a president who has the highest unfavorable reading ever recorded. And the few remaining Bush supporters don't trust him. As Frank Rich pointed out this morning 27 percent of the PA Republicans showed up to vote against John McCain in a primary that is all but meaningless.I made a prediction two years ago: I'm not going to predict any individuals but I will predict that the election will be decided by at least two strong third party candidates. I'm not saying one of them will win but they will decide the election. Of course it won't be th... More About: Barack Obama
Wildflower Break
2008-04-27 18:05:00 After a week of below average temperatures we had a pleasant day in the low 70s on Saturday here in the Pacific Northwest. I took the opportunity to head to the woods and check out the wildflowers. The most exciting find was two rare Calypso Orchids also known as fairy slippers. The flowers themselves are about the size of a quarter.Also in bloom was the Fawn Lilyand the Giant Trillium. More About: Pictures , Break
In which universe?
2008-04-27 06:50:00 John McCain has a tough job ahead of him. The Bush kool-aide drinkers are down into the mid 20s. Bush has the highest disapproval rating ever recorded but McCain needs the kool-aide drinkers. St John must distance himself from George W. Bush to win but if he alienates the Bush cultists he can't win anyway even if Hillary attempts tom throw the election his way. OK, the cultists and the hard core rednecks won't vote for Obama but the might just sit it out. Tony Snow had his debut on CNN today and said McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush on the easy stuff like Katrina. But here was the shocker. Who does Snow think could help McCain? The only man in the US less popular than George W. Bush, Dick Cheney . Come on Tony, you are going to have to do better than that. In which universe would Dick Cheney be an asset to McCain's campaign? Certainly not this one. More About: Universe
Who's unelectable?
2008-04-27 03:03:00 It's become obvious who the Rethuglicans want to run against in the November general election - it's Hillary. For example:Popular Vote Gives Clinton an EdgeBy Michael BaroneIt wasn't always that way. Initially the Republicans thought that Obama would be an easier target and were helping him knock off Hillary. That changed in late 2007 when they figured out that Obama would be a formidable candidate.Hillary Clinton 's strategy has been to paint Obama us unelectable and they have done everything in their power to make that so. They may have had some success but in the process have made Hillary even less electable - her campaign has alienated an important part of the Democratic base.Party Fears Racial DivideAttacks Could Do Lasting Harm, Democrats SayIn addition her campaign tactics have offended many Independent supporters like me and Libertarians who are looking at Obama won't vote for Hillary. Hillary Clinton has to be seen as the one who is most unelectable in November and it i... More About: Barack Obama
Just Say No
2008-04-25 03:34:00 Yes, I'm still alive. I haven't posted much lately because I'm sick and tired of all the news revolving around the cluster fuck that the Democratic nomination has become when there is real news out there. We are still losing the war we should have fought in Afghanistan because we don't give up on the disastrous occupation of Iraq which is even worse because we are doing exactly what the Iranians want us to do. No one is willing to admit that the war is over and the Iranians have one so we continue to spend US blood and treasure to support the truly pro Iranians, ISCI, the Badr Brigade Organization's fight against the Iraqi nationalist al-Sadr. Well al-Sadr has had enough:Al-Sadr may restart full-scale fight against US in Iraq BAGHDAD - Muqtada al-Sadr is considering setting aside his political ambitions and restarting a full-scale fight against U.S.-led forces ? a worrisome shift that may reflect Iranian influence on the young cleric and could open the way for a shadow state pr... More About: Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton
Oregon Radio
2008-04-23 17:22:00 Today on Mid Stream Radio , (1:00 pm Eastern, 10:00 am Pacific) in the second half of the show we will be interviewing Jeff Merkley, a Democrat who is running for the United States Senate, hoping to unseat Republican Gordon Smith in November. We'll be covering some issues of local interest to Oregon ians, as well as some of the larger issues of the day which Mr. Merkley will have to vote on if he is elected to the Senate. Jeff is currently the Speaker of the House in Oregon.In the first half of the show, we'll welcome back my boss over at The Moderate Voice, Joe Gandelman to get his take on how Pennsylvania played out and what it portends for the future of the primary race.If you would like to submit questions for either guest in our always lively web chat during the show, you'll need to make sure you have registered for a free user account at the BTR home page and grabbed a nickname for web chats. You can also call in during the show to (646) 595-3963.See you on the radio.
Jeff Merkley and President McCain
2008-04-23 17:13:00 Jazz and I will be talking to Oregon US Senate candidate Jeff Merkley on Mid Stream Radio this morning at 10:00 PDT. You can call in at 646-595-3963. It has become even more important that Senator Gordon Smith be defeated in November since it appears that the Republicans have nominated the only Republican who could possibly win and that the Democrats will nominate one of the only two candidates who could possibly lose.I don't believe that Hillary Clinton can win at this point. She was carrying a lot of baggage going into this campaign and has picked up a lot more. And is the US ready for a black president? Looking at the results of first Ohio and now Pennsylvania I suspect the answer is no. Obama will simply not get the vote of the white working class voter. I would like to blame Hillary's Rovian campaign for this but I can't. The Republicans would have played the card in the general election.The only salvation for this country is for John McCain to have a very hostile House and ... More About: President , Barack Obama
Finally they notice
2008-04-21 18:03:00 Via upyernoz at Rubber Hose the New York Times has finally figured out what many of us have been saying for months - the US and the Iran ians are on the same side in Iraq .U.S. and Iran Find Common Ground in Iraq?s Shiite Conflict BAGHDAD ? In the Iraqi government?s fight to subdue the Shiite militia of Moktada al-Sadr in the southern city of Basra, perhaps nothing reveals the complexities of the Iraq conflict more starkly than this: Iran and the United States find themselves on the same side.The causes of this convergence boil down to the logic of self-interest, although it is logic in a place where even the most basic reasoning refuses to go in a straight line. In essence, though, the calculation by the United States is that it must back the government it helped to create and take the steps needed to protect American troops and civilian officials.Iranian motivations appear to hinge on the possibility that Mr. Sadr?s political and military followers could gain power in provincial ele... More About: Bush administration , Stupidity , Finally
Quote of the day
2008-04-21 16:54:00 I discussed Condi Rice's playground bully moment below and Jazz did it over at The Moderate Voice. Juan Cole's reaction is the quote of the day: Has Rice ever said anything about Iraq that was true or useful? Even as she was talking up 'improved security' in Baghdad, mortar shells were falling about her in the Green Zone. More About: Quote Of The Day , Condolezza Rice , Quote
On the Radio Today - John McCain's Temperment
2008-04-21 13:57:00 The kerfuffle over Senator John McCain's history of having a nasty temper continues today from over the weekend. Over at The Corner we find a shot at defending "Punk McNasty's" history of flare-ups. (That name comes from a combination of nicknames the Senator received a a younger man, as admitted in his own writings, not some slur come up with by yours truly.) Today on Mid Stream Radio (1:00 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific) Ron and I will be discussing this issue, including the column I published this weekend pondering John McCain's Shinebox. We'll also try to have one of McCain's supporters on with us for the opposite view.In the Corner piece, we find Mark Salter furiously backing away from some quotes he gave to the reporter who wrote this lengthy piece on the subject. However, some of the direct quotes attributed to him may be hard to wash off the walls. We'll try to get to the bottom of this today.Remember, you can listen in using the widget in the upper right column here at ...
Bring em on!
2008-04-21 05:59:00 I have spent the last several years trying figure out if the Bush/Cheney administration and the neocons are stupid and delusional, just plain crazy or if there is some bizarre method to their madness. I'm beginning to think it must be all of the above. They are constantly ranting about Iran but they have and continue to do all of Iran's dirty work in Iraq . They toppled Iran's arch enemy, Saddam, they put the most pro-Iranian elements in Iraq in power and they continue to defend those elements with US blood and treasure. The latest example is this:Iraqi Army Takes Last Basra Areas From Sadr Force But of course they didn't do it alone. BAGHDAD ? Iraqi soldiers took control of the last bastions of the cleric Moktada al-Sadr?s militia in Basra on Saturday, and Iran?s ambassador to Baghdad strongly endorsed the Iraqi government?s monthlong military operation against the fighters.By Saturday evening, Basra was calm, but only after air and artillery strikes by American and British forc... More About: Stupidity , Insanity , Incompetence , Condolezza Rice
Tulip
2008-04-19 19:50:00 I'm not really inspired to write anything so here is a tulip picture I took last week before winter returned to the Pacific Northwest.
Too Stupid to be President
2008-04-19 19:37:00 The Quote of the Day comes from John Cole: I willingly concede that should we have a national crisis in which the President is faced with the threat of hundreds of reporters questioning his/her use of lapel pins, then Hillary is who I want to confront that problem.For every other crisis, I choose Obama. Hillary is turning into a Saturday Night Live routine.Now even John McCain realized early on that if he was to win the nomination he had to sell his soul and pander to the wingnut base. But not Hillary Clinton : In a weird mirror image of last Friday's "cling" revelation ? though perhaps without the same general election implications ? this Friday afternoon brings a Huffington Post tape reportedly from a closed-door Hillary fundraiser in which Clinton scorns her opponent's supporters ? the liberal activists who make up a pillar of the Democratic Party: "MoveOn.org endorsed [Obama] ? which is like a gusher of money that never seems to slow down," Clinton said to a meeting of donors. ... More About: Stupid
A Brief Radio Note
2008-04-18 17:06:00 In short, Fridays are bad scheduling in this season. Between Ron's expanded work projects and my own schedule, it's really been unworkable for us to do our radio show on Fridays. So for the time being at least, including today, we won't be doing Mid Stream Radio on Fridays. But we'll be back on Monday with another four day lineup of programs. See you on the radio. More About: Note
Shelf Life
More articles from this author:2008-04-18 13:47:00 Many beer drinkers applauded Budweiser when they started putting "born on" dates on their bottles of beer so you would know what the expected shelf life would be when you bought it. That might seem like a good idea, but some Republicans are probably not very thrilled that certain "Democratic operatives" are releasing some advertisements pointing out that Republican presidential candidate John McCain is Older Than Velcro.Called "Younger than McCain", the website is being run by Steve Rosenthal, a former political director at the AFL-CIO and executive director of America Coming Together, a massive soft money effort organized around the 2004 presidential race. Rosenthal is now a partner in The Organizing Group.The current content amounts to a 90-second video listing the things younger than McCain -- a list that includes the Golden Gate Bridge, plutonium, Coke in a can and Velcro among many, many other things.What do you think? Cheap shot? I've already heard GOP supporters saying that ... More About: Life , Shelf 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
|
 |
|
 |
