Paul Krugman's Drivel

I promised myself I would never write another word about New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman because, well, why bother? Unfortunately, in a weak moment at the St. Louis Airport, I made the mistake of reading his most recent screed, which contained the following paragraph:

Fox's Brit Hume even claimed credit for the midterm election. "It was because of our coverage that it happened," he told Don Imus. "People watch us and take their electoral cues from us. No one should doubt the influence of Fox News in these matters." (This remark may have been tongue in cheek, but imagine the reaction if the Democrats had won and Dan Rather, even jokingly, had later claimed credit.)

As it happens, Mr. Hume did not, in his interview on the Imus show, "claim credit" for the midterm election results. He was mocking the notion that he or anyone else at the Fox News Channel had that kind of power. "It was because of our coverage that it happened" was Hume's way of saying that anyone who believed that was an idiot.

The editors of The New York Times op-ed page know this. But they printed Krugman's drivel anyway. And the question is this: Why would you print something that everyone knows is nonsense?

Blog Stop

Ellisblog will not be posting new material this week. A happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

The Osama Letter

A letter, purportedly written by Osama bin Laden, is circulating on the Internet and has been published by The Guardian. You can read it by clicking here. In it, Osama calls America to account for virtually all of the world's ills. The world's best-known mass murderer doesn't like Jews very much, but you probably knew that already. He does, however, support the Kyoto protocols, which is a weird touch.

Their National Anthem is a Beer Commercial

More on the moron controversy. This from people who start weeping when they hear the following advertisement for Molson's beer:

Hey. I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader.
And I don't live in an igloo, or eat blubber, or own a dogsled.

And I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.

I have a Prime Minister, not a President.

I speak English and French, NOT American. and I pronounce it 'ABOUT', NOT 'A BOOT'.

I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peace keeping, NOT policing. DIVERSITY, NOT assimilation, AND THAT THE BEAVER IS A TRULY PROUD AND NOBLE ANIMAL.

A TOQUE IS A HAT, A CHESTERFIELD IS A COUCH, AND IT IS PRONOUCED 'ZED' NOT 'ZEE', 'ZED'!!!

CANADA IS THE SECOND LARGEST LANDMASS! THE FIRST NATION OF HOCKEY! AND THE BEST PART OF NORTH AMERICA!

MY NAME IS JOE!! AND I AM CANADIAN!
.

Gore 2004

The Gore for President 2004 campaign soft launched last Friday, with the Baba Wawa interview and The Washington Post Sunday Magazine piece and has continued on (and on) this week. Today, columnist and Atlantic Monthly editor Michael Kelly, writing for The Washington Post op-ed page, launches on Gore. A column worth reading, as always.

Latest Fast Company Column

A look back at the year 2002. It was not a very good year.

Rush Rouses Rabble?

Yet more evidence that leading Democrats have lost their marbles can be found by clicking here. Soon-to-be ex-Majority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-SD) accuses Rush Limbaugh and "Limbaugh wannabes" of inciting the rabble to new levels of nasty and vicious behavior. Mr. Daschle provided no evidence to substantiate this claim. Daschle's remarks were the latest in a series of Democratic rants regarding the supposedly undo influence of conservative talk radio on American politics.

Openly Proclaimed

The following is from The Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web:

"Our country is headed for very deep trouble," Gore told Time. "I wish it were not so, but I believe that with all my heart. I think that our economic plan has zero chance of working. I think that it is wrong at its core. I think that our foreign policy, based on an openly proclaimed intention to dominate the world, is a recipe for getting our country in some of the worst trouble it's ever been in." Bush, Gore says, has compiled the worst economic record since Herbert Hoover. "For Democrats to lose the Senate and to lose ground in the House means that we have got to examine what we could have done more effectively as a party. I think it's the time now for us to be a loyal opposition, not just in name but in reality, and to present a clear alternative."

Did I miss one of the President's speeches? When did he or anyone in his Administration "openly proclaim" their "intention to dominate the world?" What in the world is Gore talking about? I "get" the Hoover boiler-plate. But the Dr. Evil stuff is just loony.

Will Power

George Will's column today on the Pelosi Democrats is perfect.

Boston Explained

Hublogger Jay Fitzgerald emails with a simple explanation of the DNC's decision to hold its 2004 presidential nominating convention in Boston. He quotes from an article from The Boston Globe:

"The effort to get the convention began in January, when Menino and Kennedy met with DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe to discuss a bid. McAuliffe wanted an upfront corporate commitment of $20 million, explaining that he was upset by his experience with the 2000 convention in Los Angeles when he had to set aside his hope of becoming US ambassador to Britain in order to raise money due to a last-minute shortfall of $14 million.

" 'He told us the story: He was on his way to London and then on his way to LA,’ Kennedy said in an interview.

"Kennedy and Menino decided the best way to win the convention was to secure financial commitments before the DNC made its decision."