The Chicago Tribune today endorsed the Democratic candidate for President, for the first time in its 160-year history:
The Tribune in its earliest days took up the abolition of slavery and linked itself to a powerful force for that cause--the Republican Party. The Tribune's first great leader, Joseph Medill, was a founder of the GOP. The editorial page has been a proponent of conservative principles. It believes that government has to serve people honestly and efficiently.
With that in mind, in 1872 we endorsed Horace Greeley, who ran as an independent against the corrupt administration of Republican President Ulysses S. Grant. (Greeley was later endorsed by the Democrats.) In 1912 we endorsed Theodore Roosevelt, who ran as the Progressive Party candidate against Republican President William Howard Taft.
The Tribune's decisions then were driven by outrage at inept and corrupt business and political leaders.
We see parallels today.
Possibly some of this has to do with Sam Zell, but possibly it has to do with the 45-year slide of the Republican Party into, well, whatever it's become today.
Another gap in the fossil record has gotten filled:
In a new study of a fossil fish that lived 375 million years ago, scientists are finding striking evidence of the intermediate steps by which some marine vertebrates evolved into animals that walked on land.
The scientists said in a report being published Thursday in the journal Nature that the research exposed delicate details of the creature's head and neck, confirming and elaborating on its evolutionary position as "an important stage in the origin of terrestrial vertebrates."
There seem to be two possibilities here, depending on whether you're voting for Barack Obama or that other one. In the reality-based world, one would say that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence; this fossil, being entirely consistent with the prevailing explanation of how life evolved on earth, just adds one more bit in favor of it.
Senator McCain's running mate, on the other hand, would say either the scientists made it up, or God did, leaving unanswered the obvious question: why bother? I've never understood that.
OK, I'm a little behind here, being overcome by Hofstra Pride, being from the class of...uh...a while ago. (I've actually been poking other HU alumni on Facebook.)
20:10 CT: McCain sounds a little like Rain Man tonight. Seriously, is he repeating himself? Repeating? Himself? A lot?
20:17: McCain remembers the Depression-era program first-hand, no doubt.
20:19: Enough about the damn planetarium!
20:23: "If I've mistaken your polices for George Bush's policies...is because you're proposing eight more years of the same thing."
20:26: "Look each other in the face..." Yeah, that was coming.
20:33: John, some, not too many, but some, of the people at your rallies are scary. Deal with it. That's what Obama is saying.
20:39: This isn't about McCain winning the election. It's about him setting up the loss. McCain's goal seems to be trying to take a future President Obama's legs out from under him, so the 2012 campaign can be about how the 2008 election "got stoled from us."
20:42: Palin is a role model to women? Like, "Be careful or you'll end up like her?"
20:48: I hate to say, we're going to import oil for more than 10 years, and we won't have any control over its origin.
20:52: Obama "has never traveled south of our border?" Isn't Indonesia pretty far south? Or did he mean our border with Antarctica?
21:16: Did McCain just make air-quotes?
21:27: McCain looks hurt and angry.
Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers sued God, had the case dismissed (God wasn't properly served, you see), and may appeal on the grounds that an omiscient God by definition has adequate notice of the suit. I think he may not be entirely serious, though:
Chambers filed the lawsuit last year seeking a permanent injunction against God. He said God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents in Omaha, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
Chambers has said he filed the lawsuit to make the point that everyone should have access to the courts regardless of whether they are rich or poor.
One skeptic to another, dude: your tactics may not be the most effective of those available to you. (It's worth noting the legislator has served for 38 years.)
Parker decided a while ago that a patch of a century-old rug makes a comfortable bed. The rug hasn't turned black yet, but every time I vacuum it seems the thing yields an entire dog's worth of hair.
I delayed getting a dog bed because Parker ate the last one. Granted, he was 11 weeks old at the time. So, hoping he'd gotten past that phase, I took him to the pet store at lunch to audition beds. This is what he picked:
I think he's comfortable:
As for the urge to eat anything that gets too close to his nose, well, as I did a color test for the shot above, I decided not to worry any more:
Either he's grown up, or he's really sleepy.
"We" in this context means "we American taxpayers:"
The Treasury Department, in its boldest move yet, is expected to announce a plan Tuesday to invest up to $250 billion in large and small banks, according to officials. The United States is also expected to guarantee new debt issued by banks for a period of three years, officials said.
...
Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase were told they would each get $25 billion; Bank of America and Wells Fargo, $20 billion each (plus an additional $5 billion for their recent acquisitions); Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, $10 billion each, with Bank of New York Mellon and State Street each receiving $2 to 3 billion. Wells Fargo will get $5 billion for its acquisition of Wachovia, and Bank of America the same for amount for its purchase of Merrill Lynch.
The goal is to inject massive liquidity into the banking system. The government will purchase perpectual preferred shares in all the largest U.S. banking companies. The shares will notbe dilutive to current shareholders, a concern to banking chie executives, because perpetual preferred stock holders are paid a dividend, not a portion of earnings.
The capital injections are not voluntary, with Mr. Paulson [and Luca Brasi—ed.] making it clear this was a one-time offer that everyone at the meeting should accept.
Any other administration—any other—and I'm including Harding's and Grant's in there—and I would have some modicum of trust that this was the right thing to do. As it is, I'm deeply suspicious. Only 98 days left.
The Chicago Marathon passed my house in two directions this morning, going north from mile 5 to 6, and then south right around the 15 km mark. Here, running north through Lincoln Park, is the Kenyan team, with race winner Evans Cheruiyot third from left:
I didn't catch women's winner Lidiya Grigoryeva (she was well protected in the pack), but I did get Olympic gold medalist Constantina Dita (right) heading south on Clark Street.
The course temperature has hit 26°C again, making this year's race almost as hot as last year's.
Below: a runner crosses the 15k timer on Clark just north of Belden.
Below: The scene at Belden and Clark, in Lincoln Park, Chicago:
As of 7 minutes ago, fewer than 100 days remain in the worst presidency in American history.
The African email scams have haunted our inboxes for so long now I hardly notice them any more. But this one I received today had such fluidity and verve, such poetry, that I feel impelled to share it:
From the Desk of Dr.Anddy Vaina,
And Counselors at Law,
06 Bp 1704 Akpakpa Cotonou
Benin Republic.
Dear Friend,
How are you together with your Family today? My Dear our latest news to you today is that our Federal Government has approved all the funds owned by foreigners to be converted into ATM SWITCH CREDIT CARDS in which you can easily received through Atm Credit Card Service Department Center here in Benin republic for security reason.
Meanwhile your funds $1.250.000.00USD has been convert into the Atm Switch Cards which has been approve by the Government and the Switch Card code of your funds are stated below (4008b) which you can use to struck your fund like $1,500.00 per day to any ATM Bank nearest you in your Country.
So we have make the arrangement to the Atm Department Service here in Cotonou Benin Republic to Deliver you your Atm Card to your destination house address which take's under 2working days to get to your Address, Meanwhile you have to Contact Atm Office Department immediately and the only money you have to send to received your Atm Card from them is there processing fee which is $107.00 only to receive your Atm Card from Atm Department. Here is their Contact Information Address, so Contact them with below information; Atm Sheping Department Center Cotonou Benin Republic. Director: Rev Dr. Isaac Momoh.
Email:atmcddb_rep@yahoo.fr
Telephone: +229-9340-7932.
Contact them immediately and get back to us as soon as you get intouch with them: below is what they need from you to Re-confirm to avoid Delivery Mistake.
1.Your Full Name......................
2.Country Locate......................
3.Home address........................
4.Telephone...........................
5.A Copy of your picture..............
Immediately you contact them you get back and let us know.
With Best Regards Mr.Anddy Vaina..
I mean, I don't even know what they're hawking here. At least with the traditional 419 scams you could kind of see where it was headed.
Take out the trash day? Or just an ordinary Friday during these interesting times? Since lunch yesterday:
- Despite all the McCain Campaign's efforts to keep it under wraps for just three more weeks, an Alaskan legislative investigation released a report alleging Gov. Palin abused her power by trying to get her brother-in-law fired from a state job.
- Chrysler and GM are in merger talks.
- The administration (101 days, 4 hours left) took North Korea off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, leaving only one country in what can't really anymore be called the "axis of evil."
- Oil dropped to $78, its lowest price since last September, on fears of a global slowdown.
Finally, a wonderful quote whose attribution I can't find: "President Bush isn't so much a lame duck at this point as a wooden decoy."