The Truffle

Joe Biden actually said something that made me not want to stuff a sock in his mouth. Wow. Biden says that the troops should get the hell out of Iraq by the summer if the Iraqis can't get their act together. "We can't want peace in Iraq more than the Iraqis want it," Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We can't want it more than they want it. And if they don't step up to the ball, we're going to be gone." Biden said if knew what he knows now when Congress voted on the Iraq war resolution, he would have opposed it. "This has been a debacle," he said. Oh. My. Not only is Joe calling for withdrawal, but he also says he wouldn't have supported the war knowing what he does now. The teeny-tiny cynical voice in me is saying that Joe is probably saying this stuff with an eye on a presidential run (no, Joe, just no), but the optimist in me is applauding him for saying this. Congresscritters and senators on both sides of...

When coming up with talking points, keep them clear, simple, and to the point. Frank Luntz could tell you that. For all the thinking, brainstorming, and focus-grouping, it's pretty easy to come up with a slogan to get behind. In fact, here's a perfect slogan: Democrats will get the job done. That's it. Nothing fancy. No gimmicks. No bullshit. For the past six years, this country's citizens have been guinea pigs for pie-in-the-sky conservative ideologues, who've been testing all sorts of silly concepts and ideas dreamed up by think tanks, with no concern for whether they'll work. Bush's whole presidency has been one of wild-eyed schemes that fail miserably because they have no basis in reality. The PNAC's Iraq experiment? A disaster because the neocons had no idea what they were doing. Bush's "ownership society" and "Social Security reform"? Described in the press as a "boutique idea" hatched by conservative fou...

I moved last week during a brutal freezing cold February afternoon. Sheesh, why did we get socked with the freezing weather at the tail end of winter anyway? I'm now living three blocks from my old apartment, in the same neighborhood, in a nice apartment with high ceiling, mucho closet space, and a cool landlady living downstairs. Before I moved, I was proofreading a fantasy novel, AND I was packing, AND I was interviewing a band. The week was nuts. Well, I've mostly unpacked and I now have my life back. Le Sweetie and I went to see "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" over the weekend, which was a great movie. The weird and incredible thing was the Fugees reunion. Lauryn Hill seemed (thankfully) sane and grounded in the film, and in fine voice. Erykah Badu was also there, ripping off her Afro wig and jumping into the audience. Methinks Erykah needs to show more of her fun, spontaneous side in addition to the earth mother/goddess persona she's got going. ...