Word of the Day (Said in a Pittsburgh Accent) March 30

Sudoku

Thanks Dave!

Word of the Day (Said in a Pittsburgh Accent) March 29

Cozumel

This is How You Campaign, Bitch.

Karl Rove's Next Flirtation with Indictment

Don Siegelman, former Alabama Governor was released from a federal prison after spending seven months on corruption charges, specifically: offending turd blossom and our illustrious president.

First, Don Siegelman, Governor of Alabama? Oy, mkay. I'll bite.

This is the guy 60 Minutes aired a story about a little while back, which was myteriously blacked out in Alabama.

Sorry boys, that dog won't hunt anymore. All you did was attract more attention. And now Karl Rove, who is suspected of orchestrating the corruption charge via his justice department Schutzstaffel, may be in some hot water himself.

Previously Submitted Great Words said in a Pittsburgh Accent

Here are some past great words said in a Pittsburgh accent, culled from my unemptied yahoo mail files dating back to 2001. Wouldn't want to repeat.

Rosh Hashana
Krauser
Spadafora, Sto-Rox (my buddy J.R. is convinced that these names were invented just so they could be said in a Pittsburgh accent).
Joe Bugel
nuptials
ruminating
Gardocki
menorah
poncho
eurasianet.org
blog
Kamran
kielbasa (pronounced keel-bossy)
sauerkraut

Word of the Day (Said in a Pittsburgh Accent) March 28

Not that I write enough on this blog to have any kind of claim to a regular feature but I'm doing it anyway:

Word of the day (said in a Pittsburgh accent)

The inaugural word is...

inaugural

WTGDF?

What the God Damn Fuck?

Good Movie

Just watched "The Apartment" for the second time last night. What a great movie. It clearly wouldn't be half as great without the performances. Lemmon and MacLaine are perfect. I also like the glimpse into the seemier side of 50s/60s corporate ladder culture--not something I've seen too much before. Apparently Fred MacMurray got so much hate mail after this movie came out that he swore he'd only take positive roles from then on. Weird.

Negotiating with Terrorists

The Democratic Republic of Hamas has claimed responsibility for last week's Jerusalem seminary attack.

This is the trouble with ascribing any credibility to a terrorist organization, even if that terrorist organization is "elected". Bush haters love to taunt his naive cramming the round peg of democracy into the square hole of a theocratic, tribal, monarchical culture that is a century or two behind the West in terms of Jeffersonian ideas. All true, but where does that get anyone? Which ironically may be the terrorists' ace card.

On its face, I've always supported the not negotiating with terrorists in any way. But we're in danger of being gamed by some of the smarter terrorist organizations on this point. While it's obvious that caving in to terrorist demands as a direct result of a suicide bombing is unacceptable, I pray this latest shooting doesn't derail the nascent progress Olmert and Abbas are making.

It seems to me that breaking off all negotiations with the Palestinians as a result of every terrorist act is negotiating with terrorists. They want the process derailed. Nothing would make Hamas happier (for both idealistic and a civic power reasons) than a stoppage in any talks with Abbas. They don't want any progress towards a Palestinian state that leaves Israel in tact. The bravest denunciation of terrorism is to keep things on track towards peace. Props to Olmert, Abbas, and Washington for realizing this.

The Power of the Dark Side

So Karl Rove and team are joining forces with McCain. Not that anything in a political season really surprises me these days but jeez. A hearty welcome to the same folks who derided McCain's heroic military service, who told slack-jawed good ol boys that his adopted Bangladeshi kid was an "illegitimate black child"--the reddest of inferred red meat.

I suspect that McCain seriously entertained--if privately--John Kerry's invitation to be his running mate in 2004. For one, they would have had a great shot of winning and in the process he would give a gut shot to Bush et al, whom he clearly hates personally.

Which brings us to this current development. From the Politico.com story:

"Rove explained that he and McCain 'got to know each other during the 2004 campaign.' In a separate interview, Mehlman noted that 'McCain was completely loyal to the president in 2004 and worked incredibly hard to help him get elected.'"

In '04, the GOP told McCain to support Bush, and that they would work to make him the nominee in '08. Oops. Stabbed in the back again. Bush didn't endorse his old pal until the nomination was locked up, and then it was a weenie photo op at best.

I suspect that for Rove and team this was lip service. Maybe not. Maybe he'll work for McCain in Bushie corners of the electorate. Not that McCain really wants to get too close. He has always struck me like the kind of guy who abhors the Rovian division racist scumbag playbook anyhow. It will be interesting to follow.

Turning Point in Albany?

New York State Senate Leader/Legislative Godfather Joe Bruno pulls back the curtain in his New York Magazine profile. Bruno's one of three men (Bruno, Democratic Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver, and Gov. Eliot Spitzer) who execute virtually all of the large-scale political and economic decisions for New York. Here's a good capsule on how this works:

Ask him about his legacy, and he’ll point to his mastery of the pork process. “Take a look around Albany. Take a look around Troy. Take a look at the airport. Do you think that airport would be there if I wasn’t the leader?” he says. “You know how the airport got there? We’re trying to close the budget and Shelly wouldn’t close. So Pataki says, ‘What’s it take to close?’ Shelly says, ‘I need a library in Brooklyn.’ ‘How much?’ Shelly says, ‘$65 million.’ Pataki says, ‘Well, that’s all right.’ It was a $100 billion budget. So I said, ‘It’s not okay with me. I don’t have a single member in Brooklyn.’ ‘So what do you need?’ ‘I need $65 million for the airport.’ Pataki says, ‘Shelly, do you care?’ ‘No, I don’t care, as long as I get my library.’ Pataki says, ‘Good. Done.’”

Nice. Best is "Take a look around Albany. Take a look around Troy." Ummm, not a great argument. Geoffrey Gray should have taken the Senator's request literally and driven 10 minutes upriver. Minus the RPI campus perched atop a hill, a random walk though Troy, NY is a great example of a modern American manufacturing ghost town--boarded up businesses, middle age men in bars at 3 pm, etc.

Anyhow, the story is essentially a kind--if disjointed and forced--tale of an era ending; profile of a powerful, colorful man dealing with losing that power. But Bruno comes dangerously close to admitting an improper and possibly illegal relationship between his capacity as a consultant with a Connecticut investment group and his gravitational pull as Albany puppet master.

And as the Times reports today, Bruno's orbit is scrambling to say Bruno's comments were out of context, label the story as a sly hit piece (it wasn't) and infer Bruno wasn't in his right mind during the interview because his wife was dying. All are viable defenses, but guys, pushing one excuse usually works better than throwing all of them out there and seeing what sticks.

Problem is, none of these work. You can't be a savvy uber-machinist pol for as long as Bruno has and simultaneously not know that everything you say is pretty much on the record no matter what in an investigative piece with a left leaning magazine.