Meet the Bloggers

This is great to see, and a sign that the liberal blogsphere is maturing, and that the infrastructure is being laid for future growth and media influence:

Beginning July 18, Meet the Bloggers will be a daring new show broadcast LIVE over the internet each Friday at 1PM ET. And the best part is this show is all yours. You will be part of creating the show, telling us what questions we should ask our high-profile guests; what issues we should be talking about; and what actions should be taken. You can also interact with other audience members using a live blog and instant polls.

I’m really looking forward to this.

Tim Russert bans Arianna Huffington?

Arianna Huffington describes Tim Russert as a “conventional wisdom zombie,” and apparently Timmy Russert has taken offense:

It seems that Arianna Huffington has run up against the impenetrable wall that is Tim Russert’s ego. Huffington, who is currently on tour for her new book Right Is Wrong: How The Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded The Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe, will be appearing on CNN, ABC, and CBS. She had been booked on Morning Joe and Countdown with Keith Olbermann as well, but those bookings were suddenly and inexplicably cancelled.

NBC confirmed that Huffington wouldn’t be booked on any NBC-affiliated show to promote her book, but refused to explain why. Huffington’s people say that this is Tim Russert’s doing, that Russert is out for revenge because Huffington called him a “conventional wisdom zombie” in her book and devoted seven pages to faulting Russert for allowing his Meet the Press guests to go unchallenged (not to mention HuffPo’s RussertWatch).

Dean, Reid and Pelosi may step in

Yes, please! Reid and Pelosi hint that the party’s leaders will seek a way that will help put and end to this quixotic primary fight, via the HuffingtonPost:

Reid said he would consider writing a joint letter with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) demanding that superdelegates make their endorsements public.

“The three of us, we may write a joint letter [to superdelegates],” said Reid. “We might do individual letters, we are in contact with each other.”…

However, when asked by a reporter if he would be forced to intervene if the undecided superdelegates did not make up their minds, Reid replied “I might have to.”

At this point even I, someone that’s strongly interested in politics, am eager to arrive at a resolution. So, yes, please, pressure the so-called superdelegates to make up their mind long before the convention.

Obama Art

All right, this is pretty pompous:

By placing such an emphasis on building a visually appealing brand, Obama is validating the importance of design in communication. This in turn builds support from the design community, who might feel that a design-conscious candidate best represents their personal beliefs

I don’t buy the notion that a voter that happens to be a designer by training and vocation would cast a vote based simply on whether a candidate demonstrated some sense of a design-consciousness.

Now, while I may take issue with the suggestion that anyone would base one’s support for a politician based on the design-consciousness of that candidate, I cannot deny the visual impact of the product that artists supporting Sen. Obama are turning out. Just check out these examples:

History Ties Sharpton to Thurmond

From the WTF section of today’s news:

Genealogists: Sharpton’s Ancestors Were Slaves Owned By Strom Thurmond’s Family

NEW YORK —
Geneaologists have found that civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendent of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Daily News said professional genealogists, working at the newspaper’s behest, recently uncovered the ancestral ties between one of the nation’s best known black leaders and a man who was once a prominent defender of segregation.

“I have always wondered what was the background of my family,” the newspaper quoted Sharpton as saying. “But nothing _ nothing _ could prepare me for this.”

“It’s chilling. It’s amazing.”

Some of Thurmond’s relatives said the connection also came as a surprise to them. A niece, Ellen Senter, said she would speak with Sharpton if he were interested.