What I'm Reading

Since 8 pm anyway…
I am behind on my reading and as a result I have over 200 tabs open on Firefox. There are articles going back over two weeks that I still need to read, so forgive me if something that is clearly old news.

First, a remembrance.
LGBT History Month Icon Of The Day: Matthew Shepard

It was 14 years ago that Matthew Shepard died of injuries sustained 5 days earlier in a horrific beating visited the gay teenager. I rarely respond to the news with emotion, but this still makes me sick, and cold inside when I think about what he suffered, and what his parents have suffered. As a parent, it devastates me.

Now to a feel-good story.
R. D. W. Connor Appointed First Archivist of the United States
President Franklin Roosevelt chose Connor, who built the National Archives as an organization just as he had built the archives of North Carolina. I know this was posted because it was the anniversary of his appointment, but I can’t help but think about the State of Georgia’s plans to severely cut back on the hours at its state archives and lay off most of its employees. Access to archives is vital to providing government transparency and an authentic understanding of the past. And if you do not understand the past, the present definitely does not make sense.

Something to make me a little indignant…
Rookie Freelancers Risking Their Lives To Cover The Arab Spring
Freelance journalists are like adjunct faculty at universities – no security, no benefits, no mentoring, low pay, and few resources. And like the growing use of adjuncts, freelance journalists represent a divestment of institutions in the people who sustain them. The journalists themselves do it to get experience and to try to impress, even if it means risking themselves in some of the world’s most dangerous places such as Libya and Syria.
I am reminded of Marie Colvin, a seasoned war correspondent who died in Syria earlier this year. Colvin’s many assignments in the world’s hotspots left her with a number of symptoms of PTSD. Colvin had powerful media leaders supporting her, but what will be the fates of younger, greener journalists who risk their mental and physical health to get the stories of our time?

I cannot wait for the election to be over. I live in Iowa and we have the longest election season of any state. Candidates invade six months before the Iowa caucuses, and then hang around until someone’s got the nomination, and then the nominee and all his surrogates occupy the state because even though we only have five Electoral College votes, we are a battleground, toss-up state. We also live near the Illinois border, so our television market is saturated with political ads for local and state races in both Iowa and Illinois. I understand why Elvis shot his television. This is why I get my news from reading online news sources, not from the television.
Mitt Romney Leads Us Into an Age of Stupidity
Romney's Tax Plan Still Doesn't Work
It’s one thing to change your mind, or even waffle, but Mitt Romney’s views shift from day to day and hour to hour, on abortion, health care, and gun control for starters. I would love for a Romney supporter to explain this phenomenon, without making the standard crybaby claim that the liberal media is mischaracterizing Romney’s views.
I’m also still waiting, like Justin Green, to see how Romney’s tax plan would add up. Paul Ryan stated last night that the campaign has not given more details because they want it to be a bipartisan effort, yet the Romney campaign also claims that its plan has been verified as sound by six independent analyses (that turn out not to be independent, nor real analyses). I’d feel better if Romney/Ryan would pledge to keep their hands off the tax deductions that many in the middle class rely upon in order to remain in the middle class: deductions for mortgage interest, retirement, and insurance. My great fear is that those deductions and pre-tax savings will disappear in a Romney presidency and Romney will pat himself on the back for raising revenue without actually raising tax rates. People will still seek to become homeowners even without the deduction, but at what cost?

The big news today is the Vice-Presidential debate.
Joe Biden’s Rude Debate Laughter: The Joke’s on Him
Ryan Solid, But One Major Mistake
Robert Shrum on the Vice Presidential Debate: Biden’s Win Was a Big F@$&ing Deal
Joe Biden mopped the floor with Paul Ryan last night, and there’s no bigger story today. Michael Medved considers Biden’s laughter at Paul Ryan as dishonorable and unprecedented in the history of political debates. David Frum notes that he heard the debate on the radio before he watched it, and that Biden sounded terrible. I’ll admit that I enjoyed Joe. Frum states that Ryan sounded sincere, but since he was listening and not watching, he probably missed a number of body language cues. He admits that Biden was better on television than radio.
No commentator I have heard or read has mentioned the smug jackass look on Paul Ryan’s face whenever Biden was talking. It’s the same look I give when I’m in an argument and really don’t care what the other person is saying. Some people have commented upon Ryan’s water consumption during the debate. I’m also personally familiar with this move, which sometimes buys me time and soothes the horrible dryness that appears in my throat when I’m overwhelmed.
Medved argues that Biden appeared less mature than Ryan; I must disagree. Biden appeared like a seasoned older man who’s seen it all and heard it all and no longer feels the need to indulge young punks – especially when they are apparently full of it. And as Frum points out, Biden repeatedly addressed the middle class and identified with them; for Ryan and Romney, the middle class is “other.” After living through George W. Bush’s two terms and continually watching the Democratic party bow and bend to one ridiculous Republican ultimatum after another, it was gratifying to see Biden push back.
I’m most sympathetic with Robert Schrum’s assessment of the vice-presidential debate. Biden challenged Romney/Ryan’s efforts to seem like political moderates. As Bill Maher noted on Real Time tonight, President Obama is practically a Rockefeller Republican. Romney and Ryan represent the neo-conservatism that dominated and failed this country during George W. Bush’s administration. But they don’t want to remind you of W.
On another note: Wow, the Daily Beast contributors are all over the board on this debate. How refreshing.

And finally…
Gunfire At Obama Headquarters In Denver
This was breaking news, in a state where Romney and Obama are in a dead heat. WTF? That’s all I’ll say until I learn more.