The new wash and wear

A suit that washes in the shower? And it looks pressed the next morning? A the first software company where I worked we had something like this that we named 'the developers suit' and would get pulled out of the closet any time an unexpected visitor arrived and a developer had to dress up. In between uses it was used for tug-of-war games and could be tied into knots and then spring back into action without a wrinkle. Back then we just called it polyester.

The suit, made under licence in Japan, is the first to pull off a long-sought coup that could spell the end of dry-cleaning bills for white-collar workers.

It is billed as the first two-piece that can be washed in the shower each evening and be ready to wear again in the morning – with no ironing required. And amazingly, after a rigorous road test, it appears to fulfill that pledge.

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Flippity-floppity

"We need a nominee who will take on John McCain, not cheer on John McCain, and I will be that nominee" - Hillary this weekend.

Just go away. Read the rest of this post...

Nepal catches the Olympic spirit

Nothing says Olympic spirit quite like threats of violence. But of course, this is the Beijing Olympics that we're talking about and the rules have changed a bit different this time. Criticism is not allowed but blind approval will be gladly accepted if not encouraged.

Nepal has given its security personnel permission to shoot pro-Tibet demonstrators during China's Olympic flame climb to Mount Everest's summit early next month.

"About 25 soldiers and policemen have established camps on the mountain and they have been ordered to use force if necessary to stop any anti-Chinese activities," Mod Raj Dotel, spokesman for the home ministry, said Sunday. "This could mean shooting if necessary."

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The media are patsies (and rumor mongers), volume 894

John posted the NY Times blockbuster article about the way our media was deceived by the Bush administration and numerous military analysts who were fronting for the Bush administration with hopes of securing Pentagon contracts. If you haven't read the full article, read it. Excerpts don't do it justice. You'll be appalled, but not surprised. Greg Mitchell deconstructs the NY Times piece and finds complicity from newspapers, too.

That article further undermines the already plummeting credibility of the media. Karl Rove referred to the media as patsies -- and on that one, Rove is right. Most of the reporters sitting in the White House briefings knew that Bush was lying about the Valerie Plame leak, but none of them reported it. Most of the reporters sitting in the White House briefings knew Bush and company were lying about the war, but never reported it.

Last week's performance at the Democratic debate marked a new low for the traditional media. They've done the damage to their own reputations. Even today, Tim Russert couldn't help himself from propagating a false rumor about Barack Obama. Russert doesn't get his role in undermining media credibility, but he did it again today. He should aim some of his faux outrage at himself and his media colleagues. Instead, one more time, he's being played like a fiddle by the GOP who have managed to manipulate the media types into thinking that gossip, lies and internet rumors matter more than substance. Christ, we have higher standards here at AMERICAblog than NBC, CNN, CBS and ABC -- as do most of our fellow progressive bloggers.

It's also humorous to see two of the biggest offenders of political rumor-mongering and gotcha politics, John Harris and Jim Vandehei, try to defend their profession in a pathetic piece at the Politico. (I think their message is that it's Obama's fault or something like that.)

It does seem like there's a disturbing contest in the traditional political media to become the political equivalent of TMZ.com. (At least TMZ.com owns what it is.) Read the rest of this post...

CNN on the now-infamous ABC debate

I did an insanely long segment (well, long by TV standards) of 15 minutes this morning on CNN's Reliable Sources about the now-infamous ABC Democratic presidential candidates debate and the NYT story about the Bush administration wooing retired military pundits to push their point of view on TV. Here is the part dealing with the ABC debate - I broke it into two clips, below. Oh, and the Huffington Post did an analylsis of the past few debates and found that the ABC debate was far more biased, and far more scandal-question-prone, than any of the other recent ones.

See the discussion here and here. Read the rest of this post...

Wash. Post confirms 2006 McCain-Renzi battle first reported in Cliff Schecter's book while McCain says his temper problems ended long ago

You might remember reading this passage just last Tuesday here on AMERICAblog in Cliff's Corner:

So, in any case, here is what U.S News & World Report had to say about the book:

A new book by liberal writer and political consultant Cliff Schecter lays out a detailed blueprint for how Dems can mine presumed GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's political and personal past—including already well-documented incidents of his temper—to defeat him in the fall.

Not too shabby, for a thirty-something, suburban dad like me. The problem is that on a few stories I broke, where McCain referred to his wife as something that rhymes with "runt," and let out his inner pugilist by punching Rick Renzi (in his defense, it was Rick Renzi), I did that crazy thing that right-wing bloggers and the MSM never do! I relied upon thoroughly vetted, 100% credible, yet anonymous sources.

Today, the Washington Post ran a lengthy article about McCain's volatile temper (any article that honestly examines McCain's temper requires a very lengthy article), including this tidbit:

Reports recently surfaced of Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican, taking offense when McCain called him "boy" once too often during a 2006 meeting, a story that McCain aides confirm while playing down its importance. "Renzi flared and he was prickly," McCain strategist Mark Salter said. "But there were no punches thrown or anything."

So, the McCain staffer admitted that this incident happened. Today, on "This Week" McCain lied about his temper. It was disturbing to watch McCain fake a smile as he discussed his own volatility. McCain tried to dismiss the incidents of his temper flaring as though they were all in his distant past -- 15, 20 even 25 years ago:

Asked how he could insure voters that his temper was under control, Mr. McCain responded, “Look at my record. Look at my conduct on the campaign. Look at — I mean, look, I am very happy to be a passionate man. I love this country. I love what we stand for and believe in, and many times I deal passionately when I find things that are not in the best interests of the American people. And so, look, 20, 25 years ago, 15 years ago, that’s fine, and those stories here are either totally untrue or grossly exaggerated.’’

The now confirmed incident with Renzi was in 2006. McCain has a temper problem that hasn't gone away -- and he's not being honest about it. Unlike most of the issues that cause a media frenzy, the stability of the potential president seems important to the safety of our nation -- especially when a lot of the concern comes not from McCain's political opponents, but people who are on his side of the aisle.

I really am beginning to think that one reason the media is so gentle on McCain isn't that they like him (some do and they like riding on the bus with him). I think most of them are afraid of him. He's crazy. Read the rest of this post...

Hundreds of opposition supporters detained in Zimbabwe

The people who won are now being rounded up by Mugabe. It's no wonder the opposition leadership is staying outside of the country. What is it going to take for Thabo Mbeki to realize that his 'quiet diplomacy' is a failure? Robert Mugabe never shies from using violence and detention yet Mbeki stays quiet. He should be ashamed of his actions and turning his back on the people of Zimbabwe who are suffering from the dictatorship. The people of South Africa including others in his own party as well as dock workers all see the obvious, but not Mbeki. His 'quiet diplomacy' defies all reality, much like his weird beliefs on AIDS.

The latest new on the Chinese weapons ship is that it's headed to Angola. The people of Angola are among the poorest people though the 'communist' leadership is among the richest in the world courtesy of oil money. Naturally the Bush administration promoted Angola to a high trading partner level a few years ago despite no sign of the government investing anything in its people. I traveled along the border of Angola a few years ago and was shocked at the extreme poverty of its people. The country is littered with land mines so they can't safely farm and the ocean fishing rights have been sold to the EU so they can't fish. Something tells me this is a government that won't say 'no' to supplies of military repression for a fellow dictator. Isn't it time the US speaks out on this with it's special trading partner or is oil too valuable? After all, they're just people in Zimbabwe and how will they help fuel our cars? Read the rest of this post...

NYT: Pentagon and White House fed co-opted pro-war military analysts to the media

Surprise! Gee, the media never could have imagined that the Bush administration would try to spin them, trick them, and lie to them. I mean, at least at this point I just expect Bush and his cohorts to lie to us and manipulate the media, but for the media to still let this happen, and then act surprised when it does? Come on. Big story in today's NYT. Oh, and another big surprise. Now the analysts are suddenly all concerned that the DOD tried to compromise their integrity. Yeah, they didn't seem too worried about it until the NYT came calling. Read the rest of this post...

McCain believes in the Bush economy. Well, if you can believe what McCain says.

McCain believes in the Bush economy. But, just because he says that doesn't mean anyone can quote him on it as Josh Marshall reports. So, McCain believes in the Bush economy -- unless he doesn't. See that DNC's ad here. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

The Pennsylvania primary is the dominant subject on the shows today.

However, George Stephanopoulos has only one guest: John McCain. During his widely panned performance at the debate on Wednesday night, George showed his obsession with non-issue issues. That debate will haunt the media careers of George and Gibson. As for today, both John and Cliff have provided questions for today's show. Today's Washington Post examined McCain's volatile temper (noting how Bill Clinton's temper forced George S. onto anti-depressants, btw). Chris Edelson wants more info about McCain's close relationship with the very shady G. Gordon Libby. There is plenty of material for George.

Who wants to bet that Stephanopoulos ends up fawning over McCain today? I'd say it's a safe bet.

The full lineup is after the break.

This could actually be interesting today:

ABC's "This Week" — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

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CBS' "Face the Nation" — Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" — David Axelrod, campaign adviser for Barack Obama; Geoff Garin, campaign adviser for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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CNN's "Late Edition" — Former presidential candidate Bill Bradley; Gov. Jon Corzine, D-N.J.; Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa.; Catholic University President David O'Connell; Delia Gallagher, Vatican analyst; Carly Fiorina, adviser to McCain.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

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Berlusconi slams 'too pink' Spanish government

What a slug. Leave it to a knuckle-dragger like Berlusconi to attack the positive changes in Spain. Berlusconi might also take a look at the Scandinavia countries who have much more equal representation in government and business. My wife just attended a seminar last week (hosted by a global, prestigious consulting firm) that showed companies with three or more women on the executive board outperform male dominated firms both organizationally and financially. Looking at the depth of problems in Italy - both organizationally and financially - perhaps Berlusconi should be taking a closer look at how women can play a larger role in Italy. For that matter, we could do a heck of a lot better in the US as well.

Berlusconi on the new Spanish cabinet:

"[He] has formed a government that is too pink," reads one. "That's something we cannot do... because there is a prevalence of men in politics and it isn't easy to find women who are qualified for government. Now he's asked for it. He'll have problems leading them."

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