Judith Miller

Ok so the miller coverage in nyt got alot better. this is austin btw. this is a bullshit post, just trying to convince myself that this blog still exists. oh poo

Judith Miller Article in NYT

Is bullshit. While it did provide some interesting information as to the internal workings of the case and the debate taking place at the Times during the whole thing, it seemed more like an advertisement or something than a news article. For example, the last two paragraphs:
The Times incurred millions of dollars in legal fees in Ms. Miller's case. It limited its own ability to cover aspects ofone of the biggest scandals of the day. Even as the paper asked for the public's support, it was unable to answer its questions.
"It's too early to judge it, and it's probably for other people to judge," said Mr. Keller, the executive editor. "I hope that people will remember that this institution stood behind a reporter, and the principle, when it wasn't easy to do that, or popular to do that".

Leaving this quote at the end of an article without further comment seems very sketchy to me. It is the kind of quoting of sources that has gotten Judith Miller in trouble. A source, the giver of a quote, should not be able to use his status to speak directly to the public through the reporter. Where is the evaluation? Where is the opposite view? There were no convincing counter-arguments in this story. But Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post has said he received emails from at least 1o times reporters, saying they are pissed about the shit going on at the Times. If this is true, where are those voices in this story? Where is the fucking debate? To be clear, I have no moral condemnation for these people. It is merely the bad taste you get in your mouth when you see a job poorly done, or in this case, multiple jobs poorly done on multiple levels. Gross.

Productivity

I am reading an article in the NYT Magazine right now about "the nascent field of interruption science". This reminds me that I am always obsessed by these sorts of articles--maybe I can learn something that will make me learn faster and work more efficiently. Yes, that sounds nerdy, but it is something that I value so much. If I can learn how to keep something in my memory a little bit easier or do something a bit faster, that is more time I have to do the next thing, which eventually leads to a lot more free time. If I can learn how to write interesting posts on my blog, then people won't think I'm a douche. hmm..

More Miers

In this very interesting story about the Beast In The East(hereafter referred to as BITE) was one problem that sort of struck me:

"We don't dwell much on the reverse Commerce Clause," Hecht said with a laugh, referring to an arcane debate among some lawyers over the right of Congress to regulate interstate commerce and other activity.

Since when is the ICC an arcane part of the Constitution? I mean, it played like a totally important role in deregulating mail-order wine sales in a Supreme Court decision.

Not sure which is weirder: this stupid ass post or the fact that I am posting at 6:11 on a saturday morning. Shalom, bitches, my ass be goin to bed.

Angela Merkel says 'fuck off' to Deutschland, Bush nominates her for Supreme Court

The two most beastly women in politics. Cage match, anyone?

Penguin