The Political Bite

Was Cronkite Really the First “Anchorman”?

z00mbite — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:30:30 +0000

In the news reports on Walter Cronkite’s death, you often hear that he was the original “anchorman.” The Baltimore Sun‘s obituary states, “The Missouri native was so fundamental to the concept of TV news that the word ‘anchorman’ was coined to describe his role at the 1952 national political conventions.” Did the term anchorman really originate with Cronkite?

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Don’t Ask Permission

z00mbite — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:27:06 +0000

Martin Luther King never asked Lyndon Baines Johnson to inspire him. Susan B. Anthony never asked the political leaders of her day what she should be doing. When we talk about the future of progressive politics, we need to establish, right up front, that the activist does not wait for the politician.

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Life Lessons Should Count on Top Court

z00mbite — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:23:01 +0000

Senator Lindsey Graham, the engaging South Carolina Republican, lectured the Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor last week that if he had made a comment like hers that a “wise Latina woman” often reaches better conclusions, it would have a been a career-ender.

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Sick

z00mbite — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:34:32 +0000

Can’t update the blog at the moment. I’m getting tested for swine flu. While you’re looking for political bites, check out Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings in the Senate and the health care debates in the congress.

Italy’s minimalist G8 summit

z00mbite — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:13:08 +0000

Why invite the world’s most powerful leaders to perch on the same precarious spot of the Earth’s crust which in April killed 300 people and left 60,000 others homeless?

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Ghana Visit Highlights Scarce Stability in Africa

z00mbite — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:18:25 +0000

Amid the fever of excitement over President Obama’s first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, the debate over why he chose Ghana has been almost as prevalent as the many bars, stores and barbershops bearing his name across the region.

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Sarah Palin, best quitter

z00mbite — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:06:40 +0000

Because so many in the media will never understand it’s all about country when it’s all about Sarah Palin, I want to commend the outgoing Alaska governor in the warmest terms.

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CIA’s Panetta Owes Pelosi an Admission and an Apology

z00mbite — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:58:13 +0000

Central Intelligence Agency director Leon Panetta owes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an apology — or, at the very least, a clarification.

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Ghana prepares to welcome US president – 10 Jul 09

z00mbite — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:52:06 +0000

War Is Not Inevitable

z00mbite — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:42:20 +0000

People assume that war is inevitable, and that war always has been and always will be a part of the human experience. Science is now proving that is wrong. “A growing number of experts are now arguing that the urge to wage war is not innate,” John Horgan writes for the New Scientist, “and that humanity is already moving in a direction that could make war a thing of the past.”

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