Class Notes--A Sadness

An op-ed from the LA Times: Greg Palast discusses the end of investigative journalism

Class Notes--Sleeping Media

Hey! Read me!Class%20Notes--Sleeping%20Media.doc

Class Notes

Please be prepared to explain what the hell is going on with Rick Renzi. Who else has gone down in the past week? Who else is TPM hinting might come?

This Website Pleases Me

Behold Hot Chicks With Douchebags.

John Doolittle: Best Guy Ever!

From the LA Times' Political Muscle:

"Because of the pending Abramoff investigation, I am not going to confirm or deny that the Doolittle’s home was raided," Doolittle attorney David G. Barger, a former assistant U.S. attorney, told the Bee. "The congressman continues to be fully supportive of his wife, Julie, and believes that the truth ultimately will prevail."

In a statement, Doolittle denied wrongdoing and shifted the focus to his wife: "My wife has been cooperating with the FBI and the Justice Department for almost three years and that cooperation is going to continue in the future. I support my wife 100% and fully expect that the truth will prevail."

Class Notes

Greed Week, Pt. Deux:

(All from TalkingPointsMemo.com: see also www.tpmmuckraker.com/scanlon.php , www.tpmmuckraker.com/wilkes.php , www.tpmmuckraker.com/foggo.php)

Greed%20Week%202.doc

You Gotta Work

This is how I did my work, back when that's what I did.

You Got Served

So one of my students at UC Irvine told me that LA Times guy Bill Lobdell is like totally all the poli sci students' favorite instructor. Yeah, that's great. But has he had two volunteers from class do a dramatic reading of the Mark Foley emails?
Emails like this?

Maf54 (8:03:47 PM): what you wearing
Xxxxxxxxx (8:04:04 PM): normal clothes
Xxxxxxxxx (8:04:09 PM): tshirt and shorts
Maf54 (8:04:17 PM): um so a big buldge
Xxxxxxxxx (8:04:35 PM): ya
Maf54 (8:04:45 PM): um
Maf54 (8:04:58 PM): love to slip them off of you
Xxxxxxxxx (8:05:08 PM): haha
Maf54 (8:05:53 PM): and gram the one eyed snake
Maf54 (8:06:13 PM): grab
Xxxxxxxxx (8:06:53 PM): not tonight…dont get to excited
Maf54 (8:07:12 PM): well your hard
Xxxxxxxxx (8:07:45 PM): that is true
Maf54 (8:08:03 PM): and a little horny
Xxxxxxxxx (8:08:11 PM): and also tru
Maf54 (8:08:31 PM): get a ruler and measure it for me
Xxxxxxxxx (8:08:38 PM): ive already told you that
Maf54 (8:08:47 PM): tell me again
Xxxxxxxxx (8:08:49 PM): 7 and 1/2
Maf54 (8:09:04 PM): ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Maf54 (8:09:08 PM): beautiful
Xxxxxxxxx (8:09:38 PM): lol
Maf54 (8:09:44 PM): thats a great size
Xxxxxxxxx (8:10:00 PM): thank you
Maf54 (8:10:22 PM): still stiff
Xxxxxxxxx (8:10:28 PM): ya
Maf54 (8:10:40 PM): take it out
Xxxxxxxxx (8:10:54 PM): brb…my mom is yelling

You've been served, Lobdell!
And maybe I will be too . . . with a subpoena. Yay!

That's 'Professor' Girl

So I started my poli sci class at UC Irvine yesterday--"Politics, Scandal and the Press," and do you love it? It turns out I teach college roughly like I interview famous people: lots and lots of awkward silences broken up by me talking about me. And they will like it! Or else they won't.
Here's the reading list:
All the President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
The Starr Report.
Firewall, by Lawrence Walsh (independent prosecutor of the Iran Contra affair).
The Family, by Kitty Kelley.
Kitty Kelley is the awesomeness.
Sadly, I already wore my one classy-and-elegant-college-teacher outfit, which means I am going to need another pair of leather pants.

Rosa Brooks Reminds Me a Lot of Me

Rosa Brooks has a particularly good column today in the LA Times, about the 1 percent difference in Behavior Problems for kids who are shoved into daycare.

So when my 2 1/2 -year-old escalated the morning frenzy by willfully placing a pancake on top of her head, I didn't just roll my eyes. I squinted at the pancake, trying to determine if it was 1% larger or more syrupy than the pancake she had placed on her head last year, before she had been exposed to all that extra time in day care. I was pretty sure it was.

In fact, Rosa Brooks is reminding me a lot of me.
I will say, though: ever since I quit my job, it's amazing how much easier it is to actually a) go to the grocery store each week and b) make sure my son does his homework instead of just lying about it. Also? I have cooked dinner every single night. The last time this happened was never.
I think maybe I would like a husband. Or maybe I would like a wife.