After some discussion, I convinced Atrios that we should get a subscription of the Sunday NYT. You know, lazy and tranquil Sunday mornings reading a liberal newspaper while doing a nice brunch, etc. etc. So we get our first paper delivered and with my freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand, I am ready to spend my quiet and relaxing Sunday morning...
I start with Week in Review. Page 2, this lovely article jumps at me first. Ok, so what's new with Wilgoren. What a tool. Move on. Turn to page 3. What have we here. Oh yeah, hypocritical democrats. So yes, Democrats use private jets. And of course, jets are much worse than the Hummers that those hypocritical democrats criticize so much. What are they thinking? Hello, Arianna? Because you know, she should freakin' walk in Birkenstocks to wherever she needs to go. No wait. Maybe she should just walk barefoot. Can't believe just wasted 5 minutes reading that crap. Move on. Pages 4 and 5, articles raising questions about the newly nominated CIA director, the torture memos, and Kobe. And pictures of Najaf. So it seems that our soldiers are met with bullets rather than flower petals. And Iraqui kids seem to have better information than Chalabi. Fool me once, how did that saying go again? Hey, maybe this is not so bad after all. Page 7. Hmmm... an article about the use of term "populism." Interesting -- pictures of Edwards, Moore, and of course, Muktada al-Sadr. Ok, one small Fox News logo. Anyway, so the usage of the term has changed, blah, blah, oh... here are two lovely quotes, juxtaposed because you know, they pretty much reflect the same attitude towards both presidential candidates:
Today, though, populism can be as much a matter of style as substance. In Boston Magazine, Jon Keller speaks of John Kerry's difficulty in "convincing southern Nascar dads and Wal-Mart moms of the populist empathy of a windsurfing New England multimillionaire." National Review's Jay Nordlinger writes that "President Bush is engaged in a little populist campaigning himself today - he's going to Indiana and Michigan, for a bus tour."
Ok, elitist windsurfing multimillonaire vs. guy that visits Michigan and Indiana. Later on:
The sarcasm usually reflects skepticism about the candidates' authenticity, rather than about their policies. ("He is not a man of the people, this French-speaking windsurfer," says Richard Reeves of Senator Kerry - transportation again.) Populism used to be a matter of speaking for the people; now it's a matter of speaking like them - dropping your g's, strategically mispronouncing "nuclear" and throwing in references to motor sports.
Here we go again, windsurfer French-looking elitist vs. guy who either speaks or pretends to speak like the common Joe. Hey, I have nothing against the author of this article, but why must we enforce the other party's oneliners? Self-hating liberals... Ok, carry on... Hmmm... page 10, Editorial page. I don't do editorials on Sunday. Didn't I say it was supposed to be a relaxing Sunday morning reading? Page 12. Finally. Go Dahlia! Hey, it wasn't so bad, right? Moving on then, Book Review, here we go. Nice review by Margaret Atwood. I think I am going to get that book by Pamuk this week. Let's see... what else... Oh no... Hitchens reviewing books about Kerry. Why??? Couldn't even finish the first page... argh. That wasn't so good. I think I am going back to more frivolous reading. Yeah, here's the magazine. One funny question for the ethicist. Oh, what do we have here. A bit of game theory. How cute. But really, can or should explaning voting behaviour be so objective and innocent in the name of social science? Hey, I am no economist but I think I have one at home. Hold on. Nope, he's too busy blogging. Maybe later I will get an answer, but I still didn't like the headline.
I think that was how my morning went. It was quiet. But why was my pressure and my annoyance up? And I don't think it was just the caffeine. Maybe Atrios was right... which leaves me with a question: do you have a suggestion for a better Sunday morning routine?