The Eye Doesn't Lie ....

You really can't fake these things. Though lord knows many try.

And in a world of plastic, phony, posed people it is rejuvenating and reassuring to see this photo of these two important people linked together, joined joyfully in one place at the same potentially historic time.

Kristol (Un)Clear....

The ugly stuff is just really starting. Kristol, in NY Times, wrote a column claiming that Obama had indeed been inside the church the day the Rev. Wright delivered his loudest (and most seen) anti-America stuff. But Kristol got it wrong. Obama was not there, he was in Miami campaigning on that day, and can prove it, too. Sent the info on to Kristol who retracted (sort of) today.

I sent this letter to the Times. Don't know if it will be published, though I'd be surprised if it is: (Update on 3.23: Not published)

To the Editor

Re: Generation Obama by William Kristol, (Column, March 17)

Atop his column I see that Kristol has placed a correction regarding his prior claim that Obama was in church that day when Rev. Wright made his often shown angry comments. Now Kristol acknowledges that he was wrong. That Obama was somewhere else. The correction, of course, does not make up for the fact that Kristol apparently did not bother to check his source, or to check with the Senator's office before writing his original column. And it does not make up for the fact that the original has been circulated, uncorrected, by various websites and will, no doubt, continue to be falsely used against Obama. It is this kind of rogue writing and most basic and fundamental journalistic failure that may yet cause the Times to regret bringing Kristol aboard.

JS
Boston, MA.

My Times Is Your Times...

The old grey lady got slightly more grey today, giving up 2 seats on its board to outsiders who have been agitating against certain practices and policies by the paper.

The family Sulzberger continues to retain voting control but the 2 hedge funds, which have accumulated 19 % of the company stock, have wedged their way in. The outsiders, now insiders, want The Times to sell off certain of its holdings including The Boston Globe, some smaller newspapers, the Times building, and even a minority position in the (gasp) Boston Red Sox.

Sulzberger put on a happy face about the defeat: “Both the board and management welcome the perspectives and insights of our proposed new directors.” Uh huh.

And the victorious insurgents: “Our nominees look forward to working with the other directors and management to build and deliver value for all shareholders.” Meaning, look out, the battle has just begun. And it's going to get ferocious.