So what happened to Elana Schor?

Hardly as fascinating as Maureen Dowd's income, but interesting nonetheless ...

I think Beck actually described himself as a "rodeo clown."

Circus clowns have to go clown school, you see.

Yep. Rodeo Clown. Which is probably worth a deconstructing post.

Actually ALL the GOP that were on the Sunday shows were saying how 'weak' Obama was...and then POOF he ordered the captain saved...but JHC not one iota of credit was given...do they even CARE that they look like such hypocrites???

"Defending the network's association with the right-wing Tea Parties, Fox News' Neil Cavuto reminded viewers over the weekend, ‘We were there for the Million Man March’ in 1995. Fox News, of course, didn't exist until 1996."

Now isn't he just precious ?

I didn't like Elana Schor -- too wonky. I'm glad she's gone.

kruathammer is looking more like Frankenstein's monster everyday.

Of course, Steve got the same detail wrong when he compared the current Republican jihad against Obama with that which took place under Bill Clinton. As Bob Somerby pointed out, Fox News didn't "lead" the fight against Clinton, it followed it.

I like this site and generally like his targets, but Steve opens himself up to ridicule with shit like this and his insistence that the GOP is somehow "clueless" instead of purely mendacious.

A note to the salivating blood drinkers who want to take Somalia off the map is that there is more danger of piracy in the area around Indonesia. It just doesn't make it into the news. Look it up.

Michael Steele, Eric Cantor, Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin and John McCain prove to me that you can be both mendacious and clueless.

Sucks to see the protests in Thailand escalating. I was there for two weeks in early Feb of this year for my honeymoon. Unbelievable place with remarkably humble, friendly people.

Howard Dean was on his way to victory in Iowa in '04 until a mysterious ad television popped up that showed Dean's face on one side of the screen and Osama Bin Laden's on the other. Long after the caucus, the ad was traced to a coalition of the campaigns of Dick Gephardt -- and John Kerry. The Dems still have a lot of cleaning out to do.

I see, Dick Gephardt.. Follow the money!

"there is more danger of piracy in the area around Indonesia."

Right you are, Texas Aggie. Roughly 40% of the world's piracy occurs in the Malacca Straight. But keep in mind, roughly 40% of the world's trade goes through that straight. So piracy is not really any more prevalent than one would expect. But in recent years, piracy in the Malacca Straight has been going down substantially, while it has increased substantially off the coast of Somalia. I think that's why Somalia is in the news.

Club for Growth ... Those right-wing lousy-fare outfits almost always promote population growth as if it were a proper part of "economic growth" even though it reduces per capita land area (PCLA should be a major measure of "wealth") and reduces resources and increases pressure on commodities like oil and copper.

BTW that bet between Julian Simon and Paul Erlich about resource prices (that they'd go up, and Julian won saying "no") was a red herring: "supply" in economics is how much is on the market right now, not how much is left to get out of the ground etc. so the latter can be a disaster waiting to happen, and "the market" doesn't notice.

tyrannogenius

* Some changes afoot at TPM, including the departure of Elana Schor. -- Steve Benen

I noticed the absence of Elana with great sadness; she was a real workhorse (seemed to have lived at the Congress) and she wrote well, too. I don't mind seeing noting at all of Cooper; he was as boring as they come and not even much aware of what was happening (and very aware of his own importance). *And* he had more typos (as well as some language misuses) than any of them and that's saying something. Beutler is OK when compared to Cooper but nothing as crackerjack as Elana had been. Too bad, all around.

"... the right-wing Tea Parties ..."

hey.. you forgot to call them "far-right".

exlibra beat me to it:

I noticed the absence of Elana with great sadness; she was a real workhorse (seemed to have lived at the Congress) and she wrote well, too. I don't mind seeing noting at all of Cooper; he was as boring as they come and not even much aware of what was happening (and very aware of his own importance). *And* he had more typos (as well as some language misuses) than any of them and that's saying something. Beutler is OK when compared to Cooper but nothing as crackerjack as Elana had been. Too bad, all around.

I was horrified to see Cooper at TPM, and even more horrifed when I attempted to slog through the glop he posted. I thought it was painfully obvious that Elana was light-years better than Cooper both in reporting and writing. But I was afraid that Cooper's ego and MSM cred would push Elana out.

fucking, fucking, fucking cooper. And shame on you, Josh.

A new large-scale carbon capture and storage test facility about to start operation in France:

http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/12/first-carbon-capture-plant-to-begin-operating-this-month/

Financed by TOTAL.

And another reason (along with their 80% reliance on nuclear for electricity) to become more like France.

Also, China is beginning to construct a new coal-to-gas facility based on a design first piloted in Massachusetts.

In energy, things are moving right along.

Are you all sure the problems at TPM aren't financial. Frankly, on-line ad revenue rates suck. I have been wondering how anybody can survive blogging.

Special court declares Franken winner.

Can Reid get a pair and seat him now?

In the "open thread" vein, an item Benen thought beneath his dignity to mention...

President Obama leads by example, in matters large and small; in the dismal economy, he's shown us how to make do with less. In better days, girls used to get Easter bonnets; this Easter, the Obama girls got an Easter Bo. *And* they have to share it...

And no, I'm not giving any links, since I'm sure everyone has already heard about it; everyone *but* Benen has been all over the story (WaPo on the front page, for goodness sake!). I'm posting only to flaunt my superiour punning wit (us "furriners" are very proud of ourselves, when we master the language to that point)

Ron Byers, @21:35,

TPM may very well have financial problems. But the "remodelling" that has been going on over there for the past 2-3 months does not seem to reflect that and/or be related to such in any way.

Elana was hired (at TPMDC) and was going great guns for quite a while before Cooper-pooper was hired. If they were short of cash, why hire Cooper at all? But, suppose, Cooper was a scoop and Josh grabbed the "chance" (as he saw it) when he could, and couldn't afford both, so he let Elana go... If that's the case, how come Josh is still paying Cooper (Cooper's on the masthead, with Elana gone from it; that's how I knew it wasn't just a vacation or maternity leave), but then hired Beutler -- to do all the writing?

Something putrid is going on there and it doesn't smell like "financial distress" or, no more than usual. My personal belief is that Elana turned out to have "too big an engine", turning out better-than-expected job and was in stark contrast to the rest of them, who prefer to dribble an occasional "deep thought". Not to mention... She had a sense of humour and an appreciation of the bizarre (a la Stewart and Colbert); always a disadvantage among the majority of American political gurus.

@ dontcallmefrancis I beg to disagree... No not Frankenstein - He is The Crypt Keeper from tales of the crypt. Only less animated. Tell me he ain't the spittin' image.

"Hey look, John Bolton has called for endorsed a military assault and ground invasion of another country."

I call for endorse correction of typos.

Think of the children who spent their early years in the same sandbox John Bolton was in ...

Mystery explained.

Why are pirates along the coast of Indonesia not getting attention, while the pirates along the coast of Somalia are?

Because Indonesia is not a failed state. Which means that foreign shipping lines can't dump dangerous industrial waste along her coastline - something they are doing, and have done, with abandon since 1991 along Somalia's coast.

Now that the Somalis are beginning to feel the effects of all those poisons (including hospital nuclear waste), they have decided to mount a primitive coast guard.
This is most bothersome to the shipping lines and their paymasters, and therefore they need to paint these people as pirates, threatening the Good Ship Lollipop.

Can't have that.

I suggest everyone take a look at this New Yorker Cartoon from 1936, change Roosevelt to Obama, and you have a perfect commentary on the Republicans today.

http://www.cartoonbank.com/product_details.asp?mscssid=RUNXEG39PWE48HR3CPNF3R9E28D1CQ5E&sitetype=1&did=4&sid=43500&pid=&keyword=Roosevelt§ion=all&title=undefined&whichpage=3&sortBy=popular

They really should be called "REPUBLICAN Tea-Bagging Parties." It's basically the minority party protesting the fact that they are no longer in power and that they hate taxes and hate Obama.

Pittsburgh has been blessed with two "tea party" events this week-- one this past Saturday and one this Wednesday. If I hadn't been sick in bed on Saturday I would have gone, Ambassador Alan Keyes was there! Wheee!!! Local tv news (non-fox) coverage said that many people were there to protest the new increase in taxes on cigarettes-- referring to it as a "tax and tabacco" party. Although in a few short moments they interviewed people who openly hated Obama, talked about how much they hate taxes, showed a few people in costume. Didn't seem all that impressive or interesting, they had the protest in an area that has many passerbys, no car traffic whatsoever.

The protest tomorrow is in a downtown square and will probably draw crowds on the one day that people are extra cranky about taxes-- April 15th.