Red Turns Black

I've been reading Ben Domenech off and on for a few years now after the days of 9/11. I was rather impressed with the young editorialist who seemed to be smart, home schooled and rather un-creepy. Sure, he was a true Republican and a devout Catholic but I can remember some very funny lines from his blog to this day. In fact, I am 99 percent sure I interviewed his uncle back in 1990 when he was superintendent of the Huntington School District and later a possible Clinton appointee.

This was a bad yet very efficient day for the Young Domenech. This week, he started his post as the social conservative blogger for The Washington Post. The WaPo is to be commended for hiring the young blogger and former speech writer but perhaps the next time they hire any opinion scribbler -- especially one from the 'net -- they might do some due diligence. The hard lefties on the Daily Kos and Atrios displayed some very convincing evidence that Ben D had lifted entire swaths from other sources for film and music reviews a while back. The evidence was sad and all too convincing.

Even more sadly, for someone who I thought was a stand-up guy, he offered a classic non-apology on the group blog that he helped to co-found, redstate.org. I can understand friends circling the waggons to protect their friend against some vicious attacks but his explanation was lame, pure and simple.

He claimed to have PJ O'Rourke's permission to use one of his essays as a template for a school paper article. Possible, but he failed to mention or defend the other half dozen or so articles that seem like pure lift-jobs in the light of day.

Although the news of his new WaPo blog brought out some unsavory members from the mouth breathing left, only someone with true issues would take such a high profile job and not think they might get caught. His defence is pathetic.

I hope the WaPo finds another conservative to blog on the thoughts and issues of the day. It's a noble experiment, despite one sad screwup from a once-gifted wunderkind.

Maybe the best person is a 41 year-old with a wife, three kids, a stupid dog, a love of power pop, a taste for a stiff drink and a funny movie. The Long Island accent is free of charge.

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle

Absolutely fascinating story about the origins of one of my favorite songs, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" appears in today's New York Times. The main theme -- ah wimoweh ah wimoweh -- was written in 1939 and recorded shortly later by a group of impoverished beer hall singers in Africa.

The song netted them very little but stuck in the heads of many folkies who loved old melodies. Pete Seeger and The Kingsman recorded bastardized versions and then a doo-wop version was recorded in the early sixties by The Tokens with a new title: The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It was a huge hit and was re-recorded in several languages and then redone for Disney's The Lion King.

The rest of the story is sadly familiar to anyone who likes a pop music story. The composer died penniless with several children after signing away the song's rights for mere dollars. His children, the ones who survived, are now suiing for rayalties, which could easily reach into the millions.

Great story, nice graphics and some neat audio clips. Check it out.

Watching Plaster Crack

Great line from a NY Observer profile of John Spencer, the Yonkers mayor who is runing for Hillary's senate seat:

But as New York Republicans try to sort out their long-shot challenge to the junior Senator, the state Democratic Party has hammered two other would-be Clinton challengers. First there was Jeanine Pirro, whose later press conferences featured Democrats handing out copies of the supposed missing page from her disastrous campaign announcement. (Ms. Pirro is now running for State Attorney General.) Now there is Ms. McFarland, a former Reagan administration official and Upper East Sider who announced her campaign earlier this month. (Mr. Spencer’s reaction to Ms. McFarland’s late entry into the race was an exasperated "What the fuck?")

Go Sarbox Yourself

Wow, so what does this do for Eliots's Street cred? Read the whole thing on OpinionJournal.


Two Cheers for Nancy Pelosi
Democrats think outside the Sarbox.


Have America's entrepreneurs and corporate leaders found a new voice of regulatory sanity in, of all people, Nancy Pelosi? Apparently so, and that should be a wake-up call to Republicans--because like everything else in the free market, the free enterprise agenda is up for grabs. In the recent "Innovation Agenda" that the House Democratic leader and her party unveiled, Ms. Pelosi acknowledges specifically the need to "ensure Sarbanes-Oxley requirements are not overly burdensome," and endorses reform. Meanwhile, the scourge of Wall Street, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, is criticizing Sarbanes-Oxley's "unbelievable burden on small companies" and its possible role in "preventing some initial public offerings."

Knee, Meet Jerk

A great throwaway line from James Lileks:

I drove to Uptown to take some pictures of the antique store. It’s closing soon; they’re having a 20 percent off sale on everything, and there’s one booth that specializes in the sort of delicious scannables I cannot resist, so I bought some old magazines and catalogs. Also a campaign button from a Rumsfeld Congressional campaign.

When I placed it on the counter, the clerk actually recoiled.

War on Science

RedBounder had an interesting comment with a co-worker this morning about the White House's views on science, global warming, etc. He says that this will be a key issue for voters.

I doubt it. I'm not being dismissive but I think the key issue is going to be to get out of Iraq and get rid of anyone who supported W all these years. I don't think science itself brings folks to the polls, but it might be part of a larger move to clean house.

Then again, there are two other factors: hard core conservatives like a dash of religion with their science (I don't, by the way) so they may match the pro-Darwin folks nicely at the polls.

Also, never underestimate the Dems' ability to mess up at the pivotal moment.

Bush Lied, Shoppers Denied

So what had a bigger turnout this weekend in NYC -- the protest marking the three-year anniversary to liberate Iraq or the opening of Trader Joe's in Union Square?

No blood for olive oil!

Treats for the Senses

Some things I am enjoying these days:

Eyes: I saw two terrific DVDs, courtesy of the Briarcliff Manor Library. Sylvia, everyone's favorite angsty poet/pre-feminist martyr starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and Swimming Pool starring the ever alluring Charlotte Rampling and some French chick who spends half the movie topless. Both flicks deal with writers trying to make sense of their inner worlds and the female leads wer both wonderful. Paltrow looks wonderful as a honey blonde and she captured Plath's ambition and ultimate breakdown. Rampling not only doesn't wear any make-up, she seems to have been dipped in khaki. Despite this near-criminal act, she remains ever mysterious and radiant. For you Rampling Fetishists, go kill an hour here.

Ears: Just ripped the debut disk from Arctic Monkeys and it sounds like fast, lean punk played by kids who never heard the word 'irony.' Just what the doctor ordered.

Taste: I attended a cocktail party and asked for a scotch. The bartender -- a slim Asian gal hired to fit the modern Japanese theme of the slick restaurant -- said "I knew you were going to order that." After a Glen Livet, I ordered a Johnny Walker Black. Mmmmm.

Smell: Bought a dozen bars of Ivory Soap. If you don't feel clean after using the best soap on the planet, you have OCD, my friend.

Feel: Right now I am loving Lightning Fields by Dana Spiotta. She writes about three women trying to make sense of life in late 90s LA. One character is a personal shopper for businessmen with too much moeny and no taste. She expands to specialty restaurants that cater to people's specific dietary needs and only seats four people a night. Models and actresses quake as they thank her for cooking their macrbiotic meals so that they consume hearly zero calories in the course of a $600 meal. Little do they know that the chef uses a stick of butter in each meal.