By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET This weekend is a special one for me.
For the first time in several years, I have one of my RPettes at home to spoil me on Fathers’ Day. Also, I will be remembering my own beloved father who would have turned 73 this very Sunday.
And I hope you join me online for a very special Fathers’ Day edition of The Recovering Politician. As we’ve been promoting this week, we are opening up the site on Sunday to our readers and their tributes to their fathers.
We’ve already received some outstanding submissions — the son of a renowned artist; a woman who never met her father; a minister who misses his father on Sundays; and many others. Best of all may be a poem written by a teenage girl about her late grandfather. (Of course, I’m a little biased.)
Of course, there is room for more, and it is not too late for you to join us. Send us your article and photos today.
The deadline for submissions of a short essay (100-1000 words) on your father and accompanying picture is tomorrow, Friday, June 17 at 10:00 PM EDT. Send them to Staff@TheRecoveringPolitician.com.
Thanks, and please join us for a truly special weekend.
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
10 “vintage” stocks that are now worth a fortune. [The Street]
5 lessons from IBM’s 100th Anniversary. [CNN Money]
Desperate public pension funds are doubling their bets on hedge funds. [CNBC]
Who’s the AIG in the Greek financial tragedy? [Forbes]
One more freedom down the drain? San Francisco mulls a ban on goldfish. [NBC Bay Area]
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
In Austria there is a debate about selling public land to the highest bidder. [npr.com]
Deforestation in the Amazon is more than just cutting down the trees. Loggers are being accused of murdering activists. [bbc.com]
Wind farms may be one solution to our energy problems, but as Wales is experiencing, you must still get past the NIMBY mindset. [bbc.com]
A list of American historical sites that are endangered, better see them while you can. [msnbc.com]
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET So, I get my big break on radio, and my celebrity guest doesn’t show up.
I won’t pull a Letterman, because John McCain had a good excuse — he had an unexpected vote — and he promises to join us in a few weeks.
But we still had a great show, featuring economist Robert Shapiro and Jennifer Duffy of The Cook Report. Rob delivers one of the most cogent and simple explanations of the impact of a national credit default — it is worth the whole show.
And if you listen until the end, you will witness my coughing attack. Live radio, eh?
No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces.
Enjoy yesterday’s broadcast:
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Just in time, here’s some Father’s Day gift ideas for the health-conscious papa. [Huffington Post]
This is your brain on anesthesia: For the first time, scientists can watch 3-D mapping of the brain as it slips into unconsciousness (and you can see the video too!) [Time]
Does a tendency towards sexting make you more scientifically likely to be a cheater? We’re looking at you, Weiner. [NY Times]
The FDA’s new changes to sunscreen labeling were introduced this week, after reforms were promised four years ago. It’s about time! [Wall Street Journal]
Check out your projected life expectancy, based on where you live in the U.S.: [Washington Post]
By RP Staff, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
One of the RP’s favorite comedies (and one on many people’s lists) about sex, love and relationships is, of course, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. But while for many of us the film is hilarious, the subject matter does elicit sadness and shame for (some) others. An interesting article this week from Psychology Today. Are There Really 40-Year-Old Virgins?
RP readers may have heard yesterday about a recent study of social networking that indicates that, rather than making people isolated introverts, interacting on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., may actually make people far more engaged in their own relationships, more trusting of others and more likely to have a support group they can turn to. Here’s the full report released yesterday. Social Networking Sites and Our Lives – Pew Research Center
Finally, for all you dads out there on this Father’s Day weekend, ever notice how traditionally a much bigger deal is made for the other half of the parenting unit on their special day? Here’s an interesting little piece on fathers and sons and why you’ll still have a low-key day on Sunday. From one father to all of the others out there that have felt the joys and pains of being a parent, enjoy your day this Father’s Day. Father’s Day Shortchanged? Humble History, Fewer Gifts
By Jeff Smith, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET  No, Anthony Weiner’s resignation wasn’t inevitable.
A majority of general election voters polled in his district didn’t want him to resign, and so he probably could’ve survived the primary, unless further damaging revelations came to light.
Was it “fair” that party leaders pushed him to resign? Depends what the definition of “fair” is. First, Weiner’s trailblazing hurt him. Cheating? So passe. Cheating with best friend’s wife (as an evangelical Christian pol)? Cheating with hookers (as an evangelical Christian pol)? Foot tapping in airport restrooms? Dirty IMs with 16 year-old House pages? It all feels so ’00s.
But DM-ing crotch-shots! Now there’s something new! Appalling!
The fact is that Anthony Weiner wasn’t pushed out so much for the sexts. Barney Frank used a male prostitute who then ran an escort service out of Frank’s apartment. Frank survived because his colleagues respected his intellect, work ethic, and legislative prowess.
And of course, most Democrats staunchly defended President Clinton during impeachment because of his policy and political brilliance, the depth of his relationships, and consistently strong job approval ratings with the public.
Weiner, however, was the prototypical show horse — first in line and quick with a quip when there was a camera around, but essentially absent from the legislative process. Many of his colleagues found him insufferable. More than anything, I think that explains his lack of defenders in recent days — a lack of support that led to his resignation.
Crossposted from Politico’s Arena
By RP Nation, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET O Lord, deliver me from the man of excellent intention and impure heart: for the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
T.S. Eliot
Until the news conference of Congressman Anthony Weiner on June 6, 2011, I had not followed the story concerning his twitter account closely. As I watched Congressman Weiner explain his personal failings, I was struck by how many times he was asked by the media why he had done what he had done. To his credit, Congressman Weiner did not blame anyone else and made clear that his conduct was a result of his own poor personal choices. He must have been asked why he had done what he done at least five times.
The question seemed extraordinarily silly to me. From my perspective, the answer of why Congressman Weiner did what he did is very simple –the body of sin. There can be no “rational” reason why a person in Congressman Weiner’s position would take such reckless actions.
The same lack of “rational” reasoning applies to John Edwards’ actions. How could have either man done something so stupid? Quite simply, man is a depraved sinner.
The conduct of these men goes a long way in proving that their own liberal philosophy is built upon sinking sand. A philosophy that eschews tradition and God and instead looks to the “reasoning” of men is doomed. Man is far from perfect and we are not quite as smart as we think we are. When a society throws tradition and God aside and takes its cue from man’s “enlightened” views, society ends up where Congressman Weiner finds himself today: lost, shattered and embarrassed. I find it bewildering that liberals and many so-called conservatives fail to learn this obvious lesson when man’s shortcomings are on full display.
Read the rest of…
John Roach: Anthony Weiner & The Depravity of Man
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jun 16, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET Friday is a big day leading into an even bigger weekend at The Recovering Politician.
If you have been anywhere near electricity today, you know that Anthony Weiner finally announced his resignation from Congress after several days of refusing to do so.
Tomorrow morning, two of our RPs comment on Weiner-gate from very different perspectives: John Roach, a conservative Republican who has served as a Justice on his state’s Supreme Court; and former State Senator Jeff Smith, a progressive Democrat who has himself been at the receiving end of intrusive press attention.
And then don’t forget about this Sunday.
As we’ve announced earlier this week, we will open up the site on Sunday to your tributes and remembrances to your fathers.
We also want to see pictures. Send us a photo of your dad. Better yet, a photo of you with your dad. Best yet, a photo of you and your dad when you were a kid.
The deadline for submissions of a short essay (100-1000 words) on your father and accompanying picture is tomorrow, Friday, June 17 at 10:00 PM EDT. Send them to Staff@TheRecoveringPolitician.com.
Thanks, and see you tomorrow and then over the weekend.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Jun 16, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET  The Politics of Speed For those of you who like to drive in style, while also having a more practical option, I present: the best way to mount your bicycle to your Ferrari. [Jalopnik]
Last week you saw a video of an insane Argentinian pilot performing a fly-by 1 meter off the ground. This week we have a video from the perspective of that insane pilot. [Jalopnik]
In NASCAR news, with his win at Pocono this week, Jeff Gordon moved into a tie for 3rd place on NASCAR’s all time wins list. He is now tied with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip with 84 wins. [All Left Turns]
Junior has ascended to the top spot in the ESPN Power Rankings! Now, if he could just get a win. . . [ESPN]
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