01/29/2012 archive

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 336 days remaining until the end of the year (337 in leap years).

On this day in 1845, Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem “The Raven,” beginning “Once upon a midnight dreary,” is published on this day in the New York Evening Mirror.

“The Raven” is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven’s mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man’s slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word “Nevermore”. The poem makes use of a number of folk and classical references.

Poe claimed to have written the poem very logically and methodically, intending to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes, as he explained in his 1846 follow-up essay “The Philosophy of Composition”. The poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty by Charles Dickens. Poe borrows the complex rhythm and meter of Elizabeth Barrett‘s poem “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship”, and makes use of internal rhyme as well as alliteration throughout.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

The Sunday Talking Heads:

Up with Chris Hayes: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be Chris’ special guest. His other guests are Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) (@repcohen), U.S. Representative from Tennessee’s 9th district in the Memphis area; Mike Daisey, monologist, author, and performer of “The Agony & the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs”; Esther Armah (@estherarmah), Host of WBAI radio’s “Wakeup Call” in New York; Elise Jordan (@elise_jordan), former director of communications and speechwriter for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice under President George W. Bush and Victoria DeFrancesco Soto (@drvmds), Communications director for Latino Decisions and visiting scholar at University of Texas – Austin.

This Week with George Stephanopolis: Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, House Speaker John Boehner are guests. George Will, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, and radio host and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham debate how long the Republican nomination contest may last, and whether the battle over taxes in President Obama’s State of the Union address will provide a blueprint for the general election.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Guests are former Republican Presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Donald Trump, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Rep. Allen West (R-FL) who will share their thoughts on their home state and humorist and columnist Dave Barry. Joining Bob on a panel are The Miami Herald‘s Marc Caputo, Real Clear Politics’ Scott Conroy and CBS News’ John Dickerson.

The Chris Matthews Show: This week’s guests are Katty Kay, BBC Washington Correspondent, Michael Duffy, TIME Magazine Assistant Managing Editor, Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Beast Editor, The Dish and Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post Columnist.

Meet the Press with David Gregory: This Sunday, a debate between the two camps: For Romney, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and for Gingrich, Fmr. Sen. Fred Thompson. A panel discussion on the 2012 race with guests MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, & NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd. Obama’s senior campaign strategist David Axelrod and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum are also guests.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Candy sits down with Presidential Candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul who is bypassing the Florida primary. Other guests are Florida Governor Rick Scott (R), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Carlos Gutierrez, a former Bush commerce secretary, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

 Hundreds arrested at Occupy Oakland; protesters break into City Hall

By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

Sgt. Christopher Bolton of the Oakland Police Department told msnbc.com that the number arrested was likely between 200 and 300. “We are still processing the arrests,” he said. He was speaking after the release of a statement on the Oakland City website that put the number of arrests at 200. “That figure is probably on the low side and we don’t have a confirmed total yet,” said. Sgt Bolton. In the statement, released in a PDF file format, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said: “Once again, a violent splinter group of the Occupy Movement is engaging in violent actions against Oakland. The Bay Area Occupy Movement has got to stop using Oakland as their playground.” The statement also said there were reports of damage to exhibits inside City Hall during the protest.