Author Archive for: emptywheel
About emptywheel
Marcy Wheeler is an independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties. She writes as emptywheel at her eponymous blog, publishes at outlets including Vice, Motherboard, the Nation, the Atlantic, Al Jazeera, and appears frequently on television and radio. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit, a primer on the CIA leak investigation, and liveblogged the Scooter Libby trial.
Marcy has a PhD from the University of Michigan, where she researched the “feuilleton,” a short conversational newspaper form that has proven important in times of heightened censorship. Before and after her time in academics, Marcy provided documentation consulting for corporations in the auto, tech, and energy industries. She lives with her spouse in Grand Rapids, MI.
Entries by emptywheel
Fold The Holder Nomination
/101 Comments/in Democrats, Law, Obama Administration, Terrorism/by emptywheelThe meme that has been floated by Glenn Greenwald and several others that Eric Holder’s involvement in the Chiquita matter is just principled, zealous representation of his client akin to the heroic souls that have taken the mantle of defending Gitmo detainees. I admire Glenn Greenwald’s writing and respect his work immensely, but I take pretty big issue with this position. In fact, Eric Holder was closer to a mob consigliere than principled criminal defender.
The Big 2.5 on Main Street
/60 Comments/in automobiles/by emptywheelI’ve been talking about the bloat among the ranks of the American manufacturers’ car dealerships in just about every post I do on the auto crisis. My premise is two-fold. First, one of the big problems the Big Two and a Half have in restoring their brands to credibility–even though the quality of their cars now matches the Japanese–is that there are too many dealerships out there given the number of
Girlz Out Loud
/8 Comments/in Press and Media/by emptywheelJust so you know, I’m still watching the Sunday show line-ups to see whether all the smart girlz who were on during the election still get invited back.
And FWIW, we’ve got two girlz of significance this week: Laura Bush (well, I’m not going to tune in, but she is a girl and she’ll be on before pickling hour), and Claire McCaskill.
Still in Turkey Coma Open Thread
/39 Comments/in Culture/by emptywheelI should say “back in turkey coma” since I just had a hot turkey sandwich and feel a giant nap coming on.
The turkey, btw, was absolutely superb–those crazies who think turkey doesn’t taste good are like Sunday school teachers who poo poo sex because, well, let’s just say they were never really credible experts.
Obama’s Success: Must Have Been The Shoes Before Him
/78 Comments/in 2008 Presidential Election, Culture, Misc/by emptywheelAmerica, indeed humanity, stands on the verge of a seminal moment in history. A turning point that inalienably alters our existence in so many ways, writ large and small, that it is hard to grasp. We are about to to inaugurate a black man, Barack Obama, President of the United States; a job that is still, despite all, the singularly most important and powerful position in the world. How did we get to this moment?
Pisco Sours: As Easy as Falling Off a Bike the Wagon
/15 Comments/in Bush Administration/by emptywheelEarlier in the week, the blogosphere buzzed over this photo of Bush drinking Peru’s national drink, a Pisco Sour. There was a lot of discussion about whether Bush had falled off the wagon or not–but the discussions of what a pisco sour is fell short, I felt, of what my good friend Jeff had taught me in grad school (Jeff, who is Peruvian, whined for a year straight that he couldn’t get proper Peruvian, as opposed to Chilean, pisco in Ann Arbor).
Trash Talk – Thanksgiving Stuff Yer Face Edition
/52 Comments/in Football, Trash Talk/by emptywheelIt’s Turkey Day!!! Time to get fat and happy people. And then, when you cannot have one more round of food, you simply must have one more wafer thin mint! Hey, is anybody out there having the John Madden specialty of Turducken instead of turkey? Okay, this is a short trash talk for the Thursday Thanksgiving Day games only.