by WALTER BRASCH In 1973, some friends and I went to the rooftop of our apartment building to watch Comet Kahoutek, touted by astronomers and the media as the comet of all comets. We were sure we’d see it since we had the requisite equipment—binoculars and beer. But we didn’t see the comet. Not that night nor the next night. What we did see was a lot of universe. And while we talked about the ungrateful...

Why bother writing articles, posts and comments based upon any analysis of facts, reality or logic? Honestly seeking scientific, rational and legal causation for the many events occurring in a complex world has become a waste of time. When pervasive apathy, congenital stupidity, willful ignorance, massive denial, and irrational religious and ideological dogmas dominate the majority of the U.S. electorate and...

This is entertainment? Via ABC: “So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.” And “Three thousand dollars for birth control in three years? … They’re admitting before congressional committee that they’re having...

I hope Mr. Breitbart rests in peace now. And that his 4 kids and wife will be comforted. It appears he had a heart attack or stroke, out for a walk, suddenly fell down. A stranger dialed 911. He was dead it seems when emergency help arrived. Again, may his people be comforted. I’d just remind, even if it could cause a few people to awken sooner rather than later… that many people, esp men, but women...

Guest post by Rabia Chaudry Rabia Chaudry is an associate fellow of the Truman National Security Project and the president of the Safe Nation Collaborative. A few years ago I joined about twenty other Muslim community leaders gathered to meet a regional outreach officer from a law enforcement agency. Many present had been living in the area for decades and were pillars of their communities. The officer introduced...

UPDATE: While I am sure some contrarians will be able to find some obscure (or “opposition”) sources that claim otherwise, judging from last night’s and this morning’s media coverage, last night’s “A Nation’s Gratitude” Dinner has been well received by the press — and by Americans. Here is a sampling. For Iraq Vets, A Thanksgiving Dinner Obama Salutes Iraq War Vets At White House Dinner ...

With Russia’s presidential election this Sunday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wrote this 7,500 word opus in Moscow newspaper Moskovskiye Novosti, outlining what the once and apparently future Russian president thinks of the United States and NATO, the use of NGOs in foreign lands (like Egypt), Afghanistan and drug trafficking, the civil conflict in Syria, human rights in Russia and around the...

Last night, in the Republican contest to be that party’s presidential nominee, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney looked relaxed as he addressed supporters in Michigan (one of his multiple home states; New Hampshire and Massachusetts most often cited as the others). He sounded it, too. Then again, on Tuesday evening, Romney was in the needed winning position, having fought off a strong challenge...

A parable for Leap Day, with apologies to Aesop or whomever. One momentous day, the Forest Congress assembled to debate the burning issue of the hour: a bill had been offered declaring every acorn a tree, and, thus, all criminal penalties should accrue to anyone disturbing an acorn just as they would to anyone cutting down a tree. The Animal Caucus The beaver delegation had boycotted the meeting in protest,...

Rick joins Newt, Herman, Governor Perry, Donald in ‘loose lips’ sink one’s own ship. As my dearest dear old Navy surrogate dad, aged 96 and with clear as gin mind used to say: “His battleship mouth sunk his rowboat ass.” And there lies the denouement of the would be contendahs, who over and over became utterly seduced by and their usually clear wits overwhelmed with the applause...

Has President Barack Obama, through his election and policies, created almost irreversible dissaray within the Republican Party? For Mexico’s Excelsior, José Luis Valdés Ugalde writes that intentionally and by happenstance, Obama’s emergence was an ‘anomaly that destabilized the political environment for the better,’ and at the same time, it ‘served as a call to arms for the...

The New York Times: Mitt Romney has narrowly won the Republican presidential primary in Michigan, deflecting a powerful challenge from Rick Santorum and boosting his hopes of becoming the Republican nominee. Only weeks ago, Mr. Romney had viewed his home state of Michigan as a firewall against his rivals, an important battleground state where his background and his message would carry the day. That changed dramatically...

This post is dedicated to my grandparents, Papá Justito and Mamá Julita (Above) A couple of years ago, feeling sentimental and having just finished the seventh decade of my life, I suddenly realized that, at age 70, “days pass like minutes, years go by like days” and decided to compress the seven decades I had lived into seven days and to put some thoughts down on paper — just in case. Well I...

After months of savaging the President for promoting class warfare in debates, the GOP race is down to a man who wants to be elected for amassing half a billion dollars against a rival riling low-rent rebellion to expose the social fault line in Republican ranks more clearly than ever. “You talk to most kids who go to college who are conservatives,” Santorum tells George Stephanopoulos, “and you are...

Naturally, given the “too big to fail” banks wild speculation in oil futures, even in the face of over-supply and under-demand, somehow it’s Obama’s fault, according to Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas: Hutchison also hit the president on the more recent issue of rising gas prices. “We can’t slow down global demand for oil and gas, but we can do a lot more here at home to assure that...

Mike Daisey Takes a Bite Out of Apple by Michael Winship If you would seek proof of that famous Margaret Mead adage, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has,” look at what’s happening as more and more people protest Apple Inc.’s labor practices in China. Take it one step further: if you should ever doubt...

What is the height of arrogance, the epitome of a lack of empathy for those less fortunate, the perfect product of someone who enjoys rubbing his own fortune in the face of someone less fortunate? It’s this: An arrogant banker has done all in his power to enforce his position as the ‘one per cent,’ all the while reminding everyone else they’re not. After dining on a meal at a boutique Newport Beach,...

UPDATE: The White House has published the list of names of the 78 servicemembers invited to the “A Nation’s Gratitude Dinner” at the White on February 29 honoring veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.(Previously it had been announced that 64 servicemembers would be invited) The Stars and Stripes: Troops were selected by a committee of the Defense Department’s senior enlisted members,...

If you haven’t been paying attention there has been a coup in Greece.  Yes, the home of democracy has been taken over by the global banksters.  Unelected technocrats, some from Greece but most not, are now calling all of the shots in Greece.  They are pillaging the country in an attempt to extract as much wealth before the inevitable default of the country.  And Greece is just the beginning.  Steve...

The final Republican faceoff was notable for what didn’t happen, the classic Sherlock Holmes clue of the dog that didn’t bark in the night. Neither the moderator nor Santorum’s opponents pressed him to explain his positions on religious issues that have been making headlines, so extreme that even Rush Limbaugh concedes he must answer because they make him look like “an absolute religious nut and wacko.” But...