We’ve known for a while that drones are becoming ubiquitous, sadly, two years before the FAA will have any rules. Already, the military is using drones to terrorize Yemeni villagers and police officers to spy. But with the recent Silicon Valley interest and boom in drones comes worrying questions. The U.S. drone program has always been a bit shady. We know, for instance that … [Read more...] about Drones: Made in America, Sold to Militaries Everywhere
Angelina Jolie: Not Everybody’s Role Model
The newest name in the annals of breast cancer brings back one from four decades ago that helped change how women—-and doctors-—viewed and treated the affliction. Angelina Jolie, meet Babette Rosmund. Before 1970, mastectomy was the unquestioned answer for women diagnosed with the disease. Then a 50-year-old writer who had read a magazine article challenged the conventional … [Read more...] about Angelina Jolie: Not Everybody’s Role Model
Historical Tidbits
In addition to being a political junkie I am also a student of history and am particularly fascinated by the twists and turns of history. So I thought from time to time I would offer a little look back at what might have been. Today we are taking a trip back to January 1853 and a southbound train heading for Washington DC. In that era train wrecks were quite common and on … [Read more...] about Historical Tidbits
Boston suspect wrote note before capture: report
Boston suspect wrote note before capture: report (via AFP) Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a note before his capture in which he called the victims "collateral damage" for US action in Afghanistan and Iraq, local media reported. "When you attack one Muslim, you attack all Muslims," Tsarnaev also scribbled on the inside wall of the boat where… … [Read more...] about Boston suspect wrote note before capture: report
Am I a Home for Identities?
[This is the second post in the series Why Everything You Know about Your “Self” Is Wrong. The series explores how our understanding of selfhood affects our sense of individuality, our interpersonal relationships, and our politics.] In the first post in this series, we disentangled the notion of selfhood from the body, the mind, and the witness. Another common mistake is to … [Read more...] about Am I a Home for Identities?
Hillary Alert! (Cartoon)
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Hillary Alert! (Cartoon)
President Obama to Name Daniel Werfel Acting IRS Commissioner
BREAKING NEWS: President Obama will reportedly name Daniel Werfel as acting IRS Commissioner. Daniel Werfel is currently the controller of the Office of Management and Budget. He has served in that role since 2009. He will replace Steve Miller was resigned at the request of President Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette. … [Read more...] about President Obama to Name Daniel Werfel Acting IRS Commissioner
Is President Obama Having a ‘Katrina Moment’ as White House Battles Three ‘Scandals?’
Is President Obama having a "Katrina moment" with the trio of scandals rocking his administration -- Benghazi, IRS snooping and the Associated Press wiretaps? I knew it was a matter of time before someone invoked "Katrina moment" as a way of explaining away the drama that continues to dominate the news cycle. Personally, I believe Eric Holder should be put out to pasture, given … [Read more...] about Is President Obama Having a ‘Katrina Moment’ as White House Battles Three ‘Scandals?’
Breathing Bad Air
Tina Brown (Vanity Fair>Newsweek>Daily Beast) isn't someone I'd turn to for the last word on our political culture. She may be condemned by her position at the Beast to chase the latest scandal. Whatever. But when, in an interview this morning, she made it sound as though Obama will never climb out of this mess (you choose.. there are so many), I had to switch her off. … [Read more...] about Breathing Bad Air
Quote of the Day: National Review Warns Republicans Not to Overreach on Obama Scandals
There is a danger for Republicans' good fortune in the three scandals (which seem to be deflating in various degrees but by no means gone) that have set in place the "second term curse" for President Barack Obama -- and Democratic hopes for 2014: it's overreach. And our Quote of the Day comes from the conservative National Review in an editorial. Here's the most important … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: National Review Warns Republicans Not to Overreach on Obama Scandals
How Twitter has changed local politics (Guest Voice)
How Twitter has changed local politics (via The Christian Science Monitor) Newark Mayor Cory Booker has used his Twitter account to connect with his constituents on pertinent issues. Many of them have used social media to engage in political discourse or campaign for community action.(Twitter) Lynette Barnes, a southern New Jersey native, was initially hesitant about … [Read more...] about How Twitter has changed local politics (Guest Voice)
The false god of ‘narrative’
WASHINGTON -- "What if the government starts enforcing the espionage statute whenever there's a leak?" Steve Roberts, a former New York Times journalist who teaches at George Washington University, observed to the Baltimore Sun. "It's going to have a tremendously chilling effect on this interplay between sources and reporters." But Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) insisted … [Read more...] about The false god of ‘narrative’
Eric Holder’s abdication (Guest Voice)
Eric Holder's abdication by Dana Milbank Washington Post Writers Group WASHINGTON -- As the nation's top law enforcement official, Eric Holder is privy to all kinds of sensitive information. But he seems to be proud of how little he knows. Why didn't his Justice Department inform The Associated Press, as the law requires, before pawing through … [Read more...] about Eric Holder’s abdication (Guest Voice)
Let’s Take a Walk Down the Memory Hole
With the manufactured Benghazi scandal tying with the IRS for the story that the right is pretending is a story, it’s worth looking back at what a real scandal looks like. Most people think of Watergate when they think “scandal” but by Nixon standards, Watergate is just a little icing on the cake. The premise behind the Benghazi scandal is that the President failed to label … [Read more...] about Let’s Take a Walk Down the Memory Hole
GOP Needs A Robert Strauss
I was flipping channels today and came across a replay of a Book TV episode on C-Span. The topic was a biography of long time Democratic operative Robert Strauss. One of the points made by the author (his great niece) was that Strauss took over as chairman of the Democratic national committee in the aftermath of the McGovern fiasco of 1972. At the time there was talk that … [Read more...] about GOP Needs A Robert Strauss
Obama’s Bush League Scandals Are No Match
Democrats who have been wishing for years that their party turn as nastily combative as the GOP are getting a taste of what St. Teresa of Avila meant centuries ago by saying, “More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.” Suddenly the Obama White House is besieged by accusations of IRS targeting Tea Party groups and the Justice Department bugging the … [Read more...] about Obama’s Bush League Scandals Are No Match
Climate Denial’s Death Knell: 97 Percent of Peer-Reviewed Science Confirms Manmade Global Warming, Consensus Overwhelming (Guest Voice)
Climate Denial's Death Knell: 97 Percent of Peer-Reviewed Science Confirms Manmade Global Warming, Consensus Overwhelming (via Desmogblog) A new survey conducted by a team of volunteers at Skeptical Science has definitively confirmed the scientific consensus in climate science literature - 97 percent of peer-reviewed papers agree that global warming is happening and human … [Read more...] about Climate Denial’s Death Knell: 97 Percent of Peer-Reviewed Science Confirms Manmade Global Warming, Consensus Overwhelming (Guest Voice)
Obama fires head of US tax agency over scandal
Obama fires head of US tax agency over scandal (via AFP) An angry President Barack Obama sacked the acting head of the US Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday over a fast moving scandal sparked when officials unfairly targeted conservative groups. Obama said Treasury Secretary Jack Lew had asked for and received the resignation of tax agency chief Steven… … [Read more...] about Obama fires head of US tax agency over scandal
Asleep at the wheel
[Editor's Note: This was written before President Barack Obama's announcement that the acting IRS Commissioner was fired, and before other White House actions on some of these crisis. Some think columns such as the one below made the White House re-evaluate its approach to these scandals -- but this column's points still hold up.] Asleep at the wheel by Dana … [Read more...] about Asleep at the wheel
A Look Back At A World Gladly Gone By
We've all seen photos of the era of segregation but usually those pictures are in black and white, which somehow seems to make them less real. I came across this link to a series of pictures in color, which I found fascinating. … [Read more...] about A Look Back At A World Gladly Gone By