WASHINGTON -- Years before I met him, Gabriel Garcia Marquez changed my life. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" gave me a new way of looking at the world. The label "magical realism" does not begin to capture the poetry of Garcia Marquez's imagination or the evocative power of his prose. Reading his masterpiece was like stepping through a portal into a Technicolor reality … [Read more...] about Where Macondo came alive
Depp flops, ‘Captain America’ rules US box-office
Depp flops, 'Captain America' rules US box-office (via AFP) Hollywood heart-throb Johnny Depp suffered the worst box-office debut of his career while "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" maintained its grip on North American theaters, final figures showed Monday. Despite being one of the highest paid actors… … [Read more...] about Depp flops, ‘Captain America’ rules US box-office
The Fox Effect – The Movie
My father was a moderate Democrat for most of his life but when he retired he started listening to Rush Limbaugh and later watching FOX news. The change in his attitudes and personality were astounding. This thoughtful moderate became an extreme right winger and my mother went along for the ride. I'm not alone in this and via Josh Marshall someone has actually made a movie, … [Read more...] about The Fox Effect – The Movie
South Korean Ferry Tragedy: As Recovery Efforts Continue, Obama to Mourn Victims
An aerial view shows South Korean ships conducting search and rescue operations, April 20, 2014, for the Sewol, the ferry that sank April 16 off Jindo Island. U.S. sailors and Marines are assisting in the search. Photo: DOD This morning, Dr. Estés shared with us her heartfelt thoughts on the tragedy of the South Korean ferry that sank April 16 off Jindo Island with 476 … [Read more...] about South Korean Ferry Tragedy: As Recovery Efforts Continue, Obama to Mourn Victims
Obama decides America should keep Justin Bieber, Canadians breathe huge sigh of relief
Looks like the U.S. will still have Justin Bieber to terrorize its popular culture, not to mention anywhere he happens to be at any given time, for a whole lot longer: The White House has declined to comment on a "Deport Justin Bieber and revoke his green card" petition, saying the "We the People" Whitehouse.gov petition system allows the Executive Office to dodge … [Read more...] about Obama decides America should keep Justin Bieber, Canadians breathe huge sigh of relief
The Fuss About Military Hairstyles
Women in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, TMV’s Managing Director, in a recent article pointed out the arbitrariness -- and insensitivity, I might add -- of the recent changes to Army Regulation (AR) 670-1, “Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia.” Estés describes the unique characteristics of the hair of African Americans: To … [Read more...] about The Fuss About Military Hairstyles
Politicizing Legal Advice
A panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the Justice Department to release a redacted copy of a classified memo outlining the legal basis for drone strikes targeting American citizens overseas. This seems a very dangerous decision. In essence, the court held that when the President stated that the strikes were "legal," he waived all claims of … [Read more...] about Politicizing Legal Advice
Cosmos For Creationists
Creationist Cosmos from Funny Or Die Cosmos contains facts which some on the anti-science religious right object to, such as discussion of evolution and creation of the universe in the big bang. Last month I posted a video in which an episode of Cosmos was edited for creationists. Funny or Die made their version of an episode made for creationists--video above. Cross … [Read more...] about Cosmos For Creationists
Treat “Meet the Press” — and David Gregory?
If you need an indictation of how much our broadcast media relies on personality to capture audience share, or a sign of how badly NBC's venerable "Meet the Press" is now ailing in ratings, then look no further than this Washington Post piece about the show's trials and tribulations. But The Huffington Post really gets to the central issue: A new report from The … [Read more...] about Treat “Meet the Press” — and David Gregory?
Limbaugh Loses It (Cartoon)
This cartoon is licensed to run on The Moderate Voice. 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 Limbaugh Loses It (Cartoon)
De Blasio, unbowed
NEW YORK -- To say that Mayor Bill de Blasio is unbowed after some difficult moments in his first few months in office is not entirely true. The 6-foot-5 progressive bows regularly so he won't overwhelm interlocutors who don't meet NBA specs. But de Blasio offers no apologies for waging war on economic inequality, for taking his time in making key appointments, or for … [Read more...] about De Blasio, unbowed
R Is For Responsibile Campaigning
As we move further in to a political campaign it is only a matter of time before the ad makers go to the same slime infested well they use every two years. Attack ads are of course part of any political campaign and on some level they probably do serve a purpose in bringing an issue before the voters. But these ads inevitably go too far and we start to see the comparisons … [Read more...] about R Is For Responsibile Campaigning
South Korea: Tragic Loss of So Many of Our Young
Two days ago, Danwon high school students and families held a candlelight vigil for safe return of over 150 teenaged passengers of the sunken ferry Sewol in Ansan, South Korea. It appears about 45 souls were found alive and rescued. The rest of the young souls, in part because of choppy seas and strong currents, appear to be still in the waters. Hearing the fathers of the … [Read more...] about South Korea: Tragic Loss of So Many of Our Young
The End Of Chris Christie’s National Ambitions & Other Musings In This Season Of Our Discontent
CHRIS CHRISTIE'S BRIDGE TO OBLIVION? In 2010, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie singlehandedly killed a planned $8.7 billion commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River that virtually everyone else believed would ensure the future health of the New York region's economy. Christie argued that it was just too damned expensive for the frugal times in which he governed, … [Read more...] about The End Of Chris Christie’s National Ambitions & Other Musings In This Season Of Our Discontent
How the world gets drunk, in 4 surprising charts
How the world gets drunk, in 4 surprising charts (via GlobalPost) BANGKOK — The Irish and Russians have long suffered under the stereotype that their men drink excessively. And they do. Health experts insist men should enjoy no more than two drinks per day. The average male Irish drinker has four. Russian guys?… … [Read more...] about How the world gets drunk, in 4 surprising charts
China and Coal
China's consumption of coal has not decreased but the yearly increase in coal consumption has. China is realizing that coal is bad for the country: But that kind of growth of coal has more than just climate impacts. It is “draining the country’s arid west of precious water resources,” as Greenpeace itself noted. And then there is the air pollution. Climate Progress … [Read more...] about China and Coal
SciFi Weekend: Orphan Black; Hannibal; Arrow; Agents of SHIELD; The Americans; Fargo; Continnum; Game of Thrones; The Newsroom; Hugo Nominees
Orphan Black returned for a second season following several days of receiving a considerable amount of publicity for being such a high quality show, even if few knew about it when it aired last season. Nature Under Constraint and Vexed picked up right where the show left off last season, but BBC America did run a show last week which might help new viewers catch up, and has … [Read more...] about SciFi Weekend: Orphan Black; Hannibal; Arrow; Agents of SHIELD; The Americans; Fargo; Continnum; Game of Thrones; The Newsroom; Hugo Nominees
Time to Get Tough on India Stealing Our Stuff
Time to Get Tough on India Stealing Our Stuff By Phil Kerpen Quite simply, from pharmaceuticals to motion pictures to software, India is stealing our stuff. India ranks dead last among major economies in protection of intellectual property rights, according to a comprehensive analysis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And despite lots of talk and visits from Secretary of … [Read more...] about Time to Get Tough on India Stealing Our Stuff
Quest for extraterrestrial life not over: experts
Quest for extraterrestrial life not over: experts (via AFP) The discovery of an Earth-sized planet in the "habitable" zone of a distant star, though exciting, is still a long way from pointing to the existence of extraterrestrial life, experts said Friday. The planet, dubbed Kepler-186f, is the first of this… … [Read more...] about Quest for extraterrestrial life not over: experts
Getting worse for Obama? Much worse?
Today, with our increased polarization and a political discourse more and more defined by cultural cleavages, those groups whose participation drops off are more strongly Democratic than they were twenty years ago, while the groups whose voting rate stays high—elderly white voters, notably—are more Republican than they were. This means that the decline that was bad for … [Read more...] about Getting worse for Obama? Much worse?