And now we see yet another great comedy talent die young. John Pinette, perhaps best known as the guy who got mugged in the final Seinfeld episode, but known to stand up comedy fans as the overweight comic who did truly classic routines about going to buffets and to a water park, is dead at 50. There's no official cause of death but it's believed heart and liver problems played … [Read more...] about R.I.P John Pinette: master comedian and “Seinfeld” actor dies at 50 (UPDATED)
SciFi Weekend: Hannibal; Arrow; Continuum; Doctor Who; 12 Monkeys; The Wil Wheaton Project; The Americans; The Big Bang Theory Does Star Wars; How I Met Your Mother Ends In The Darkest Timeline
With Futamono, we are about half way through the second season of Hannibal, and some people are beginning to suspect that bad things are happening to people around the title character. We know that he will be exposed by the end of the season, but at the moment he is a sort of Superman who is able to outsmart almost everyone and evade detection. He can even manage to get Abel … [Read more...] about SciFi Weekend: Hannibal; Arrow; Continuum; Doctor Who; 12 Monkeys; The Wil Wheaton Project; The Americans; The Big Bang Theory Does Star Wars; How I Met Your Mother Ends In The Darkest Timeline
Tina Turner, Mad Max, Al Gore and You (Guest Voice)
Tina Turner, Mad Max, Al Gore and You Raging Moderate by Will Durst According to a new UN report, there's good news and bad news about global warming. The good news- it's worse than we thought. Yeah. That's the good news. The bad news- you don't want to know. Because then there's worse news and ultimately, "holy moley, is that an asteroid the size of a mini-mall crushing my … [Read more...] about Tina Turner, Mad Max, Al Gore and You (Guest Voice)
Supreme Court (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 Supreme Court (Cartoon)
The Democrats’ Bad 2014 Seniors Moment
The Democratic Party in 2014 is having a bad seniors moment. Once upon a time, seniors were big supporters of the Dems. But started to shift and this year the Democrats could get a sharp senior blow to their political stomach. Seniors are not happy and now could be counted on to be GOP voters: Democrats are facing a senior problem that could get even worse this … [Read more...] about The Democrats’ Bad 2014 Seniors Moment
(Updated) Venezuela’s Maduro Does a Putin Impression
Update: A couple of reactions to Maduro’s “I-am-so-misunderstood” op-ed in the New York Times -- in Times' Letters to the Editor by some influential readers. Some excerpts: … Venezuela is plagued by one of the world’s highest murder rates, rampant corruption related to state assets, a 57 percent inflation rate, a junk rating on the global bond markets and … [Read more...] about (Updated) Venezuela’s Maduro Does a Putin Impression
Putin, Paul Krugman, and our latest President Painter
Actually, those "noted" art critics who say George W. Bush's paintings are good are right. Not all of Bush's work is good, but he does have genuine talent. One of his portraits shows an egotistical, bloated Putin who's also unnaturally pale and looks frightened. There's a lot of truth in that. George W. Bush saw it. Bush was a spoiled, irresponsible, privileged, and … [Read more...] about Putin, Paul Krugman, and our latest President Painter
(Updated) Commander Identifies Fort Hood Shooter, Provides Details
UPDATE: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will travel to Fort Hood Wednesday for a memorial service for those killed and wounded in the shooting there last Wednesday, the Austin American-Statesman reports. "The president will be delivering a keynote address Thursday at the LBJ Library in Austin as part of a Civil Rights Summit on the 50th anniversary of the … [Read more...] about (Updated) Commander Identifies Fort Hood Shooter, Provides Details
Is Christie through as serious GOP Presidential contender?
Is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie through as a serious contender? Despite Christie arranging and paying for lawyers to look into the "Bridgegate" scandal that resulted in a report that (surprise!) exonerated him of wrongdoing, he has been hit but a new political blow: the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey has conveened a grand jury to look into the issue. And already some savvy … [Read more...] about Is Christie through as serious GOP Presidential contender?
How Frozen won me over (psstt, it didn’t have to try hard
I unashamedly love Disney. One of the reasons why I love movies so much is because of that mouse's company. For me, Aladdin and The Lion King are so important, so personal that they still conjure amazingly powerful emotions even though I have watched them numerous times. Don't judge me. Disney have a very difficult role to play in today's film landscape - it is clear that … [Read more...] about How Frozen won me over (psstt, it didn’t have to try hard
Paul Ryan Admits Consequences Of Replacing Obamacare With Republican Alternative
Republicans who have been attacking the Affordable Care Act have been unable to provide a specific alternative to replace it with. One problem they face is that, while polls show large numbers of people say they oppose Obamacare, a majority also supports many of the individual components of the law. Paul Ryan admitted what repeal of Obamacare and replacing it with a Republican … [Read more...] about Paul Ryan Admits Consequences Of Replacing Obamacare With Republican Alternative
Study Shows Number of Newly Insured Increased By 5.4 Million As Of Early March
Despite favorable numbers on Obamacare enrollment, many Republicans continue to try to deny the positive results. Two common questions brought up are the number paying their premiums and the number of newly insured. Recently I pointed out that those claiming that as many as twenty percent are not receiving coverage due to not paying their premiums are incorrect because often … [Read more...] about Study Shows Number of Newly Insured Increased By 5.4 Million As Of Early March
Is The United States Religiously Diverse?
Via OTB, U.S. doesn’t rank high in religious diversity I think this survey has a fatal flaw. I think grouping all so called Christian religions in the United States is a false equivalency. An evangelical Christian church and a main stream Christian church are not the same religion. A Pentecostal church and the Lutheran church are not the same religion. It also does not … [Read more...] about Is The United States Religiously Diverse?
GOP NoCare (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 GOP NoCare (Cartoon)
How much slime is too much slime, politically speaking? (Guest Voice)
How much slime is too much slime, politically speaking? by Richard Barry Even though the internal report commissioned by Gov. Christie’s office blamed the entire Bridgegate mess on two former aides, while absolving Christie, anyone paying even scant attention dismissed it as self-serving nonsense. Still, a lot of people don't even pay scant attention, so it might have done … [Read more...] about How much slime is too much slime, politically speaking? (Guest Voice)
Public relations experts praise David Letterman on timing of exit from CBS’ ‘Late Show’
Editor's note: David Letterman has announced that he'll be retiring. One of the more fascinating aspects of this is the way it was handled in p.r. terms. Here's a take on that via The PR News Channel: During a taping of the show, he dropped the news, saying he would retire from late night and the ‘Late Show with David Letterman‘ in 2015. “I think Dave wanted to bow … [Read more...] about Public relations experts praise David Letterman on timing of exit from CBS’ ‘Late Show’
Sullivan on Obama and History
Andrew Sullivan makes some guesses as to history's ultimate view of Barak Obama on The Daily Dish. Worse, the Republicans are now in the position of nit-picking, cold-water dousing and general negativity that tends not to wear well over time. Once again, it seems to me, they have misjudged this president’s long game. All they have now are scare stories and a narrative that … [Read more...] about Sullivan on Obama and History
Chinese ship finds ‘pulse signal’, no confirmation MH370
Chinese ship finds 'pulse signal', no confirmation MH370: Xinhua (via AFP) A black box detector deployed by a Chinese patrol ship searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 picked up a pulse signal in the southern Indian Ocean Saturday, state media said. It is yet to be established whether the signal detected by… … [Read more...] about Chinese ship finds ‘pulse signal’, no confirmation MH370
M is for Military Working Dog
Reading Patrick’s nice piece on what is my favorite animal, too, reminded me that it has been a while since I have posted about my favorite kind of Dog, the Military working Dog (MWD), our “four-legged warriors” So here is a quick trip through 'MWD lane' Former Marine Corps Cpl. Jeremiah Peters stretches as his service dog, Bella, rests at his feet during the 2014 … [Read more...] about M is for Military Working Dog
E Is For Error
One of the most difficult things we face in life is the possibility of error. Nobody likes to be wrong and it is only natural to want to avoid admitting it, even when we know failing to do so often makes things worse. I sometimes wonder about this in my own life. Why is it we are so reluctant to admit that we, as a human being, have acted like a human being ? I am … [Read more...] about E Is For Error