Since my mother passed away 14 months ago the only family I have left are my brother and sister both of whom live in Houston. I went down there for a visit for a week. It was nice to see them. My sister took me on a couple of day trips, one to Galveston so I could see the Gulf of Mexico and one to the "hill country" south of Austin. Although I saw lots of great wild … [Read more...] about Houston
Bank Tellers – The Next Endangered Job?
We have seen a decline in brick and mortar retail outlets and now we are seeing the same thing with brick and mortar banks. Why? The same reason - the internet. I have not been inside by bank for over a year and I'm not alone. One in three people in the U.S. reports not visiting the bank for personal financial reasons in the past six months, while one in five hasn’t gone in … [Read more...] about Bank Tellers – The Next Endangered Job?
Independent Booksellers Having Trouble in New York City
In many ways, e-books have been a positive thing for book lovers. If you need a book to read, you can download one to your e-reader or tablet with the click of a button. You don’t need to leave the house, or wait for your order to come in the mail. Even better, e-books are typically less expensive than the print versions of books. According to Frugal Wins, the average … [Read more...] about Independent Booksellers Having Trouble in New York City
Obama’s little victory at the UN
President Barack Obama scored a minor victory today in his clash with Russia’s Vladimir Putin when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) rejected Russia’s annexation of Crimea and declared that the referendum of March 16, 2014 was illegal and invalid. The UNGA resolution-- approved by 100 in favor, 11 against and 58 abstentions-- used clear wording free from the usual … [Read more...] about Obama’s little victory at the UN
Democratic Mid-Term Achilles Heel: Young Voters
The Democratic Party has a big, glaring Achilles Heel in the 2014 mid-term elections: its reliance on young voters. It has been disappointed before and it's likely to be disappointed again. That's the gist of the view of Geoffrey Skelley, associated editor of the highly respected Sabato's Crystal Ball. He notes that polls going back nearly 40 years show young people aren't … [Read more...] about Democratic Mid-Term Achilles Heel: Young Voters
Flight MH370: The Search Continues
As new satellite images -- described by Malaysian officials as the most credible lead to Flight MH370’s whereabouts -- show 122 pieces of possible debris in the same area where the most recent search has focused, 11 aircraft, five ships, hundreds of personnel and all kinds of sophisticated equipment from the US, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are posed … [Read more...] about Flight MH370: The Search Continues
Denial Of Climate Change Is A Hoax
Climate change deniers often cite sources other than experts in climate science to support their position. They would have a tough time finding actual experts in the field to agree with them. As geochemist James Lawrence Powell continues to prove, the only people still debating whether or not climate change is “real,” and caused by human activity, are the ones who aren’t doing … [Read more...] about Denial Of Climate Change Is A Hoax
Lack Of Information And Misinformation Suppressing Enrollment In Insurance Plans
Recent polls are showing some of the obstacles to extending coverage among the uninsured. A study published Monday by the National Academy of Sciences showed that a substantial number of consumers lack basic knowledge of how insurance works which would be necessary to intelligently purchase coverage. A new Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows lack of knowledge of the deadline for … [Read more...] about Lack Of Information And Misinformation Suppressing Enrollment In Insurance Plans
Crimea: The Latest Front for French Rambos (Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria)
Talk about Francophone ridicule! Are the French making a 'laughing stock' of themselves by trying to act like a central player in the Ukraine crisis? For Algeria's Le Quotidien d'Oran, columnist Kharroubi Habib says that French threats of military action by Prime Minister Francois Hollande, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, and Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian are making both … [Read more...] about Crimea: The Latest Front for French Rambos (Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria)
Video games linked to aggressive behavior in kids
Video games linked to aggressive behavior in kids (via AFP) Youths who play video games are more likely to think and act in aggressive ways, suggested a study out Monday of more than 3,000 schoolchildren in Singapore. The research, published in JAMA Pediatrics, a journal of the American Medical Association,… … [Read more...] about Video games linked to aggressive behavior in kids
Mitt Romney’s Sour Grapes Tour (Guest Voice)
Mitt Romney's Sour Grapes Tour by Dick Polman Bad habits are hard to break. Sixteen months after the electorate told him to take a hike, Mitt Romney is still lying. He has lately embarked on a sour grapes tour, seeking to sell himself as a retroactive foreign policy expert who, by dint of his wisdom and muscle, surely would've prevented Vladimir Putin from committing … [Read more...] about Mitt Romney’s Sour Grapes Tour (Guest Voice)
The Csendes Ember: The Man of Silence
By request for the Souls, from the Souls. THE CSENDES EMBER We were climbing up past Maroon Bells It was getting to be a straight up climb. Needing breath, we stopped talking... Ran out of words even more than running out of breath. Something about being in the Csendes emberof Nature Makes small talk stupider than usual… Csendes ember, amongst my Magyar … [Read more...] about The Csendes Ember: The Man of Silence
Bill Calls For Adding ICD-10 Delay To Latest “Doc Fix”
I recently pointed out that the Republicans killed a recent attempt to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate formula by attaching a measure to end the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act. With failing to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate it becomes necessary for Congress to pass yet another temporary “doc fix” to prevent Medicare reimbursement from automatically falling … [Read more...] about Bill Calls For Adding ICD-10 Delay To Latest “Doc Fix”
Search and Recovery Continue in Oso Mudslide Devastation
As the estimated death toll climbs to 24 in the weekend mudslide in Snohomish County, Washington, the search continues as the terrain has stabilized a little more to permit a more through and intense search. TIME reports that more bodies have been spotted and that more than 150 people are still missing. The Washington Army National Guard, and Federal Emergency Management … [Read more...] about Search and Recovery Continue in Oso Mudslide Devastation
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
We're unable to edit posts (like the one on the poll about the ACA) due to technical problems. Please referesh TMV. The post on the ACA has a whole bunch of problems with codes not going in as planned. Once the issues are resolved it'll be fixed and you'll see a post by Dick Polman on the top of TMV. … [Read more...] about TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
Poll Has Bad News for Both Parties: Ignorance about Obamacare but people tiring of subject
A new Kaiser Health Tracking poll has bad news for Democrats -- and for Republicans. Bad news for the Democrats: there's still considerable ignorance about the Affordable Health Care Act and many Americans will remain uninsured. Bad news for the Republicans: many people are getting tired of hearing about the issue over and over again and want to focus on other things. In … [Read more...] about Poll Has Bad News for Both Parties: Ignorance about Obamacare but people tiring of subject
All You Ever Wanted to Know About Obamacare, and More.
As reflected by the more than 100 comments on Joe Gandelman’s post, “Pew Poll: Only 40% Approve of Obamacare,” and by the thousands of articles and commentaries in the media, there is a lot of confusion, misunderstanding and just plain obfuscation on the issue of “Obamacare.” And, as evident from the many articles posted by Ron Chusid in a valiant effort to explain Obamacare … [Read more...] about All You Ever Wanted to Know About Obamacare, and More.
Modern-Day Weather Vanity
Time to be Cool about Global Warming Things 2 Heat Up in the Coming Ice Age The View from the Virgin Islands By John McCarthy TMV Columnist Now that the authorities involved have irretrievably solved the mystery of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 (without even a scrap of evidence) … Let’s move to another ephemeral topic of conversation as Winter transitions into Spring … [Read more...] about Modern-Day Weather Vanity
Latest poll shows 2014 a tie
[box type="shadow"]As Political Wire reports, yesterday GWU poll shows Democrats in good shape for the November 2014 elections, a tie at 43% each. The data show the hard results of the poll, but the analyses of the poll done by each of the two parties' political analysts are perhaps more telling in their grasp of reality. The Republicans tend to tiptoe around the data, … [Read more...] about Latest poll shows 2014 a tie
Republican Candidate And Pro-Republican Ad Both Making False Claims About Obamacare
Brian Buetler points out that the conservative claims of people not signing up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act are falling apart as we reach the end of the open enrollment period: Charles Gaba — an ACA supporter and data Hoover — has been documenting the March surge, state by state on his Twitter account and his site, ACAsignups.net. Gaba has the best numbers out … [Read more...] about Republican Candidate And Pro-Republican Ad Both Making False Claims About Obamacare