With New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's political stock plummeting, pundits and journalists are now offering up another name as The Great Republican Establishment Hope: former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Which gives us this question from Booman: Is Jeb Bush inevitable? Would another Clinton/Bush contest prove that we're not a representative democracy but a "nepotistic … [Read more...] about Is a Clinton-Bush race inevitable?
‘American Idol’ star Clay Aiken launches Congress bid
'American Idol' star Clay Aiken launches Congress bid (via AFP) "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken declared Wednesday he is running for Congress, putting his singing career on hold as he aims to unseat a Republican from her North Carolina district. Aiken said he would run as a Democrat against two-term congresswoman… … [Read more...] about ‘American Idol’ star Clay Aiken launches Congress bid
Fact-checkers Debunk GOP Obamacare Claim
The fact-check websites say "not so fast" to GOP claims that the Affordable Care Act kills jobs according to a CBO report. Politifact.com gave House Speaker John Boehner and Fox News' Gretchen Carlson a "mostly false" rating for similar statements that the CBO report says the ACA will "kill 2.3 million jobs." They made it sound as if jobs are going away because businesses … [Read more...] about Fact-checkers Debunk GOP Obamacare Claim
UN report censures Holy See
A surprising, disturbing are surely controversial report has roundly criticized the Holy See (Vatican) for alleged neglect of violence against children, including sexual abuse, within its jurisdiction around the world. A United Nations committee on children complained today that the Holy See took 14 years to provide details about applying the international Convention on the … [Read more...] about UN report censures Holy See
(Update) Sochi 2014: Two Missions for Our Troops
Reality Distortion At Its “Finest”
As was pointed out in an earlier post, the right wing media world is in a frenzy over a CBO report that they claim shows that the ACA will cause a loss of jobs. That's not really what the report says, though. In fact, Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the CBO stated as much in testimony to a House Committee. Of course Greg Sargent noted the day before Elmendorf testified … [Read more...] about Reality Distortion At Its “Finest”
President Obama Gives Workers a Higher Minimum Wage
For the past few years, our country had been rife with debate over whether to raise the federal minimum wage. Many Americans feel that the current minimum wage is too low — if our country's lowest paid workers aren't in poverty, they at least have a very low standard of living. Due in part to the low minimum wage, the number of impoverished and nearly impoverished families is … [Read more...] about President Obama Gives Workers a Higher Minimum Wage
New White House Problem: Report says Obamcare will lose jobs
White House in damage control on health care jobs report (via AFP) The White House jumped to parry new attacks Tuesday against Barack Obama's healthcare law, after a congressional watchdog warned it takes the equivalent of two million workers out of the economy. The report, by the Congressional Budget Office, offered… … [Read more...] about New White House Problem: Report says Obamcare will lose jobs
CVS Caremark will halt selling cigarettes by Oct. 1
Just as it appears as if it may be springtime for legalized marijuana in the United States, there's now a sign that it may be wintertime for the cigarette industry. The latest chapter in the decades-long decline in the general acceptability of smoking comes in the form of a p.r. release put out by CVS Caremark and now being picked up by news organizations and websites … [Read more...] about CVS Caremark will halt selling cigarettes by Oct. 1
This is it: The Exploitation Documentary
I remember the first time I watched the documentary, This is it. It was in a Kettering (UK) cinema with a handful of people openly and loudly crying. I was pissed that I succumbed to the hype and paid money to watch the film in the first place – the dirt had barely settled on Michael’s grave and people had already started exploiting him all over again. But I can’t talk … [Read more...] about This is it: The Exploitation Documentary
Mollycules
In January of 1999 I crashed my bicycle in a head on collision with another cyclist who had drifted into my lane. That resulted in a severely bent the frame. It was custom steel Guerciotti time trial bike that had all Italian components by Campagnolo. I had owned it only a few months so I was not as attached to it as I might have been with time. I immediately purchased a … [Read more...] about Mollycules
Howard Dean and Washington politics
Beau Willimon (real name) is the writer of Netflix's zowie success, "House of Cards." There's a touch of OCD about Willimon, at least as he's described in the latest New York Times Sunday magazine. "House of Cards" is the fantasy about Bush>Obama Washington in the way that "West Wing" was the feel-good Clinton era series: "'West Wing' arrived in 1999 as a televised … [Read more...] about Howard Dean and Washington politics
See 63 Years of Climate Change In 15 Seconds [NASA Animation] (Guest Voice)
See 63 Years of Climate Change In 15 Seconds [NASA Animation] (via Planetsave) Despite what some in the “mainstream” media assert, there is no “debate about global warming” — not amongst informed scientists, anyways. Scientists knowledgeable about climate change debate only the finer details, such as: how much CO2 increase… … [Read more...] about See 63 Years of Climate Change In 15 Seconds [NASA Animation] (Guest Voice)
Amanda Knox, Italian Justice, and ‘Conviction at All Costs’ (La Stampa, Italy)
In the case of the trial of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, how trustworthy is the recent reinstatement of their conviction for murder? For Italy's La Stampa, columnist Alessandro Perissinotto writes that Italian prosecutors, goaded by a public weaned on TV crime dramas, are loathe to admit when a lack of evidence requires dismissal. To add insult to … [Read more...] about Amanda Knox, Italian Justice, and ‘Conviction at All Costs’ (La Stampa, Italy)
Dignity in the Workplace (Part 2)
This is the eighth part of the serialization of All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity (Berrett-Koehler, 2006). The ideas in this book are further developed in my recent novel The Rowan Tree. CHAPTER 4: DIGNITY IN THE WORKPLACE (Part 2) When the Boss Is a Bully The film 9 to 5 depicted a nasty boss. More recently, Mean Girls showed how "popular" girls … [Read more...] about Dignity in the Workplace (Part 2)
Superbowl Ad Controversy: English Aint the Language of ‘America.’
Especially not 'the king's English' as satirized by using 'ain't in this headline. Coca-Cola put up an ad at the superbowl: 'America the Beautiful' sung in seven different languages, including Keres, which is a language of certain southwestern Pueblo peoples. Online after the tv commercial, came a barrage of 'Twitterish'… 'speak English!' accompanied by various … [Read more...] about Superbowl Ad Controversy: English Aint the Language of ‘America.’
Kerry Thinks it’s Back to Business as Usual? ‘What a Miscalculation!’ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany)
It appears that the American delegation to the Munich Security Conference had hoped they could entirely avoid the subject of NSA spying while visiting Germany. No such luck. For the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, columnist Thomas Gutschker writes that rather than going away, the gap between the United States and Germany on the issue of spying is expanding, leading to the most … [Read more...] about Kerry Thinks it’s Back to Business as Usual? ‘What a Miscalculation!’ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany)
There is no truth in the truther: trying to squeeze the zest out of a lemon
There is no truth in the truther: trying to squeeze the zest out of a lemon The view from the Virgin Islands By John F. McCarthy TMV Columnist If you’re from Detroit (and if you are at this point few would admit it) “Monday moanin’” is a tradition that you are not only familiar with – but comfortable with. The Pulitzer-Prize winning newspaper here has a … [Read more...] about There is no truth in the truther: trying to squeeze the zest out of a lemon
Republicans defend using GOP websites set up to look like Democratic ones for fundraising
Our partisan politics gets smellier and smellier than ever -- and partisans and parties defend the smelly practices, issuing statements that even a mosquito knows are flimsy, unconvincing cover-story plausible deniability statements that are...smelly. Partisans fall in line with each smelly lowering of the bar in American politics because it's their political sports team trying … [Read more...] about Republicans defend using GOP websites set up to look like Democratic ones for fundraising
Republicans Divide Over Renewable Energy
Republican dogma for decades has been that man-made global warming is a myth and that an emphasis on renewable energy will damage our economy. It appears, however, that a split is developing within the Grand Old Party and that some Republicans now favor renewable energy over fossil fuels. Barry Goldwater Jr has been in the forefront of conservative Republicans pushing for … [Read more...] about Republicans Divide Over Renewable Energy