Hollywood Legend Christopher Lee Shocks the World by Entering the Christmas Music Charts (via SBWire) London, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/27/2013 -- 91-year-old Lee surprises yet again by entering the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales Chart at No. 22 with his Heavy Metal take on the classic 'Jingle Bells', appropriately titled 'Jingle Hell'. The song forms part… … [Read more...] about Hollywood Legend Christopher Lee Shocks the World by Entering the Christmas Music Charts
(Update) NORAD on Track to Track and Escort Santa
Update: Apparently NORAD did a great job of tracking and escorting Santa so that he could “bring the magic of Christmas to children around the world,” as Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, NORAD’s public affairs director says. Not only was the “Track Santa Program” another big success, it broke all kinds of records. According to a North American Aerospace Defense Command News … [Read more...] about (Update) NORAD on Track to Track and Escort Santa
Behind Obamacare: A Tale of Two Shoulders
During this season of aches and pains, the Obamacare battle resumes in full fury with little direct relevance to millions who are hurting and want relief. Lost in the political clamor is any sense of how American health care really works in a cockpit of special interests and free-lance greed that permeates a “system” of patient choice but no protection. As a metaphor and … [Read more...] about Behind Obamacare: A Tale of Two Shoulders
Beirut car bomb kills anti-Assad former finance minister
A critic of the fascist Assad regime has apparently been killed in a car bombing in Lebanon. While most people I know who watch Middle Eastern politics in a casual way are still insistent that the problems in this part of the world are mostly due to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, events of the last few years I would think would put that nonsense to rest. The Israelis were … [Read more...] about Beirut car bomb kills anti-Assad former finance minister
McDonalds solves its image problem (Guest Cartoonist)
McDonalds solves its image problem by Mike Peters OF RELATED INTEREST: --McDonald's warns its employees against eating 'unhealthy' fast food --McDonald's Controversial Employee Website Finally Taken Down --McDonald’s embarrassment on employee resource site --McDonalds Kills Site That Advised Employees to Eat Healthy Meals --McDonald's Takes Back Its Awesome Gift to … [Read more...] about McDonalds solves its image problem (Guest Cartoonist)
The War on Christians (Guest Voice)
The war on Christians By MICHAEL GERSON Washington Post Writers Group WASHINGTON -- In some parts of the world, Herod's massacre of the innocents is a living tradition. On Christmas Day in Iraq, 37 people were killed in bomb attacks in Christian districts of Baghdad. Radical Islamists mark -- and stain -- the season with brutality and intolerance. The … [Read more...] about The War on Christians (Guest Voice)
Consequences, Shmonsequences in Action
The famous philosopher Daffy Duck had a saying: "Consequences, schmonsequences..." In recent weeks we've seen quintessential examples of both. They show the perils of assuming free speech means you can say anything you want in various media platforms without risking global opinion reaction -- and how it could hurt your career, or possibly enrich you. Consequence: The … [Read more...] about Consequences, Shmonsequences in Action
The GOP’s growing divide
WASHINGTON -- The Republican Party, which should have the wind at its back, enters 2014 in disarray bordering on open warfare. President Obama and the Democrats have had, let's face it, a bumpy few months. The debut of the Affordable Care Act was not quite the hair-pulling, garment-rending, world-historical disaster that some critics claim, but it was -- and remains -- … [Read more...] about The GOP’s growing divide
Poll: Congress the worst ever
Here is a perfect example of something that is "intuitive." A new CNN/ORC International poll finds that two-thirds of those polled consider the current Congress the worst in their lifetimes. And President Barack Obama isn't raising hope anymore about hope, the poll finds: The worst Congress ever. That's the verdict from two-thirds of Americans about the track record of … [Read more...] about Poll: Congress the worst ever
The Need to Consistently Complain (Guest Voice)
The Need to Consistently Complain by Peter W. Johnson During a late night bout with insomnia I turned on my television and, happened to witness part of a PBS program concerning the attempts of a speaker to advocate for the legal rights of Native American who had apparently been mistreated by the financial institutions that managed the money they received—presumably … [Read more...] about The Need to Consistently Complain (Guest Voice)
More on the Subject of Dishonesty
I am sometimes accused of an ad hominem fallacy when I point out that certain sources of information should be questioned more than others. But given how common false claims are from organizations that have agendas how could this not be the case? Consider this blog post from the Heritage Foundation. The evil government is interfering with the inerrant free market by taking … [Read more...] about More on the Subject of Dishonesty
The Politics of Dignity: What’s at Stake
This is the second 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 –currently free on Kindle. CHAPTER 1: WHAT'S AT STAKE Rankism explains a lot of the bad behavior we see in both institutions and cultures, as well as … [Read more...] about The Politics of Dignity: What’s at Stake
Dishonest Arguments Against Obamacare aka The ACA
John H. Cochrane writes in the WSJ about what must be done when Obamacare unravels, as he knows it must. He writes that returning to the status quo represents a false dichotomy. It isn't a choice between that or Obamacare. The real answer is contained in one concept and only one concept. Trust in the free market. Deregulate health care. Sort of. Only deregulation can … [Read more...] about Dishonest Arguments Against Obamacare aka The ACA
Happy Christmas Moments for Our Troops Overseas
I hope all our readers and their loved ones had a wonderful Christmas. I also hope that our 250,000 military service members who spent this Christmas at our many overseas bases, posts, outposts and aboard Navy ships and submarines -- about 50,000 of them in a combat zone -- managed to have as blessed a Christmas as possible. Here are a few images of some happy aspects of … [Read more...] about Happy Christmas Moments for Our Troops Overseas
“A Christmas Story” cast reunites for film’s 30 year anniversary (Video)
The 1983 film "A Christmas Story" has become one of the most beloved holiday classics of all time. The reason: Jean Shepard's story, the film, the casting, the writing -- is all timeless. But film is truly a snapshot in time because all actors, voice actors, do evolve and change. And so it is with "The Christmas Story" -- which celebrates its 30 year...an occasion for four of … [Read more...] about “A Christmas Story” cast reunites for film’s 30 year anniversary (Video)
The deficit myth(s)
.. On net, President Obama’s policies have added far less to the deficit than commonly believed, and much of that stemmed from extending the Bush tax cuts for two years past their original expiration date in 2010. Even after they were finally allowed to expire at the end of 2012, Mr. Obama allowed many of them to stay in place permanently, reducing revenues and raising the … [Read more...] about The deficit myth(s)
Can Other Companies Hope to Take on Amazon?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you probably know that Amazon is one of the most successful retailers in the world. With its wide selection, low prices and fast shipping, Amazon doesn’t just dominate the online marketplace — it dominates the marketplace, period. Physical stores and other online retailers have long worried that Amazon may put them … [Read more...] about Can Other Companies Hope to Take on Amazon?
Waking up Foreign: Syndrome Causes Changes in Natural Speech Pattern
Waking up Foreign: Syndrome Causes Changes in Natural Speech Pattern (via Nvate) Heather Atkinson In 2008, Leanne Rowe, an Australian bus driver, awoke from being hospitalized after a serious accident that left her back and jaw broken, according to CNN. The most startling injury, however, became evident once Rowe heard herself speak… … [Read more...] about Waking up Foreign: Syndrome Causes Changes in Natural Speech Pattern
The Planet’s Rate Of Warming Is 400,000 Hiroshima Bombs Per Day (Guest Voice)
The Planet’s Rate Of Warming Is 400,000 Hiroshima Bombs Per Day (via Clean Technica) Originally published on ThinkProgress. By Joe Romm. Conveying abstract or hard-to-visualize ideas is always a challenge. That’s a core reason the best communicators have always used metaphors. As Aristotle wrote in his classic work Poetics, “… … [Read more...] about The Planet’s Rate Of Warming Is 400,000 Hiroshima Bombs Per Day (Guest Voice)
CNN Poll: Republicans now have edge in midterm elections
It now appears as if the Democratic Party has siezed defeat from the jaws of likely victory in the 2014 mid term election. A new CNN poll finds Republicans now have the edge: Democrats have lost their advantage and Republicans now have a slight edge in the battle for control of Congress, according to a new national poll. The problem? President Barack Obama is … [Read more...] about CNN Poll: Republicans now have edge in midterm elections