UPDATE: Death Confirmed by Reuters Reuters) - Actor Paul Walker, best known for his roles in the "Fast and the Furious" action movies, died on Saturday in a car crash in Southern California, his publicist said. Walker, 40, who was in five of the six films about illegal street racing and heists, died as a passenger in a friend's car while attending a charity event, … [Read more...] about Actor Paul Walker Reported Dead In Car Accident At Age 40
Julian Assange’s Warning ‘Urgent’ for Developing World (La Jornada, Mexico)
One emerging Internet structure independent of the United States (read: NSA) now has a name: CABLEBRICS - as in the BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This La Jornada editorial once again advises Latin American leaders to heed the advice of Julian Assange to create portals free of U.S. and European influence. The question of whether an Internet … [Read more...] about Julian Assange’s Warning ‘Urgent’ for Developing World (La Jornada, Mexico)
MMA fighting: Inside look at the brutal sport’s rising popularity and danger
div class="rpuEmbedCode"> MMA fighting: Inside look at the brutal sport's rising popularity and danger (via NJ.com) At 11 o'clock on a Thursday night in August, the thermostat inside George Sullivan's apartment is cranked to 90 degrees. This might as well be hell. Over the next 20 hours, Sullivan, a professional mixed martial arts fighter from Brick, must lose 13… … [Read more...] about MMA fighting: Inside look at the brutal sport’s rising popularity and danger
What does it mean to have been a Republican 100 years ago?
Or for that matter, a Democrat? When you see one of these digital posters that frames Republican Teddy Roosevelt's political views as a counterpoint to today's Republican party ... remember that Teddy did not get the presidential nomination in 1912 when this was his platform: Roosevelt called for women’s suffrage, a federal minimum wage, an end to child labor and … [Read more...] about What does it mean to have been a Republican 100 years ago?
Poll: Congress approval rating at 6 percent record low
Members of Congress can see the South Pole sign now. A new poll puts Congress' approval rating at 6 percent: Americans are split down the middle on whether filibuster rules in the Senate are good or bad, but only 6% of Americans approve of the job Congress is currently doing. What Americans are sure about is how they feel about Congress in general. They don’t like it, … [Read more...] about Poll: Congress approval rating at 6 percent record low
Texas Stupid!
Have we reached the point where we should not only let Texas succeed from the union but actually request that they do? This is an example of the kind of people making educational decisions in Texas. With childlike glee, McLeroy flipped through the pages and explained what he saw as the gaping holes in Darwin’s theory. “I don’t care what the educational political lobby and … [Read more...] about Texas Stupid!
Politics and Thanksgiving 2013 (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 Politics and Thanksgiving 2013 (Cartoon)
Obamas Serve Nine Kinds Plus Pie in the Sky
Whatever the First Family was grateful for this Thanksgiving, they did it in high American style with nine kinds of pie—-huckleberry, pecan, chocolate cream, sweet potato, peach, apple, pumpkin, banana cream and coconut cream. Not exactly in line with the First Lady’s healthful low-calorie crusade, but a day of indulgence in hard times is understandable, literally and … [Read more...] about Obamas Serve Nine Kinds Plus Pie in the Sky
Wanted: GOP Realist
Robert D. Kaplan argues for a realist Republican to unite the Neoconservative and Isolationist factions on Realclearpolitics.com. Only such a presidential aspirant, whom different subcultures of the party respect, has a chance to win the next election. For as much as Republicans may furiously deny it, Obama continues to execute a credible foreign policy that, while rarely … [Read more...] about Wanted: GOP Realist
Victims fear release of Spain rapists, killers under rights law
Victims fear release of Spain rapists, killers under rights law (via AFP) Spanish courts are releasing serial rapists and killers under a European human rights ruling, terrifying their victims as authorities warn the convicts risk reoffending. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg last month overruled a Spanish… … [Read more...] about Victims fear release of Spain rapists, killers under rights law
How Did Our Troops Overseas Spend Thanksgiving?
Glad you asked. In addition to doing what has to be done, even on Thanksgiving, in a combat zone… Some spent some of the time listening to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert as shown below aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Gulf of Oman. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Karl Anderson) Some, at Forward … [Read more...] about How Did Our Troops Overseas Spend Thanksgiving?
Life imitates cliched art: Mafia killer fed screaming rival to killer pigs
It's now a cliche due to James Bond movies, gangster movies and other films that a mafia boss is brutal and a bad, evil guy will feed his enemy to something that can eat him alive. Here's life imitating cliched Hollywood art: An Italian mobster fed a rival gangster to starving pigs — and then marveled at how the victim screamed and how the swine gorged themselves, police … [Read more...] about Life imitates cliched art: Mafia killer fed screaming rival to killer pigs
Turkey Bomb (Video)
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. The turkey I had was the bomb -- but not as much as THIS turkey: … [Read more...] about Turkey Bomb (Video)
Obamacare’s Black Friday Bad News
In a Thanksgiving eve news dump, the White House delivers more bad news about Obamacare and, at this rate, is poised to fill Christmas health-care stockings with lumps of coal. The Administration slips in a one-year delay for small businesses to go online to buy insurance for their employees through the new federal marketplace website, another blow to smooth implementation … [Read more...] about Obamacare’s Black Friday Bad News
What gratitude requires (Guest Voice)
NOTE: Due to a system glitch, this did not go up with the correct byline. TMV regrets the error. WASHINGTON -- Thanksgiving Day is awash in sentiment, but gratitude is not a sentiment. It's a virtue. It's certainly nice, but it is more than a feeling or an emotion. Properly understood, gratitude is hard because it entails both an admission and a demand. A … [Read more...] about What gratitude requires (Guest Voice)
British burned, dumped ’embarrassing’ colonial documents
British burned, dumped 'embarrassing' colonial documents (via AFP) British officials burned and dumped at sea documents from colonies that were about to become independent in a systematic effort to hide their "dirty" secrets, newly released files showed on Friday. Under "Operation Legacy", officials in Kenya, Uganda… … [Read more...] about British burned, dumped ’embarrassing’ colonial documents
DVD and Book Corner: Backstairs At The White House
This week I have both a book and a DVD suggestion: Backstairs at the White House The series is based on a book by Maggie Rogers-Clark. In 1909 her mother went to work as a maid at the Taft White House. Her mother kept working there until the late 1930?s and in the informal era often took Maggie to work with her. Eventually Maggie went to work there full time, … [Read more...] about DVD and Book Corner: Backstairs At The White House
Things To Remember Today
When most people think of Thanksgiving they think of the food, the football and the shopping. Often when they think of family it is of the petty conflicts and the little things that can make the day a hassle. I hope that we can all take some time to remember the truly important things. Remember that you have a warm bed to sleep in and that every day you eat meals many in … [Read more...] about Things To Remember Today
Why There’s Lots to Celebrate This Thanksgiving (Guest Voice)
[three_fourth_last] Why There's Lots to Celebrate This Thanksgiving By Tom Purcell Sure, the country isn't doing so well at the moment, but there are still plenty of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving. I sit at the "big people's table" now, just to the left of my father. It took me years to earn that coveted spot, and for that, I am thankful. Everyone … [Read more...] about Why There’s Lots to Celebrate This Thanksgiving (Guest Voice)
“The Birds”? Massive Geese flock takes off and shocks bystanders
If you saw Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 movie "The Birds" get ready for this one. The day I saw the movie I was in junior high. I walked out of the theater in New Haven, Connecticut and a snakk of pigeons took off in front of me flying over my head and I very visibly flinched. But THIS VIDEO is like it's right out of the movie: The question: who gave the geese the order to … [Read more...] about “The Birds”? Massive Geese flock takes off and shocks bystanders