I already posted the "cartoon" that goes with this, so here, again: “Poor People Do Not Deserve to Have Children” Mijin Cha / PolicyShop I received a phone call today from someone who had seen Demos' Vice President, Heather McGhee, on MSNBC talking about why people need food stamps. The caller stated, “People who are poor do not deserve to have children. I've seen these … [Read more...] about A Child, By Any Other Name, Would Taste as Good
Puffing Up Cruz: McCarthyism Again for Media
Why is there so much “news” about a freshman Republican senator who is being repudiated by most of his own party? Why do “journalists” still collude in over-inflation of such marginal figures as Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cahn and now Ted Cruz? When will “the media” stop manufacturing political leaders out of shameless buffoonery? In the last century, an alcoholic … [Read more...] about Puffing Up Cruz: McCarthyism Again for Media
BREAKING: Drone Kills Leader of Pakistani Taliban (Updated)
UPDATES: The BBC says that a high-ranking official has confirmed that Mehsud was killed in a drone strike that hit Mehsud’s vehicle with four missiles and which killed four other people, including two of his bodyguards. The New York Times cites Pakistani government officials saying that five militant commanders had been killed in the attack, including Mr. Mehsud, his uncle … [Read more...] about BREAKING: Drone Kills Leader of Pakistani Taliban (Updated)
Afghanistan: Our Troops Still Fighting and Dying
The touching story reported by co-blogger Patrick Edaburn about the arrival of a fallen hero at Los Angeles airport is a reminder to all of us that our troops are still fighting and dying in Afghanistan. Although, thankfully, our troops are experiencing fewer casualties than in previous months and years, each death and injury is a tragedy. According to some reports our … [Read more...] about Afghanistan: Our Troops Still Fighting and Dying
Daylight Savings Time
Well it's that time again, we all experience a little jet lag when we fall back Sunday morning. Now I rarely agree with Doug Mataconis at OTB on anything but I have to make an exception when he asks if it's Time To Dump Daylight Saving Time. At 2:00am on Sunday morning the United States will once again engage in the biannual tradition of changing it clocks, this time … [Read more...] about Daylight Savings Time
Shooting Incident At Los Angeles Airport
UPDATE #4: An eyewitness being interviewed on Fox says that the entire shooting took place outside security though he cannot be certain if security was breached after he fled the scene. Also reports that shooter was "young white male" UPDATE #3: NBC is reporting one TSA agent killed. UPDATE #2: Although we have no official word yet most of the networks are now confirming … [Read more...] about Shooting Incident At Los Angeles Airport
Only 248 enrollments in Obamacare the first two days
President Barack Obama and the administration are now suffering a major problem on Obamacare, and it's not just a matter of the website. Assertions about the plan have proven to be not totally correct and administration officials have avoided giving numbers on how many people actually enrolled. All of this has led to pollster how talking about an Obama credibility problem and … [Read more...] about Only 248 enrollments in Obamacare the first two days
Non Tea Party Republicans leaving the GOP
Due to extensive travel and limited Internet and posting time, I haven't covered in detail yet the new pox-on-both-your-houses-and-the-White-House-too NBC/WSJ poll (stay tuned). But one of the most glaring findings is that the GOP is losing non-Tea Party Republicans who are becoming independents and are increasingly willing to opt for a third party. First Read gives this … [Read more...] about Non Tea Party Republicans leaving the GOP
Plenty of time to fix Obamacare
WASHINGTON -- It takes chutzpah, or perhaps just an extraordinary lack of self-awareness, to argue vehemently that a program should never be implemented -- and then complain it isn't being implemented well enough. But that seems to be the new Republican position: We want the Affordable Care Act, and we want it now. Given that House Republicans have voted dozens … [Read more...] about Plenty of time to fix Obamacare
‘Hellish’ exoplanet has Earth-like mass
'Hellish' exoplanet has Earth-like mass (via AFP) An Earth-sized planet far beyond our Solar System has been found to have a similar mass to our planet, said researchers Wednesday engaged in the hunt for other habitable worlds. While Kepler-78b is not a hospitable place, with surface temperatures exceeding… … [Read more...] about ‘Hellish’ exoplanet has Earth-like mass
Sickening Debate Over American Health
In the most advanced society ever, we argue savagely over the best way to let private companies profit from medical care to ease suffering and keep people alive. As politicians rant over Obamacare, missing from all the yowling is any acknowledgement that human lives are considered a commodity as surely as they were in the days of slavery. Even the President, for all his … [Read more...] about Sickening Debate Over American Health
Flight Changes When Passengers Learn Fallen Soldier Is Aboard
No words I could write can add to this story … [Read more...] about Flight Changes When Passengers Learn Fallen Soldier Is Aboard
Children, dementia patients in Belgium’s euthanasia sights
Belgium continues its lonely international road in considering an "unprecedented law" to grant euthanasia for children and dementia patients: In Belgium, the ruling Socialist party has proposed the bill expanding the right of euthanasia. The Christian Democratic Flemish party vowed to oppose the legislation and to challenge it in the European Court of Human Rights, if it … [Read more...] about Children, dementia patients in Belgium’s euthanasia sights
Sebelius Issues Public Apology for HealthCare.gov
The federal government didn’t have the best track record for October. The month started with the first government shutdown in years, during which thousands of federal workers were furloughed. Soon after the government was back in business, it launched the HealthCare.gov website, which was supposed to give citizens information about the Affordable Care Act and help them enroll … [Read more...] about Sebelius Issues Public Apology for HealthCare.gov
Ted Cruz’s Cuban-Born Dad Wants President Obama to Go “Back to Kenya”
Rafael Cruz, the Cuban-born father of Canadian-born Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is on video speaking on his son's behalf during his Senate campaign last year, calling President Obama an "outright Marxist" who "seeks to destroy all concept of God" and he urged the audience to send the president "back to Kenya," Mother Jones reports. Um, where do I begin? Let's see, for starters, if … [Read more...] about Ted Cruz’s Cuban-Born Dad Wants President Obama to Go “Back to Kenya”
The Zombies Among Us – Exploring The Resurgent Popularity of Zombies In Modern Culture
The Zombies Among Us – Exploring The Resurgent Popularity of Zombies In Modern Culture (via Planetsave) There are real zombies, or “sleep walkers”, in this world…the voodoo victims of hoodoo drug-induced slavery, normally restricted to the tribal cultures of Western Africa and the West Indies (following the introduction of African slaves to the… … [Read more...] about The Zombies Among Us – Exploring The Resurgent Popularity of Zombies In Modern Culture
Police have video of Toronto mayor ‘smoking crack’
Police have video of Toronto mayor 'smoking crack' (via AFP) Toronto's embattled mayor Rob Ford refused once more to resign Thursday, even after the Canadian city's police chief revealed that investigators have a video reportedly showing him smoking crack. "The mayor does appear in that video," Chief Bill Blair… … [Read more...] about Police have video of Toronto mayor ‘smoking crack’
The Never Ending Gift of Ted Cruz
I must admit I never had a lot of use for the Cuban Americans. For the most part they represented the 1% in Cuba that held so much of the country's wealth that a revolution was all but inevitable. Ted Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, is an exception - he was actually part of the revolution that overthrew Batista. I'm not sure what changed his mind about Castro but he eventually … [Read more...] about The Never Ending Gift of Ted Cruz
Japan Must Safeguard Data from ‘Superpower in Decline’ (Ryukyo Shimpo Shimbun, Japan)
Even Japan, it would appear, a nation as closely allied to the United States as any in the world, is distancing itself from NSA mass surveillance. This editorial from Japan's Ryukyo Shimpo Shimbun suggests that America's ambitious surveillance program is a direct result of Washington's declining influence, and advises Tokyo to join with the rest of the world and take a 'tough … [Read more...] about Japan Must Safeguard Data from ‘Superpower in Decline’ (Ryukyo Shimpo Shimbun, Japan)
Obamacare: It Is 1936 All Over Again
I was listening to a recent* exchange on the problems surrounding the rollout of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) web site between two politicians, Democrat Jane Doe who supports the program and Republican John Doe, who opposes it.** The exchange was moderated by Upton Something (I didn’t catch his last name) on the left and Freddy Something (Sorry, didn’t catch his last … [Read more...] about Obamacare: It Is 1936 All Over Again