Non-partisan fact-check website Politifact.com details the fact-challenged world of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). So far, we’ve issued the following ratings on Cruz’s statements. •True 1 (4%) •Mostly True 3 (12%) •Half True 4 (16%) •Mostly False 5 (20%) •False 8 (32%) •Pants on Fire 4 (16%) Cruz doesn't fare much better on FactCheck.org. This continues a trend in which … [Read more...] about Politifact Nails Ted Cruz
Citizens Demand Accurate Predictions for Doomsday! (El Observador, Uruguay)
If humans are going to predict the end of the world, why can't they get it right? For Uruguay's El Observador, columnist Bimbo Depauli rails against predictions of Doomsday that never come true, and begs for a more accurate reckoning to ensure that his canned peas and tinned corned beef keeps until the end times arrive. In his humorous look at the perhaps-approaching … [Read more...] about Citizens Demand Accurate Predictions for Doomsday! (El Observador, Uruguay)
Claire Danes, Marilyn Monroe: Life Outdoes Art
Half a century apart, life does not imitate art but overcomes its shortcomings to tantalize us about the people who create it. Just as Arthur Miller in 1961 stripped bare Marilyn Monroe’s psychic fragility in her last movie, “The Misfits,” a 2007 failure titled “Evening” unwittingly reveals more about the actors than the tale it unfolds. Watching on Netflix out of … [Read more...] about Claire Danes, Marilyn Monroe: Life Outdoes Art
‘Homeland’ goes to South America: Brody’s Venezuela nightmare tower
‘Homeland’ goes to South America: Brody’s Venezuela nightmare tower (via GlobalPost) Enlarge **SPOILER ALERT!** This piece divulges plot elements from Season 3 of "Homeland." BOSTON — After some time missing in action, cable television’s antihero-in-chief, Nick Brody, has finally reappeared this season of “Homeland.” Fugitive… … [Read more...] about ‘Homeland’ goes to South America: Brody’s Venezuela nightmare tower
Is the president trolling? (Guest Voice)
Is the president trolling? (via The Economist) BARACK OBAMA'S speech announcing the end of the shutdown made me think about the literary critic Stanley Fish's idea of interpretive communities. Mr Obama's wording was carefully, formally non-partisan: he said "Congress" rather than "Republican", and… … [Read more...] about Is the president trolling? (Guest Voice)
Will Voters Ever Believe Paul Ryan Again?
Last year’s VP loser, like all habitual liars, must have a short memory span and expect others to as well. Otherwise how could Paul Ryan vote to send the nation crashing into default and expect to be taken seriously as a Presidential candidate in 2016? Even sooner, as chairman of the House Budget Committee, can he go to work with a straight face on the Congressional … [Read more...] about Will Voters Ever Believe Paul Ryan Again?
Mitch McConnell wants us to forget who he really is
The Washington Monthly's Max Ehrenfreund nails it: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, one of the country's most skillful and disliked politicians, came through again in helping broker a deal -- but he clearly hopes voters and pundits will forget. But you can even take what Ehrenfreud says a step further. He writes notes that McConnell is portraying himself as the go-to-guy … [Read more...] about Mitch McConnell wants us to forget who he really is
Science 1 – Texas Board of Education 0
The Texas Board of Education has been trying to force text book publishers to include creationism in textbooks that discuss evolution. The publishers said no. Publishers refuse to include creationism in science textbooks In a victory for science education and the children of Texas, publishers are refusing to include creationism in science textbooks despite fierce pressure … [Read more...] about Science 1 – Texas Board of Education 0
‘Carrie’ retells cult horror tale in post-Newtown era
'Carrie' retells cult horror tale in post-Newtown era (via AFP) Nearly 40 years after Brian De Palma's cult horror movie "Carrie" shocked audiences, a new adaptation of Stephen King's masterpiece tells the story in an America haunted by the Columbine and Newtown massacres. The modern version, released in the United… … [Read more...] about ‘Carrie’ retells cult horror tale in post-Newtown era
It Takes One to Know One
Conservative columnist Ross Douthat diagnoses his party on the shutdown in The New York Times. However you slice and dice the history, the strategery, and the underlying issues, the decision to live with a government shutdown for an extended period of time — inflicting modest-but-real harm on the economy, needlessly disrupting the lives and paychecks of many thousands of … [Read more...] about It Takes One to Know One
Will Republicans and tea partyers stick together?
Or are they in the process of splitting? “Everybody understands standing your ground, hoisting your flag, and making your stand, but at some point, you have to decide if your stand is sustainable,” said Ari Fleischer, the former George W. Bush press secretary. “A lot of people who got elected in 2010 came to Washington as conservatives, not as Republicans. They came to … [Read more...] about Will Republicans and tea partyers stick together?
‘Asteroid 2032:’ Will 2013 TV135 crash into Earth in 2032? Probably not.
'Asteroid 2032:' Will 2013 TV135 crash into Earth in 2032? Probably not. (via The Christian Science Monitor) An artist's illustration of a large asteroid headed for Earth.(ESA) Last week, Ukranian scientists observed an asteroid on a collision course with Earth – in 19 years. The astronomers sent word out to their colleagues around the globe, several of… … [Read more...] about ‘Asteroid 2032:’ Will 2013 TV135 crash into Earth in 2032? Probably not.
Titanic violin up for auction
Titanic violin up for auction (via AFP) The violin played by the bandmaster of the Titanic as the liner sank beneath the waves goes up for auction on Saturday. The instrument was found strapped to Wallace Hartley's body after he drowned along with some 1,500 others on board the supposedly… … [Read more...] about Titanic violin up for auction
Stellar election predictor Nate Silver rises again with new website
Precocious US political predictor looks to next venture (via AFP) Rock star statistician Nate Silver, who made numbers cool by giving near-perfect predictions of US votes in 2008 and 2012, will soon relaunch his website in a new home, just in time for the next election cycle. Speaking to a packed house at the Online… … [Read more...] about Stellar election predictor Nate Silver rises again with new website
The USA Defaults – on Its Integrity and Constitution
Throughout these last few weeks, everyone involved in the negotiations on funding the government and the debt ceiling should have been repeating over and over again - to the point that the American people should be sick of hearing it. It is Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to our Constitution of our great nation. (I choose still to use the word "great" because I don't … [Read more...] about The USA Defaults – on Its Integrity and Constitution
Politics as Religion
Rod Dreher clarifies why Congressional Republicans would cause a government shut-down for which they are taking a very predictable political beating in The American Conservative. Can the Tea Partiers’ beliefs be falsified? I don’t think they can be. I mean, is there any evidence that could convince them that the fault here lies with themselves, in the way they conceive … [Read more...] about Politics as Religion
Georgia shows off skull thought to rewrite human evolution
Skull discovery suggests early man was single species (via AFP) A stunningly well-preserved skull from 1.8 million years ago offers new evidence that early man was a single species with a vast array of different looks, researchers said. With a tiny brain about a third the size of a modern human's, protruding brows… … [Read more...] about Georgia shows off skull thought to rewrite human evolution
The Right’s Closed Information Loop May Set Up the Next Shut Down (Guest Voice)
The Right’s Closed Information Loop May Set Up the Next Shut Down (via Moyers & Company) It’s impossible to say whether we’ll face another crisis of governance in three months, when the stopgap budget resolution passed on Wednesday expires, but it’s clear that the 40 or 50 hardcore, tea party-backed members of Congress who precipitated… … [Read more...] about The Right’s Closed Information Loop May Set Up the Next Shut Down (Guest Voice)
That state of the art Obamacare website (Guest Cartoon)
That state of the art Obamacare website by Mike Peters OF RELATED INTEREST: --Obamacare Website Failure Threatens Health Coverage For Millions Of Americans --Healthcare.gov (the website) --Congressional fight over Obamacare turns to website woes --Company Behind Troubled Obamacare Website Donated Heavily To Republicans In 2012 --Were the Obamacare site woes … [Read more...] about That state of the art Obamacare website (Guest Cartoon)
This Actually Scares Me
In the voting, on the static shot on CSPAN, a woman steps up to the microphone and begins yelling into the microphone that the Constition was written by Freemasons. And the Lord Your God Shall Not Be Mocked! (No sense of humor, it is claimed, but, really, could a God who has no sense of humor have produced a Senator who would filibuster himself? Or Congress?) Gawker has … [Read more...] about This Actually Scares Me