How well did media perform during the breaking news situation around the Los Angeles International Airport shooting on Friday? Not very, according to this analysis by @SteveJFox. I lamented the rampant errors around the Boston bombings back in April. And the errors around Sandy Hook, four months before that. What is it going to take for media to understand that Twitter … [Read more...] about LAX tragedy and breaking news: media still lacking
Chris Christie’s Political Agony and Ecstasy
Just as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's political star seems poised to shoot high in the sky incoming missiles come in and score a partial hit. The best summary of how a GOP Governor poised for a landslide re-election in a blue state has hit some bumps in the longer road comes via NBC's First Read: *** It was the best of times for Chris Christie; it also was the worst of … [Read more...] about Chris Christie’s Political Agony and Ecstasy
I am embarrassed for my state
Internet Explorer has not been the leading Web Browser for over a decade. Nearly 53% of people now use the Google Chrome browser. So what is the first thing you see when you go to the CoverOregon website? This: The Oregon healthcare exchange website, CoverOregon.org, was “built and tested for use with Internet Explorer,” and may “not work properly” if used on other browsers, … [Read more...] about I am embarrassed for my state
Looking Back on the Shutdown
Looking back on the government shutdown forced by right-wing Republican conservatives in the House last month, the questions should be asked by all Americans, what did it accomplish and what were its costs? The shutdown lasted sixteen days closing non-essential government agencies and furloughing non-essential employees. Tabulating what the shutdown achieved is easier than … [Read more...] about Looking Back on the Shutdown
Without Our Own Internet, Germany and Europe Have No Sovereignty (Der Spiegel, Germany)
For Europeans to feel secure in their own data privacy, is it necessary for them to create their own separate Internet? For Germany's Der Spiegel, columnist Jacob Augstein writes that post-war nostalgia is at an end, and with America now a kind of digital 'totalitarian state,' Germany and Europe must act in their own interests, which boils down to one thing: a separate … [Read more...] about Without Our Own Internet, Germany and Europe Have No Sovereignty (Der Spiegel, Germany)
The noise around Obamacare
WASHINGTON -- The ace political and baseball prognosticator Nate Silver titled his book about prediction and statistical mastery "The Signal and the Noise." Rarely has it been more important to distinguish between the two than in the uproar over the launch of the Affordable Care Act. As Silver put it, "The signal is the truth. The noise is what distracts us from the … [Read more...] about The noise around Obamacare
Tea Time for Ted (Cartoon)
This copyrighted Cagle Cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized use without licensing is strictly prohibited. … [Read more...] about Tea Time for Ted (Cartoon)
“What, Me Worry?” Romney Returns to Lie
Time passes so quickly when you’re having fun. It seems only a year ago that Mitt Romney lost some election or other and disappeared from sight. Now he’s back, with that goofy Alfred E Neumann smile, to remind us of what we have been missing. The man of a thousand political positions turns up on “Meet the Press” to exhibit again his brilliant flexibility with truth. This … [Read more...] about “What, Me Worry?” Romney Returns to Lie
Texas Voter ID law blocks former House speaker Wright from voting
Anything but actually allow a Democrat to vote... This gem comes via Political Wire: Former House Speaker Jim Wright (D) was denied a voter ID card at a Texas Department of Public Safety office, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports. Said Wright: "Nobody was ugly to us, but they insisted that they wouldn't give me an ID." "After the difficulty he had this weekend … [Read more...] about Texas Voter ID law blocks former House speaker Wright from voting
New Jersey and Virginia: a tale of two elections (Guest Voice)
New Jersey and Virginia: a tale of two elections (via PBS News Hour) By: Terence Burlij and Katelyn Polantz President Obama delivers remarks at a McAuliffe campaign event at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia on Sunday. Photo by Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesWhen voters in New Jersey and Virginia… … [Read more...] about New Jersey and Virginia: a tale of two elections (Guest Voice)
Another Drunk Comparison
Thomas Friedman applies the analogy to our Tea Party infected political system after a recent trip to Singapore in The New York Times. Whether we were feared or loved, America was always the outsized standard by which all others were compared. What we built and what we dreamt were, to many, the definition of the future. Well, today, to many people, we look like the definition … [Read more...] about Another Drunk Comparison
The Supreme Court Episode 1: NLRB v. Canning
This is the first in what I plan to be a series of weekly posts about pending cases before the United States Supreme Court. In each of these postings I hope to offer a review of a particular case, the background behind it and a look at where it might go in the future. This week we will take a look at the case of National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning This case … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court Episode 1: NLRB v. Canning
Military Drone Strikes: The Debate Continues (Updated)
UPDATE: A weekend news analysis piece in the New York Times highlights what some may call the unintended consequences of drone killings and which others may classify in the “you can’t win for losing” or “I’ll never understand” column. Referring to the Friday drone killing of Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, who “was Public Enemy No. 1: a ruthless … [Read more...] about Military Drone Strikes: The Debate Continues (Updated)
Two Time Zones?
Yesterday I had a rant on the foolishness of Daylight Savings Time. But this is something that hadn't even occurred to me, the foolishness of four time zones. First a case against Daylight Savings Time: It would seem to be more efficient to do away with the practice altogether. The actual energy savings are minimal, if they exist at all. Frequent and uncoordinated time … [Read more...] about Two Time Zones?
“Masters of Sex” Clueless About Love
The premium cable network Showtime has cornered the market on glossy cynicism, pairing its “Homeland” hit with “Masters of Sex,” now renewed for a second season. Just as the Claire Danes soap opera reduces politics and patriotism to a mindless round of betrayals, the newer series feeds viewers’ voyeurism with nude scenes of heartless copulation, made guilt-free by the … [Read more...] about “Masters of Sex” Clueless About Love
GOP 2016 Presidential Hopeful NJ Gov. Chris Christie Berates Yet Another Teacher
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a 2016 presidential hopeful, seems to have a problem with teachers. How else can you explain the temper tantrum he threw when South Jersey teacher Melissa Tomlinson dared to ask him a question at a political rally in Somers Point: New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie, has a long history of teacher bashing – not just teachers union bashing, but … [Read more...] about GOP 2016 Presidential Hopeful NJ Gov. Chris Christie Berates Yet Another Teacher
Australia’s Murdoch Newspapers Lying to Public About Climate Change, Says Study Author (Guest Voice)
Australia's Murdoch Newspapers Lying to Public About Climate Change, Says Study Author (via Desmogblog) CONSIDER the following two statistics together. Research into the peer-reviewed science of climate change found that between 1991 and 2011, 97 per cent of studies agreed that climate change is caused mostly by humans. Research into the reporting of… … [Read more...] about Australia’s Murdoch Newspapers Lying to Public About Climate Change, Says Study Author (Guest Voice)
Rand Paul’s Book Had Three Pages Plagiarized From Think Tanks
One of the mini-controversies this week has been increasing evidence that Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul repeats things word for word taken from Wikipedia. Now it emerges that he also uses copy-and-paste-from-others in published form, too -- you know, the kind of plagiarism that would get a college student expelled from many colleges. But, then, in our national politics there really … [Read more...] about Rand Paul’s Book Had Three Pages Plagiarized From Think Tanks
Amid War and Atrocities, a (Bronze) Sign of Peace
In the midst of the fighting and the killing of innocents, “a giant bronze statue of Jesus has gone up on a Syrian mountain, apparently under cover of a truce among three factions in the country’s civil war,” reports the Washington Post. The 12.3-meter (40 feet) bronze statue, the result of an eight-year effort by Samir al-Ghadban, run by the London-based St. Paul and St. … [Read more...] about Amid War and Atrocities, a (Bronze) Sign of Peace
Why GOP Scrooges Really Hate the Poor
Scrooge lives in our minds as a morally crippled miser who begrudges aid for the unfortunate because of his own shriveled soul. Dickens, never the most subtle novelist, enlightens him through miraculous visions. What would it take to convert today’s GOP from its “Bah, humbug” campaign against the poor? What could change politicians willing to let food-stamp help for … [Read more...] about Why GOP Scrooges Really Hate the Poor