And now we see another first: a Senator actively working to undermine the Speaker of the House who is from his own party. The Senator: Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who clearly seems determined to put himself on the fast track to the 2016 Republican nomination by wooing and winning over Tea Partiers, conservative talk show types and conservative new media writers -- and primary … [Read more...] about Cruz works to undermine Boehner
Obama warns gov’t shutdown would wreak economic havoc
Obama warns gov't shutdown would wreak economic havoc (via AFP) With the US government less than 100 hours from a crippling shutdown, President Barack Obama on Friday warned Republicans to stop appeasing "extremists" and pass a budget or risk economic chaos. The president hailed the Senate for clearing a stopgap… … [Read more...] about Obama warns gov’t shutdown would wreak economic havoc
A Guide to Current False Equivalence
James Fallows provides a "false-equivalence guide to the days ahead. … [Read more...] about A Guide to Current False Equivalence
(UPDATES): Russia Agrees to U.N. Resolution on Syria’s Chemical Weapons
Latest Update (8:30 PM ET): The Washington Post: The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, a landmark decision aimed at taking poison gas off the battlefield in the escalating 2 1/2-year conflict. The vote on Friday night marked a major breakthrough in the paralysis that has gripped the council since … [Read more...] about (UPDATES): Russia Agrees to U.N. Resolution on Syria’s Chemical Weapons
GOP Official Says Obama ‘Shucking And Jiving’ On Health Care Law
I think it's time to totally eliminate the word "rebranding" and stories on GOP rebranding, don't you? The Republican National Committeeman in Arizona used the phrase "shucking and jiving" on Thursday in a Facebook post intended to mock the Obama administration's decision to delay certain parts of the Affordable Care Act. Bruce Ash used the phrase in a post that linked … [Read more...] about GOP Official Says Obama ‘Shucking And Jiving’ On Health Care Law
Cruz Control (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 Cruz Control (Cartoon)
UN Report on Climate Change: It’s Still Our Fault (Guest Voice)
It's still our fault (via The Economist) IT HAS been a long time coming. But then the fifth assessment of the state of the global climate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body, was a behemoth of an undertaking. It runs to thousands of pages, involved… … [Read more...] about UN Report on Climate Change: It’s Still Our Fault (Guest Voice)
Adios to Mariano Rivera, American Matador
At my first and only bullfight eons ago, I was surprised by an inner surge rising in my blood at the matadors’ movements, an unconscious response to pure grace and courage. In baseball, opposing batters pose no physical threat but, in the years between, Mariano Rivera has brought back that sensation by his demeanor on the mound and the sureness of his mastery over the fears … [Read more...] about Adios to Mariano Rivera, American Matador
On His Own Little Planet
If you were hoping that Stephen Harper was re-evaluating his approach to people -- particularly Barack Obama -- yesterday should have dashed that hope. Speaking before the Canadian American Business Council, the prime minister said that, on the Keystone Pipeline file, he wouldn't take no for an answer: The logic in support of the project going ahead is … [Read more...] about On His Own Little Planet
Too Many Pills for Doubly Depressed Americans
Mental health is keeping statistical pace with the economy. As jobless figures and GNP paint a sickly picture, record numbers of Americans are on antidepressants. Is there a connection? Or perhaps the better question is: How could there not be? Just as national leaders stumble around in Washington in a vain attempt to appear rational, individuals doubt their own sanity … [Read more...] about Too Many Pills for Doubly Depressed Americans
Can Economists Explain a System of Plenty?
In physics there are in a way two distinct universes within our own that haven't been reconciled even now. The realms of the very small and the rest of the universe seem to operate on different sets of rules with quantum mechanics and its uncertainties dominating the small and the rest of the universe operating more on a mixture of Newtonian mechanics and Einstein's General … [Read more...] about Can Economists Explain a System of Plenty?
Barilla faces international boycott after CEO serves up portion of antigaysto
Guido Barilla, chairman of the world's leading pasta manufacture, has ignited an international firestorm and boycott of his mega-company by serving up a heaping portion of antigaysto. Or was it pasta al piedi in bocca? You'd think that in the 21st century wealthy CEOs would have learned by now that no one can take away their thoughts or convictions but they could lose … [Read more...] about Barilla faces international boycott after CEO serves up portion of antigaysto
Canine Comfort at the Washington Navy Yard
Plenty has been said and written about those wonderful, loyal and courageous animals, the Military Working Dogs. But these intelligent animals not only protect our troops in the battlefield, root out drugs, explosives and criminals, they also bring a smile to the faces of the sick and the elderly, they are therapy to the traumatically stressed, the sick and the injured -- … [Read more...] about Canine Comfort at the Washington Navy Yard
Report: PJ Media Booted Alan West due to “Jewish American Princess” remark
Former Congressman Allen West has reportedly been booted from his high profile role at Pajamas Media after an exchange with a staffer in which he is said to have called her a "Jewish American Princess." Buzzfeed reports: Former Congressman Allen West is leaving his job at Pajamas Media after an altercation with a female staffer in which he allegedly called her a “Jewish … [Read more...] about Report: PJ Media Booted Alan West due to “Jewish American Princess” remark
Interpol launches global hunt for British ‘White Widow’
Interpol launches global hunt for British 'White Widow' (via AFP) The British woman dubbed the "White Widow" was at the centre of a worldwide hunt on Thursday after Interpol issued an international arrest notice in the wake of the Kenya shopping mall attack. Samantha Lewthwaite, a 29-year-old Muslim convert, was married… … [Read more...] about Interpol launches global hunt for British ‘White Widow’
Gallup: Tea Party Support Dwindles to Near-Record Low (UPDATED)
A new Gallup Poll finds Tea Party support fall to a near-record low: As Washington braces for another budget showdown, this time with the threat of defunding the new healthcare law in the mix, the key political force pushing for conservative policies sees diminished popular support. Fewer Americans now describe themselves as supporters of the Tea Party movement than did … [Read more...] about Gallup: Tea Party Support Dwindles to Near-Record Low (UPDATED)
Iran: A Failure in Translation but, Worse, a Failure of Truth
On Tuesday, CNN aired an interview with Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, by Christiane Amanpour during which Amanpour asked Rouhani about his view of the Holocaust. Here is CNN's original translation of Rouhani’s comments: I have said before that I am not a historian. And that when it comes to speaking of the dimensions of the holocaust it is the historians … [Read more...] about Iran: A Failure in Translation but, Worse, a Failure of Truth
Report: Comedian Dan Nainan allegedly punches the Daily Beast’s Josh Rogin at Comedy Competition (UPDATED)
This tidbit from U.S. News & World report resonates with me because when I'm not writing, I'm performing in my non-writing incarnation. Anyone who has been a singer or comedian knows that you can't always please all the people all the time. In fact, Bill Cosby talks about "the face" in the audience -- that no matter how well a comedian may do, he or she may focus on that one … [Read more...] about Report: Comedian Dan Nainan allegedly punches the Daily Beast’s Josh Rogin at Comedy Competition (UPDATED)
Ted Cruz uses the “N word” (Guest Voice)
Ted Cruz uses the N-word Michael Moses Ward, Birdie Africa — rest in peace Pew survey shows low marks for Nutter, Philly Council Arcadia prof connects education class with 'The Wire' for lesson in real-life challenges How does the Affordable Care Act affect seniors with Medicare? Increased demand for permits post Sandy slows rebuilding 'Birdie Africa,' child of MOVE, dies … [Read more...] about Ted Cruz uses the “N word” (Guest Voice)
Cruz Channels Palin, Bachmann and Glenn Beck
After nine months in office, Texas’ junior Senator has seized the GOP stage, a perhaps unspectacular feat in light of the party’s leadership vacuum. What his colleagues have to decide now is whether Ted Cruz is anything more than a loudmouth Pied Piper leading them off the edge of rationality to political irrelevance, a Sarah Palin in pants spouting absurdities, a … [Read more...] about Cruz Channels Palin, Bachmann and Glenn Beck