Richard Matheson, an American author, has passed away at the age of 87. Author Richard Matheson passed away at home at age 87. (Beth Gwinn / Tor/Forge / March 22, 2011) 'I Am Legend' author Richard Matheson has died at 87 The Los Angeles Times By Carolyn Kellogg June 24, 2013, 3:26 p.m. Author Richard Matheson, who was 87, has died at home. His family … [Read more...] about Author Richard Matheson has died
Snowden’s Troubled Journey and Dubious Destination
It is impossible to map out a route to your destination if you don’t know where you’re starting from. Sue Orman Disclaimer: The author, a native of Ecuador, left Ecuador at age 10. He has been living in the United States since 1957 and became a U.S. citizen in 1961. Let me first make perfectly clear: The Ecuadorian people are some of the most wonderful people in … [Read more...] about Snowden’s Troubled Journey and Dubious Destination
Edward Snowden Tells South China Morning Post He Took NSA Job to Gather Information on Surveillance Program
The South China Morning Post is reporting Edward Snowden took Booz Allen Hamilton contractor job so he could gather cyber evidence from the National Security Agency. I have long maintained that there was no way for Edward Snowden to do what he did unless he had ulterior motives -- to gather information for the purpose of leaking. He is a traitor, plain and simple. Edward … [Read more...] about Edward Snowden Tells South China Morning Post He Took NSA Job to Gather Information on Surveillance Program
LIVE STREAMING VIDEO: George Zimmerman Treyvon Martin Murder Case
Here's live streaming video of George Zimmerman's trial in Sanford, Florida: … [Read more...] about LIVE STREAMING VIDEO: George Zimmerman Treyvon Martin Murder Case
Snowden’s Greenwald: Journalist, Lawyer, Travel Agent?
Hong Kong. Moscow. Havana? Caracas? Edward Snowden is booked for the garden spots of what he may consider the free world, but more conventional Americans must be asking where the self-appointed scold got his ideas of democratic and open societies. Perhaps from his mentor, publicist and lawyer Glenn Greewald, who could also be serving as his travel agent? Greenwald, who wears … [Read more...] about Snowden’s Greenwald: Journalist, Lawyer, Travel Agent?
OOPS! NBC Goes to 7 Second Delay after Colorful Language in George Zimmerman Trial
We knew the trail of police wannabe George Zimmerman in the death of skittles wielding Trayvon Martin would be lively and controversia. Mansfield Frazier argues that the way the news media is now set up the case if likely to turn out to be a major blow to U.S. race relations. That's the controversy. And the lively? The opening was lively, indeed -- which created a dilemma … [Read more...] about OOPS! NBC Goes to 7 Second Delay after Colorful Language in George Zimmerman Trial
Quote of the Day: Today’s Press Is Nuance’s Biggest Enemy
Our political Quote of the Day comes from President Barack Obama's former speechwriter Jon Favrea who, writing in The Daily Beast, notes how in America's current hyperactive media issues and events are framed in stark black and white terms -- leaving out the grey, nuanced areas. And it negatively impacts American political discussion. Here's the key part at the end of his … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Today’s Press Is Nuance’s Biggest Enemy
Assessing the Snowden Story Messanger
It was 24/7 outrage Sunday when NBC's David Gregory asked Glen Greenwald, the blogger turned mainstream journalist a question about whether he should be prosecuted for his role in the Edward Snowden leaks. Reactions (rage over and defense of Gregory) were somewhat predictable given how writers and pundits felt about Snowden (and, yes, he is considered both a hero and a traitor … [Read more...] about Assessing the Snowden Story Messanger
Supreme Court Roundup June 24th
No Prop 8, DOMA or Voting Rights Act rulings today but the court did issue a decision on affirmative action. In Fisher the court vacated the Appeals Court ruling and remanded the case saying that the court should have used the highest "strict scrutiny" standard in reviewing the race based admissions policy at the University. The vote was 7-1. The basic issue in this case … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Roundup June 24th
China ‘outsmarted US’ in Snowden chess game
China 'outsmarted US' in Snowden chess game (via AFP) China interceded to allow Edward Snowden's dramatic flight from Hong Kong, calculating that infuriating the United States for now was necessary to prevent longer-term corrosion to their relationship, analysts and media said Monday. On a visit to New Delhi, US Secretary of State John Kerry said it was… … [Read more...] about China ‘outsmarted US’ in Snowden chess game
Texas Republican Confuses Rape Kit With Abortion
Update: 9:45 am - The bill, SB5, has been sent to the Senate (as a message); the Senate has approximately 37 hours to pass it before the Tuesday midnight deadline for the special session. As Republican members of the Texas House sought to push through an anti-abortion bill, SB5, during a special session, one legislator put her foot in her mouth. During proceedings … [Read more...] about Texas Republican Confuses Rape Kit With Abortion
Texas Legislature Marches On: Anti-Abortion Bill One Step Closer To Passage Despite Protests
Hundreds of women continue to storm the Texas Capitol in Austin in protest. Republican lawmakers have hijacked a special session, ostensibly called to work on redistricting, in order to pass an anti-abortion bill that was blocked in the regular session. Featured photo: Charlotte-Anne Lucas [View the story "Texas House Ready To Pass 20-week Abortion Bill In Special … [Read more...] about Texas Legislature Marches On: Anti-Abortion Bill One Step Closer To Passage Despite Protests
India’s Energy Ties with Iran Unsettle Washington (Guest Voice)
India's Energy Ties with Iran Unsettle Washington by John C. Daly India's relentless search for hydrocarbons to fuel its booming economy has managed the rather neat diplomatic trick of annoying Washington, delighting Tehran and intriguing Baghdad, all the while leaving the Indian Treasury fretting about how to pay for its oil imports, given tightening sanctions on fiscal … [Read more...] about India’s Energy Ties with Iran Unsettle Washington (Guest Voice)
Boehner’s House implodes
WASHINGTON -- The roof fell in on John Boehner's House of Representatives last week. The Republican leadership's humiliating defeat on a deeply flawed and inhumane farm bill was as clear a lesson as we'll get about the real causes of dysfunction in the nation's capital. Our ability to govern ourselves is being brought low by a witches' brew of right-wing ideology, a … [Read more...] about Boehner’s House implodes
Edward Snowden heads for asylum: Why Ecuador?
Edward Snowden heads for asylum: Why Ecuador? (via The Christian Science Monitor) The saga and travels of Edward Snowden took another turn Sunday with reports that he is headed for asylum in Ecuador. Why Ecuador? Most obviously, the South American country is friendly to WikiLeaks. That’s the whistleblower organization whose founder Julian Assange has spent the past year … [Read more...] about Edward Snowden heads for asylum: Why Ecuador?
Immigration Has Republicans Twisted into Odd Knots
Republicans wooing Hispanics are looking like stiff old men on “Dancing with the Stars,” awkward, embarrassing and tripping themselves into unnatural postures to scale up border walls and land on pathways to citizenship. Mitt Romney’s thumping among minorities last year persuaded GOP naysayers that 2016 would be about “complexions and elections,” but the stretch from … [Read more...] about Immigration Has Republicans Twisted into Odd Knots
Watergate Catastrophic For House Rs In ’74
Historic Tidbit: One of the many freshman swept into Congress in 1974 was a New Yorker named Edward Pattison, who beat a 70 year old seven-term Republican named Carleton King. Pattison would narrowly survive 1976 due to a Republican/Conservative Party split, but by '78, would be hurt when he admitted he had smoked marijuana, which prompted Republicans to begin referring to him … [Read more...] about Watergate Catastrophic For House Rs In ’74
The ’60s Batman theme, “sung” by actual bats
First there were the singing cats (below) and singing dogs. The Week tips us off to the fact that now we have the singing bats -- bats singing the 1960s Neal Hefti "Batman" theme: Humans can't hear their ultrasonic screeching unless we digitally lower the frequency to something our ears can distinguish. Which is at least partly how we ended up with this: The original … [Read more...] about The ’60s Batman theme, “sung” by actual bats
Newest Terrorism Outrage: Taliban Murders Foreign Climbers in Pakistan
And so the bar has been lowered (just when you thought it could not be) again on the barbarism shown by 21st century terrorists. But, then, if terrorists of varying stripes didn't care about blowing men, women and children up in buildings or while they're a work in a high rise, or beheading innocents on camera so it's on the Internet, in a way it's not surprising that they'd … [Read more...] about Newest Terrorism Outrage: Taliban Murders Foreign Climbers in Pakistan
Peggy Noonan and the Cuckoo Birds
Republicans? Really? The cuckoo is noted for laying their eggs in other, dumber, birds' nests, so that the victim will incubate and feed the young cuckoos -- freeing the cuckoos of the tough job of hatchling raising. Peggy Noonan would not be, in this scenario, a cuckoo, but, rather the VICTIM of the cuckoos. Where Was the Tea Party? Peggy Noonan's Blog (Rupert Murdoch's) … [Read more...] about Peggy Noonan and the Cuckoo Birds