Tornado hits Oklahoma City suburb (via AFP) A powerful tornado ripped through an Oklahoma City suburb Monday, striking at least two elementary schools and leveling block after block of homes, according to US news reports. Reporters on the ground for local television station KFOR saw school pupils as young as nine being "pulled out" of one school… … [Read more...] about Tornado whallops Oklahoma City suburb
Why IRS investigation is already Obama’s Watergate – and Benghazi, too
Why IRS investigation is already Obama's Watergate – and Benghazi, too (+video) (via The Christian Science Monitor) Copyright ImageClick to View President Barack Obama speaks under an umbrella held by a Marine as a light rain falls during a news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday at the White House. He was asked questions about the … [Read more...] about Why IRS investigation is already Obama’s Watergate – and Benghazi, too
Federal judge finds probable cause Fox News reporter helped leak classified docs (Guest Voice)
Federal judge finds probable cause Fox News reporter helped leak classified docs (via Raw Story ) In the wake of reports that the Department of Justice seized phone records from The Associated Press while investigating an intelligence leak, The Washington Post revealed on Monday that a Fox News reporter had been fingered has a “co-conspirator” in a previous leak of classified … [Read more...] about Federal judge finds probable cause Fox News reporter helped leak classified docs (Guest Voice)
Quote of the Day: How Obama Handles a Crisis
Our political Quote of the Day comes from President Barack Obama's former speechwriter John Favreau who notes how Obama has often been counted out when he didn't respond to a crisis the way the national media and political elites wanted him to -- and that it proved to be the wise thing to do. Here's his key quote in his piece on The Daily Beast:. The handwringers and bed … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: How Obama Handles a Crisis
Obama’s Energizer Bunny in a Wax Museum
Sunday brings White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer to five morning shows claiming the GOP is trying to “drag Washington into a swamp of partisan fishing expeditions, trumped-up hearings and false allegations.” Pfeiffer’s Energizer Bunny Presidential defense counterpoints the usual suspects wheeled out from the punditry wax museum and animated with higher-volume loops of their … [Read more...] about Obama’s Energizer Bunny in a Wax Museum
The Inner Game
by Dr. Kevin Purcell My brother and I recently compared our experiences growing up. In my family there are four siblings; three brothers and a sister. The three brothers shared a room. We had the same father and mother. Our parents were married until my dad died suddenly at age 49. At that time, we were 23, 21, 20 (me) and 16. All of us are married with children. How … [Read more...] about The Inner Game
Things That Matter: the Compassionate Jail Guard
NOTE: This is a new series I'll be doing on Things That Matter - the nonpolitical aspects of life. It was Sunday morning when I visited a jail in San Diego County to see a young person in there for a dumb probation violation that he acknowledges as such. This was not a "hard" lockup for hardened prisoners but a jail. I was there with his step dad who loves him very much. … [Read more...] about Things That Matter: the Compassionate Jail Guard
Is democracy in trouble?
WASHINGTON -- We know American politics are dysfunctional. But after a week of scandal obsession during which the nation's capital and the media virtually ignored the problems most voters care about -- jobs, incomes, growth, opportunity, education -- it's worth asking if there is something especially flawed about our democracy. Our circumstances certainly have their own … [Read more...] about Is democracy in trouble?
The 2013 Warrior Games: They Came, They Competed and They All Won
Team captains Cpl. Jorge Salazar of Delano, Calif., Cpl. Travis Greene of Boise, Idaho, accept the Chairman’s Cup on behalf of the Marine Corps team, coaches and wounded warrior regiment staff in the closing ceremony for the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 16, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Corey Dabney The fourth Warrior Games are … [Read more...] about The 2013 Warrior Games: They Came, They Competed and They All Won
What happens to Obama under fire?
Maureen Dowd does a great take on Hillary and Bill Clinton and their remarkable, continuing, and certifiable ability to overcome scandal and insult. Obama? Not so much. Actually, not at all. I hope he reads her column and does a u-turn, but I don't think he will. Of course, given the fact that he's been under constant siege -- possibly not as intense as the siege on … [Read more...] about What happens to Obama under fire?
Tax agency scandal thrusts Tea Party back into spotlight
Tax agency scandal thrusts Tea Party back into spotlight (via AFP) Left adrift in the wake of President Barack Obama's November election victory, the anti-tax Tea Party is predicting renewed popularity and relevance -- thanks to the scandal now rocking the IRS. The federal tax agency admitted this week that it inappropriately screened conservative groups, in particular… … [Read more...] about Tax agency scandal thrusts Tea Party back into spotlight
Those Online Dictionaries
Since English is an acquired language for me, I am a very frequent user of English dictionaries -- and foreign language dictionaries, too, but more on that later. Thus it is no surprise that an article, “The Role of a Dictionary,” by David Skinner, at the New York Times this weekend grabbed my attention. Skinner’s article is full of all kinds of interesting lexicographic … [Read more...] about Those Online Dictionaries
Quotes of the Day: Scandals and Wrong Reporting Not Impacting Obama Poll
Our political Quote of the Day comes from Booman, of the must-read blog Booman Tribune, who notes that despite all of the controversy last week President Barack Obama hasn't seen a drop in a big drop in his polling numbers -- and in fact in one sees a slight increase. Booman's headline asks if Obama is made of teflon and he writes: If last week was the president's worst … [Read more...] about Quotes of the Day: Scandals and Wrong Reporting Not Impacting Obama Poll
GOP overplays its hand
GOP overplays its hand by Dana Milbank Washington Post Writer's Group WASHINGTON -- At the end of a truly dismal week in his presidency, President Obama remains lucky in one crucial category: his opposition. It has been only a matter of days since two scandals -- the IRS harassment of conservative groups and the administration's seizing of AP reporters' phone … [Read more...] about GOP overplays its hand
Researchers make embryonic stem cells from skin
Researchers make embryonic stem cells from skin (via AFP) US researchers have reported a breakthrough in stem cell research, describing how they have turned human skin cells into embryonic stem cells for the first time. The method described Wednesday by Oregon Health and Science University scientists in the journal Cell, would not likely be able to create… … [Read more...] about Researchers make embryonic stem cells from skin
Second-Term Brood (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 Second-Term Brood (Cartoon)
Gov. Christie defends his role in publicly funded TV ads
Gov. Christie defends his role in publicly funded TV ads (via NJ.com) BURLINGTON — Gov. Chris Christie today defended his starring role in publicly funded tourism ads that Democrats say gives him an unfair advantage in the race for governor. “I’m happy and proud to have me and my family in those ads and I hope that what they do is they bring people to the Jersey… … [Read more...] about Gov. Christie defends his role in publicly funded TV ads
Shields and Brooks on Government Scandals, Remembering Watergate
Shields and Brooks on Government Scandals, Remembering Watergate (via PBS News Hour) JUDY WOODRUFF: And to the analysis of Shields and Brooks. That is syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks. So, gentlemen, it's only been one week, but it's been three giant headaches for the Obama administration, for the president. David, let's take them one … [Read more...] about Shields and Brooks on Government Scandals, Remembering Watergate
Why DOMA Must Go
I have to ask those who oppose things like marriage equality why they think these two loving people should be kept apart ? … [Read more...] about Why DOMA Must Go
Getting it Wrong (Guest Voice)
Getting it Wrong by Peter Funt Scott Pelley of CBS News raised eyebrows and passions among journalists at a Quinnipiac University luncheon the other day when he said, "Our house is on fire." He was talking about challenges to the news business from within, as reporters become careless in a rush to be "first"; and, from outside, where social media supply what he labeled … [Read more...] about Getting it Wrong (Guest Voice)