EUGENE ROBINSON COLUMN WASHINGTON -- Are you as sick of the "fiscal cliff" as I am? Actually, that's a trick question. You couldn't possibly be. Having to read and hear all the constant blather about this self-inflicted "crisis" is an onerous burden, I'll admit. But just imagine having to produce that blather. Imagine trying to come up with something original and … [Read more...] about Wonderland on a Cliff
Small Sacrifices
In this country, we love our kids; we love sports; we love money. But what we worship is guns. Don't believe me? Think I'm being unfair? Ask yourself - what brings about an incredibly intense reaction from the public faster than a move to restrict, in any way, access to guns or ammunition? Ask any politician who has ever tried to introduce legislation, or even tried … [Read more...] about Small Sacrifices
Massacre of School Children: Violation of Little Kids’ Ultimate “Safe Place”
San Diego, CA -- And so the bar in American society has been lowered again. In another supremely obscene and brutal moment, a deranged mind decides to wipe out en mass the lives of people he doesn't know, and destroy forever the lives of their lived ones. This time it is the lives of the truly real, little people, little kids (latest count is 18 children) -- little kids … [Read more...] about Massacre of School Children: Violation of Little Kids’ Ultimate “Safe Place”
Geez, It Happened Again! Why The National Rifle Association Would Shoot The Moon & Certain Politicians It Could
(PORTIONS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2011) America is a gun-sick country, a place where people can legally possess and in some cases carry weapons specifically designed to kill large numbers of people. Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between, as James Carville famously remarked, and the Dixie-like legislature is so in love with guns that … [Read more...] about Geez, It Happened Again! Why The National Rifle Association Would Shoot The Moon & Certain Politicians It Could
Murder of the Innocents: At Least 27 Including Children Massacred at Connecticut Elementary School in Worst School Shooting in U.S. History
Deadly shooting erupts at US elementary school (via AFP) At least 27 people were killed, including 18 children, in a shooting Friday at a Connecticut elementary school, US media reported. Connecticut State Police spokesman Paul Vance would not give details, but confirmed "there was a shooting." CBS News cited law enforcement sources as saying that 27 … [Read more...] about Murder of the Innocents: At Least 27 Including Children Massacred at Connecticut Elementary School in Worst School Shooting in U.S. History
HSBC: Too Big To Jail?
Neil Barofsky has a must-read piece in The New Republic: Too Big to Jail? Some perspective: HSBC sent more than $800 million in bulk cash from Mexico to the United States, a good chunk of which apparently represented proceeds from some of the most notorious Colombian drug cartels. As someone who tried the first narcotics money laundering case involving extradition from … [Read more...] about HSBC: Too Big To Jail?
School Shooting In Connecticut, 10+ Children May Be Dead
An absolutely horrifying story out of Connecticut with reports saying at least 10 children are dead in another school shooting. It now appears that 20+ are dead and that most of them are children, the school is for K-4, so they are all quite young. I am beyond sickened by the actions by a thing that would have to work at it to be a pile of human excrement. To target … [Read more...] about School Shooting In Connecticut, 10+ Children May Be Dead
Telling the Truth About Charley (Guest Voice)
Telling the Truth About 'Charley' by Bill Steigerwald My expose of the fibs and fictions of the great John Steinbeck started innocently more than two years ago. As part of a crazy book project to show how much America has changed in the past 50 years, in the fall of 2010 I set out to faithfully retrace the cross-country road trip Steinbeck made in 1960 and turned into … [Read more...] about Telling the Truth About Charley (Guest Voice)
Obama Says Marijuana Will Not Be Administration High Priority
Amid news stories suggesting that the Obama administration might be intending to continue a hard line on marijuana, President Barack Obama has now signaled that the days when marijuana is high priority may a)be over or b)coming an end: President Obama says recreational users of marijuana in states that have legalized the substance should not be a "top priority" of federal … [Read more...] about Obama Says Marijuana Will Not Be Administration High Priority
Transferring The Debt With A Transfer Tax
In the great tax debate now going in Washington, why aren't we hearing someone in the negotiating loop talk about taxing high frequency trading? That question came to my mind the other day when I heard an interview on Public Radio's 'Here & Now' show with John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Funds. Such a tax is certainly not a new idea. It has been batted around for … [Read more...] about Transferring The Debt With A Transfer Tax
Two Odious Comparisons (Updated)
UPDATE: For an interesting and different take on Scalia’s “elevation of all moral disapproval to the same level to the extent that they can be legislated by a politically elected body or the populace" and on why Scalia, “at the very least, [should] recuse himself from the upcoming cases regarding the Defense of Marriage Act and the overturning of California's Proposition … [Read more...] about Two Odious Comparisons (Updated)
Things That Make You Think
One of the Facebook pages I read had an appeal for a kidney donor for a soldier who lost one kidney to injury and now the other to illness Obviously I am empathetic to such situations but at the same time I wonder about the donation process. I understand there is no out of pocket cost (IE the hospital does not charge the donor) but you are also likely to be out of work for … [Read more...] about Things That Make You Think
‘Lincoln’ Leads Globe Nominations with Seven Nods
'Lincoln' leads Globe nominations with seven nods (via AFP) Steven Spielberg's presidential drama "Lincoln" topped the Golden Globes nominations Thursday with nods in seven categories, followed by "Argo" and "Django Unchained" with five each. "Les Miserables," romantic comedy "Silver Linings Playbook" and Osama bin Laden hunt movie "Zero Dark Thirty" by … [Read more...] about ‘Lincoln’ Leads Globe Nominations with Seven Nods
UN Ambassador Susan Rice Withdraws Her Name from Consideration for Secretary of State
BREAKING NEWS: Ambassador Susan Rice withdraws her name from consideration for US Secretary of State. John McCain and Lindsey Graham have prevailed in a round about way. In a letter to President Obama, she expressed sadness that the process had become tainted by partisan politics. “If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and … [Read more...] about UN Ambassador Susan Rice Withdraws Her Name from Consideration for Secretary of State
ICE Nabs Senate Intern (Conspiracy Theorists Here’s A New One For You)
U. S. Senator Robert Menendez was re-elected in November. He got 58% of the vote. But, as conspiracy theorists will soon be telling us, his election was based on a cover-up. A cover-up orchestrated by the Obama administration. Can anyone say impeachment hearings? Here’s what’s going on. The core story is that a volunteer intern in the Senator’s office was picked up by … [Read more...] about ICE Nabs Senate Intern (Conspiracy Theorists Here’s A New One For You)
Nurse in British Royal Hoax Call Case Was Found Hanged
Nurse in British royal hoax call case was found hanged (via AFP) A nurse at the hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine was found hanged in her room after being duped by a hoax call from an Australian radio station, an inquest heard Thursday. Jacintha Saldanha, 46, left three notes before she was discovered in nurses' quarters near the … [Read more...] about Nurse in British Royal Hoax Call Case Was Found Hanged
British Nurse Hoaxed by Radio Prank’s Apparent Suicide: Totally Unthinkable?
How could she possibly do it? How could nurse 46-year-old Jacintha Saldanha possibly take her own life after two Australian radio DJs using bad accents crank-called a hospital in Great Britain, and tricked her on the air into transferring them to get confidential information on Prince William's wife, Kate Middleton? How could the DJs and radio station be so unthinking, … [Read more...] about British Nurse Hoaxed by Radio Prank’s Apparent Suicide: Totally Unthinkable?
A Really Really BAD Idea
One of the worst ideas to emerge from the fiscal cliff rumor mill is that both sides are open to taxing municipal bonds. For one thing this would pretty much kill the ability of local governments to issue raise money (muni bonds tend to pay less than corporate ones and thus the tax break is how they sell themselves). For another you have many retired people who invested … [Read more...] about A Really Really BAD Idea
The Story of Zach, One of the Brave Young Men
Last evening while listening to late night radio Ian Punnett on Coast to Coast shared a story of a young man named Zach Sobiech. He is a teenager from Lakeland, Minnesota population of 1,796. One look at Zack and you will see he is an all American kid from the Heartland with many loves and with friends and family that loves him dearly. " Zach was diagnosed with … [Read more...] about The Story of Zach, One of the Brave Young Men
Which Path for the Right?
Which path for the right? By E.J. DIONNE JR. WASHINGTON -- I try to be hopeful about things. I long for a time when people on the left and the right might exchange opinions without assuming the very worst of each other. I don't view conservatism as a form of psychosis, and would like conservatives to harbor the same attitude toward progressivism. Happy warriors are … [Read more...] about Which Path for the Right?