There is a reason that I haven't blogged much since the election. There has been little need. Last night was a rerun of Dave Letterman's 11-14-2012 show, but I was in the bathroom or something, and it wasn't until late in the monologue that I realized that I was watching a rerun. Because all of the news was pretty much still all the news from two weeks ago, specifically, … [Read more...] about L’Affaire Doofus Enters Third Week
Tales From the Infrared: Fear the men who fear!
Tonight on Tales from the Infrared by Dean Esmay and Typhon Blue: Good news on domestic violence research from professor Don Dutton, good news on boys in education, new A Voice for Boys site, Richmond Virginia newscaster Mark Holmberg takes a chance, feminist attacks against Warren Farrell rebuffed, latest Walking Dead game review, castration in comics featuring Habibi by Craig … [Read more...] about Tales From the Infrared: Fear the men who fear!
Quote of the Day: Yet MORE Sour Grapes from the Romney Campaign (UPDATE 2)
As a lifelong (beginning the day JFK was shot) political junkie, I cannot remember a time when we've seen a losing side be such ungracious losers as the Romney campaign. With comments like this, perhaps we should simply remove the word "ungracious": "There was a time not so long ago when the problems of the Democratic Party revolved around being too liberal and too … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Yet MORE Sour Grapes from the Romney Campaign (UPDATE 2)
Some Good News For Virginia Democrats
Those passing by Virginia Democratic Party headquarters are likely to hear cheering over the news that Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling is dropping out of the 2013 race for Governor. This will leave the GOP nomination to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli is a hard line evangelical conservative and that is not going to play well with the swing voters in Northern … [Read more...] about Some Good News For Virginia Democrats
The Military Industrial Complex
Who is in control of the budget talks? One thing that hardly anyone from either party talks about is cuts in defense (offense) spending and most of them are talking about cuts to medicare and Social Security. As Matt Yglesias points out that not the way the American people see it. Defense spending reductions, meanwhile, are much less popular. There's a nontrivial bloc of … [Read more...] about The Military Industrial Complex
Two World War II Veterans, Once an Ocean Apart, Meet One Final Time
At a Veterans Day reception in Austin, Texas, one year ago, two World War II veterans briefly met. She was in a wheelchair, looking proud and dazzling wearing the blue Air Force uniform, silver wings upon her chest. She was 91. He, also proud and dapper in his blue Air Force uniform, bombardier wings upon his chest, walked up to her and introduced himself. He was also … [Read more...] about Two World War II Veterans, Once an Ocean Apart, Meet One Final Time
Death Penalty Update
While most of the country watched Barack Obama being re-elected on election night, and perhaps noticed what happened in the Senate and to a lesser extent in the House, few outside California honed in on Proposition 34. California’s controversial referendum would have repealed capital punishment in our most populous state. It would also have commuted the sentences of more than … [Read more...] about Death Penalty Update
Obama and Romney to Have Lunch Thursday
Obama and Romney to have lunch Thursday (via AFP) US President Barack Obama will host his defeated Republican foe Mitt Romney for a conciliatory private lunch at the White House on Thursday in their first encounter since a bitter election. Obama's press secretary Jay Carney said the meeting would take place in the president's private dining room next… … [Read more...] about Obama and Romney to Have Lunch Thursday
Walmart is the real moocher
Who are the real government moochers? I think Walmart nicely fits into this category. So do many other huge corporations, especially in certain sectors like retail and the hospitality industry, that pay their top-tier executives ginormous compensation while paring their workers' wages and benefits at every opportunity. How do these behemoths mooch off the rest of us? Any … [Read more...] about Walmart is the real moocher
Can Mexico’s President-elect Peña Nieto and Obama set a new tone?
Can Mexico's President-elect Peña Nieto and Obama set a new tone? (via The Christian Science Monitor) As Mexico’s incoming President Enrique Peña Nieto visits newly-reelected United States President Obama today in Washington, he will try to set a new tone for the US-Mexican relationship that expands beyond drug war violence. His predecessor, Mexican … [Read more...] about Can Mexico’s President-elect Peña Nieto and Obama set a new tone?
Nude Protesters Butt In at Boehner’s Office
Some people get angry. Some people turn the other cheek. Nude protesters at House Majority Lead John Boehner did both: Some protesters dropped trou to launch a protest at House Speaker John Boehner’s office in the Longworth House Office building in Washington. U.S. Capitol Police public information officer Shennell Antrobus confirmed: “three females arrested for lewd … [Read more...] about Nude Protesters Butt In at Boehner’s Office
‘Fiscal Cliff’: Obama, Republicans Revert to Campaign Mode
'Fiscal cliff': Obama, Republicans revert to campaign mode (via The Christian Science Monitor) Three weeks after winning reelection, President Obama is returning to the campaign trail. But instead of stumping for himself, he’s pushing for tax hikes on the wealthy, in the name of deficit reduction. The president’s trip Friday to a toy factory in … [Read more...] about ‘Fiscal Cliff’: Obama, Republicans Revert to Campaign Mode
The Worst Kind of Egotists (and One Wants to be President!)
There really are people out there who believe that cooperation among people is dangerous. Really! Take this little horror coming out of the right: President-unelect Rick Santorum made his triumphant return to the Capitol on Monday afternoon and took up a brave new cause: He is opposing disabled people. Specifically, Santorum, joined by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), declared his … [Read more...] about The Worst Kind of Egotists (and One Wants to be President!)
No Bonding With This 007 (Guest Voice)
No bonding with this 007 by Richard Cohen In the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall," Daniel Craig takes off his shirt and examines his wounds. There appear to be two of them -- small holes on his skin from bullets fired at the beginning of the movie. He touches his wounds and winces. So do I. Bond is in pain from his wounds. I am in pain from all the hours he has spent in … [Read more...] about No Bonding With This 007 (Guest Voice)
Cracks in the Anti-Tax Wall
WASHINGTON -- Maybe the fever is breaking. Maybe the delirium is lifting. Maybe Republicans are finally asking themselves: What were we thinking when we put an absurdly unrealistic pledge to a Washington lobbyist ahead of our duty to the American people? I said maybe. So far, the renunciations of Grover Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" amount to a trickle, not a … [Read more...] about Cracks in the Anti-Tax Wall
Fund a Political Cartoonist for a Year. You Can Save a Great Editorial Cartoonist – and Save our Profession Too! (Guest Voice)
Fund a political cartoonist for a year. You Can Save a Great Editorial Cartoonist - and Save our Profession Too! (Guest Voice) by Daryl Cagle Bill Day has been one of America's top political cartoonists for more than thirty years. He's won a room full of awards, and his syndicated cartoons are read by millions of newspaper readers across the country. He's also unemployed, … [Read more...] about Fund a Political Cartoonist for a Year. You Can Save a Great Editorial Cartoonist – and Save our Profession Too! (Guest Voice)
Obama Ups Campaign on Fiscal Cliff, Irks Republicans
Obama ups campaign on fiscal cliff, irks Republicans (via AFP) So much for the misty eyed, pre-election nostalgia over President Barack Obama's last-ever campaign. A few weeks on, the re-elected US leader is dusting off just retired retail politics skills, hoping to outflank Republicans over the "fiscal cliff" -- an impasse over tax hikes and spending cuts … [Read more...] about Obama Ups Campaign on Fiscal Cliff, Irks Republicans
What’s Behind McCain’s War on Rice?
A longer view suggests something much more than McCain’s last hurrah for attention. Eight years ago, when Democrats (not including Barack Obama and Joe Biden who voted to confirm her) were harrumphing about Condoleeza Rice’s appointment to the job, McCain nailed them with an accusation: "I wonder why we are starting this new Congress with a protracted debate about a … [Read more...] about What’s Behind McCain’s War on Rice?
#1ReasonWhy Women Avoid The Sexist Tech Industry
[Updated Wed] On Tuesday a Twitter hashtag -- #1ReasonWhy -- spread like maple syrup in the hot sun: runny, sticky and far-reaching. The catalyst, an innocent-sounding Monday morning tweet: Why are there so few lady game creators?— Luke Crane (@Burning_Luke) November 26, 2012 Folks, mostly women, responded to Luke's question and by the afternoon, the hashtag … [Read more...] about #1ReasonWhy Women Avoid The Sexist Tech Industry
The ‘Hard Road Back’ for One Stalwart Marine
After the explosion, Cpl. Sebastian Gallegos awoke to see the October sun glinting through the water, an image so lovely he thought he was dreaming. Then something caught his eye, yanking him back to grim awareness: an arm, bobbing near the surface, a black hair tie wrapped around its wrist. The elastic tie was a memento of his wife, a dime-store amulet that he wore on every … [Read more...] about The ‘Hard Road Back’ for One Stalwart Marine