LEGAL NOTICE ON CARTOON: This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Reproduction elsewhere without licensing is strictly prohibited. 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 Holy Book Bigots (Cartoon)
Things to do while waiting in line for your new iPhone 5
Things to do while waiting in line for your new iPhone 5: 1. Perpetually gaze at the Mac store door, smiling with the exuberant joy of a child about to receive a magical pony. 2. Contemplate your meaningless existence and/or tweet. 3. Keep telling the person in front of you that this is your first time at an Occupy rally. 4. Judge the smelly guy begging for change. Remind … [Read more...] about Things to do while waiting in line for your new iPhone 5
Mitt Romney’s Last Chance?
You are now watching a classic case of how a media narrative -- bolstered by authentic interviews that support an emerging argument -- jells. The new narrative: Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is teetering on the brink of major political trouble, perhaps in danger of going down to defeat not due to Democratic Party ads as to the a) incompetence … [Read more...] about Mitt Romney’s Last Chance?
New American Century (Cartoon)
LEGAL NOTICE ON CARTOON: This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Reproduction elsewhere without licensing is strictly prohibited. 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 New American Century (Cartoon)
My Beef With The Plant World
There they go again. Every year at this time it's the same thing. The plant world, a world I have always supported in word (in my writing about environmental protection) and in deed (eating lots of vegetables) turns on me. And this year it's worse than usual. I refer, of course, to this awful pollen season. Not only in Philly where I live, but around the country. Why do … [Read more...] about My Beef With The Plant World
The Rabbi and the Tunnel
The year 5773 in the Hebrew calendar starts today for millions of Jews around the world as they celebrate Rosh Hashana, provoking memories in one of a faith never followed as an adult observer but deeply involved in his moral character. Rabbi Slutsky was a white-haired Jehovah pointing angrily at an ant heap of sinners, a Deity who had turned in his flowing white robes for a … [Read more...] about The Rabbi and the Tunnel
Two Die in Pakistan as Film Violence Spreads
Two die in Pakistan as film violence spreads (via AFP) Two protesters died in Pakistan on Monday as a violent backlash against a US film mocking Islam spread across the region and angry demonstrators clashed with police, hurling stones and shouting: "Death to America." Protests also took place in Afghanistan, Indonesia, the West Bank, the Philippines and… … [Read more...] about Two Die in Pakistan as Film Violence Spreads
Blessing for Obama: Occupy Movement Dead
As part of the 99%, I am a little sad but completely unsurprised to see that it's been confirmed: the Occupy Wall Street movement is effectively dead. As sympathetic as I was to much of its sentiment--the way government has allowed massive publicly-traded corporations to pretty much control our lives and our destinies, in countless ways both visible and invisible, something … [Read more...] about Blessing for Obama: Occupy Movement Dead
The Points Romney Should Make to Court Independents
09/17/2012 I am not a registered Democrat or Republican but a dyed in the wool independent. Recently, in a blog I suggested the points Obama needed to make to win independent support. In this one, I am formulating the points about domestic policy Romney should make to get the backing of independents. Some subtle changes in his positions are necessary and demonizing Obama is … [Read more...] about The Points Romney Should Make to Court Independents
Why Insulting the Prophet Always ‘Pays Off Big’ (Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria)
Whatever the nature of the film that has set the Islamic world on fire, what responsibility do Muslims have for reacting to it the way they have? This editorial from Algeria's Le Quotidien d’Oran comes down hard on Muslims for allowing themselves to be habitually manipulated by others, and for failing utterly to 'put reason over emotion - and emotional manipulation.' The Le … [Read more...] about Why Insulting the Prophet Always ‘Pays Off Big’ (Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria)
Media Lies Based on False Balance
If Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan started saying the world is flat, most conventional journalists would repeat the assertions and offset them with contrary opinions. This kind of “false balance” is the subject of the New York Times’ promising new Public Editor Margaret Sullivan, who examines the proposition that it should be called “false equivalency”: “Simply put, false … [Read more...] about Media Lies Based on False Balance
Islam in Turmoil: Religion as ‘Ersatz-Identity’ (Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany)
Are we witnessing the birth pangs of a new Muslim identity? For Germany's Frankfurter Rundschau, columnist Stephan Hebel writes that if Americans and Europeans want to see real change in the Muslim world, they must do their utmost not only to understand the recurring theme of violent reaction to Western free expression, but to endeavor not to live up to Islamist stereotypes of … [Read more...] about Islam in Turmoil: Religion as ‘Ersatz-Identity’ (Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany)
Influence of Salafists Grows After Arab Spring
Influence of Salafists grows after Arab Spring (via AFP) Violent protests across the Arab world triggered by a film insulting Islam could reflect the growing strength of Salafist groups that benefit from a widening freedom in Arab Spring countries, analysts say. The Salafists, a group of Sunni Muslims who promote a strict lifestyle based on the traditions… … [Read more...] about Influence of Salafists Grows After Arab Spring
Chevy Volt : Solyndra on Wheels (Guest Voice)
Chevy Volt: Solyndra on Wheels Making Sense, by Michael Reagan "I absolutely love my Chevy Volt." That's what the smug guy in the TV commercial says when he's praising the virtues of his plug-in hybrid and boasting that he hasn't seen a gas pump in months. You might love your Chevy Volt, too -- if you could afford to buy one. The GM Volt, aka the Green Edsel, is … [Read more...] about Chevy Volt : Solyndra on Wheels (Guest Voice)
How Artificial Intelligence is Changing our Lives
How artificial intelligence is changing our lives (via The Christian Science Monitor) In Silicon Valley, Nikolas Janin rises for his 40-minute commute to work just like everyone else. The shop manager and fleet technician at Google gets dressed and heads out to his Lexus RX 450h for the trip on California's clotted freeways. That's when his chauffeur – the car – … [Read more...] about How Artificial Intelligence is Changing our Lives
The American Election’s Global Reach
WASHINGTON -- The Obama-Clinton alliance, formalized with Bill Clinton's blockbuster speech at the Democratic convention, confirms what has often been played down: President Obama has chosen to build on Clinton's legacy rather than abandon it. This is why the 2012 election matters not only to Americans but also to supporters of the moderate left across the world. … [Read more...] about The American Election’s Global Reach
Why Obama Went Soft On A Dark Chapter — The Bush Torture Regime: Report From 20 Paws Ranch
WE DO NOT TORTURE TERROR SUSPECTS. ~ George W. Bush (November 7, 2005) As one of the flew bloggers who wrote extensively about the Bush Torture Regime and enthusiastically supported Barack Obama, the most bitter pill of his first term is that he has pretended this dark chapter in the history of our once great democracy never happened. That is okay, in a pretzel logical … [Read more...] about Why Obama Went Soft On A Dark Chapter — The Bush Torture Regime: Report From 20 Paws Ranch
A Female Commander for Scandal-Plagued Air Force Training Center
Almost every person who enlists in the U.S. Air Force receives his or her “basic training” at the sprawling Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. I was there in 1958. I don’t remember much. As a brand new, young immigrant with little knowledge of the customs and rigors of basic training and equally little knowledge of the English language, I had my hands full … [Read more...] about A Female Commander for Scandal-Plagued Air Force Training Center
Libyan Fatwa Court Calls Attack on Americans an ‘Offense to Islam’ (Al Watan, Libya)
With the Muslim world again in turmoil, ostensibly because of a film insulting to The Prophet Mohammad, but more likely thanks to a variety of factors know only to those wishing to provoke such a reaction, Libyans are expressing another view. This report from Libyan newspaper Al Watan extensively quotes a statement by the Libya Fatwa Court, an officially sanctioned religious … [Read more...] about Libyan Fatwa Court Calls Attack on Americans an ‘Offense to Islam’ (Al Watan, Libya)
Congressional Republicans “Complaining” About Romney
Do you see the tea stains here? A yearning for the good old days of Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann? The GOP members say Romney must do a better job of communicating to voters what to expect of him, either by making a bold pledge akin to George H.W. Bush’s 1988 “no new taxes” promise or fleshing policy proposals with more details. Papa Bush was down after the … [Read more...] about Congressional Republicans “Complaining” About Romney