Congressional earmarks keep popping up no matter how much good government groups and sympathetic members of Congress try to suppress them. And many of the politicians who rail against earmarks are the ones who find ways to use them, keeping the earmarks hidden by labeling them differently or burying them within legislation. But an earmark by any other name… The majority of … [Read more...] about Earmarks- Playing Congressional Whack-A-Mole
Rush Limbaugh’s Ratings Suffer “Significant” Drop
There is some good news today: Rush Limbaugh took a significant ratings hit in some key radio markets last month in the wake of the Sandra Fluke controversy. The conservative radio host's ratings fell 27 percent in the key 25-54 demo in New York City, 31 percent in Houston-Galveston, 40 percent in Seattle-Tacoma, and 35 percent in Jacksonville, according to a selection … [Read more...] about Rush Limbaugh’s Ratings Suffer “Significant” Drop
Newark Mayor Corey Booker Backtracks On Criticizing Obama Campaign Over Bain Issue
Yesterday I did this post about how refreshing it was that Newark Mayor Corey Booker seemingly deserved to be displayed in a museum for his criticism of the Obama's use of the Bain Capital issue against presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. And I was not doing so as a conservative Republican blogger (I am not one) or someone who is an activist for anyone in this campaign … [Read more...] about Newark Mayor Corey Booker Backtracks On Criticizing Obama Campaign Over Bain Issue
Romney Mittspeaks
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Facebook’s Future: Clues from the Past
Media ghosts hover over Facebook’s I.P.O. with a valuation of $105 billion, raising old questions about how to turn the attention of millions into profit from advertisers. The answers have never been clear, but for someone who spent decades in that search, the past suggests a rocky road to future profits for new bridegroom Mark Zuckerberg's enterprise. In 1997, when stock … [Read more...] about Facebook’s Future: Clues from the Past
Liz Cheney for GOP V.P.
WASHINGTON - Don't tell me Republicans are going to make Elizabeth Cheney, former “Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs," go through the Senate farm system. Don't tell me Sen. Marco Rubio is a better vice presidential choice than Dick Cheney's eldest daughter, Elizabeth. She beats him on experience alone, though we all know that doesn't matter to … [Read more...] about Liz Cheney for GOP V.P.
Iraq & Your Precious Tax Dollars At Work: Report From 20 Paws Ranch
Save for some Republicans who remain blindered to larger realities, most people concluded long ago that the Iraq war was a fool's mission that wasted thousands of American and many tens of thousands of Iraqi lives, bled resources from the war in Afghanistan, bankrupted the federal treasury, lowered the U.S.'s standing in the world, and accomplished none of its goals save for … [Read more...] about Iraq & Your Precious Tax Dollars At Work: Report From 20 Paws Ranch
The Purple Heart: Reflecting the Changing Nature of War and of U.S. Society
. The Purple Heart is the oldest U.S. military decoration, one that has not only changed in name, but also in purpose and award eligibility criteria. During its 220-year existence, the Purple Heart, perhaps more than other military decorations, has reflected and continues to reflect the changing nature of warfare and, more importantly, the changing character of the nation … [Read more...] about The Purple Heart: Reflecting the Changing Nature of War and of U.S. Society
A Choice of Capitalisms
WASHINGTON -- In this election, we're not having an argument that pits capitalism against socialism. We are trying to decide what kind of capitalism we want. It is a debate as American as Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay -- which is to say that we have always done this. In light of the rise of inequality and the financial mess we just went through, it's a … [Read more...] about A Choice of Capitalisms
How to Lose Independent Voters
Mr.Reince Priebus of the RNC: there are many ways to lose your credibility with independent voters when you open your mouth in the future and this is one of them. It is beyond transparent, patently false partisan, CYA spin. (So Sean Hannity is a mole? Wait: Rush Limbaugh has the answer: it was all the Clinton's doing.) … [Read more...] about How to Lose Independent Voters
Newark N.J. Mayor Cory Booker Calls Obama Campaign Attacks on Bain “Nauseating”
I've gotten so utterly tired of the professional partisan bloviators on both sides on cable and talk radio and of the partisan spinners that cable shows invite on knowing that they are going to try to cram through as many talking points as they can for their party and candidate. The partisan spinners make everyone who follows politics an ace psychic since you can tell … [Read more...] about Newark N.J. Mayor Cory Booker Calls Obama Campaign Attacks on Bain “Nauseating”
USS Iowa Tow Delayed
For those who read my earlier post about the USS Iowa heading out of San Francisco Bay today, word just coming in that the tow is delayed due to weather conditions at sea. It looks like they will be having heavy seas and gale force winds for most of the rest of the week so that could push things into June (assuming that Memorial Day weekend would be too complicated to do the … [Read more...] about USS Iowa Tow Delayed
And Lukewarm Was His Name-O (Guest Voice)
And Lukewarm Was His Name-o by Will Durst You don't need a psychoanalyst to detect the latent theme running through the endorsements currently showering Mitt Romney like broken rain gutters pouring down on a concrete toadstool. And that premise is ennui. "Mitt? Really? Yeah. Okay. Whatever." Makes tepid sound like a crazed bellow. With wild enthusiasm as MIA as World … [Read more...] about And Lukewarm Was His Name-O (Guest Voice)
A SuperPAC Man’s Mask Slips Off
Faced with an unlikely quotation of his from the past, Norman Mailer denied it saying, “I couldn’t have said that, it’s not within the range of my character.” That would be a quaint response in today’s political world where SuperPAC blowhards with barrels of money are unleashed by Citizens United to say anything they want without taking responsibility for it. Meet Joe … [Read more...] about A SuperPAC Man’s Mask Slips Off
My Market Meltdown Fears
Are you frightened about what's going on in markets these days? Perhaps you should be. The EU's euro is shrinking, like a summer ice cream scoop; Our own overspending has left us, awash in that old debt soup; The struggling Dow and Nasdaq, can’t seem to find a floor. And investor fears are rising, rising, rising, Investor fears are rising, Are rising more and … [Read more...] about My Market Meltdown Fears
Civil War thoughts on Andrew Johnson
When Tennessee's capital was occupied by Union troops in late February 1862, President Lincoln appointed Andrew Johnson as the new Military Governor of the state. This was, I argue, the beginning of the Reconstruction of the South, and it placed one of the most enigmatic figures in America at the center of it all. Johnson faced a precarious balancing act between his oft-stated … [Read more...] about Civil War thoughts on Andrew Johnson
Convicted Lockerbie Bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrah Dies of Cancer in Freedom in Libya
The day many families of the 270 victims killed in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has been waiting for has arrived: if will never be closure for those who look at photos of the innocent men, women and kids murdered in a political lives that cost lives and forever changed others -- but it is the closing of a chapter. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the Lockerbie … [Read more...] about Convicted Lockerbie Bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrah Dies of Cancer in Freedom in Libya
BREAKING: Chinese Dissident Chen Guangcheng Arrives on American Soil (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Safely in the U.S. -- in “the heart of Greenwich Village” -- Mr. Chen held “the kind of open-air news conference that he could have never imagined while under virtual house arrest in China,” says the New York Times. Speaking through a translator, Mr. Chen said, “I hope to see that they continue to open discourse and earn the respect and trust of the people.” … [Read more...] about BREAKING: Chinese Dissident Chen Guangcheng Arrives on American Soil (UPDATED)
Not Forgetting Viet Nam: ‘Song Be’ near Cambodia: May Shells and Soldiers Rest in Peace
I collect and look at black and white photos, garage sale cast offs, collections of oddities of our world that someone chose to immortalize in what used to be called 'film.' This is a photo of two men piling spent howitzer shells at a sandbagged gun emplacement at Song Be. On the back of the photo is writ: Song Be, less than a hundred miles from Siagon, near the Cambodian … [Read more...] about Not Forgetting Viet Nam: ‘Song Be’ near Cambodia: May Shells and Soldiers Rest in Peace
Greece, Merkel and the Euro
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