This is a follow up to Robert Levine's excellent post below on American Puritanism. A very good article in The Washington Post a couple of weeks ago has not received the attention it deserved, How the Catholic Church almost came to accept birth control. The Catholic Churches' objection to birth control is recent. Contrary to widely held assumptions, the Catholic ban on birth … [Read more...] about The Catholic Church And Contraception
Limbaugh Fallout: 15 Advertisers, Two Stations (updated)
Version 3c: I asked Friday if there were a line that, if crossed, would cause Rush Limbaugh's sponsors to leave. As a result of the Sandra Fluke fallout, the answer seems to be a qualified yes. The headcount is now 15 14 12. And according to AP, "KPUA, an AM station in Hilo, Hawaii, said it is dropping Limbaugh's show immediately." ( Update 6:37 pm) CBS reports that WBEC in … [Read more...] about Limbaugh Fallout: 15 Advertisers, Two Stations (updated)
Some Angry Rush Limbaugh Listeners Contact Us “Sluts” (UPDATE 3)
Today Rush Limbaugh continued his apology (almost), taking full responsibility for his comments (weelllllll....), and moved on and didn't take any more swipes at Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke (OK so he talked about her being at a lot of demonstrations and being an activist during some years at college). No matter. Limbaugh's listeners are loyal. And in the past 24 hours … [Read more...] about Some Angry Rush Limbaugh Listeners Contact Us “Sluts” (UPDATE 3)
American Puritanism and Government Regulation of Sexual Activity
A streak of Puritanism and moral certitude has influenced politics in America since the landing of the first colonists. While these attitudes have ebbed and flowed at various times, they have always affected public discourse and legislation. Over the years, politicians have passed laws trying to outlaw contraception, abortion, homosexuality, and miscegenation because these … [Read more...] about American Puritanism and Government Regulation of Sexual Activity
Headphones: More Powerful Than A Locomotive
A Maryland pediatrician found that serious injuries to pedestrians wearing headphones have more than tripled in the last six years. Neil Wagner: Looking over case reports of pedestrian injuries or fatalities involving moving vehicles between 2004 and 2011, the doctor and his team found 116 where the victim was using headphones. Seventy percent of these … [Read more...] about Headphones: More Powerful Than A Locomotive
Note to Rush Limbaugh On What A Real Apology Looks Like
Back in May of last year, liberal talk show host Ed Schultz called conservative talk show host a "right wing slut." Reaction was rather fierce, and Ed Schultz offered what a real apology should look like. Rush Limbaugh and fans, take note: Laura Ingraham herself was initially a bit snippy about it, tweeting "MSNBC suspends Schultz. Oh great, now his ratings will go up," … [Read more...] about Note to Rush Limbaugh On What A Real Apology Looks Like
A Court Unlike Any Other
Going back to its inception, the United States Supreme Court has been made up of 106 combinations of Justices. Professor Benjamin H. Barton of the University of Tennessee has run the data and come to a conclusion. The current version of the Court is an outlier when compared historically to the 105 that preceded it. Here are a few of the findings; • This is the first … [Read more...] about A Court Unlike Any Other
MSNBC/Wall Street Journal Poll: Republican Party and Its Presidential Candidates Hurt by Primary Season as Obama Rises
If politics is all about branding then the Republican Party and its candidates vying for the 2012 Presidential nomination are in trouble. A new MSNBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds President Barack Obama's approval ratings are up, potential Republican candidates don't do well in match ups against him, the primaryies have not helped the party's image, and Democrats in Congress … [Read more...] about MSNBC/Wall Street Journal Poll: Republican Party and Its Presidential Candidates Hurt by Primary Season as Obama Rises
Sluts, Snobs and Social Sanity
Conspiracy theory: Is Rush Limbaugh trying to take the heat off Rick Santorum in the Off-the-Wall Olympics? The mouthiest presidential candidate in memory was getting attention last week for his “snob” and “throw up” criticism of the President and JFK until El Rushbo took after a Jesuit university law student with his “slut” and “prostitute” aria over her backing of … [Read more...] about Sluts, Snobs and Social Sanity
Girl Scouts USA: A 100th Birthday Salute (Guest Voice)
Girl Scouts USA: A 100th Birthday Salute by Danny Tyree It's a regrettable sign of our fast-paced lives. After Veterans Day our thoughts of the nation's heroes go back into mothballs along with their uniforms. After Christmas, "good will to men" shifts into channeling our inner Scrooge once more. And after the last box of Thin Mints has been consumed, Girl Scouts tend to … [Read more...] about Girl Scouts USA: A 100th Birthday Salute (Guest Voice)
Politics Barely Masking Sheer Hate
You have to ask what has happened to our politics when you see sheer hatred not very convincingly masked as something happening over policy when you read THIS. Truly amazing -- and totally repugnant. … [Read more...] about Politics Barely Masking Sheer Hate
Age Discrimination (Guest Voice)
Age Discrimination by David Goodloe From time to time, I send e–mails to the White House about issues that concern me. When you do that, you have the option of checking a box that serves as a request for a reply. I did check that box the first couple of times that I e–mailed the White House, but, frankly, I don't do it anymore because the responses I received never … [Read more...] about Age Discrimination (Guest Voice)
The GOP: Missing the Primary Issue
PARMA, Ohio -- What happens in Ohio politics never stays in Ohio, and there are two storylines here on the eve of Super Tuesday. There is, first, the Republican presidential primary fight. Rick Santorum has to win Ohio to keep his candidacy alive. A Mitt Romney triumph would, at last, turn him into the "inevitable" Republican nominee. The second narrative involves the … [Read more...] about The GOP: Missing the Primary Issue
How to Make Lox (Video)
In case you've been unable to sleep all night wondering, here is how you make lox (or more specifically grav lox): … [Read more...] about How to Make Lox (Video)
A Look At The Other Side Of Limbaugh Controversy
To be clear, I'm no fan of Rush and think his comments were far out of line. But this commentary makes a good point about double standards of improper comments. … [Read more...] about A Look At The Other Side Of Limbaugh Controversy
Irony: Thursday Is International Women’s Day
The Sunday television political circuit was punctuated by references to Rush Limbaugh's wildly inappropriate, inaccurate and misogynistic remarks made over the course of three days last week. Ironic, isn't it, that Thursday is International Women's Day, which has been observed since 1911. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for … [Read more...] about Irony: Thursday Is International Women’s Day
A Lost Story: Ecology is not Only a recent group of Studies…There was A Woman Named Mary
The month of March, in the USA, is called women's history month. Many wondrous women have gone before us... we stand on their shoulders for certain, but because many of the women were not talked up and their lives not taught about in academia and schools...over the years their names became more and more faint as the waves of culture, both new boons and claptrap, erased their … [Read more...] about A Lost Story: Ecology is not Only a recent group of Studies…There was A Woman Named Mary
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
I'd meet you at the place pictured, any place where I think you and I might agree that meaningful words and ideas are spoken better by the magnitude of nature than by human beings in perpetual pique. This is the last stanza of Rumi's poem... Rumi is an old old Persian poet who wrote about the low level of discourse in his day... and offered another road to travel, another … [Read more...] about Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
Iran Vote: Khamenei Loyalists on the Ascent
Ayatollah Khamenei's candidates in Iran's parliamentary election -- an election some charge was not on the up and up -- have well. And their hand -- and Khamenei's -- are likely to be strengthened in coming months. The Christian Science Monitor: Iran, under intense Western pressure over its disputed nuclear program, on Saturday declared an initial turnout of 64 percent in … [Read more...] about Iran Vote: Khamenei Loyalists on the Ascent
Tired of TED
TED 2012 Remixed: It's Time For TED. A video homage that works just as well as a critique... The New Inquiry, Against TED: What began as something spontaneous and unique has today become a parody of itself. What was exceptional and emergent in the realm of ideas has been bottled, packaged, and sold back to us over and over again. The whole TED vibe has come to resemble a … [Read more...] about Tired of TED