Today marks the first day of the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. There are many issues to be explored on that topic, ranging from the ability of brave men and women to openly defend their country to the generally positive reaction from the rank and file. But perhaps this story tells it best. Shortly after midnight, 33 yr old Navy Lt.Gary Ross and his partner of 10 … [Read more...] about Couple Marries After End of DADT
Israel is not alone: Thomas Friedman and The Israel Lobby
Rarely, these days, do I bother with the NYT's Tom Friedman. (While he occupies a lofty perch in the punditocratic universe, he is essentially the master of myopic, self-absorbed ignorance masquerading as sophisticated internationalism. And I say that as someone who occasionally agrees with him.) But let's take a look at his column from Saturday, a piece on the current state … [Read more...] about Israel is not alone: Thomas Friedman and The Israel Lobby
Prediction: Mine’s As Good As Yours. Or Theirs.
Freakonomics did an hour on prediction. It's well worth a listen. Some excerpts... Philip Tetlock, a psychology professor at Penn and author of Expert Political Judgment (here’s some info on Tetlock’s latest forecasting project), on just how bad we are at predicting: TETLOCK: That experts thought they knew more than they knew. That there was a systematic gap … [Read more...] about Prediction: Mine’s As Good As Yours. Or Theirs.
Obese America
Ouch: Back in 1991, there were zero states in the U.S. that had an obesity level over 15 percent. Today, Colorado is the only state with an obesity rate below 20 percent. Another 12 states have levels over 30 percent. SEE -- F for Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011 … [Read more...] about Obese America
Michelle Bachmann Is A Very Bad Person
I am fairly conversant in the history of presidential campaigning and cannot recall an era, let along a larger number of candidates, that believe that telling lie and after lie will get them elected. Exhibit A in this regard is Michele Bachmann, whose stock has most fortunately fallen as fast as Rick Perry's has risen. Call them lies, obfuscations, fibs or whatever, but … [Read more...] about Michelle Bachmann Is A Very Bad Person
Obama’s Line in the Tea Party Sand
The President has finally stepped up to deal with his personal pushback deficit by promising to veto any bill that cuts Social Security and Medicare without raising taxes on “millionaires and billionaires.” Until now, the White House has been threat-free as the Boehner-McConnell gang holds the government hostage and sends all the ransom notes. The turnaround is long … [Read more...] about Obama’s Line in the Tea Party Sand
If The Rich Are Jobs Creators, Where Are The Jobs?
In the founding days of the Republic, a highly literate and very politically savvy American citizenry would spend hours arguing the pros and cons of various governing ideas presented in a flood of pamphlets, and in tightly reasoned works such as The Federalist and The Anti-Federalist. The kind of political arguments impossible to fit in a 30-second TV special interest rant or a … [Read more...] about If The Rich Are Jobs Creators, Where Are The Jobs?
Davis Denied Clemency By Georgia Pardon Board
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole has denied celemency for convicted killer Troy Davis. This means he is set to be executed at 7pm on Wednesday. Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of a police officer but questions have been raised about his guilt and some of the witnesses have recanted their testimony. I think this kind of case illustrates my concerns about … [Read more...] about Davis Denied Clemency By Georgia Pardon Board
Has Obama Finally Gotten the Message?
Specifically, that the Republicans are a party of extremism and have no interest in compromise even for the sake of America's basic financial health (as when they held the country hostage over the debt ceiling)? Maybe. Here's Ezra Klein (in a must-read post): The choice, it turned out, wasn’t between winning by making tough choices and hard compromises and winning by … [Read more...] about Has Obama Finally Gotten the Message?
Birds of a Feather? Nader on Palin
Justin Elliott in Salon: "I think she's a lot smarter than most people credit her," says ["longtime left crusader" Ralph] Nader. "Judging by her comments, she is squarely in the camp of conservative populism, opposed to corporatism and its corporate state." ... "When she was governor of Alaska she really did take on the oil industry, and [she also] approved a statewide … [Read more...] about Birds of a Feather? Nader on Palin
It’s Sarah Palin’s Biggest Media Defender Greta Van Susteren versus Tucker Carlson
In what Mediaite calls a great cable moment, Fox News' Greta Van Susteren went at it with The Daily Caller founder and conservative media figure Tucker Carlson over sexist comments made by former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson about Sarah Palin, reported on by The Daily Caller (read the original POST here). When it comes to Sarah Palin, Van Susteren almost seems to be a … [Read more...] about It’s Sarah Palin’s Biggest Media Defender Greta Van Susteren versus Tucker Carlson
The Days After 9/11 in New York City (Guest Voice)
The Days After 9/11 in New York City by Martha Randolph Carr The events on 9/11 at the Pentagon, in a field in Shanksville, PA and in Manhattan that claimed nearly 3,000 lives from the age of two to 85 were so enormous they gave off a ripple effect we still feel today. Even as life returns to a new state of normal with a routine that takes into account longer airport lines … [Read more...] about The Days After 9/11 in New York City (Guest Voice)
Polls Overwhelmingly Support Obama on Taxing America’s Wealthy
Andrew Sulllivan notes in a short but must-read post that a variety of polls overwhelmingly show President Barack Obama's call to tax America's wealthier Americans with substantial support. He adds: What the president proposed this morning is simply where the American people are at. If he keeps at it, if he turns his administration into a permanent campaign for structural … [Read more...] about Polls Overwhelmingly Support Obama on Taxing America’s Wealthy
What Happens When Traditional War Rules Are Overtaken By New Realities?
Nineteen died in a June drone attack on a suspected terrorist training camp in a Pakistani tribal district near the Afghan border The question is simple but provocative: How does the United States fight the war against terrorism using the rules of traditional warfare? The answer is complex and far from a settled thing. White House, State Department and Pentagon … [Read more...] about What Happens When Traditional War Rules Are Overtaken By New Realities?
Prohibition
From Ken Burns. Premieres October 2nd, 3rd & 4th, 2011 at 8 PM on PBS: Watch the full episode. See more Ken Burns. PROHIBITION is a three-part, five-and-a-half-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that tells the story of the rise, rule, and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the entire era it encompassed. … [Read more...] about Prohibition
Online Gamers Crack Challenge, Move Researchers Closer To AIDS Cure
In the book Rainbows End, Vernor Vinge envisions a world where crowdsourcing is S.O.P. and "games" can be a source of public good. Today, we're living that vision. Over a three-week period, online gamers playing Fold.it were able to decipher the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus. (The Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, M-PMV, retroviral protease causes an AIDS-like … [Read more...] about Online Gamers Crack Challenge, Move Researchers Closer To AIDS Cure
UN approval of Palestinian Statehood Means Little for Israel
The significance for Israel will be small even if the Palestinians get full or limited recognition as a State at the United Nations in coming days. Even though UN resolutions in 1947 and 1949 created Israel, it has ignored dozens of subsequent UN resolutions and refused to implement them. It has done so with impunity since neither the UN nor the US or other governments have … [Read more...] about UN approval of Palestinian Statehood Means Little for Israel
FBI Report Reveals A Failed War On Drugs
So says Law Enforcement Against Prohibition noting that the new FBI report shows one drug arrest every 19 seconds in U.S.: A group of police and judges who have been campaigning to legalize and regulate drugs pointed to the figures showing more than 1.6 million drug arrests in 2010 as evidence that the "war on drugs" is a failure that can never be won. "Since the … [Read more...] about FBI Report Reveals A Failed War On Drugs
21st Century American Political Parable
A progressive Democrat and a conservative Republican were walking together one day on the sidewalk alongside a busy downtown street. They were arguing about various public policies, what to do about the growing number of unemployed Americans, and whether President Obama was partially or fully to blame for the current economy. Then they stopped and observed the … [Read more...] about 21st Century American Political Parable
Feeding your family: almost as bad as paying taxes
Multi-Millionaire Rep. Says He Can’t Afford A Tax Hike Because He Only Has $400K A Year After Feeding Family Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) appeared on MSNBC with Chris Jansing this morning to attack President Obama’s new deficit reduction plan, which includes some tax increases on the wealthy. Taking up the typical GOP talking point, Fleming said raising taxes on wealthy “job … [Read more...] about Feeding your family: almost as bad as paying taxes