Yesterday, National Public Radio (NPR) reported that around 60,000 teachers got a pink slip this week in the United States. We can debate the reasons for the layoffs but, in the final analysis, in the race to balance federal, state and local budgets these teachers were expendable. As my readers probably already know, I am an engineer in a sea of teachers in my family. I know … [Read more...] about So Much for American Exceptionalism
White House Body Language
Presidential courage can be a tricky question. The fuss over a TV anatomical reference to Barack Obama recalls the original Dick in American politics, Nixon, and how another President, LBJ, viewed his successor’s genital endowments--wrongly, as it turned out, based on his own Vietnam mistakes arising from confusion in that area. Depressed and unhappy in retirement, … [Read more...] about White House Body Language
The Rise of the Rest
Fareed Zakaria his updated his 2008 bestseller and dubbed it The Post-American World: Release 2.0. He was a guest this week on Fresh Air in an interview that was so good I listened twice. Some highlights: [T}he tallest building in the world is now in Dubai. The biggest factory in the world is in China...The largest oil refinery in the world is in India. The largest investment … [Read more...] about The Rise of the Rest
Obama Weekly Video Address: Tax Breaks for Millionaires and Billionaires Must Be On the Table in Debt Ceiling Talks
President Barack Obama used his weekly You Tube Radio Address to talk about cutting the deficit and creating jobs and repeated that tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires must be on the table: The Hill: President Obama used his weekly address to reiterate his demand for ending tax breaks for "millionaires and billionaires" in any budget deal to raise the … [Read more...] about Obama Weekly Video Address: Tax Breaks for Millionaires and Billionaires Must Be On the Table in Debt Ceiling Talks
+1 Takes on New Meaning With Launch Of Google Plus
If you're longing for a digital networking space that lets you easily share information with the different facets of your life, then put Google Plus at the top of your "to explore" list. (Assuming you can wrangle an invitation!) If you're longing for a digital networking space that lets you easily videoconference with 10 people while everyone watches (and chats about) the … [Read more...] about +1 Takes on New Meaning With Launch Of Google Plus
Maria Shriver Moves to Divorce Arnold Schwarzenegger
Psst. Ahnald. Maria won't be baaaaaaack: TMZ has learned Maria Shriver has pulled the trigger on her marriage ... she just filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger ... and we've learned, there is NO PRENUP. n the divorce petition, obtained by TMZ, Shriver cites "irreconcilable differences" as her reason for ending the 25-year marriage. Shriver is asking for … [Read more...] about Maria Shriver Moves to Divorce Arnold Schwarzenegger
Friday Night PR Lights
It's the Friday before a three-day weekend. You know what THAT means. … [Read more...] about Friday Night PR Lights
Section 4 of the 14th Amendment VS The Debt Limit
There has been a lot of talk recently that if congress fails to increase the debt limit Obama should simply tell the Treasury Secretary to ignore it because it's unconstitutional. Doug Mataconis has a good post on the pros and cons of this argument here. As James Joyner points out Tim Geithner made that very argument yesterday. I see this as a sign that the administration … [Read more...] about Section 4 of the 14th Amendment VS The Debt Limit
Splitscreen: A Love Story (Shot on a Camera-Phone)
So beautifully shot and edited it's hard to believe this short film was shot entirely on a cell phone. The video won the Nokia Shorts 2011 mini-movie contest, and earned director JW Griffiths a $10,000 prize. See also, The Making Of... … [Read more...] about Splitscreen: A Love Story (Shot on a Camera-Phone)
Thank You, Mark Halperin
The Daily ShowGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook WASHINGTON - I was not incensed by Mark Halperin's man part moment. I wish Barack Obama would show up and be "kind of a...--". So it's telling when Pres. Obama is forced to make the Democratic case, a darling in the traditional media food chain blows all decorum on … [Read more...] about Thank You, Mark Halperin
The (Flawed) Certainty of Talking Heads on TV
At the outset let me say it: I have long been a big fan of Mark Halperin as talking head, blogger and writer. Even so, his indefinite suspension is dredging up all kinds of partisan reactions. Some Dems wrongly suggest he was put on suspension because he offended Barack Obama. Some Repubs wrongly suggest that MSNBC allows that kind of language on its broadcasts all along and … [Read more...] about The (Flawed) Certainty of Talking Heads on TV
Waterloo Sunset
Waterloo Sunset by David Goodloe I love music, all kinds of music. I guess that is to be expected. I was raised with the sounds of music filling the house. My mother loved folk music. My father loved Middle Eastern music. They both loved classical music and bluegrass. In that environment, as I say, I developed a fondness for all kinds of music. I liked the music … [Read more...] about Waterloo Sunset
Clown of the Month Club
A new calendar page brings another GOP candidate as Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan arrives. He plays a star-spangled guitar, wants to repeal health care reform and is backing a $3500 annual tax deduction for pet owners. The Republican race is looking like one of those old mail-order book clubs that thrive on negative option. Once you sign up and send a buck for the … [Read more...] about Clown of the Month Club
Cash-Strapped California Goes After Internet Sales
It's July 1, the first day that a new California law will require online retailers like Amazon and Overstock.com to collect sales taxes on purchases by California citizens. The real victim is not the California consumer, however, but California affiliate businesses: Many of about 25,000 affiliates in California, especially larger ones with dozens of employees, are likely … [Read more...] about Cash-Strapped California Goes After Internet Sales
Must See Nixonland
Must See Nixonland TV John Cook, over on Gawker, has a bombshell, of sorts, having unearthed documents from the Nixon Library that has Roger Ailes laying out the blueprint for Faux News, decades ahead of time. Roger Ailes’ Secret Nixon-Era Blueprint for Fox News Republican media strategist Roger Ailes launched Fox News Channel in 1996, ostensibly as a "fair and … [Read more...] about Must See Nixonland
Quote of the Day: Is Obama Too Weak for the Presidency?
Our political Quote of the Day comes from David Frum, the former assistant to President George Bush, who has often broken with modern-day conservatives. He looks at the debt ceiling crisis and President Barack Obama's comments on it and wonders if Obama is out of his league in terms of toughness: How lame is this answer? Let’s count the ways. 1) The stuff about … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Is Obama Too Weak for the Presidency?
DSK May Have Told the Truth After All
The New York Times: The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to two well-placed law enforcement officials. Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual … [Read more...] about DSK May Have Told the Truth After All
Stephen Colbert Got His Super PAC
Narrowly. The vote was 5 to 1 in favor, but the ads can run only during his show. Colbert's is the nation's 114th SuperPAC. So what's a SuperPAC? It's a consequence of the "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision which gave corporations, unions and individuals the right to give unlimited cash to outside groups to campaign for or against candidates. With it Colbert … [Read more...] about Stephen Colbert Got His Super PAC
Defending the Supremely Powerful
WASHINGTON -- The United States Supreme Court now sees its central task as comforting the already comfortable and afflicting those already afflicted. If you are a large corporation or a political candidate backed by lots of private money, be assured that the court's conservative majority will be there for you, solicitous of your needs and ready to swat away those pesky … [Read more...] about Defending the Supremely Powerful
California Internet Sales Tax (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. EDITORS's NOTE:I'm based in CA and today Amazon yesterday sent me this regretful notice of cancellation: Hello, For well over a decade, the Amazon Associates Program has worked with thousands of California residents. Unfortunately, a potential new law that may be signed by … [Read more...] about California Internet Sales Tax (Cartoon)