Memorial Daze by Hart Williams A year ago, I noticed a funny thing. The page www. remember.gov kind of forgot the Civil War for Memorial Day. And I pointed out that Memorial Day, originally known as "Decoration Day" was a holiday remembering the Union Veterans who had died in the Civil War. (They also decided to deep six the Mexican War of 1846): Screen cap from last … [Read more...] about Memorial Daze (Guest Voice)
Pentagon Says Cyber Combat Can Be Considered An Act of War
The Pentagon has decided that computer sabotage from another country can be considered an act of war. And the U.S. can respond with military force: The Pentagon's first formal cyber strategy, unclassified portions of which are expected to become public next month, represents an early attempt to grapple with a changing world in which a hacker could pose as significant a threat … [Read more...] about Pentagon Says Cyber Combat Can Be Considered An Act of War
Book Review: Donovan Hahn’s ‘Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost At Sea’
SECOND OFFICER: Hast seen the White Whale? DONOVAN HAHN: Hast seen the Yellow Duck? When a load of 28,800 rubber bath toys plummeted into the northern Pacific Ocean from a storm-tossed container ship in 1992, beachcombers and oceanographers were in rapture. The toys washed up on coastlines from Alaska to California to Massachusetts for years, some traveling west to … [Read more...] about Book Review: Donovan Hahn’s ‘Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost At Sea’
The American ‘Knesset’ is More Extreme than Israel’s! (Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah, Palestinian Territories)
Can the U.S. Congress be called more hostile toward Palestinians and Arabs than even the Israeli Knesset? According to columnist Hafiz al Barghouty of Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah, the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to a joint session of the U.S. Congress should be a lesson to Palestinians and Arabs not to trust the United States. For Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah of the … [Read more...] about The American ‘Knesset’ is More Extreme than Israel’s! (Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah, Palestinian Territories)
Guarding Ancient Jewish Heritage In New Delhi
I get to see Ezekiel Isaac Malekar at least twice a year. A pleasant person wearing a kippah, Malekar is a permanent invitee at many Indian government's national functions, including the birth and death anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi at the Gandhi Smriti, in the heart of New Delhi, where Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. Sitting next to a Maulvi, a Muslim teacher/scholar, … [Read more...] about Guarding Ancient Jewish Heritage In New Delhi
No Stomach for WPA Jobs Program in Obama Administration
Jared Bernstein -- former economic adviser to Pres. Obama and now writing a must-read blog at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities -- responds to Paul Krugman's earlier column (emphasis is mine): … [Read more...] about No Stomach for WPA Jobs Program in Obama Administration
Turning the “Learned Helplessness” Meme Around
Right-wingers love to use the phrase "learned helplessness" to describe the terrible consequences of extending unemployment benefits for still-jobless Americans. In this narrative, helping jobless people to survive in an economy that is not creating jobs teaches them not to look for work because it's so much easier to sit on the sofa at home watching Judge Judy while you await … [Read more...] about Turning the “Learned Helplessness” Meme Around
My Favorite Comedy In Recent Memory…
Not Hangover Part II, poised to win the award for Biggest Comedy Debut of All-Time, raking in an expected $138.1 million this weekend. The movie also broke the record for the Biggest Opening Weekend of Any R-rated Film, over five days. Nope, for me it was Bridesmaids, which comes in fourth, making $16.3 million during its third weekend. NYTimes' A. O. Scott: The … [Read more...] about My Favorite Comedy In Recent Memory…
Quote of the Day: the Difference Between Journalism as Reporting and Shaky Journalism Used as a Partisan Political Tool
Our political Quote of the Day is by the Daily Kos' Jed Lewison who succinctly nails the difference between reporting what appears to be a scandal and offering information to news consumers and leaping on what appears to be a scandal and quickly pushing it to the hilt for political motives. He recounts how Gawker checked out a tidbit involving former Rep. Chris Lee sending a … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: the Difference Between Journalism as Reporting and Shaky Journalism Used as a Partisan Political Tool
Linking Money to Votes…
To be more precise: linking right wing moneybags with efforts to suppress the vote. For example, this reminder from Smirking Chimp: "The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization linked to corporate and right-wing donors, including the billionaire Koch Brothers, [see "Smart ALEC: Dragging the Secretive Conservative Organization Out … [Read more...] about Linking Money to Votes…
Memorial Day 2011 (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Memorial Day 2011 (Cartoon)
Right-Wing Social Engineering
Republicans spent their time on the Sunday news shows saying they were the only serious deficit reducers in town. If we didn’t support the Ryan budget plan, we apparently enjoyed watching our country circle the bowl. Since they had the corner on seriousness, they told us the special election in New York was lost because the Democrats demagogued the Medicare issue. GOP … [Read more...] about Right-Wing Social Engineering
Pap the Republican
The news that forty Republican senators have announced their support for Paul Ryan's budget plan is not surprising. But, when you review what passes for the usual Republican boilerplate these days, what is surprising is how much the Republicans sound like Pap Finn. Pap only puts in a quick appearance at he the beginning of Twain's novel, where he goes on at some length about … [Read more...] about Pap the Republican
Degrading Democracy: Count the Ways
Republicans are doing more than try to win elections next year. In both presidential primaries and Congress, they are undermining the kind of American government that people are literally dying to emulate in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. The Presidency is in its second round of insult to injury as Sarah Palin follows Donald Trump into making a circus of the … [Read more...] about Degrading Democracy: Count the Ways
Memorial Day (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Memorial Day (Cartoon)
Some Progress, This Memorial Day
Last Memorial Day our nation was in the midst of a bitter debate over the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT); over whether women should serve aboard our nuclear submarines and in combat; over immigration, in particularly whether to provide a path to citizenship to certain undocumented immigrants who have come to our country as children and who go on to serve honorably … [Read more...] about Some Progress, This Memorial Day
Our Imagination Deficit (Guest Voice)
WASHINGTON -- While the United States remains utterly frozen in a debate about budget deficits and all the things that government shouldn't do, other countries are marrying public and private resources to make themselves stronger and more competitive. While the United States is not even sure we should have gone halfway toward providing health insurance to all of our … [Read more...] about Our Imagination Deficit (Guest Voice)
What Gives Blogging a Bad Name?
What gives blogging a bad name? This does. … [Read more...] about What Gives Blogging a Bad Name?
The Difference
Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.James A. Froude English historian (1818 - 1894) … [Read more...] about The Difference
And So It’s Apparently Another Ideologically Driven Bogus Story
As I said earlier, here we go again: A college student who received an obscene photo from Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter account says she's never met the married Queens politico - and backed his contention they're both victims of online pranksters. "I have never met Congressman Weiner, though I am a fan," Gennette Cordova, 21, of Seattle, Wash., told The Daily News … [Read more...] about And So It’s Apparently Another Ideologically Driven Bogus Story