Jodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of RH Reality Check, finds a couple of bright spots in Pres. Obama's proposed budget for FY 2012: … [Read more...] about Title X and International Family Planning Are Spared the Budget Ax
Buying A Casino
There was a time that what was good for Wall Street was good for the US economy. That changed a few years ago when Wall Street went from the symbol of the US capitalistic economy to the symbol of the US casino economy. I first suggested here that Wall Street was no longer the US economy and that efforts to help the market would not necessarily help the main street … [Read more...] about Buying A Casino
The Budget and Empire
The battle du jour is the budget and as usual it's little more than irrelevant tribal warfare. No politician who wants to get reelected is going to take on Social Security - the corporatist Republicans hate it because it is so popular. Medicare is a double third rail - a lot of the Republican base is on Medicare and the the medical industrial complex is becoming increasingly … [Read more...] about The Budget and Empire
Report: Palin Has Early States 2012 Work Cut Out For Her
If Sarah Palin does decide to make the leap and go for the 2012 Republican nomination, she'll have her work cut out for her, according to a report in The Politico: A new poll of New Hampshire voters is the latest in a string of surveys suggesting that if Sarah Palin chooses to run for president, she’ll struggle in the crucial early states. The WMUR Granite State Poll … [Read more...] about Report: Palin Has Early States 2012 Work Cut Out For Her
Shockwaves from Egypt’s Successful Protest Whip Across Middle East
The shockwaves from last week's successful demonstrations in Egypt that toppled a longtime autocrat are now whipping across the Middle East. Where it ends, no one really knows -- but don't expect some of these governments to sit back and let what happened to Egypt happen to them: Egypt's uprising has sent powerful shockwaves across the Middle East , with two deaths reported in … [Read more...] about Shockwaves from Egypt’s Successful Protest Whip Across Middle East
Deficit Train
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Deficit Train
Send in the Clowns
Don't bother, they're here (emphasis is Steve's): … [Read more...] about Send in the Clowns
The Budget Play
James Joyner notes that Andrew Sullivan "has never supported the same man in consecutive elections." I have no idea if that's true, but the occasion for Joyner's observation is Sullivan's rant about the Obama budget. Sullivan says Obama's budget says "Screw You, Suckers!" to anyone under 30 who helped get the man elected. I think it's too early to tell. Marketplace, … [Read more...] about The Budget Play
Stressed? Cuddle Up With Your Pet
MSNBC says everything you know about beating stress is wrong. One of 6 of their counter-intuitive suggestions on how to relieve stress: Hanging out with loved ones has long been touted as an instant mood-booster, but according to new scientific evidence, when it comes to managing stress, the calming effects of spending time with a furry friend trump those obtained by hanging … [Read more...] about Stressed? Cuddle Up With Your Pet
Israel and miracles in Egypt
Algerians and Yemenis are in the streets risking their lives against dictatorships more brutal and venal than that of the deposed Hosni Mubarak but their faith in the Egyptian people’s triumph is premature. Although the repressive constitution and rubber-stamp parliament have been suspended, the bare fact is that the state has slipped into full military rule. Egyptians are far … [Read more...] about Israel and miracles in Egypt
Food Glorious (Industrial?) Food
Regular readers know I fancy myself a foodie -- part locavore, part organic. And I have been known to be a harsh critic of the industrial food system. (See, for example, here, here, here and here.) So when, over the weekend, I finally got 'round to listening to Part 2 of the Freakonomics podcasts on food, Waiter, There’s a Physicist in My Soup!, I was struck by the simple, … [Read more...] about Food Glorious (Industrial?) Food
China’s Economy Now Tops Japan’s (the U.S.’s Next?)
Another milestone for China: it's economy is now bigger than Japan's -- and if it keeps the pace of growth up, it will over take the U.S. as well. CNN has this fascinating report: … [Read more...] about China’s Economy Now Tops Japan’s (the U.S.’s Next?)
Local CBS Reporter Serene Branson: On the Air Stroke?
The Internet is abuzz with the clip below which is appearing on various websites: local CBS reporter Serene Branson having what appears to be an on-the-air-stroke or at least a mini-stroke. According to Mediaite, the latest reports indicate she was not hospitalized but checked out by a paramedic and allowed to go home with a friend. It's a short but scary clip: … [Read more...] about Local CBS Reporter Serene Branson: On the Air Stroke?
Class War In America Ends: Rich Declared The Winners
Here's the American economy today in a nutshell: Austerity for the poor and middle class; fat city for the rich. Much of this woeful tale is encapsulated in budget numbers coming from both Washington and state capitals. With regard to the former: Late last year two "compromises" between Mr. Change and Hope and Republican bullies in Congress are projected to cost the … [Read more...] about Class War In America Ends: Rich Declared The Winners
The Problem With Tape-Delay in the Age of Twitter
Lost Remote's Cory Bergman explains: While viewers in most of the U.S. were wrapping up the live broadcast of The Grammy Awards, viewers on the West Coast were just getting started with the tape-delayed version, airing at 8 p.m. PT. As is customary for many viewers now, many on the left coast opened their Twitter and Facebook accounts to chat along with the action — just in … [Read more...] about The Problem With Tape-Delay in the Age of Twitter
Ghosts at the Grammys
This is foreign correspondence, reporting from an alien time and space, on the Grammy Awards. The music industry seems to have been infiltrated by the Tea Party as the multiple winner is Lady Antebellum, a white-bread trio looking like well-behaved children of old Nashville who could make Sarah Palin's "A" list. Even CBS, which telecast the event, is caught off guard with … [Read more...] about Ghosts at the Grammys
Gabrielle Giffords Briefly Talks and Mouths Song Lyrics
Here's hopeful news that will lift the spirits of all Americans who have a heart: one month after being shot, Gabrielle Giffords is briefly talking -- and mouthing the lyrics to songs. The operative question now is whether the hopes that this further raises match realistic medical realities. But hope has reason to spring eternal: Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an … [Read more...] about Gabrielle Giffords Briefly Talks and Mouths Song Lyrics
A World War II Valentine’s Story
How many of us remember our first young love? Probably quite a few. However, if that first romance occurred some 70 years ago, how many would still remember it well enough and still cherish it deeply enough to write a screenplay for a movie celebrating such love? That is exactly what 90-year-old, World War II veteran John Tschirhart has been dedicating virtually every … [Read more...] about A World War II Valentine’s Story
Thank God CPAC Isn’t the Oval Office
Like I said, if George W. Bush or any of the current Republican contenders for the White House were there right now, this mentality would not be confined to the nutcases who show up at CPAC -- it would be driving U.S. policy toward Egypt and in the Middle East in general. … [Read more...] about Thank God CPAC Isn’t the Oval Office
Top Ten Cloves: Ideas For Mayor Dave Bing To Save Detroit (Guest Voice)
Top Ten Cloves: Ideas For Mayor Dave Bing To Save Detroit by J. Thomas Duffy News Item: Mayor of Detroit welcomes any ideas to save troubled city 10. Tell those 400 Super Bowl Fans who got mushed, that you won't let them down, that you have 400 seats for them in Detroit 9. Get on the phone with Dolly Parton and see if the two of can brainstorm "Detroitwood." 8. … [Read more...] about Top Ten Cloves: Ideas For Mayor Dave Bing To Save Detroit (Guest Voice)