This is unreal, a county employee died at her desk and it took as long as a day for her body to be discovered by a security guard. None of her co workers noticed or spoke to her it seems. … [Read more...] about Worker Dies On Job, Co-Workers Don’t Notice
The Heroes of Texas Tower No. 4 (Updated)
Last week, President Obama, in a letter to surviving relatives and friends of 28 patriots evoked a tragic accident that occurred 50 years ago in the Atlantic Ocean 85 miles off New York City. In the letter, the president recognized the 28 men who died when Texas Tower No. 4 (TT4) collapsed into the ocean during a violent storm the night of January 15, 1961: “Our … [Read more...] about The Heroes of Texas Tower No. 4 (Updated)
Iranian MP’s Call For Death Penalty For Protesters
Not exactly sprouting freedom and democracy yet in Tehran. … [Read more...] about Iranian MP’s Call For Death Penalty For Protesters
Clinton Demands Net Freedom Abroad, At Home, Not So Much
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech today at George Washington University urging governments abroad to embrace internet freedom: "The United States continues to help people in oppressive Internet environments get around filters, stay one step ahead of the censors, the hackers and the thugs who beat them up or imprison them for what they say online," she … [Read more...] about Clinton Demands Net Freedom Abroad, At Home, Not So Much
Lara Logan Assaulted During Egypt Protests (Updated)
The full statement from CBS News: On Friday February 11, the day Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a "60 Minutes" story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy. In … [Read more...] about Lara Logan Assaulted During Egypt Protests (Updated)
Quote of the Day: Obama’s Scalpel Strategy
Our political Quote of the Day comes from Dick Polman, who in a must-read-in-full-post looks at President Barack Obama's proposed budget which is coming under angry fire from the left and right, from some Dems and some Repubs. Polman starts out with this: Policy and politics are typically intertwined. Case in point: President Obama's 2012 budget blueprint, which … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Obama’s Scalpel Strategy
Michael Medved Speaks Truth to Republican Power
This is another entry in my Elephant Dung series, tracking the GOP civil war. For an explanation of the series, see here. For previous entries, see here. ********** Michael Medved, the former (highly mediocre, if not worse) movie critic turned conservative talk-radio host spends much of his op-ed in yesterday's Wall Street Journal criticizing the right's anti-Obama … [Read more...] about Michael Medved Speaks Truth to Republican Power
American Pinhead
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about American Pinhead
Who’s In, Who’s Out
New controversies about inclusion and exclusion in American life bring to mind Groucho's dictum, "I don't want to belong to any club that takes people like me as members." At a recent meeting of social psychologists, 80 percent defined themselves as politically liberal, leading to a broader debate about under-representation of conservatives in academia. On a more … [Read more...] about Who’s In, Who’s Out
Transcendent Man
A lengthy review in Scientific America looks at the documentary, Transcendent Man, on the life and ideas of Ray Kurzweil. Cleverly edited and entertaining, Transcendent Man is unfortunately also too starstruck and reverent toward Kurzweil for its own good. It wants in part to be a movie about ideas, but frustratingly, it refuses to truly challenge any of those it … [Read more...] about Transcendent Man
YouTube Turns Six
The domain name "YouTube.com" was activated on Feb. 15, 2005: The video-sharing site, founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, has, in half-a-dozen years, become one of the most-visited websites worldwide, trailing only Facebook, Google (YouTube’s parent company) and Google’s Gmail. With its slogan “Broadcast yourself” sounding a clarion … [Read more...] about YouTube Turns Six
Egyptian Revolution Inspired by Liberalism
"He gave me a lesson in democracy and said: 'We see the democracy the United States spearheaded in Iran and with Hamas, in Gaza, and that's the fate of the Middle East,'" Ben-Eliezer said. "'They may be talking about democracy but they don't know what they're talking about and the result will be extremism and radical Islam,'" he quoted Mubarak as saying. --- Mubarak slammed … [Read more...] about Egyptian Revolution Inspired by Liberalism
Where the Liberal Money Goes (Guest Voice)
Where the Liberal Money Really Goes by Michael Reagan We keep hearing claims that a lot of money goes into the pockets of so-called right-wing groups, but we hear nary a word from the media of where the really big bucks originate and where they end up. That’s too bad, because if the truth were known Americans would discover that those huge political contributions we keep … [Read more...] about Where the Liberal Money Goes (Guest Voice)
Italy’s Berlusconi Will Face Trial on Underage Prostitution Charges
Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been ordered to stand trial in April in an underage prostitution scandal that comes against a past backdrop of allegations involving his attitude towards women, current demonstrations by women who want him to resign, and a growing rebellion within his political party -- which polls show now has 27.02 percent support. A Milan … [Read more...] about Italy’s Berlusconi Will Face Trial on Underage Prostitution Charges
South Dakota Legislation Could Make It Legal to Kill Abortion Providers
Kate Sheppard writes in Mother Jones about a bill under consideration in the South Dakota legislature that would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include actions taken to prevent the death of an "unborn child." … [Read more...] about South Dakota Legislation Could Make It Legal to Kill Abortion Providers
Shirley Sherrod Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Andrew Breitbart
She waited seven months to do this, so obviously she's given some thought to it. Or maybe she wanted to give Breitbart a chance to apologize, or in some way acknowledge the harm his irresponsible actions did to her, professionally and personally, or maybe at least take the defamatory video off his site, but to date he has done none of those things: … [Read more...] about Shirley Sherrod Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Andrew Breitbart
Title X and International Family Planning Are Spared the Budget Ax
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