Republican leaders go to the White House for a cozy chat about cooperation, and the next day Mitch McConnell's thank-you note, cosigned by 41 Senate cohorts, promises to obstruct everything but extension of the Bush tax cuts to avoid a "job-killing tax increase" and a return of the "death tax." All this lethal campaign rhetoric is, of course, cover for GOP extortion of a … [Read more...] about GOP No-Fly Zone for Lame Ducks
Where Is Obama Going?
WASHINGTON -- As I was passing through security at Boston's Logan Airport on Tuesday night, a TSA worker discovered a penny in one of the bins that had just gone through the screener. He picked up the coin, turned to a colleague and said with a grim smile: "This is your Obama bonus." Which made me wonder: Is President Obama's strategy of offering pre-emptive … [Read more...] about Where Is Obama Going?
US Democracy: Private Global Bankers A Threat?
The real security threat, internal or external, to the USA may not come from Osama bin Laden or WikiLeaks. The Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says banks are undermining the rule of law in America and bad mortgages still fester. In 2009 Stiglitz had advocated nationalization of US banks. Yesterday, under the compromise contained in the Dodd-Frank Act, the US … [Read more...] about US Democracy: Private Global Bankers A Threat?
Apple and the Future of Television
The problem with streaming video to your television is not the technology. Apple TV is today's case-in-point. Walt Mossberg: I've been testing the new Apple TV, including trying out AirPlay using various devices, and found that it performs as advertised. It has a clean, easy interface, does a great job of streaming content from your own computers, and it allows you to rent TV … [Read more...] about Apple and the Future of Television
Repeal Dont Ask Don’t Tell
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Palin Urges No Vote On Child Nutrition Act
In a rare bipartisan moment, the Senate in August unanimously passed the Healthy Hungry-free Kids Act. Supported by major corporations, and with broad support across the political spectrum, the Act is the pet project of Michelle Obama. In concert with the President’s “Let’s Move” initiative, the child nutrition legislation is designed to be part of a campaign to fight … [Read more...] about Palin Urges No Vote On Child Nutrition Act
Wall Street’s Control Of Economic Policy Making
Is the notion that the our government's economic, tax and regulatory policies have largely been created by Wall Street and its proxies in recent decades a liberal fantasy? Here's some things to consider in this regard. Robert Rubin, Treasury Secretary for most of the Clinton years, came from a quarter century career at Goldman Sachs, and after leaving government became an … [Read more...] about Wall Street’s Control Of Economic Policy Making
Separation of Church and State, Chanuka-Style
A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Hanukkah cards. She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Hanukkah Stamps?" The clerk says, "What denomination?" "Oh my God", the woman says, "has it come to this?" "Give me 16 Orthodox, 22 Conservative and 30 Reform." Chappy Chanuka to those who are celebrating. Hattip for the joke to David Cunix. And no, the woman … [Read more...] about Separation of Church and State, Chanuka-Style
Quick Takes
Republicans have not been at all bipartisan on tax cuts (or anything else, for that matter), but, writes Ezra Klein, Democrats come in for their share of blame, too: … [Read more...] about Quick Takes
Quality Adjusted Life Year
While our profit driven medical industrial complex results in many not getting enough health care do even more get too much care? My uncle died a few months ago. He had cancer and since he was on medicare he received all of the treatment money could buy. It included chemo-therapy and radiation and the last two years of his life were hell on earth. He lost half of his … [Read more...] about Quality Adjusted Life Year
A Reasonable Compromise On Tax Cuts ?
While there are lots of rumors circulating it sounds like we may be getting a reasonable compromise to extend all of the tax cuts but only for 2-3 years. The theory presumably being that in a few years that the economy might have recovered to the point that we could look at ending the higher income cuts. Personally I've always thought something along those lines made the … [Read more...] about A Reasonable Compromise On Tax Cuts ?
Wikileaks, Amazon and Joe Lieberman
TPM explains how Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, asked and Amazon complied: Lieberman said in a statement that Amazon's "decision to cut off Wikileaks now is the right decision and should set the standard for other companies Wikileaks is using to distribute its illegally seized material." Committee staff had seen news … [Read more...] about Wikileaks, Amazon and Joe Lieberman
Target – Bank of America?
As I reported here Julian Assange told Forbes that his next target would be a large US Bank. Raw Story reports that in October of 09 Assange said: "At the moment, for example, we are sitting on 5GB from Bank of America, one of the executive's hard drives," Assange told the technology site Computer World in an article published on October 9, 2009. The Wikileaks chief … [Read more...] about Target – Bank of America?
Increase in Republican Women in House Gets Boehner to OK New Girls’ Powder Room
Just sit tight and seriously - ask yourself, how would you react if Nancy Pelosi had sought to do this? From The Hill: Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-Ohio) intends to commandeer a swanky office space adjacent to the House floor and build a women's restroom for female lawmakers. For years, men have had the luxury of using facilities located adjacent to the House floor, … [Read more...] about Increase in Republican Women in House Gets Boehner to OK New Girls’ Powder Room
Happy Hanukkah
The Maccabeats, a group of Yeshiva University students, sing Candlelight and become a certified YouTube sensation. Enjoy... Background from The Jerusalem Post and The New York Post. … [Read more...] about Happy Hanukkah
“Common Ground,” Republican Style (UPDATED)
So: After regaling us with their unctious hopes that they and Democrats can now achieve "common ground" after the White House summit yesterday (was it just yesterday?!); after praising Barack Obama with sickening condescension (I saw the post-summit press briefing by GOP leaders on CNN while on my second day of jury duty yesterday, and the patronizing back-patting made me so … [Read more...] about “Common Ground,” Republican Style (UPDATED)
WikiLeaks: Is It News to Embarrass U.S. Diplomats? – Folha, Brazil
With once secret U.S. diplomatic cables washing over the world, are we getting all worked up over gossip everyone already new? According to columnist Clovis Rossi of Brazil's Folha newspaper, so far at least, there is precious little 'news' coming out of the hundreds of thousands of U.S. State Department cables doled out to some of the world's leading newspapers. For … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks: Is It News to Embarrass U.S. Diplomats? – Folha, Brazil
Section 60: Arlington
For those who don't know, section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery is where Iraq and Afghanistan war dead are laid to rest. HBO has produced a documentary about Section 60, and it is both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. It is a must see for everyone, and leave the politics at the door. … [Read more...] about Section 60: Arlington
Dont Ask Dont Tell John McCain
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Send in the Wikileaks Clowns
The people at PBS have a twisted sense of humor, pairing for a Wikileaks deep-dish discussion Zbigniew Brzezinski, who helped Jimmy Carter arm the Afghans we're now fighting, and Stephen Hadley, who put the claim about Iraq's nuclear material into Bush's 2003 State of the Union. As experts on diplomatic disasters, they provide perspective on the leak, with Hadley nodding … [Read more...] about Send in the Wikileaks Clowns