I was listening to Armstrong and Getty on the radio this morning when they made a pretty good point. Today is Columbus Day, a holiday that many consider to be one of the most pointless holidays of the entire year. After all Columbus didn't discover anything, people were already here, and he wasn't that good of a person by all accounts. So why do we have an official … [Read more...] about Why Not Da Vinci Day ?
Updatex2: GOP Mum on Rich Iott While Republican Jewish Coalition Backs Eric Cantor
Update: The Toledo Free Press had this story about the tactics, described as threats in a 2008 lawsuit, used by Rich Iott in a dispute related to his son and several roommates. I'll let people draw their own conclusions, per my comment in the District section. Original post: Catch up on the healthy debate about how much emphasis voters should give a GOP candidate in Ohio … [Read more...] about Updatex2: GOP Mum on Rich Iott While Republican Jewish Coalition Backs Eric Cantor
The Shadow Class War of 2010
WASHINGTON -- The 2010 election is turning into a class war. The wealthy and the powerful started it. This is a strange development. President Obama, after all, has been working overtime to save capitalism. Wall Street is doing just fine and the rich are getting richer again. The financial reform bill passed by Congress was moderate, not radical. Nonetheless, … [Read more...] about The Shadow Class War of 2010
Toxic Ad Spill
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Toxic Ad Spill
The Worst Is Yet To Come
A few days ago I said: I don't really understand why the Republicans or the Democrats would want to win this election cycle and be forced to take responsibility for the next collapse of the financial system. I was talking about the fraud that threatens to take down the financial system but there is another big problem - jobs. Everyone is wondering why there is little job … [Read more...] about The Worst Is Yet To Come
Is Arkansas Politics Really Changing ?
Interesting article here about how Arkansas may be going through a major shift this year. According to the story some legislative seats that have been solidly D since the end of Reconstruction in the 1870's are now tossups. Arkansas has remained largely Democratic at the local level despite voting GOP for President, and this could be the tipping point (much as some areas … [Read more...] about Is Arkansas Politics Really Changing ?
A Nobel Peace Prize About More than Good Intentions: Financial Times Deutschland, Germany
When President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, there was a lot of criticism. While Barack Obama's intentions seemed great - many said he hadn't actually done anything. Not so for this year's winner. Financial Times Deutschland columnist David Bocking writes that this time around, the Nobel Committee awarded a man that has risked everything - including his life - to … [Read more...] about A Nobel Peace Prize About More than Good Intentions: Financial Times Deutschland, Germany
CNN Will Hang in There with “Parker Spitzer”
CNN is following the strategy I felt they would follow when I first saw the debut of "Parker Spitzer": CNN is going to hang in there since despite some (franky predictable) pounding by some reviewers, the show has potential -- including ratings potential: Eliot Spitzer's debut on CNN's prime-time lineup has been greeted by tepid viewing and some scathing reviews. But the … [Read more...] about CNN Will Hang in There with “Parker Spitzer”
Cuomo For Governor
I never thought I'd be writing a post like this but Paladino's latest idiotic and frightening comments are just too much for me. I can accept that different people feel different ways on issues of sexuality but there is a line that cannot or should not be crossed. Saying that you don't approve of certain behavior is one thing, but making comments like he did this weekend are … [Read more...] about Cuomo For Governor
Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo
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Howard Dean Going Out on (Broken) Limb? Predicts Democrats Will Hold the House
Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean is going against the (increasing) political wisdom that the song "Wipe Out" may be the theme song played when the votes come in on Democrats running for House of Representatives. He predicts the Dems will hold the House: A pipe dream? In fact, conventional wisdom has always been fluid. Even the meticulous Nate Silver, in making his … [Read more...] about Howard Dean Going Out on (Broken) Limb? Predicts Democrats Will Hold the House
Paladino Strikes Again II: Calls Gays “Dysfunctional”
Carl Paladino strikes again. You really now have to wonder how many New Yorkers of both parties and no party and now screaming "Oh, Mommy, please make him stop, Mommy, make this man shut up": Carl Paladino says it’s not okay to be gay. "There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual," the Republican gubernatorial candidate told a small Hasidic group … [Read more...] about Paladino Strikes Again II: Calls Gays “Dysfunctional”
Femiphobia, Homophobia, Hate and Justice
It looks like femiphobia, “man’s fear of becoming a woman,” exacerbated the homophobic hate in the story of those nine young men who lured a gay man to a party that was instead a night of torture that NYC police call the worst antigay attack in recent memory. From the NYTimes follow-up: Mr. Mendez, who the police said was the ringleader and was known by the street name … [Read more...] about Femiphobia, Homophobia, Hate and Justice
Small Business Tax Credit Tucked Into Health Care Bill
If you own a small business, or you know someone who does, you (or they) need to check out this little-reported feature of the health care bill: The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit can cover up to 35 percent of the premiums a small business pays to cover its workers. In 2014, the rate will increase to 50 percent. Writing at the HuffPo, Linda Bergthold uses … [Read more...] about Small Business Tax Credit Tucked Into Health Care Bill
Video: Wasserman-Schultz Takes On Cantor Over Young Gun Candidate & Nazi Re-Enactment Admirer
The video via Think Progress: And the full post at Think Progress. I've maligned the Young Guns program before, but here's what the program says about itself: America is standing at a critical crossroads, and Young Guns candidates give America the best opportunity to move our country in the right direction. Founded in the 2007-2008 election cycle by Congressmen … [Read more...] about Video: Wasserman-Schultz Takes On Cantor Over Young Gun Candidate & Nazi Re-Enactment Admirer
Google’s Got An Automated Car
And they drove it from Mountain View, CA, to Hollywood Boulevard. Google says their self-driving cars have logged over 140,000 miles: Our automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic, as well as detailed maps (which we collect using manually driven vehicles) to navigate the road ahead. This is all made possible by … [Read more...] about Google’s Got An Automated Car
President McCain’s Midterm Woes
If the 2008 presidential election had gone the other way, would there be a Tea Party today? Unless the economy had magically recovered with nothing but tax cuts, a voter uprising seems inevitable. And would it have targeted only Congressional Democrats without spreading to "the treachery" of President John McCain, never accepted as a true believer by the Rush Limbaughs of … [Read more...] about President McCain’s Midterm Woes
Nobel Peace Prize is Biased Toward the West: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
Does the West, through the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, unfairly single out China for criticism? According to this editorial from China's strictly state-run Global Times, awarding Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo with the Peace Prize was a 'display of arrogance and prejudice against a country that has made the most remarkable economic and social progress.' Once again, the … [Read more...] about Nobel Peace Prize is Biased Toward the West: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
Kim Jong Un Makes His Debut
Probable new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a major North Korean rally, offering further proof that he is destined to take over for his ailing father. Under most circumstances the potential succession in a demented nation like North Korea would be of little import to the outside world, but with Kim Jong Beiber having possible control over nuclear weapons, it is … [Read more...] about Kim Jong Un Makes His Debut
How America’s Civil War Defines the U.S. South, and Perhaps One Day, Europe: Rue 89, France
Sometimes when the foreign press publishes interviews with Americans, it reveals more about them then it does about us. With the U.S. in the midst of a bitter midterm election campaign, this interview from France with two residents of the South by Rue 89 correspondent Damien Spleeters has the Americans warning the Frenchman that a War of Succession may soon be in their … [Read more...] about How America’s Civil War Defines the U.S. South, and Perhaps One Day, Europe: Rue 89, France