The Wall Street Journal headline reads: McDonald's May Drop Health Plan. Of course it turns out not to be true but even if it was - so what? Let's look at what the McDonald's employees might lose. This is not health insurance it's a scam. The Basic and Medium plans are no better than no insurance at all. As you may recall my short ride in an ambulance and 13 hours in … [Read more...] about So What?
Apple TV Reviewed
Endgaget'ts review of the $99 box concludes: [N]one of the other options we've tested have felt as simple, solid, and easy to use as the new Apple TV. Putting content concerns aside (which admittedly is difficult to do), the Apple TV has a lot going for it. The video and audio quality of the Apple TV is to be lauded, the company is making a lot of high quality titles available … [Read more...] about Apple TV Reviewed
Portugal’s Decriminalization of Drugs
Marijuana has a good chance of being legalized in California on election day -- and that influx of young or younger voters could even help Democrats at the ballot box. It's also on the ballot in Colorado. Portugal decriminalized recreational drugs 10 years ago. Are there lessons there for American lawmakers? GO HERE for more on Portugal and its experience. … [Read more...] about Portugal’s Decriminalization of Drugs
Elmo in Congress
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Elmo in Congress
Obama and the Progressive Paradox
WASHINGTON -- A couple of hours before President Obama offered a boffo revival of his 2008 campaign persona during a boisterous rally at the University of Wisconsin, Sen. Bernie Sanders was analyzing why the president was in a political pickle in the first place. Sanders, the independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, speaks warmly of Obama. But unlike … [Read more...] about Obama and the Progressive Paradox
Torch Passed
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Torch Passed
Student Kills Self After Webcast Of Sexual Encounter
This is a truly tragic story and one that demonstrates just how cruel some people can be. An 18 year old student at Rutgers college reportedly killed himself after some fellow students recorded him having sex with a man and broadcast it on the internet. Tyler Clementi was by all accounts a gentle, kind and talented music student, one who was very sensitive about things … [Read more...] about Student Kills Self After Webcast Of Sexual Encounter
The Tea Party Demographic
Over at Rolling Stone the great Matt Taibbi has a great article on an old fashion Tea Party revival in Kentucky. And what's a revival without a goddess? It's taken three trips to Kentucky, but I'm finally getting my Tea Party epiphany exactly where you'd expect: at a Sarah Palin rally. The red-hot mama of American exceptionalism has flown in to speak at something called the … [Read more...] about The Tea Party Demographic
EDITORIAL: By Helping America, Pakistan Kills Itself – The Nation, Pakistan
It's not news to say that Pakistan is a nation in crisis. But recent U.S. drone attacks and 'hot pursuit' attacks by helicopter gunships into Pakistani territory, combined with some of the worst flooding in history, have raised tempers among Pakistanis to a fever pitch. Two editorials we posted today, one from The Nation and the other from The Frontier Post, reflect such … [Read more...] about EDITORIAL: By Helping America, Pakistan Kills Itself – The Nation, Pakistan
Income Inequaity, Ctd
A story from AP's Hope Yen headlines, Census finds record gap between rich and poor. Well, actually, Timothy Noah explains, it doesn't, "if you follow the standard measure of income inequality, Yen is incorrect. Income inequality in 2009 did not differ in any statistically significant way from income inequality in 2008." Noah continues: What's interesting about the … [Read more...] about Income Inequaity, Ctd
Conservative Activist O’Keefe Allegedly Tries to “Punk” CNN Reporter
Precisely how far has American politics now sunk so that someone would allegedly try to basically set up a reporter from a cable network in an indescribably sleazy way -- a way that should earn this person repudiation from right, left and center, and mean commercial and readership poison for any website that runs his "work?" It has fallen far, indeed. So far down that … [Read more...] about Conservative Activist O’Keefe Allegedly Tries to “Punk” CNN Reporter
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
Still one of the best scenes in all of movies, and I do agree that nobody here is acting. … [Read more...] about Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
German Reparations and the End of the Great War
Yes, believe it or not, World War I is finally about to come to an end -- even though there's already been a II and neocons are angling for a III. From Britain's Telegraph: The First World War will officially end on Sunday, 92 years after the guns fell silent, when Germany pays off the last chunk of reparations imposed on it by the Allies. The final payment of £59.5 … [Read more...] about German Reparations and the End of the Great War
Austerity: European-style, American-style
Both the United States and Western Europe have entered a period of austerity that looks to be quite protracted. The two economic powers are approaching this reality in very different ways, however. One of the most obvious differences involves language. Official pronouncements and media in Europe are full of comments about "austerity budgets" and "austerity angst." In this … [Read more...] about Austerity: European-style, American-style
About Those Bush Tax Cuts…
Yes, they'd be bad, really bad, for the economy if extended. Ezra Klein: CBO Director Doug Elmendorf testified before the Senate Budget Committee [yesterday] and dropped something of a bombshell. Extending the Bush tax cuts, he said, will "probably reduce income relative to what would otherwise occur in 2020." The reason is simple: Debt. Elmendorf doesn't deny that tax … [Read more...] about About Those Bush Tax Cuts…
“A Global Movement of the Moderates”
Najib Tun Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, addressed the United Nations General Assembly yesterday about, among other things, growing Islamophobia and the Cordoba House controversy: The real issue is not between Muslims and non-Muslims but between the moderates and extremists of all religions, be it Islam, Christianity or Judaism. Across all religions we have … [Read more...] about “A Global Movement of the Moderates”
Michigan Assistant AG Targets Gay Student
But only, says he, during his personal time... Washinton DC's Metro Weekly quotes Michigan's Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell from the AC360 video interview above: "Long before I started the blog, a couple of weeks before that, the Alliance Defense Fund, a well-known legal Christian foundation put out an alert about Chris.... Chris Armstrong is a … [Read more...] about Michigan Assistant AG Targets Gay Student
Christine O’Donnell’s Resume Has Two Schools She Didn’t Attend
A lot of us wish we had better resumes. Tea Party movement idol and GOP Senate candidate in Delaware Christine O'Donnell has been proactive about it: her resume lists two schools she didn't attend. Gary Scott: Greg Sargent at the Washington Post's Plum Line has a story today that says Christine O'Donnell, Republican Senate candidate in Delaware, embellished her online … [Read more...] about Christine O’Donnell’s Resume Has Two Schools She Didn’t Attend
More on The Decline in K-12 Education, Superman, Unions & Inequality
Keeping up with the spate of education coverage fostered by the release of Waiting for Superman is an impossible task. But the story is not a new one.... This from Timothy Noah's 10 part series on The United States of Inequality: Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century a growing supply of better-educated workers met the demand created by new technologies. … [Read more...] about More on The Decline in K-12 Education, Superman, Unions & Inequality
The Rub Off Effect (Guest Voice)
The Rub Off Effect by Peter Funt Theories abound about why, with so many tech tools at their disposal and so much time spent connected and tuned in, Americans seem to be losing touch with significant news and current events. We’re losing the Rub Off Effect. Just as ink used to rub off on the hands of newspaper readers – before the advent of soy-based printing … [Read more...] about The Rub Off Effect (Guest Voice)