Tony Hayward, the BP chief executive whose credibility has jumped the shark told a British Broadcasting Co. audience Sunday that engineers have siphoned off a majority of the Deepwater Horizons oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Hayward, who earlier made such pronouncements that the spill will have only minor environmental impact on the Gulf Coast region, said engineers have … [Read more...] about BP Exec Jumps The Shark, Again
“Why Do All the Lefties Hate Israel?”
In my recent post, “Israel: Does it Have to Be ‘Love it or Hate it’?” I attempted to explain that “I sincerely and strongly believe that one can support the Israeli people, the Jewish people and, yes, the nation of Israel without cheering on and applauding each and every action or policy undertaken by the Israeli government.” I don’t know how successful I—a staunch Israel … [Read more...] about “Why Do All the Lefties Hate Israel?”
The Bright Side of the BP Oil Spill (Guest Voice)
The Bright Side of the BP Oil Spill by Will Durst To say the news coming out of the Gulf is not what you call encouraging is like saying it’s been a rough week for Dennis Hopper. And it’s making people crazy. No. Really. Crazy. Louisiana native and Democratic strategist James Carville went off on the President like a string of overstuffed firecrackers in a pot-bellied … [Read more...] about The Bright Side of the BP Oil Spill (Guest Voice)
I Want My Life Back
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Michele Bachmann, Lightening Rod For Whom?
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. For me, Michele Bachmann is neither. As I wrote in a column posted last week, she is who she is and is the sole responsibility of voters in her Sixth Congressional District in Minnesota. Bachmann is one of those political gadflies who is constantly in the news as a mouthpiece of ratings for Fox News and darling of ridicule, … [Read more...] about Michele Bachmann, Lightening Rod For Whom?
The Messed-Up Priorities of Israel’s Uncritical Supporters
While the likes of Ari Fleischer and Michele Bachmann are screaming for Helen Thomas to be fired because she answered a reporter who asked for her opinion on the Israeli-aid flotilla horror show by saying that Israel "should get the hell out of Palestine" and then added, when the reporter asked her where Jews should go, that they should go back to Germany and Poland (by which … [Read more...] about The Messed-Up Priorities of Israel’s Uncritical Supporters
John ‘Coach’ Wooden, 1911-2010
John Wooden was and will be the greatest basketball coach ever, a truly gracious gentleman who would bring tears to every family values Republican and created a motivational pyramid of success Fortune 500 companies follow. John Wooden died Friday night at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He was 99. His life as a teaching lesson we can all live by. He won seven … [Read more...] about John ‘Coach’ Wooden, 1911-2010
The Other Oil Disaster, in the Amazon Region
Some of the most memorable and idyllic times of my early youth are the days and weeks I spent in the late 1940s with my parents and sister in the “Oriente” in my native Ecuador. The "Oriente" is Ecuador’s name for its beautiful jungle region on the East side of the mighty Andes—the beginning of the Amazon rainforest and one of the most biologically diverse regions on … [Read more...] about The Other Oil Disaster, in the Amazon Region
Trent Lott and Helen Thomas, Double Standards in Action
When Trent Lott was caught saying things that implied admiration for the racist past of Strom Thurmond, he quickly apologized and began the normal ritual of damage control. Nonetheless, critics hounded him out of office, his apologies ignored. But now when Helen Thomas is caught saying things that imply the crudest kind of anti-Semitism, her apologies are quickly accepted … [Read more...] about Trent Lott and Helen Thomas, Double Standards in Action
Bobby Jindal, Tony Hayward and Sarah Palin
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BP – too big to fail?
On the fourth of May Adam Sharp of Energy and Capitol saw BP as a buying opportunity. By the first of June he had done an about face. Three weeks ago I wrote an article titled, "Hold Your Nose and Buy BP Stock." That made writing this piece a bit... awkward. But I'm not one to shy away from mistakes. It was a bad call. That said, I sold my BP shares for an 8% loss a … [Read more...] about BP – too big to fail?
Talk Show Host Who Made Issue of Arizona School Mural’s Ethnicity Fired By Radio Station
As previously reported here, a Prescott City Councilman and talk show host has been making an issue about an elementary school mural that used actual school kids of various ethnicities as models -- helping stir up hatred so the mural painters were cussed out and the school principal later claimed that for artistic reasons he did what educators who have murals are not known to … [Read more...] about Talk Show Host Who Made Issue of Arizona School Mural’s Ethnicity Fired By Radio Station
Helen Thomas, Anti-Semitism, and a Powerless, Stateless People
I completely agree with Joe in his feeling that Helen Thomas -- apology notwithstanding -- lost all credibility when she told a reporter that Jews in Israel should go back to Germany and Poland "and America, and everywhere else." It's not just the way her assertion echoed the ignorant demand that black and brown people, and Latinos, and Koreans, etc., etc., "go back where they … [Read more...] about Helen Thomas, Anti-Semitism, and a Powerless, Stateless People
Details: Obama Briefed on Oil Spill in April and James Carville’s Rants
Some details are coming out now via Richard Wolffe, writing on The Daily Beast, about what President Barack Obama knew about the oil spill, when he knew it -- and why the administration is so angry at Democratic strategist and Clinton ally James Carville. In a nutshell: the administration knew in April that it had a major catastrophe to deal with -- which is going to raise a … [Read more...] about Details: Obama Briefed on Oil Spill in April and James Carville’s Rants
Photographing Cops Increasingly Criminalized
Bravo Gizmodo: In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer. Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of … [Read more...] about Photographing Cops Increasingly Criminalized
Denying Citizenship To U. S. Born Children
Now comes word, out of Arizona of course, of the next move in the anti-Latino onslaught. State Senator Russell Pearce, sponsor of Arizona Senate Bill1070, has vowed to introduce legislation in the next session to deny birth certificates to babies born in Arizona if the parents of the child cannot prove legal status. The legislation would leave natural born United States … [Read more...] about Denying Citizenship To U. S. Born Children
Israel: Does it Have to Be, ‘Love it or Hate it’?
When the great nation of Israel takes some action—generally of a military nature—with which many people disagree, those who criticize such actions or the Israeli government are oftentimes accused of being anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, or worse. In the wake of recent Israeli military actions against the “Gaza flotilla,” those accusations have once again been rampant. It … [Read more...] about Israel: Does it Have to Be, ‘Love it or Hate it’?
Liz Cheney: How Dare Obama Describe Aid Activists’ Deaths as Tragic?
Wherever there is moral ugliness, Liz Cheney will show up sooner or later. I'm just surprised, in the matter of Israel's assault on the flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to blockaded Gazans, it took her until now to voice her outrage -- at Barack Obama's use of the word "tragic" to describe the human lives that were ended on the flotilla ship: … [Read more...] about Liz Cheney: How Dare Obama Describe Aid Activists’ Deaths as Tragic?
Has Helen Thomas Jumped the Swastika?
Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas is coming under enormous fire now for her comments saying that Israel's Jews should "go home" to Poland, the U.S. and to Germany. Some seem to imply she was saying go home to the old Germany of the Nazis and some feel she has revealed herself to be an anti semite. But if you GO HERE and can watch the video of her you can see … [Read more...] about Has Helen Thomas Jumped the Swastika?
Artists Asked to Lighten Faces of Latino, Black Kids on Arizona School Mural (UPDATED)
A new story has broken about Arizona that sounds like it just can't be real. It MUST be a Saturday Live Sketch, or a politically-anchored fictional line on an MSNBC show. But it isn't: it's yet another example of how passions -- and in this instance biases -- can become politically dominant, particularly when the message is put out by a (what else?) talk radio show host since … [Read more...] about Artists Asked to Lighten Faces of Latino, Black Kids on Arizona School Mural (UPDATED)