As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, on February 22, Defense Secretary Robert Gates delivered a letter to Congress, notifying it of the Navy’s desire to permit women to serve aboard its submarines. The House and Senate had 30 working days to pass a law barring the move. The deadline for Congress to object passed at midnight and the Navy has called a news conference for this … [Read more...] about Navy to Allow Women to Serve Aboard Submarines
What about Dora? Can she stay in Arizona?
In the aftermath of Arizona's immigration law, I want to know if Dora the Explorer can stay on the airwaves in the state. After all, we know she is Hispanic and probably not a U.S. citizen. I think the law is stupid not to mention unconstitutional. If it gets enacted before a federal judge hears it, probably the Supreme Court, I will be very surprised. Every … [Read more...] about What about Dora? Can she stay in Arizona?
Arizona Tower of Babble
Fittingly enough for a bi-lingual issue, the debate over Arizona's arrest-an-immigrant law is becoming a confusion of tongues with ideologues speaking in unfamiliar ways. While some Democrats unsurprisingly invoke Nazi Germany and apartheid, Republicans from Jeb Bush and Karl Rove to Tea Party hero Marco Rubio are groping for less flamboyant language to distance themselves … [Read more...] about Arizona Tower of Babble
Obama’s ‘Speech’ On Energy Legislation
The following is a speech written for President Obama in advance of the Senate introducing a climate/energy/jobs bill that Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) had scheduled to introduce this past Monday. “Yes, if we pass this energy legislation, a small price on carbon will likely show up on your gasoline or electricity bill. I’m not going to lie. But it is an investment … [Read more...] about Obama’s ‘Speech’ On Energy Legislation
Stewart on Apple ‘Appholes’: Microsoft Was Supposed To Be the Evil One…
...but now Apple is busting down doors in Palo Alto while Bill Gates rids the world of mosquitoes. What the... is going on? Last night Jon Stewart spent 8 minutes lambasting Apple over the iPhone prototype story. Apple has been mostly ignoring what the press says about it, but this is bound to get their attention. A couple more great quotes: The cops had to bash in the guys … [Read more...] about Stewart on Apple ‘Appholes’: Microsoft Was Supposed To Be the Evil One…
Hawaii To Birthers: Drop Dead
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle.is expected to sign a law passed by the Legislature Tuesday that authorizes a state agency to ignore repeated requests for certified copies of President Obama's birth certificate. The law provides an exemption in the public records act to ignore repeated requests from groups or individuals. Hawaii Health Director Dr. Chiyonne Fukino has issued two … [Read more...] about Hawaii To Birthers: Drop Dead
Finally, Some Straight Talk From Arizona
Arizona's Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik says he will not enforce the state's new anti-immigrant law because it is unnecessary as well as probably unconstitutional. It's nice to finally hear some straight talk out of that state rather than the echo chamber of political proponents and opponents.beating the drums and creating mass hysteria. Here's the video clip from … [Read more...] about Finally, Some Straight Talk From Arizona
Feds Green Light Wind Farm Off Cape Cod
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has reignited a civil war in Cape Cod pitting neighbors against one another and drawing the wrath of the Kennedy family, no less, by announcing development of the nation's first off-shore wind farm. The project submitted by Wind Farms Associates has been nine years under regulatory review and would spread across 25 square miles of Nantucket … [Read more...] about Feds Green Light Wind Farm Off Cape Cod
Inmates Running The Asylum In Oklahoma
If you think the Arizona Legislature has gone mad enacting Draconian anti-immigrant laws, the Oklahoma Legislature also dominated by Republicans are the inmates running the asylum. The Sooner State is $1.2 billion in the red, its pro-life Republicans cut funding for teen child care centers which they support, while at the same time spending 10 times those savings fighting … [Read more...] about Inmates Running The Asylum In Oklahoma
NAFTA Should Be Reopened to Protect Mexican Workers: La Jornada, Mexico
Does the passage of Arizona's new anti-immigration law signal the need for a single, continent-wide standard on how to treat workers - migrant or otherwise? Continuing with our coverage of Mexican reaction to the law, this article from La Jornada suggests that the signatories to NAFTA - Canada, the U.S. and Mexico - in addition to creating a fund to 'reduce the economic … [Read more...] about NAFTA Should Be Reopened to Protect Mexican Workers: La Jornada, Mexico
Mailbag: Wilbert Rideau & Phosphorus in Foods
A reader writes: I appreciated your column. I've heard Wilbert on NPR, and I appreciate that prisoners can be rehabilitated. But I do think your article was a bit one-sided. The DA makes a valid point: Julia Ferguson is gone forever. Julia had a family too. What is a just sentence? What about the victim? How do we reconcile the two sides of this argument? I'm not a … [Read more...] about Mailbag: Wilbert Rideau & Phosphorus in Foods
Wrong Hot Button Response? Hispanics and Democrats Energized Due to Arizona Immigration Law
Did Arizona conservative Republicans, cheered on by many in the Republican party's talk radio political culture, push the wrong hot button? It seems like it has energized voters but perhaps some they would prefer not to be motivated to get to the polls in November: U.S. Hispanics and Democratic lawmakers furious over Arizona's harsh crackdown on illegal immigrants expect … [Read more...] about Wrong Hot Button Response? Hispanics and Democrats Energized Due to Arizona Immigration Law
Game Over, Senate Free To Debate Financial Reform
Threatened with mandatory sessions into the weekend, Republicans caved in late Wednesday after three consecutive days of filibuster votes and agreed by unanimous consent to begin debates on the chamber's version of finance reform. The joke circulating the Capitol corridors was that Senate Minority Leader Mitch O'Connell, who kept the Republicans in line, did not want to be … [Read more...] about Game Over, Senate Free To Debate Financial Reform
Court Upholds Mojave Cross
A somewhat splintered US Supreme Court ruled today that a cross can remain on a war memorial in a remote part of the Mojave desert. The 5-4 ruling overturned a decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The majority held that the cross is not only a symbol of Christianity but also represents a general symbol of sacrifice while the minority held that the symbol does … [Read more...] about Court Upholds Mojave Cross
Mexicans in the U.S.: A Nation Within a Nation – La Jornada, Mexico
As debate rages in the United States over Arizona's new law permitting police to ask for a person's papers based on 'reasonable suspicion,' pressure is building on the other side of the border to better protect Mexicans in the U.S. from mistreatment. Continuing our Mexican coverage of the issue, this article from La Jornada offers the view from across the border and shows how … [Read more...] about Mexicans in the U.S.: A Nation Within a Nation – La Jornada, Mexico
Could Crist’s Switch to Independent Be a Sign of Things to Come?
First, Joe Lieberman was considered too conservative to be a Democrat in Connecticut. Now, Charlie Crist, amid signs that he could win as an independent in the 2010 Florida Senate race, has evidently been deemed too liberal to be a Republican in Florida. Are plausible independent runs for statewide offices a trend for the future? My guess is that it is. Fewer people these … [Read more...] about Could Crist’s Switch to Independent Be a Sign of Things to Come?
Civil is Hard to Do
A colleague emailed me today. She had heard my radio commentary Monday re: the Coffee Party and thought I might be interested in this related article from the current edition of Newsweek. The article recounts an experience that Annabel Park, the C-Party's founder, had with some of the people her movement attracted to a gathering at a D.C. venue. ... from the moment … [Read more...] about Civil is Hard to Do
Death of a Good Samaritan
The theme of big-city indifference to the Good Samaritan narrative is back with the story of a stabbed man left dying and bleeding by New York City residents for more than an hour before anyone tried to help. Decades after 38 witnesses failed to call police in the now-legendary killing of Kitty Genovese in 1964, the death of a Guatemalan immigrant a week ago while trying to … [Read more...] about Death of a Good Samaritan
Anglozona Tan Block
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Anglozona Tan Block
McCain’s Approval Rating Nosedives In Arizona
Could it be that Arizona voters read The Moderate Voice? It sure seems that way, because the last poll reflects what I've said in various posts here and on my Twitter account: John McCain in his present incarnation is not the same John McCain as in 2000 because he has now morphed into an all-out partisan who can be expected to echo whatever the Republican party's conservative … [Read more...] about McCain’s Approval Rating Nosedives In Arizona