Who is responsible for monitoring children after they are adopted by parents in another country? That's the question at the heart of a controversy over a Russian child adopted by American parents. The seven year old, Artem Saveliev, was 'rejected' by his adoptive mother, and sent back to Russia alone on a long-haul air flight from Tennessee to Moscow. This article from Russia's … [Read more...] about The Adoption of a Child is ‘Not an eBay Purchase!’: Interfax, Russia
Make Mine a National Day of Religious Freedom, Please
The decision handed down last week by the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin, in which Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the National Day of Prayer is an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause, is a perfect example of the kind of judicial restraint and fealty to the text of the Constitution that the Republican Party claims to hold so dear. Which, of course, … [Read more...] about Make Mine a National Day of Religious Freedom, Please
Earth Day: Photography Studio for Our Mother
TECH BLESS: If you were a raptor and flew over the earth, you would see with your specialized eyes-- many of the same amazements gigantic glass eyes of satellites see, they who fly on wings of steel. Sometimes humans are weak-- but their technology is strong. Bless the tech that truly blesses us back. dr.cpe. See here, to view the many aerial views of your Mother … [Read more...] about Earth Day: Photography Studio for Our Mother
The Dangerous Combination of Populism and Economics
Financial reform is the new focus of the Obama White House and Democrats in Congress. Coming on the heels of a grueling and politically costly fight over health care reform, Democrats can be forgiven for seeking once again to be seen as champions of the apocryphal "little guy" who is the unquestionable saint of American political discourse. Republicans got to ride that pony … [Read more...] about The Dangerous Combination of Populism and Economics
Dan Coats Is Having Problems In Indiana
STOP THE PRESSES AND GO TO EDIT ON YOUR BLOGS! Dan Coats isn't as much of a shoo-in for the GOP Senate nomination as many thought. He now has big problems -- big problems with conservatives. … [Read more...] about Dan Coats Is Having Problems In Indiana
They Say “Clothes Makes the Man”
And Brian Bilbray believes clothes make the illegal immigrant. … [Read more...] about They Say “Clothes Makes the Man”
Shootout At The OK Corral – Records Discovered
All right, I’ll admit it. This isn’t going to end nuclear proliferation or result in a two state solution in the Middle East. But the original records from the Coroner’s Inquest into the shootout at the OK Corral have been found. Two Cochise County clerks, Bonnie Cook and Michelle Garcia, were assigned to clean out a storage closet of archived county records. Stuffed in a … [Read more...] about Shootout At The OK Corral – Records Discovered
From iPad to iWorthless
A few months back, Apple’s co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs introduced the world to a strange device with a silly name. With the unveiling of the iPad, many critics around the world immediately, and somewhat gleefully, proclaimed Apple had finally made a technological blunder. These critics surmised the iPad was flawed because the name was more suitable for a feminine hygiene … [Read more...] about From iPad to iWorthless
Is Lindsey Graham Being Slimed?
Is Republican Senator Lindsey Graham being "slimed?" The newsweekly The Week raises this issue and offers a solid roundup. But it's subhead really capsualizes what is occuring: A conservative activist says the moderate GOP senator is a closeted gay who's being blackmailed into supporting immigration reform. Is Graham being slimed? The fact that the activist is using this … [Read more...] about Is Lindsey Graham Being Slimed?
The Basic Problem With Obamanomics Made Clear — Again
Two headlines on today's CNN website make perfectly clear what's been wrong with Obama and his team's economic policies from the start, and why though there's been some improvement in this realm of late, the basic flaw in these policies has not been fixed. The first headline read: "Obama Won't Trash Wall Street;" the second headline read: "Wall Street To Abandon … [Read more...] about The Basic Problem With Obamanomics Made Clear — Again
Suggested Chicken Mood Music for Sue Lowden’s Barter Idea and Political Campaign
As Jerry Remmers has noted HERE and as I also noted in our popular Around the Sphere linkfest, Nevada Republican senatorial candidate Sue Lowden wants to lower health care costs by adopting a barter economy to pay doctors. She gave a chicken as an example of something that has been given to doctors in past. It is true that some Americans do, indeed, tinker with the barter … [Read more...] about Suggested Chicken Mood Music for Sue Lowden’s Barter Idea and Political Campaign
Cola Wars and the Campaign to Sell Wall Street Status Quo (Guest Voice)
Cola Wars and the Campaign to Sell Wall Street Status Quo by Tina Dupuy In the past hundred years Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola have spent billions in advertising and employed millions of people to get you to think this caffeinated bubbly sugar water is different/better/worse than that caffeinated bubbly sugar water. People are fiercely loyal and opinionated on the subject. All … [Read more...] about Cola Wars and the Campaign to Sell Wall Street Status Quo (Guest Voice)
Mud Slings, Clock Ticks For Arizona Governor Signing Anti-Immigrant Law
This is disgusting. Isn't there a grown-up in the house? As the five-day time clock ticks down to zero for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to sign or veto the state Legislature's anti-illegal immigrant law, the bill's author and the cardinal of the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Diocese are engaging in a mud-slinging contest. On Monday. Cardinal Roger Mahoney described the bill in … [Read more...] about Mud Slings, Clock Ticks For Arizona Governor Signing Anti-Immigrant Law
Pravda, McCain, Obama, Egypt and Arizona: What is the Connection?
According to the Associated Press, the Arizona House on Wednesday approved a bill that would require U.S. presidential candidates who want to appear on the ballot in Arizona to submit documents proving they meet the constitutional requirements to be president. Of course, one of those constitutional requirements is that the candidate must be a natural born citizen, i.e. born … [Read more...] about Pravda, McCain, Obama, Egypt and Arizona: What is the Connection?
Amazon and the sin of profit
Although one would generally describe The New Yorker as a progressive publication, it seems to slip into a reactionary mindset when the interests of the literary establishment are on the line. In this week's issue, Ken Auletta takes a look at the Kindle, the iPad and the threat that e-books present to old school publishing houses. The article presents Amazon as the … [Read more...] about Amazon and the sin of profit
GOP Jihad
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, with the credibility of a Bush holdover, makes the startling point that the President's victory on health care strengthens America on the world stage. “When others see the president as a winner or as somebody who has real authority in his own house," Gates tells Thomas Friedman, "it absolutely makes a difference. "All you have to do is look … [Read more...] about GOP Jihad
Can political journalists cover financial reform?
I was listening to David Gregory interview Timothy Geithner. I always knew that I didn't understand financial regulation. Then I began to sense that Gregory didn't either. My purpose isn't to single him out. When I listen to all the Sunday morning shows, I wonder if any of the hosts are capable of asking tough questions about financial regulation and reform, the way they … [Read more...] about Can political journalists cover financial reform?
Says Harry Reid’s Republican Opponent — Barter Chickens To Pay Doctors
Democrats and progressives can't believe their good fortune that Nevada Republican senatorial candidate Sue Lowden wants to lower health care costs by adopting a barter economy to pay doctors. Lowden insists she's not fooling around in an effort to unseat incumbent Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader who has been trailing in the polls in his home state against phantom … [Read more...] about Says Harry Reid’s Republican Opponent — Barter Chickens To Pay Doctors
The Story of How Facebook and Twitter Users Lobbied the AP Stylebook to Change “Web Site” to “Website”
The story of how Facebook and Twitter users lobbied the AP Stylebook to change "web site" to "website" by Simon Owens On the day the AP Stylebook announced it would change the requirement that its users refer to online destinations as "web sites" to the more widely-used "websites," I sent a message to a person named Justin LaBerge requesting a phone interview. He responded … [Read more...] about The Story of How Facebook and Twitter Users Lobbied the AP Stylebook to Change “Web Site” to “Website”
By Working Together, A Case Example How To Lower Health Care Costs
Think of all the hours we have sat alone in private patient rooms waiting for the doctor to attend our needs. If you are like me, you pass the boredom by reviewing the medical wall posters. We have all seen them. An artist's rendering of the heart and all its components. Same for lungs. Kidneys. Then the granddaddy of them all -- the body's entire arterial and venus blood … [Read more...] about By Working Together, A Case Example How To Lower Health Care Costs