The scramble among media in 21st century to find a balance between politics-based journalism and opinion and maintaining a semblance of traditional mainstream media journalistic standards and image continues -- with CBS being the latest news organization to be badly stung in a tale of blogging standards (or lack of them) negating traditional news publishing standards. The … [Read more...] about CBS News Gets Black Eye After Running Blog Column Alleging Kagan is Gay
Equal-Population Or More Useful “States”
Building on Peter's topic of representation, let's take a quick look at fair and impartial redistricting. While those of us outside DC have representation, redistricting abuse by both parties distorts democracy... You might remember this Electoral Reform Map by Neil Freeman at FakeIsTheNewReal.org that redivided the United States into 50 bodies of equal size. Longtime reader … [Read more...] about Equal-Population Or More Useful “States”
SEC Files Civil Fraud Charges Against Goldman Sachs
Wow, I never thought this day would come. It has long been an open secret that Goldman Sachs had a role in defrauding subprime mortgage investors, but due to their specific government connections and the general state of the financial sector it was assumed nothing would come of it. However the SEC has filed civil (for now?) charges against Goldman to recoup their ill-begotten … [Read more...] about SEC Files Civil Fraud Charges Against Goldman Sachs
Tea Party Kettle: Half Full or Half Empty? (PART I)
If I've come to any conclusion regarding the nascent Tea Party Movement, it's that it's virtually impossible to get an objective assessment of it. Whether its cable news, newspapers, the internet, or even the Tea Party Movement itself, everyone views the movement through their own subjective political or partisan lenses, and virtually everyone who comments on it, can't seem to … [Read more...] about Tea Party Kettle: Half Full or Half Empty? (PART I)
Medical Humanity Extended To Gays
Whatever you think of gay marriage, civil unions, or Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in the military, one thing all compassionate human beings should agree on is that those in stress, discomfort, emergency or facing death benefit from the presence and companionship of loved ones. President Obama took a small but significant step in that direction Thursday when he asked HHS Secretary … [Read more...] about Medical Humanity Extended To Gays
Larry King Goes for the Gold
Approaching Guinness Book of Records territory as he files for his eighth divorce, 76-year-old Larry King still has a way to go before dethroning the champion of serial monogamy, Tommy Manville, who married 11 women 13 times in the last century. Heir to an asbestos fortune, Marrying Manville became a cultural icon, but in those days, money alone was enough to make him … [Read more...] about Larry King Goes for the Gold
Price of Purism
A conflict has erupted between columnists Aaron Sorkin and Paul Krugman. The question in conflict is relatively trivial -- whether Krugman called for nationalization of the entire banking system or just a swath of what he called "zombie banks". As a matter of policy, this is trivial because it involves a debate over something that is never going to happen. In spite of … [Read more...] about Price of Purism
Navy Secretary Mabus: Yes to Women, No to Smoking on Submarines
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. According to the Kitsap Sun, the Brementon, Washington, newspaper (the nearby Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor is home to 10 of the Navy’s 18 … [Read more...] about Navy Secretary Mabus: Yes to Women, No to Smoking on Submarines
The iPad Printing Fix
From PC World via Boing Boing... Click for full-sized iPad printing hack. BA-DUM CHHH! But seriously folks... Google's got a proposed scheme for printing from then cloud. You'll register your "cloud-aware" printer (yet to be produced) with their service or your "legacy printer" through your computer. Sounds like a good idea to me... Discussion via … [Read more...] about The iPad Printing Fix
Goldman Sachs, Tea Party Protests and The Wise Men Of Chelm
In our family, the old tales were told about "The Wise Men of Chelm." It seemed that when the Creator was creating the world, the animals and plants and human beings, Creator also made villages surrounded by forests and mountains. Into each village, Creator placed a wise man and a wise woman and also one fool. However, by the end of creation, Creator had quite a few fools left … [Read more...] about Goldman Sachs, Tea Party Protests and The Wise Men Of Chelm
Destroyed CIA Interrogation Tapes Would “Look Terrible, Taken out of Context”
The context presumably being that these were terrorists (albeit uncharged, untried, and unconvicted, of course), who for that reason did not have any inherent natural god-given rights under the laws of Nature's God, which are not the same as the laws made by men. … [Read more...] about Destroyed CIA Interrogation Tapes Would “Look Terrible, Taken out of Context”
“I Always Thought It Was a Human Right”
That's Janice Langbehn speaking. Langbehn is a Floridian who was barred from the hospital room where her life partner, Lisa Pond, died hours after having a cerebral aneurysm. Thanks to action taken today by Pres. Obama, other gay and lesbian couples will not have to go through such heartbreaking injustice: … [Read more...] about “I Always Thought It Was a Human Right”
Fox News Pulls Sean Hannity From Starring Role In Cincinnati Tea Party Rally
Is it possible that Sean Hannity -- a conservative talker who seems more like an outright Republican ward activist than a major broadcast talent like Rush Limbaugh, or a card-carrying (former) trained journalist-turned-talker like Bill O'Reilly -- has gone too far in blurring the lines between him, his network, his politics and money? The answer seems "yes" -- at least to the … [Read more...] about Fox News Pulls Sean Hannity From Starring Role In Cincinnati Tea Party Rally
Education Achievement Gap: An International Issue
Dr. Lenora Fulani challenges Rev. Al Sharpton, Arne Duncan, black America and all people to get educated about innovations around the world. See video … [Read more...] about Education Achievement Gap: An International Issue
Steve King Explodes at Reporter Who Asks If He Regrets Justifying IRS Attack
The IRS makes people mad enough to crash airplanes into buildings. That's what Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) essentially said back in February. Today, April 15 -- the deadline for Americans to turn in their tax returns -- Rep. King spoke at Tax Day Tea Party Rally, which took place in Washington, D.C., and was sponsored by FreedomWorks, a powerful corporate lobbying outfit. … [Read more...] about Steve King Explodes at Reporter Who Asks If He Regrets Justifying IRS Attack
Bush the ‘Chosen One’ Deserves ‘Statue of Gold’: Sotal Iraq, Iraq
Whether one loves or loathes George W. Bush, it would be hard not to be dumbfounded by the praise heaped upon the former U.S. president by columnist Jabir Al Jaburi in this article from Iraq's Sotal Iraq newspaper. On the anniversary of the Iraq invasion last week, Sotal Iraq's Jabir Al Jaburi wrote in part: I swear to Allah the beloved that if our mighty Prophet Muhammad … [Read more...] about Bush the ‘Chosen One’ Deserves ‘Statue of Gold’: Sotal Iraq, Iraq
The Untaxed Tax Protesters
The ironic statistic du jour is that, despite Tea Party howling, 47 percent of American families are paying no federal taxes on their income this year. Most are households with young children and (pace the white-haired, red-faced ragers at rallies) the elderly, benefiting from Obama-sponsored stimulus measures, most notably a 2009 reprieve from mandatory withdrawals from … [Read more...] about The Untaxed Tax Protesters
The “Judicial Activism Game”
Judicial activism has become the #1 pejorative term for debates over judicial nominations. The ideal, supposedly, is cast in the famous words of Chief Justice Roberts before Congress -- the non-activist judge just "calls balls and strikes" and avoids imposing his own views. Of course, this is impossible. No judge -- no human being can approach either a particular case or a … [Read more...] about The “Judicial Activism Game”
Even Under Obama, No End to ‘Execution without Trial’: Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany
In terms of public relations, it has been a tough week for the U.S. military. First there was the flurry of scolding commentary over the 'Wikileaked' video of U.S. Apache helicopter pilots gunning down a group of people in Baghdad. Now this article by Dietmar Ostermann of the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau writes with some disappointment that in terms of protecting … [Read more...] about Even Under Obama, No End to ‘Execution without Trial’: Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany
Ratings: Could Glenn Beck’s Schtick Be Getting Old?
Possibly if these ratings charts and figures are any indication. One problem some talk show hosts (cable and radio) will invariably face is that they gain new viewers by being outrageous and pushing the envelope on their content and how it is delivered. They have to keep doing it and top themselves. For instance, on the left, Keith Olbermann's initial "Special Comment" a … [Read more...] about Ratings: Could Glenn Beck’s Schtick Be Getting Old?