Following up on some of the Net Neutrality comments from this morning's post, this from the Business Week Cover Story on AT&T's iPhone Mess: The rise of iPhone Nation—with its media-savvy and data-greedy citizenry—has left AT&T with a tough set of options. It could significantly upgrade its network to handle all the new demand, but that would cripple profits. It could charge … [Read more...] about AT&T Trying To Subtly Reshape the Definition of Net Neutrality
Obama and the National Prayer Breakfast
Yesterday, the National Prayer Breakfast was held in Washington, D.C. As most people who follow politics know, this is an annual event that has been held for decades (more than five of them, to be exact), and that every POTUS since Eisenhower has attended -- and more to the point, has to attend if wanting to avoid creating a Major Political Scandal. … [Read more...] about Obama and the National Prayer Breakfast
Gays in the Military
Mike Keefe, The Denver Post This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Gays in the Military
Haiti: The Orphans Issue—Good Intentions Gone Awry, Mischief, or Worse? (UPDATES)
The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti has brought out the best in people, organizations and governments. In particular in the case of the thousands of existing orphans (some sources put this figure to be around 380,000) and newly orphaned children (tens of thousands more) in that devastated country, people, organizations and what was left of the Haitian government opened up … [Read more...] about Haiti: The Orphans Issue—Good Intentions Gone Awry, Mischief, or Worse? (UPDATES)
BREAKING: Sen. Shelby of Alabama Halts Entire Nomination Process
Depending on how you look at it, this is either beyond belief, or utterly unsurprising: … [Read more...] about BREAKING: Sen. Shelby of Alabama Halts Entire Nomination Process
NBC Looking Silly Again?
First NBC looked silly (and intelligence challenged) for creating the widely publicized Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien mess. Now there's a less publicized tidbit that raises some eyebrows again -- although this is a smaller part of NBC. UPDATE: The controversial sign was removed. … [Read more...] about NBC Looking Silly Again?
“Stand By Every Ad Act” Would Force CEOs To Say “I Stand By This Message”
Huffington Post: Reps. David Price (D-N.C.) and Mike Castle (R-Del.) told the Huffington Post in a joint statement that they plan to introduce a bill that would force CEO's to take ownership of their company's ads. For example: "I'm Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, and I approved this message." The two House members plan to push the "Stand By Every Ad Act", … [Read more...] about “Stand By Every Ad Act” Would Force CEOs To Say “I Stand By This Message”
The Blame Thing (Guest Voice)
The Blame Thing by David Goodloe Back around the time of the Watergate scandal, a comedian named David Frye — who was pretty good at impressions of many famous people — was fairly successful with albums that focused on the presidency of Richard Nixon. I particularly remember a recording called "Richard Nixon: A Fantasy," which turned out to be a dream that Nixon had … [Read more...] about The Blame Thing (Guest Voice)
Boot Camp For Homophobes
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Boot Camp For Homophobes
Terrorism as a Spectator Sport
With the approach of Super Bowl Sunday, talking heads are out on TV to handicap and cash in politically on the biggest game of all--a terror attack on American soil. The latest skirmish pits Sen. Kit Bond, ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, against White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who took exception to Bond's flogging the notion that release of … [Read more...] about Terrorism as a Spectator Sport
Why Independent Voters Are Independent Voters: A Non-Role Model Senator
Right now the Demmies are coming under a lot of (justified) criticism for some of the ugly dealmaking that occurred with the big push to try and get health care reform, their addiction to earmarks and over the years some GOPers such as Senator John McCain and talk show hosts have blasted the Democrats on earmarks as well. Now read THIS: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has … [Read more...] about Why Independent Voters Are Independent Voters: A Non-Role Model Senator
Questions about Question Time
Nate Silver reviews the nuts and bolts of how Question Time for the President might actually work. If you think it makes sense (I do) then go sign the petition. Cross-posted at Conventional Folly … [Read more...] about Questions about Question Time
Obama’s Sagging Popularity
President Barack Obama's overall sagging popularity can be seen graphically via this poll composite from Pollster.com: And among crucial independent voters? A sign of the times: in New Hampshire, Obama is reportedly losing independent voters in droves. … [Read more...] about Obama’s Sagging Popularity
On Charles Leadbeater’s Open Cloud Declaration
The days of a free and open global internet have already passed. The global Internet has been supplanted, with little notice, by a series of national networks that have taken shape in recent years as companies have bowed to the laws of the countries they operate in. And, really, how else could it be? Google notwithstanding, do we really imagine a company saying, "We'll operate … [Read more...] about On Charles Leadbeater’s Open Cloud Declaration
Conservative Food Fight Over Tea Party Label
Political eyes and ears are now focused on the Tea Party convention whose big weekend speaker will be former Alaska Gov. and likely 2012 Presidential aspirant Sarah Palin. But there are now some big squabbles and divisions in Tea Partyland. … [Read more...] about Conservative Food Fight Over Tea Party Label
The Winds of Political Change (Guest Voice)
The Winds of Political Change by Michael Reagan This week, the State of Illinois concluded its primaries for its soon-to-be-open United States Senate Seat. This seat, President Obama’s until he won the presidency, has gained infamy with former Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s efforts to “sell” the seat to the highest bidder. The race will feature five-term … [Read more...] about The Winds of Political Change (Guest Voice)
McCain and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about McCain and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Banker Caught Looking at Nude Women on Live TV Broadcast
File this increasingly popular You Tube in your OOPS!!! file. Here's a video of a banker caught looking at nude women on hits computer screen on a live Australian newscast. Note the guy at the computer to the left of the reporter's screen. … [Read more...] about Banker Caught Looking at Nude Women on Live TV Broadcast
Inadequate U.S. Weapons Deal Shows Failure of Taiwan President: Taiwan News, Taiwan
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou While Beijing is angry about U.S. plans to sell weapons to Taiwan, in Taiwan itself, the democratically-elected president of that country has come under attack for failing to acquire more and better weapons to defend the island. In trying to improve ties with Beijing and Washington, President Ma's version of what Bill Clinton would have called … [Read more...] about Inadequate U.S. Weapons Deal Shows Failure of Taiwan President: Taiwan News, Taiwan
So, Just How Crazy Are Republicans?
The blogosphere has been abuzz with the recent poll by Daily Kos/Research 2000 that points a not so favorable view of the Republican Party. The way the poll looks it gives a picture a party filled with bigoted know-nothings. This poll has bothered me for a lot of reasons. As a gay Republican who is a moderate, it felt like yet another slam against the party that makes one … [Read more...] about So, Just How Crazy Are Republicans?