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The Moderate Voice

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Can We Get The Nerve To Raise The Eligibility Age ?

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One of the commonly known but often unspoken secrets of the current battle over health care reform is the fact that we are in desperate need of entitlement reform. When Social Security was first passed in the 1930's we had 3 workers for every person going on the system while today that ratio is reversed and the numbers are headed in the wrong direction. Indeed current stats … [Read more...] about Can We Get The Nerve To Raise The Eligibility Age ?

No Google Messiah, AT&T’s Network, & Remembering Verizon’s Slimy Billing

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Through the weekend I've been watching the Google Phone chatter -- nine Google Phone Techmeme Toppers in just 48 hours. Sadly, In the end I come down on the side of Slate's Farhad Manjoo: I'm guessing there's something we're missing about this story. As Engadget's Joshua Topolsky points out, this is not the first time Google has given its employees preview versions of upcoming … [Read more...] about No Google Messiah, AT&T’s Network, & Remembering Verizon’s Slimy Billing

The Christmas/Holiday/Chanuka Spirit? (NOT!)

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The month of December is always a special one. The thrust of Christmas and other holidays is that it's a time to start thinking about the fact that we need to love others, are interconnected and perhaps focus deeper things than real and politically accentuated divisions. People are -- at least for the duration of the holiday month -- urged to put aside hatreds, stereotypes and … [Read more...] about The Christmas/Holiday/Chanuka Spirit? (NOT!)

“Smartest Person in the Room”

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Watching President Obama on 60 Minutes recalls a memorable exchange from the 1987 movie, "Broadcast News," in which Holly Hunter's boss taunts her, "It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room." With a stricken expression, she answers, "No. It's awful." Last night, as he was being pressed by Steve Kroft about … [Read more...] about “Smartest Person in the Room”

Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants: Because It Pays Better

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Whether you're surprised by this story or not is beside the point, which is that this kind of thing and variations on the same thing happen with shocking regularity.  From Why James Chartrand Wears Women's Underpants: You know me as James Chartrand of Men with Pens, a regular Copyblogger contributor for just shy of two years. And yet, I’m a woman. This is not a joke or … [Read more...] about Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants: Because It Pays Better

Consumer Protection Agency A Goliath In The Making

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One of my brothers is a regional vice president at Wells Fargo Bank in Portland, Oregon. We talked by telephone yesterday and after exchanging views on family and college football I asked him what he thought about pending new regulations on the financial institutions now being offered by President Obama and Congress. "The (proposed) consumer protection agency is a disaster … [Read more...] about Consumer Protection Agency A Goliath In The Making

The Benefits of Ambivalence: Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

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Guest post by Peter Henne President Obama's rhetoric in his Nobel acceptance speech was as powerful as ever. Obama pointed to the importance of striving for peace, and attempted to justify the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. But the most significant aspect of Obama's speech may be a precarious balance between acknowledging the sad reality of the world and aspiring towards … [Read more...] about The Benefits of Ambivalence: Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi Attack Causes Italy to Seek to Shut Down Facebook Sites

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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is recuperating from an attack after a person under psychiatric treatment threw a statuette at him that smacked him in the face-- and the delighted response by some Facebook site members has caused Italy to seriously explore shutting some sites: Italy’s government will discuss measures to block Web sites that incite violence, … [Read more...] about Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi Attack Causes Italy to Seek to Shut Down Facebook Sites

Boom Goes the Dynamite, errr… Deficit

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Call it clever timing or call it desperation. Either way, the taxpayers found an early lump of coal in their Christmas stockings this weekend. With the end of the year approaching, the Senate followed the path set by the House on Thursday and passed a massive, pork laden 1.1 $T spending bill, and now hopes to move forward on upping the federal debt limit by an additional 1.8 … [Read more...] about Boom Goes the Dynamite, errr… Deficit

Health Care Reform’s Final Stand in 2009

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Sen. Lieberman is at it again, frustrating the party with which he caucuses: In a surprise setback for Democratic leaders, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said on Sunday that he would vote against the health care legislation in its current form. This potentially spells the end of the notion (in 2009 at least ) of expanding Medicare to … [Read more...] about Health Care Reform’s Final Stand in 2009

Are Furloughs Penny Wise But Pound Foolish ?

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As many of my readers know I am an attorney and given the condition of the economy a large amount of my practice is bankruptcy. While my clients come from a variety of places I have recently had a number of state of California employees come in to my office. They are coming to me because due to the furloughs imposed by the state they are looking at 15% pay cuts and as you might … [Read more...] about Are Furloughs Penny Wise But Pound Foolish ?

Gorbachev Presses World Leaders to Deliver on Climate: Rossijskaya Gazeta, Russia

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Chiding his former colleagues to act and to act now, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of state of the USSR, has weighed in on the climate debate with this op-ed published in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, a newspaper that he partly owns. For Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Gorbachev writes in part: "The latest scientific data on climate change is extremely disturbing. This is the last … [Read more...] about Gorbachev Presses World Leaders to Deliver on Climate: Rossijskaya Gazeta, Russia

Obama: Squaring Idealism and Realism (Guest Voice)

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PARIS -- Europeans are coming to terms with the fact that President Obama is not a miracle worker, and with the reality that everything he does is not magic. Oh, yes, most Europeans are still happy Obama is president. They remain fascinated by him and grateful for the direction of his policies. A French diplomatic veteran ticked off all the good news: Obama's pledge to … [Read more...] about Obama: Squaring Idealism and Realism (Guest Voice)