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The Moderate Voice

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Census Worker Staged Suicide To Look Like Homicide

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As it happens, I was driving through Kentucky when I heard the news: The [Clay County, Kentucky] Census Bureau employee found dead in September killed himself and staged his death to look like a homicide, state and federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday. William E. Sparkman Jr. died of asphyxiation and was found with hands, feet and mouth bound with duct tape, a rope … [Read more...] about Census Worker Staged Suicide To Look Like Homicide

‘The Cost of Dying:’ False Choices or the Future of American Healthcare (Guest Voice)

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I watched this 60 Minutes segment last night on "The Cost of Dying" with extraordinarily mixed emotions. From anger to fear to horror, I have rarely had such an emotional reaction to an issue. But once past the knee jerk outrage, I began to assess the moral and ethical dimensions of the problem and am extremely unsettled in where these questions lead me. Some background … [Read more...] about ‘The Cost of Dying:’ False Choices or the Future of American Healthcare (Guest Voice)

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program – Its Ups and Downs (Update)

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It has been a while since I have written on two of the most controversial, expensive and important weapons programs in decades: The F-22 Raptor fighter and the F-35 multirole Joint Strike Fighter, or Lightning II. As we remember, on July 21, 2009, “in a dogfight almost to the end,” as the Washington Post reported it, Congress scrapped the F-22 program. Secretary Gates not … [Read more...] about The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program – Its Ups and Downs (Update)

I Support the Hanania Plan!

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Ray Hanania is a Palestinian-American journalist (and sometime comedian), married to a Jewish woman, who has announced his candidacy for the presidency of Palestine in the event an election is held. He doesn't expect to win. But he observes that sometimes, long-shot candidates win anyway. And in the mean time, he says, he'd like to use his candidacy as a launch pad for … [Read more...] about I Support the Hanania Plan!

Media Overhype On Crib Recall

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As many of you may know there is a major recall on cribs because of some deaths due to a possible defect. I assume it goes without saying that these deaths are horrible tragedies and I think we all feel the deepest sympathy for the parents who have lost children. However when you read deeper into the story you find that in the last sixteen years there have been four … [Read more...] about Media Overhype On Crib Recall

Of Phones, Phonies and Gadgets

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You know what I really hate about the onset of the holiday season? (OK... we really don't have time or server space for a comprehensive list, so I'll just cut to the whining subject of the day.) It's the endless parade of media propaganda telling me precisely how lame I am for not having the latest and greatest doohicky of this or that flavor and how easy and cheap it will be … [Read more...] about Of Phones, Phonies and Gadgets

Things To Come — Soon

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Sometimes individuals make a mistake and get involved in bad situations that take years to remediate. Hence big divorce rates. Entire economies sometimes get off on the wrong foot, too, and they also require time to turn around, though once the process starts it can go very quickly. A truly huge turnaround is now in the process of fundamentally reshaping the world's … [Read more...] about Things To Come — Soon

Trade Health Care for More Stimulus?

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The weekend "victory" in the Senate has Pyrrhic written all over it as 2000 pages of proposed legislation is on its way to being held hostage by the likes of Joe Lieberman, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson et al. What we have now is an abortion of a bill that will only get worse as the back-alley bargaining goes on. Here's a radical idea for the President of … [Read more...] about Trade Health Care for More Stimulus?

What Afghans say about the war

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A group of nongovernmental organizations recently polled 704 randomly-selected Afghans about how decades of conflict has changed their lives. Andrew Sprung has a summary: 1 in 5 say they've been tortured, three quarters have been forced to leave their homes at some point in the endless civil war, 43% have had property destroyed. The survey also has what would seem to be some … [Read more...] about What Afghans say about the war

Rethinking Unconscious: ‘Second Birth’ After 23-Year Coma

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One of the most beautiful films I've ever seen is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Directed by Julian Schnabel, it's the screen adaptation of a memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby. The editor in chief of the French magazine Elle, Bauby suffered a massive stroke that left him a victim of locked-in syndrome at age 43. He went on to author his memoir by blinking his left eyelid as a … [Read more...] about Rethinking Unconscious: ‘Second Birth’ After 23-Year Coma

So Hog-Tied by Red Tape, We’re Helpless to Help

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George Bush Park, a 7800 acre city park in western Harris County, Texas, is a fabulous place for a photographer to hike. I've spent countless hours out there in the bayous and woods, and some of my finest images were taken there. From snakes (venemous and non) to alligators to banana spiders, there's all manner of wildlife; every visit brings an encounter of one type of … [Read more...] about So Hog-Tied by Red Tape, We’re Helpless to Help

Why Rising China Can’t Compete With the ‘American Dream’: La Tribune, France

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OBAMA, HU JINTAO AND NEWLY-APPOINTED E.U. PRESIDENT, HERMAN VAN ROMPUY Continuing with our theme tonight about whether the 'China Model' is a sound replacement for one that marries political and economic freedom, this article by the editor in chief of France's La Tribune is skeptical of Beijing's chances. Contrary to the Saudi article we posted earlier headlined 'China … [Read more...] about Why Rising China Can’t Compete With the ‘American Dream’: La Tribune, France

The First Obama State Dinner: The Tent

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Obama Foodorama's Eddie Gehman Kohan promises wall-to-wall coverage of tomorrow's first state dinner of the Obama administration -- "Tweeting & blogging just that for the next 48 hours..." The plucky Eddie snagged an invite, and kicked off today with a history lesson from First Lady Michelle Obama in the State Dining Room. A "big tent" seating 400 (expect to see it all … [Read more...] about The First Obama State Dinner: The Tent

On Church and State

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On Sept. 12, 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in a major speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association said the following: I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom … [Read more...] about On Church and State

What Happened to the Inspector General?

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Has anyone seen Gerald Walpin recently? You know, I watch a lot of news, (likely far more than is good for me) but I haven't heard a thing about this. Ok... I'll admit that I didn't really even know that we still had an Inspector General. After that whole Pink Panther thing, I thought he was... oh, nevermind. Anyway, in case you hadn't heard - and judging my the media, you … [Read more...] about What Happened to the Inspector General?