Some of the most dysfunctional autocratic regimes run by the most repressive and nasty leaders on the planet want Nuclear Weapons. The only explanation is their lack of perceived “Cojones” (vulgar Spanish for testicles or balls) and some modicum of international respect and fear. I apologize to some readers who might be offended by this word but I used it because these … [Read more...] about 21st Century “Cojones”: Having Nuclear Weapons
Health Care Reform Passes Senate Panel With One GOP Vote
Health care reform is now formally on the move with the Senate Finance Committee's passage of a historic bill that got the support of all Democrats and one moderate Republican. If it isn't the undisputed bipartisan vote that the White House sought, it isn't the totally Democratic party vote that the White House feared. So it's likely to advance the drive to come up with a … [Read more...] about Health Care Reform Passes Senate Panel With One GOP Vote
Paranormal Activity: A Social Media Fueled Record Breaker
Filmed for a reported $11,000 over 7 days, Paranormal Activity broke box office records over the weekend. How? Social media: The film is about a young couple who become convinced that a demonic presence lurks in their bedroom at night, so they decide to set up a video camera to catch it. The movie...opened at the end of September with midnight screenings in just 13 … [Read more...] about Paranormal Activity: A Social Media Fueled Record Breaker
The Last Republican
Olympia Snowe may not be out of a Frank Capra movie but, as an independent-minded Republican in an era of hard-line party politics, she is certainly an anachronism. When Time Magazine picked her as one of "America's 10 Best Senators" in 2006, it noted: "Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the … [Read more...] about The Last Republican
Snowe Will Vote Yes With Democrats On Health Care Reform
The Huffington Post reports: Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said Tuesday that she intends to vote for the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform package. She cautioned that her vote should be seen as a sign of her faith in the process going forward, not as support for the final package that will arrive on the Senate floor. "Is this bill all that I would want? Far … [Read more...] about Snowe Will Vote Yes With Democrats On Health Care Reform
No global warming since 1998?
The Weekly Standard blog links to a BBC article which reports, For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures. Naturally, the Standard reminds us that the BBC is not exactly a "bastion of right-wing extremism." Fair enough. But the facts are a little more complicated. As I noted back in July, 1998 was an unusually hot year, whereas 1999 … [Read more...] about No global warming since 1998?
Limbaugh: Buying Into Brain Damage
On the momentous issue of whether or not the Mouth That Roared should be allowed to become an owner of a professional football team, as cogently debated in one of the posts below, let me add another view that may excite debate in another direction: Al Sharpton has his knickers in a twist over news that Rush Limbaugh is trying to acquire the National Football League franchise … [Read more...] about Limbaugh: Buying Into Brain Damage
Price Waterhouse Walks It Back
In the wake of the criticism over the accuracy of the AHIP-financed report from Price Waterhouse yesterday, it looks like the accounting firm is trying to do some damage control: … [Read more...] about Price Waterhouse Walks It Back
Grassley Seemingly Predicts Snowe No Vote On Health Care Reform
The prediction: It'll pass on a straight party line vote. … [Read more...] about Grassley Seemingly Predicts Snowe No Vote On Health Care Reform
On Trade, China Must Target Conservative U.S. Democrats: Xinjingbao, People’s Republic of China
What's so lucrative about selling chicken to China? We sell them parts of the bird that we won’t eat - like the feet. Worth just a few cents a pound in the U.S., American chicken feet fetch 60-80 cents a pound in China. From the Xinjingbao of the People's Republic of China, this strategy session from Chinese researcher Xue Chung explains more than you ever wanted to know … [Read more...] about On Trade, China Must Target Conservative U.S. Democrats: Xinjingbao, People’s Republic of China
The Progressive Blogosphere and Obama
There was a cyberspace firestorm yesterday after an unnamed White House official took a swipe at progressive blogs (the White House later on the record tried to defuse the anger). Was it justified or not? Here's a blunt take on the issue by Booman. … [Read more...] about The Progressive Blogosphere and Obama
Live Streaming Video Health Care Reform Senate Panel Vote
You watch the discussion and vote live BELOW: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy … [Read more...] about Live Streaming Video Health Care Reform Senate Panel Vote
Another Look At “I, Me & Myself”
The New Yorker has an intersting poem "Thought Problem" by Vijay Seshadri, and here it is... How strange would it be if you met yourself on the street? How strange if you liked yourself, took yourself in your arms, married your own self, propagated by techniques known only to you, and then populated the world? Replicas of you are everywhere. Some are Arabs. … [Read more...] about Another Look At “I, Me & Myself”
Senate Health Care Reform Panel Vote: Snowe Job?
The big political news story of the day -- in fact, one of the biggest arguably in decades -- will be the perhaps pivotal Senate Finance Committee vote on health care legislation. And, in that vote, most political eyes will be focused on Maine's Republican Senator Olympia Snowe. Will she vote for the plan and give it at least a smattering of bipartisan aura? And, if she does, … [Read more...] about Senate Health Care Reform Panel Vote: Snowe Job?
Who would Obama give the Prize to?
I'm guessing he wouldn't answer that question, but I hope his answer would be Morgan Tsavngirai, leader of a peaceful effort to bring democracy and human rights to Zimbabwe, which has been terrorized and impoverished by the Mugabe regime. Obama met with Prime Minister Tsvangirai at the White House in June. During the 2008 campaign, Obama contacted Tsvangirai: "to share my … [Read more...] about Who would Obama give the Prize to?
The Iraqi Army Diaries — Entry 2
The Iraqi Army Diaries -- Entry 2 by S. D. Liddick In the spring of 2009 I embedded with the U.S. Army’s 1-63 Combined Arms Battalion, in the small town of Mahmudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad. The town is a cardinal point on what American soldiers have termed the Triangle of Death. Within a month I was offered a de facto embed spot with the Iraqi Army (IA), by … [Read more...] about The Iraqi Army Diaries — Entry 2
Dianne Feinstein, Afghanistan Hawk
I'm glad to see a staunch liberal staying strong on this issue. Hypothetical question: What if Feinstein were up for re-election in 2010 instead of 2012? I don't know, but here's what she said Sunday on ABC:The mission is in serious jeopardy. I think General McChrystal, who is one of our very best, if not the best at this, has said a counterterrorism strategy will not work. … [Read more...] about Dianne Feinstein, Afghanistan Hawk
Should Rush Buy an NFL Team? Why Not?
This is the question on the lips of both sports aficionados and political pundits alike this week. Rush Limbaugh is looking at the possibility of purchasing (or at least co-owning) the National Football Leagues St. Louis Rams franchise. At the heart of the controversy are a number of comments Rush has made over the years which some observers felt were racist in nature, … [Read more...] about Should Rush Buy an NFL Team? Why Not?
Unforgettable Biography of Najwa bin Laden
Osama bin Laden has all but vanished from the radar of the American media/public. Even president Barack Obama seems no longer interested in bin Laden, while the world had thought that the "war against terror" was all about capturing bin Laden! The present chase to capture al Qaeda looks like fighting with the severed tail of a lizard. Meanwhile Osama, dead or alive, manages … [Read more...] about Unforgettable Biography of Najwa bin Laden
Quote of the Day: On Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize and GOP Reaction
Our political Quote of the Day comes from Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, who looks at the GOP reaction over Barack Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize so early in his term: The problem for the addlebrained Obama-rejectionists is that the president, as far as they are concerned, couldn't possibly do anything right, and thus is unworthy of any conceivable … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: On Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize and GOP Reaction