Farhad Manjoo marshal's the evidence that browsing at work makes us more productive: Indeed, there's no empirical evidence that unfettered access to the Internet turns people into slackers at work. The research shows just the opposite. Brent Corker, a professor of marketing at the University of Melbourne, recently tested how two sets of workers—one group that was blocked from … [Read more...] about Let My People Surf
(Guest Voice) Ted Kennedy: The Last of His Kind
By Allan Goldstein The news came out of the Kennedy compound Tuesday night. Teddy was dead. You don’t hear much about “compounds” anymore. They seem like a relic of a bygone era, like the trusts and robber barons’ that generated the loot that built them. People who knew him better and admired him more will write his eulogy. That’s not my purpose here. I agreed with … [Read more...] about (Guest Voice) Ted Kennedy: The Last of His Kind
5 Myths About Health Care Around the World
It's soooooo much easier to just sit back and believe the politically-anchored assertions made on talking (and screaming) head radio and cable talk shows, but T.R. Reid, writing in the Washington Post, says it is not quite that simple. … [Read more...] about 5 Myths About Health Care Around the World
RememberingTed Kennedy
Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited … [Read more...] about RememberingTed Kennedy
Al-Qaida-Style Islamism Comes to Gaza (Guest Voice)
Al-Qaida-Style Islamism Comes to Gaza by Jonathan Spyer Quiet has now returned to the Gaza Strip after the weekend violence which claimed the lives of 28 people. The last of the funerals of the Jund Ansar Allah fighters killed in the suppression of the organization by Hamas authorities has taken place. This episode demonstrated the tight hold which Hamas maintains on the … [Read more...] about Al-Qaida-Style Islamism Comes to Gaza (Guest Voice)
Ted Kennedy: The World Has Lost a Champion – El Tiempo, Colombia
After the flood of reaction from Britain and Ireland yesterday, newspapers in other parts of the world have begun to chime in on the death of Senator Edward Kennedy. In the first Ted Kennedy-related translation we've done from Latin America, the editorial board of Colombia's El Tiempo praises the senator for a number of things that have gone unmentioned in the European … [Read more...] about Ted Kennedy: The World Has Lost a Champion – El Tiempo, Colombia
C4C: GM, Chrysler Losers
Domestic automakers General Motors and Chrysler -- the two in the biggest world of hurt, financially -- had disappointing results in the Cash For Clunkers program. According to Reuters, GM sales accounted for 17 percent of "clunkers" business; however, GM held 21 percent of U.S. auto sales from January to July. Chrysler had a similar tale: the "clunkers" share was 6.6 … [Read more...] about C4C: GM, Chrysler Losers
Some Conservative Reaction to Ted Kennedy’s Passing
Andrew Breitbart seems not to have gotten the memo about treating the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy with sympathy and respect: … [Read more...] about Some Conservative Reaction to Ted Kennedy’s Passing
Happy Birthday, 19th Amendment
If you've ever doubted than a black man would be elected president of the U.S. before a white woman assumed that office, just look at the history of voting in America. On this day (26 August) in 1920, women in America were finally given the right to vote; black men had been voting for 50 years. And down under in New Zealand, women had been voting since 1893, although they … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday, 19th Amendment
Michael Wolff on Politico
In Vanity Fair: CNN changed the nature of politics and political reporting by compressing the time it took for something to happen, for it to become widely known, and for newsmakers and the public to react to it (i.e., the news cycle) to half a day—whereas the newspaper news cycle, from next-day publication to day-after reaction, was 48 hours, and network television’s news … [Read more...] about Michael Wolff on Politico
I Got Sidetracked on the Way to a Ted Kennedy Round-Up
What ran me off the rails was Dr. Melissa Clouthier. She has a post that links to another post by Rachel Lucas about a trip she made to Auschwitz and Birkenau. Lucas's post is very well-written and very powerful. … [Read more...] about I Got Sidetracked on the Way to a Ted Kennedy Round-Up
Political Cartoonists Honor Ted Kennedy
Political cartoonists are honoring Senator Ted Kennedy, the last surviving Kennedy brother, who died early this morning. Here are a few of the cartoons: RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star Taylor Jones, Politicalcartoons.com These cartoons are copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. … [Read more...] about Political Cartoonists Honor Ted Kennedy
The Love/Hate Obits Of Ted Kennedy
Professional journalists in America, those who record the first chapter in the books of history, are challenged writing obituaries of our fallen leaders when the person's life is filled with complexities, contradictions and accomplishments such as that of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Citizen journalists, those who write blogs, are not constrained by such niceties. They call it as … [Read more...] about The Love/Hate Obits Of Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy’s Humanity (Guest Voice)
WASHINGTON -- Ted Kennedy was treasured by liberals, loved by many of his conservative colleagues, revered by African-Americans and Latinos, respected by hard-bitten political bosses, admired by students of the legislative process, and cherished by those who constituted the finest cadre of staff members ever assembled on Capitol Hill. The Kennedy paradox is that he … [Read more...] about Ted Kennedy’s Humanity (Guest Voice)
Dominick Dunne Dead in Manhattan at 83
His Vanity Fair pieces were a guilty pleasure for me. From his CNN obit: Called "Nick" by his friends, Dunne was putting the finishing touches on his final novel, which he said he planned to call "Too Much Money," when his health took a turn for the worse. He flew to Germany earlier this month for another round of stem cell treatments at the same Bavarian clinic where the … [Read more...] about Dominick Dunne Dead in Manhattan at 83
A Turnaround In The Housing Market?
The great debate in economic circles these days is whether there's a turnaround going on in the American housing market. To help determine whether this is occurring, computers used to defeat a Russian chess master in a mere 32 moves have been employed, along with mathematical models that are rumored to have been salvaged from a UFO that went down in Roswell, N.M. in 1947. … [Read more...] about A Turnaround In The Housing Market?
Ted Kennedy’s “Littlest Refusenik”
Only a few hours after the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, there is a flood of stories on the life and the accomplishments of the Lion of the Senate. The vast majority of the stories are complimentary of the Senator. There are some exceptions. As all humans, Ted Kennedy had his flaws and made his share of mistakes. I understand that the Senator will be buried at … [Read more...] about Ted Kennedy’s “Littlest Refusenik”
Health Care Must Reads
And if they're not "must reads," then they're at least "worthy reads." Both from today's NYT. Up first: David Leonhardt, who riffs on "real choice" (i.e., the lack thereof) among health insurance options. From his conclusion: ... the defenders of the employer system have some legitimate arguments. An insurance exchange may end up having some of the same pitfalls as … [Read more...] about Health Care Must Reads
The Kennedy Brother Who Died in Bed
At the age of twelve, he pestered his family to let him contribute to a memorial volume about his oldest brother, Joe, who had been lost in World War II. What Teddy Kennedy chose to remember was how, after hounding Joe into letting him crew in a sailboat race and failing to help him win, he found himself thrown into icy water, only to be lifted back up seconds later by his … [Read more...] about The Kennedy Brother Who Died in Bed
Tweeting His Heart Out for Ted Kennedy
I am planning to do a round-up of Ted Kennedy coverage, remembrances, commentary, and so on -- but for right now I want to point to the Twitter page of Matthew Elliot, aka matttbastard, who is among other things a contributing writer at Comments from Left Field. Matt has been twittering pretty much non-stop about Sen. Kennedy's death since the news broke around midnight. … [Read more...] about Tweeting His Heart Out for Ted Kennedy