Astroturfing is with us now, for better or worse, and everyone is doing it. To stretch the inevitable football analogy to the breaking point, modern technology has put Astroturf in every stadium across the nation, except possibly a few of the smallest high schools. This is the subject of my column this week at Pajamas Media, Of Course There's Astroturfing by the GOP. As … [Read more...] about GOP Astroturfing? Of course!
Another non-controversial Medal of Freedom winner
The week before last, I pointed out the WaPo's assessment that Barack Obama "hasn’t included any particularly controversial choices in his first picks" for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In light of medals being given to Ted Kennedy and Desmond Tutu, I wasn't sure if that was the most accurate description. As it turns out, the Medal winner provoking the most controversy … [Read more...] about Another non-controversial Medal of Freedom winner
Poll: Town Hall Protests Increase Anti-Health Care Support Particulary Among Independents
A new Gallup poll finds that the angry Town Hall protests against President Barack Obama's health care reform are scoring points for the anti-health care side -- and picking up support among independent voters. As we've noted here often, independent voters are not a monolithic block and in recent years some pollsters and analysts have contended that part of the reason for … [Read more...] about Poll: Town Hall Protests Increase Anti-Health Care Support Particulary Among Independents
David Frum’s Read on The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Fum kicks off his NewMajority piece with a look at the Right/Left food divide: Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney often joked during the primaries: “Being a conservative Republican in Massachusetts is a bit like being a cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention.” Try that joke the other way around, and it doesn’t work, does it? Meat-eating is right-wing, everybody … [Read more...] about David Frum’s Read on The Omnivore’s Dilemma
A Little Self-Responsibility, Please
I wouldn't go as far as comic/satirist Bill Maher saying the American public is stupid. Rather, a large percentage is gullible as we have seen time and again on the town hall video clips Congressmen are conducting this August recess. Wrote Maher in The Huffington Post: I’m the bad guy for saying it’s a stupid country, yet polls show that a majority of Americans … [Read more...] about A Little Self-Responsibility, Please
Whose Recession Has Now Ended?
The Fed says the recession is almost over. Many leading economists now say it has already ended. You hear this latter view on TV nightly, and if you visit financial web sites, it's repeated over and over. All of which brings to my mind a simple question: Whose recession has ended—or is even ending? Imagine an emergency room. Six months ago a patient was brought in. He was … [Read more...] about Whose Recession Has Now Ended?
On the Air: Is Health Care the New Abortion Debate?
Just a reminder, in case you're going to be around, that my partner in crime and I will be back on the air at 10 am Eastern time this morning with another edition of Mid Stream Radio. While I've grown weary of writing about the subject here and ramming my head into walls, we'll tackle the question of whether or not health care reform has become the new abortion question in this … [Read more...] about On the Air: Is Health Care the New Abortion Debate?
NASA underfunded to track killer asteroids
As covered in the Washington Post this week, NASA has released its latest report on their ability to locate and track dangerous objects in our solar system which have the potential to cross our orbit and possibly impact the Earth. (Full .pdf report is available from JPL here.) The news isn't great. Congress tasked NASA several years ago with the job of locating the lion's share … [Read more...] about NASA underfunded to track killer asteroids
Our Reverse-Nixon Era
Back then, the White House was obsessed with enemies lists and conspiracies, now we have a President trying to calm crowds riled by the prospect of death panels and plots to steal its freedoms. As Obama's approval ratings fall, pinpointing American paranoia is much harder than it was in the 1970s. Just as the social upheavals of the 1960s allowed Richard Nixon to play on the … [Read more...] about Our Reverse-Nixon Era
The Economist on America’s Harsh & Indiscriminate Sex-Offender Laws
Yesterday I said I believe internet porn is fueled by old guys who are addicted to the new plethora of pornographic options. What’s worse, I think, is our collective cultural guilt for all that porn -- that and how we sexualize, fetishize, and ogle our young people in advertising, movies, and on television -- has us criminalizing kids for those very same things we did when we … [Read more...] about The Economist on America’s Harsh & Indiscriminate Sex-Offender Laws
Can Microsoft Break Google’s ‘Monopoly on Questions’?: Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
What is the significance of Microsoft's recent deal to create an alliance with Yahoo and its search-based confrontation with Google? While using an Internet search engine is simple and most of us think little of it, access to this technology is profoundly changing our world. According to Andrian Kreve of Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung: "Google is a corporation that … [Read more...] about Can Microsoft Break Google’s ‘Monopoly on Questions’?: Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
Of Right-Wing Lies and the Obligation To Be Informed
I never, ever, ever, thought I would be coming to the defense of right-wing liars, but I have to do so a little bit with regard to this truly astounding talk, coming from a townhall meeting in New Hampshire (emphasis mine): … [Read more...] about Of Right-Wing Lies and the Obligation To Be Informed
Piracy In Europe ?
While we might have grown somewhat used to stories of piracy on the open seas, those events usually take place in some isolated part of the Indian Ocean or off the coast of Africa. But a story is now emerging that we may be seeing the first example of piracy in European waters. According to the stories a Maltese flagged ship sailed through the English Channel but never made … [Read more...] about Piracy In Europe ?
The Face of the Stranger
Scott Shane writes about the two former military psychologists who built the C.I.A.'s torture program from the ground up -- and made a bundle doing so: … [Read more...] about The Face of the Stranger
Obama Slips Universal Health Care Into iTunes User Agreement
Google's just released opt-out feature -- it protects users’ privacy by moving them to a remote 22-acre village -- is getting all the buzz but the real story is this item buried in the news crawl, "Obama to slip universal health care into iTunes user agreement." Via @AmandaFrench. … [Read more...] about Obama Slips Universal Health Care Into iTunes User Agreement
Lee Hamilton on the Afghan War
One of Obama's leading foreign policy gurus isn't terribly enthusiastic about the current direction, such as there is one, of the Afghan war: Seventy-five U.S. and NATO troops died in Afghanistan in July, the deadliest month for allied forces in nearly eight years of fighting. More than 1,000 Afghan civilians have died this year, up 24 percent from 2008. Tens of thousands … [Read more...] about Lee Hamilton on the Afghan War
Cash For Clunkers Insanity
I know that I'm late to the 'cash for clunkers' debate/discussion, but this is insane: We give a guy $4500 of taxpayer money to trade a truck getting 15 mpg for one getting 17 mpg? … [Read more...] about Cash For Clunkers Insanity
Poll: Palin Losing Support Including Republican Support
A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation has bad news for former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin: 7 percent of those polled now have a less favorable opinion of her since May -- and apart from overall erosion in her support, the drop is attributed to her loss of Republican support: Thirty-nine percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released … [Read more...] about Poll: Palin Losing Support Including Republican Support
Chickens and Eggs: How Republicans Have Taken the Town-Hall Protests Too Far
"The American people remain anxious and confused about health care reform," observes Marc Ambinder. "That is an underlying reality that Republican activists are so eager to exploit." Yes, but it is also Republican activism -- in the form of lies, distortions, and propagandistic fearmongering -- that has manufactured much of the confusion and anxiety out there. Otherwise, … [Read more...] about Chickens and Eggs: How Republicans Have Taken the Town-Hall Protests Too Far
Marist Poll: Obama Losing Independent Voter Support
A new Marist poll indicates President Barack Obama is starting to lose independent voter support. It has some good news for Obama: his overall approval rating numbers ( 55 percent of registered voters) has remain largely unchanged. And he continues to have solid support (90 percent) from Democrats. But as President George Bush's two terms in office indicated, a President … [Read more...] about Marist Poll: Obama Losing Independent Voter Support