In his weekly You Tube-radio address, President Barack Obama says there are hopeful signs on the economic front and makes his pitch for health care reform -- noting "outlandish rumors" about health care reform including the one raised by talk show hosts and conservative politicians about it including a "death panel": Embedded video from CNN Video The "death list" charge is … [Read more...] about Obama Weekly You Tube Radio Address: Ignore “Outlandish” Rumors About Health Care Reform
Videos of Sonia Sotomayor Being Sworn In To Supreme Court
History was made today as Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in to serve on the Supreme Court, the first Hispanic in history to serve on the court. Here's MSNBC's report: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy ABC News has THIS VIDEO (cannot embed). CBS News has THIS VIDEO (won't embed since it will loop and play over and over) Fox News … [Read more...] about Videos of Sonia Sotomayor Being Sworn In To Supreme Court
New York’s Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
On Weekend Edition Saturday, New Yorkers get a taste of Doug Quint's Big Gay Ice Cream Truck: "If I weren't gay, I wouldn't call it the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. And if I weren't happy, I wouldn't have the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. It would just be the big crabby ice cream truck," Quint says. Quint, who is a classically trained bassoonist, has only been in the ice cream … [Read more...] about New York’s Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
Quote of The Day: Why Even Fiery Town Hall Meetings Are A Positive Thing
Our political Quote of the Day comes from the Atlantic's always perceptive Marc Ambinder who offers this perspective on the increasing ugliness of the healthcare Town Hall meetings: There's lots of lamenting on the left about all the teabaggers showing up and town hall meetings on health care being held by returning members. The right's all atwitter about organized labor … [Read more...] about Quote of The Day: Why Even Fiery Town Hall Meetings Are A Positive Thing
Glimmers of Economic Hope: Coming into Focus?
This post is in three parts. First, the bad news about the economy. Second, the economy according to Fox News. Third, those glimmers of economic hope. The bad news: Today's "good" news that the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent---the first rate drop in 15 months---as the U.S. economy "only" shed 247,000 jobs in July, is of course no comfort to the millions … [Read more...] about Glimmers of Economic Hope: Coming into Focus?
Quote of the Day: On Town Hall Protesters, Health Care Reform and the GOP
Our political Quote of the Day comes from Philadelphia Inquirer columnist/blogger Dick Polman on the increasingly tempestuous Town Hall meetings held by Democrats to discuss health care reform and the role of Town Hall meeting protesters and heckers. First, the beginning of his analysis, titled "Goon Power": I was in college when I first witnessed goon squads in action. … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: On Town Hall Protesters, Health Care Reform and the GOP
While Many Bicker over Birthers, Troll Rupert Plans to Starve Out Newsbloggers
When Rupert immigrated to the USA and began/ continued buying up newspapers and media outlets like a hungry Jabba, and especially when he bought up the venerable Wall Street Journal, he threw around a lot of words saying 'Ah, open access for all'... his properties would be open content, no fees for most anything except expert financial reports. But, Rupert has changed … [Read more...] about While Many Bicker over Birthers, Troll Rupert Plans to Starve Out Newsbloggers
Microsoft’s Windows 7 Upgrade Maze
Silicon Alley Insider: One of Microsoft's biggest challenges with Windows 7 is an easy upgrade path for consumers and corporations. As this chart illustrates, it's a mess: Only a few upgrade paths qualify for an "in-place upgrade," which means you can keep "files, settings, and programs intact from your current Windows version." Most will require a "custom install," which … [Read more...] about Microsoft’s Windows 7 Upgrade Maze
And Now A Call To Carry Arms To Protests Against Health Care Reform
When you read THIS about a protester encouraging others to bring guns and also to get violent you have to ask -- isn't it clear where this is heading? And then there's THIS threat from an apparent protest saying if things keep up the town hall proponents are going to find out about the second amendment. This is a classic escalation. Can't we just envision the future … [Read more...] about And Now A Call To Carry Arms To Protests Against Health Care Reform
Nitpicking CIA’s Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, wrote a positive, forward-looking Op-Ed in the Washington Post this past weekend. It was titled, "Congress and the CIA: Time to Move On." In his Op-Ed, Panetta rightly commends the men and women of the CIA for the crucial work they are doing to protect our country---for being "America's first line of … [Read more...] about Nitpicking CIA’s Leon Panetta
Ode To A Living Will
I wrote my living will yesterday rather than posting my column. It served a myriad of purposes, the least of which gave the gatekeeper a day off fending those slings and arrows from both extremes of the political spectrum picking apart my prose and carrying on about stuff I didn't write nor intend but rather squabbling among themselves over some intangible twist introduced by … [Read more...] about Ode To A Living Will
John Hughes (1950-2009)
He wasn't a cinematic master, by any means, but he was one of the most distinctive American filmmakers of his generation, and it is indeed difficult to imagine American cinema in the '80s without him. John Hughes died yesterday at the age of 59. I was a bit too young, at the time, for his early seminal movies, such as Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and … [Read more...] about John Hughes (1950-2009)
Steven Pearlstein on Republican Lies
A lot of bloggers are noticing Steven Pearlstein's piece in today's Washington Post in which he quite forcefully takes Republican leaders in Congress to task for the lies they are propagating, both directly and via their operatives in the streets and at political meetings. … [Read more...] about Steven Pearlstein on Republican Lies
Unhealthy Debate
Left and right, the ugly turn of American politics this month is provoking conflict about the conflict. Paul Krugman decries "recent town halls, where angry protesters--some of them, with no apparent sense of irony, shouting “This is America!”--have been drowning out, and in some cases threatening, members of Congress trying to talk about health reform." Across the … [Read more...] about Unhealthy Debate
Toilet Paper Shortage May Clog Cuban Lifestyle
Now this is a crisis that truly impacts Cuba's bottom line: Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday. Officials said they were lowering the prices of 24 basic goods to help Cubans get through the difficulties provoked … [Read more...] about Toilet Paper Shortage May Clog Cuban Lifestyle
Why I Believe That The Insurance Reform Is A Debacle
In yesterday's post I said that I feel that the health care reform proposed as currently proposed will become the Democrat's Medicare Part D, a boondoggle of enormous proportions, and one that will short circuit true reform. GeorgeSorwell called me out to back up this claim, so here I go. First of all, here is a great tool by Kaiser that shows the key points of different … [Read more...] about Why I Believe That The Insurance Reform Is A Debacle
HYPERVENTILATING OVER WORTHLESS POLLS
They’re up, they’re down, and they’re all over the place depending upon who is doing the polling. And sadly they are completely meaningless. They reflect a fickle, highly divided and generally ignorant public that has the attention span of an American Idol Judge. Meaningless poll questions about strongly or slightly disagreeing or agreeing with some pre-formulated simplistic … [Read more...] about HYPERVENTILATING OVER WORTHLESS POLLS
US Drone Kills Pak Taleban Chief Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud, 35, chief of Pakistan's Taliban umbrella group, Tehrik-i-Taliban, was killed in a CIA missile strike inside Pakistan. Pakistan's foreign minister says intelligence sources have confirmed Mehsud's death, reports Voice of America. Pakistani intelligence officers said that the militant commander, blamed for dozens of suicide bombings, including the fatal … [Read more...] about US Drone Kills Pak Taleban Chief Baitullah Mehsud
Al Qaeda Terrorists Kidnap and Torture Iraqi Boy
Just to show you what is at stake in the battle against Al Qaeda by not just foreign countries but elements in Iraq that battle it every day, here's a truly shocking tale via CNN: of a boy who was kidnapped and brutally tortured by unfeeling terrorists: Like many young boys, Khidir loves playing with toy cars and wants to be a policeman like his father when he grows up. … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda Terrorists Kidnap and Torture Iraqi Boy
Town Hall Hecklers
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Town Hall Hecklers