Here is a roundup of media and blogger reaction to the death of Michael Jackson on Thursday. … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson Link Collection, Part 2
Google: A Relatively Small Company Vulnerable to Competition
Slide 11 from Wagner's presentation. In the face of three government antitrust investigations, Google's “senior competition counsel,” Dana Wagner, is trying to persuade the world that its competition is just a click away: [T]he boyish, 33-year-old Mr. Wagner [is] a former antitrust lawyer at the Justice Department who drops words like “goofy” and “whacky” with an aw-shucks … [Read more...] about Google: A Relatively Small Company Vulnerable to Competition
Another Day, Another Legend Dies
Today (or, rather, she died on Saturday, but I just saw the notice today), it's Gale Storm, sitcom pioneer and, arguably most famously, the star of the long-running 1950s show, My Little Margie (which I remember watching, so there you go). … [Read more...] about Another Day, Another Legend Dies
Boston’s Shame: Disbanding Its Mounted Police
Tomorrow (that is Tuesday, June 30) would be a shameful day for Boston.... It is disbanding United States of America's first mounted police unit. The AP report states: "(The Boston Mounted Unit's) 12 horses would be given new homes — at least until the city can come up with funds to restore the unit." What a shame that the budget cuts would hurt this 136-year-old historic … [Read more...] about Boston’s Shame: Disbanding Its Mounted Police
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Off-Off Year Elections
Larry J. Sabato on OFF-OFF YEAR ELECTIONS: They Seem Important at the Time. People who live for politics appreciate what real votes in real elections mean. It's pure heroin for junkies. There is no cold turkey like the one between the end of a presidential election and the midterm election that occurs two full years later. The presidential high--the flood of votes in all … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Off-Off Year Elections
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: That Wild and Wacky Senate
Larry J. Sabato on THAT WILD AND WACKY SENATE: Some Updates on the Upcoming 2010 Senate Showdown. So much has happened recently in many of the 2010 Senate contests that you would think we were in the middle of the election year. We're still seventeen months out from Election Day, yet the battles are turning white hot in many states. Let's take a look at what has occurred … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: That Wild and Wacky Senate
Gay Political Rights Lag Behind Culture
When I read Political Shifts on Gay Rights Lag Behind Culture in the NYTimes yesterday, I didn't notice it was by out gay reporter Adam Nagourney. That changes nothing, really. Except maybe that his experience makes him more attuned to the topic: The conflicting signals from the White House about its commitment to gay issues reflect a broader paradox: even as cultural … [Read more...] about Gay Political Rights Lag Behind Culture
It’s Not a Coup If the Guy Is a Leftist
I know next to nothing about Honduran politics, and even less about Manuel Zelaya specifically, but when I saw the headlines about the coup, and then my eyes fell on this headline, from Fausta's Blog -- "Coup in Honduras - Correction: This is NOT a coup" -- my first thought was, "Okay, whoever the coup was against must have been a leftist." … [Read more...] about It’s Not a Coup If the Guy Is a Leftist
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Virginia Gubernatorial Rematch
Dale Eisman on Virginia Gubernatorial Rematch: Will 2009 reflect past trends or overturn them? Barack Obama owes his presidency in part to his campaign's mastery of the internet. A corps of online Obama enthusiasts helped him identify and mobilize previously-hidden groups of voters--particularly those under 30--and build an historic fundraising apparatus. In much of the … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Virginia Gubernatorial Rematch
Michael Jackson Link Collection, Part 1
Michael Jackson died on Thursday, June 25. The online entertainment tabloid, TMZ.com, was the first to report the news, although the reports of his death had not been officially confirmed at the time. You will notice in the brief story TMZ filed, the word "confirm" or "confirmed" did not appear: … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson Link Collection, Part 1
Michael Jackson’s Ultimate Career Move
His passing is yet another reminder of how pop culture consumes its icons. At 50, Michael Jackson outlived Elvis by almost a decade, but neither was destined for the old age that Sinatra and Bing Crosby reached in an earlier era. When Presley died in 1974, he was a grotesque caricature of himself, obese and drug-damaged, planning a comeback tour, but a cynic called his … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson’s Ultimate Career Move
EU Demands Iran Release Arrested British Embassy Employees
Iran's increasingly draconian regime is continuing to throw down the gauntlet to not just Iranians who think recent elections were rigged, but to the world, almost daring critics within and outside to do something. Its latest seemingly provocative act: arresting 8 local employees of the British Embassy. This has brought an immediate response from the European Union: The … [Read more...] about EU Demands Iran Release Arrested British Embassy Employees
TV Pitchman Billy Mays Dies At 50
This doesn't seem to be a good week for celebrities with word now coming that pitchman Billy Mays has been found dead in his Tampa home at the age of 50. Mays Dies … [Read more...] about TV Pitchman Billy Mays Dies At 50
Poll: 62 Percent Support Sotomayor Confirmation For Supreme Court
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is supported by most Americans for that job -- and that Obama apparently found the American political center in appointing her: A sizable majority of Americans want the Senate to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and most call her "about right" … [Read more...] about Poll: 62 Percent Support Sotomayor Confirmation For Supreme Court
Don’t Forget The Persians
Between sex scandals and celebrity deaths, let us not forget the citizens of Iran. Suffering does not go away when we do not see it. New York Times: In Tehran, a Mood of Melancholy Descends — TEHRAN — An eerie stillness has settled over this normally frenetic city. In more settled times, the streets are clogged with honking cars and cranky commuters grousing about the … [Read more...] about Don’t Forget The Persians
The Dakotas Economic Model
Charts and tables don't always tell you important things about the economy. But sometimes they do. And the other day I ran across three tables suggesting where our national country might be heading—and indeed should be heading. These tables showed on a state-by-state basis delinquency rates on auto loans, mortgages, and credit cards during the first quarter of this year. On … [Read more...] about The Dakotas Economic Model
UPDATE: Honduran President Is Ousted in Coup
LATER -- Facing South tells us that at least two leaders of the coup were apparently trained at a controversial Department of Defense school based at Fort Benning, Georgia "infamous for producing graduates linked to torture, death squads and other human rights abuses." NYTimes: The Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted by the army on Sunday after pressing ahead … [Read more...] about UPDATE: Honduran President Is Ousted in Coup
House Narrowly Passes Nonexistent Bill
It's an unfortunate comment on the current state of our democracy that Congress routinely passes bills which virtually none of the members have read. Hope is also rapidly eroding that the White House will actually post all proposed legislation on the web far enough in advance that at least we could read them before they come to a vote. But at a bare minimum, up until now they … [Read more...] about House Narrowly Passes Nonexistent Bill
US Health-Care Reforms: Cut Expensive Procedures/Prescriptions
I have no hesitation in admitting that I generally turn to The Economist when I am looking for details regarding any hot world issue, or if I fail to understand its different dimensions. This venerable British magazine has some interesting points to offer regarding the US health-care reforms. "Because health insurance is so expensive, nearly 50 million Americans, an obscene … [Read more...] about US Health-Care Reforms: Cut Expensive Procedures/Prescriptions
Michael Jackson: Mystery Point of Order
You've probably heard the 911 call by an anonymous man asking that an ambulance be sent as soon as possible. It turns out while on the 911 call, the phoner says that the doctor is applying CPR (and doing everything) to Mr. Jackson and that Jackson is not breathing yet. The doctor is Conrad Murray, who is said to have practices across three states. The doc has a few … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson: Mystery Point of Order