You will remember that when Larry Lessig was interviewed on The Colbert Report, Stephen warned viewers. Nobody should...ever ever never ever take anything of mine and remix it! Some have... Colbert is mad! And so he's upped the ante: Now let me be very clear here. I do not -- NOT! -- want you to take my interview with Lawrence Lessig and remix it with a pumpin' k-hole … [Read more...] about Colbert Ups the Remix Ante
Memo to Disaffected Republicans: Enough with the Funeral Already!
Former GOP Congressman Mickey Edwards has written a piece about how Ronald Reagan would not recognize the current Republican Party. Now there is much to agree with in his essay, but at some point, this is all tiring. I mean, haven't we been hearing about how the GOP isn't what it used to be for quite some time? Goldwater-style Republicans, libertarians, people like me who … [Read more...] about Memo to Disaffected Republicans: Enough with the Funeral Already!
Al Qaeda’s PR Campaign
Al Qaeda is coming after Obama hard, not with missiles or rockets, but with a PR campaign designed to turn moderate Muslims against the new President. I predicted this when al-Zawahri released a tape calling Obama a house negro. Before he even took office Al Qaeda was blaming him for the violence in Gaza and calling him a "hypocrite," a "killer" of innocents, an "enemy of … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda’s PR Campaign
Book Review: Dumbocracy by Marty Beckerman
Late last year Dumbocracy, a screamingly funny yet deadly serious book by writer Marty Beckerman, was a book whose time had come. It offered in one delicious (sometimes adult oriented) package serious interviews with The True Believers of both parties' bases: the pro-choice and anti-choice, pro-gay rights and anti-gay rights, pro-war and anti-war people of the far left and … [Read more...] about Book Review: Dumbocracy by Marty Beckerman
How Bad Is The Economy?
This bad. … [Read more...] about How Bad Is The Economy?
The Back of the Bus
Cartoon by Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons The above cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on this site. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. UPDATE: And be sure to read this roundup on Obama versus Limbaugh. … [Read more...] about The Back of the Bus
Obama Inherits Google Bomb “Failure” Link From Bush
Former President George Bush left President Barack Obama a lot of things which have been dutifully chronicled by the old mainstream and new media. But one item has been overlooked: he inherited Bush's "Google bomb" linking the Texan in searches with the word "failure." The L.A. Time's Top of the Ticket blog reports: On his way out, President Bush unintentionally dropped … [Read more...] about Obama Inherits Google Bomb “Failure” Link From Bush
Memo To Ashton: Patriotism Is Not A Comfy Jacket
As most of you know over the last week many celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher have declared themselves devoted to public service and wanting to help America and serve President Obama. I know that some on the right have mocked the videos as being over the top (and I will admit that some of the sentiment is a bit much) but I prefer to take a different attitude toward these … [Read more...] about Memo To Ashton: Patriotism Is Not A Comfy Jacket
The Obama Pledge Video
Many called the 2008 Presidential election the first "You Tube election". The below video may demonstrate that in 2009, You Tube is expanding its reach far beyond just elections: Not surprisingly, the video has come in for some criticism from right of center bloggers for being weird and creepy and generally worth of mockery. There is a muted tone to the mocking from … [Read more...] about The Obama Pledge Video
TED Talks: An Appreciation & How-To
Virginia Heffernan's Confessions of a TED Addict: A TED talk begins as an auditorium speech given at the multidisciplinary, invitation-only annual TED conference. (This year’s 25th-anniversary conference takes place next week in Long Beach, Calif.) TED then creates videos of the speeches and puts them online so they can find a broader audience — and usurp my life. There are … [Read more...] about TED Talks: An Appreciation & How-To
Another Innuendo Over a CBO Report: TRICARE For Life—Update
In my "Another Innuendo Over a CBO Report: TRICARE For Life," I pointed to a message from a "BG Bob Clements, USAF Ret (P38 Bob)" that is making the rounds through the internet, claiming: Seems as though our President Elect has placed a priority on cutting [TRICARE For Life] out of the budget as a means to provide funding for those things he promised during the … [Read more...] about Another Innuendo Over a CBO Report: TRICARE For Life—Update
Obama To Scrap Bush’s State Emission Standards Restrictions
President Barack Obama is moving swiftly to scuttle yet another Bush administration policy -- one that had upset environmentalists, who frequently contended that President George W. Bush had one of the worst environmental records of any modern U.S. President: President Obama on Monday will direct federal regulators to move swiftly to grant California and 13 other states … [Read more...] about Obama To Scrap Bush’s State Emission Standards Restrictions
Joe Biden On The Economic “Mess” Obama Is Inheriting
One of our favorite journalists -- print or newspapers -- is CBS's Bob Schieffer. Vice President Joe Biden gave Schieffer (the epitome of the centrist journalist who tries to play it straight down the middle) his first interview as Vice President. This is already a shift: Vice President Dick Cheney seemed to most enjoy being interviewed by Fox News and by Sean Hannity (who is … [Read more...] about Joe Biden On The Economic “Mess” Obama Is Inheriting
Obama and the Economy
Jianping Fan, Guangzhou, China This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed for use on this site. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Obama and the Economy
A Case To Revisit Buying Toxic Assets
If you ask a thousand economists how to solve the banking crisis, you'll probably receive 999 different solutions. One of the earliest endeavors announced by former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was buying up all the bank system's toxic assets. After several weeks of pushing his $750 billion financial sector bailout he nixed the idea, deeming it a can of worms. Unraveling … [Read more...] about A Case To Revisit Buying Toxic Assets
A Very Belated Ethics Question
The New York Times (Sunday) Magazine has as one of its regular columns “The Ethicist,” where readers can pose questions as to whether something they, or others, have done or said is ethical---or not. I have had a question nagging me for about 50 years now, but the issue is too nuanced, too long and too dated (the statute of limitations has hopefully expired on this one) for … [Read more...] about A Very Belated Ethics Question
We’re In Trying Times…
...but at least we don't have goats robbing people at gunpoint. … [Read more...] about We’re In Trying Times…
Obama’s Words of Hope and Disappointment: El Mundo of Colombia
However much better than George W. Bush Barack Obama may be, there are many on the Latin American left that have yet to be sold on the idea that President Obama is anything more than a palatable new face for the same old bad 'Empire'. They don't exactly reject Obama - but their views are expressed with the tinge of a sinking feeling. One recent example of this narrative is … [Read more...] about Obama’s Words of Hope and Disappointment: El Mundo of Colombia
Why The Stimulus Plan Isn’t
I have such conflicting thoughts on the stimulus plan I have no idea how to characterize them. The Republicans are so right, and completely wrong. The Democrats are feckless as usual. President Obama comes out by far the best, but is being disingenuous in his marketing and is thus open to very valid criticisms. I really hope he changes his pitch or otherwise a very good program … [Read more...] about Why The Stimulus Plan Isn’t
On Alexandra Pelosi’s Film & Ted Haggard’s Closet
A new documentary -- and new revelations triggered by it -- have Ted Haggard in the news again. The HBO film by Alexandra Pelosi, The Trials of Ted Haggard, premieres Thursday. The revelation it unintentionally triggered is that Haggard had a previously undisclosed "consensual sexual relationship" with a twenty-something male volunteer that "went on for a long period of time … [Read more...] about On Alexandra Pelosi’s Film & Ted Haggard’s Closet