Being tolerant of your gay, lesbian, or bisexual child significantly reduces their risk of suicide. Trying to "help" them by trying to change or challenge their sexual orientation, by contrast, causes their risk of suicide to spike. Stunning, isn't it? … [Read more...] about Parenting Tip of the Day
Hypocrisy Among Partisans
There are some who refuse to look the other way. … [Read more...] about Hypocrisy Among Partisans
Kathy Griffin’s X-Rated CNN New Year’s Eve Moment
The glories -- and pitfalls -- of live TV were on full foot-in-mouth display on New Year's Eve when comic Kathy Griffith surprised CNN bigwigs, most-likely raised eyebrows with some viewers -- and most assuredly triggered exclamations of "Oh no, not THAT LINE AGAIN!!" responses from professional comedians. She used an anti-heckler line that many news reports insinuate (by … [Read more...] about Kathy Griffin’s X-Rated CNN New Year’s Eve Moment
Israel’s Gaza Attacks: A Return To Deterrence Or Miscalculation?
Will Israel's assault on Gaza prove to be the strengthening of Israel's traditional policy goal of strong deterrence or prove to be a costly miscalculation? In a Newsweek web exclusive, Kevin Peraino looks at the issue. Several key parts: Of all Israeli casualties in the 2006 war with Lebanon, the loss of the Jewish state's aura of invincibility was perhaps the most … [Read more...] about Israel’s Gaza Attacks: A Return To Deterrence Or Miscalculation?
Thousands Of Shoes Clutter Miami Highway
Uh, oh: was President George W. Bush just in Miami? State troopers are looking for a charity to take thousands of shoes that were dumped on a Miami expressway, tying up rush hour traffic. Lt. Pat Santangelo says the Florida Highway Patrol received a call about the shoes Friday morning. Santangelo says he's not sure where the shoes came from. There were no signs of a … [Read more...] about Thousands Of Shoes Clutter Miami Highway
New Year’s Resolutions
Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner … [Read more...] about New Year’s Resolutions
Burris and Kennedy (U.S. Senate 2009 – 2010)
Aren't Roland Burris and Caroline Kennedy vying for the same type of job? How come the Democratic Party seems ready to embrace one and is ready to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at the other one? The Burris / Kennedy Senate picks (or soon to be picked) is an example of one of the problems of the political class: they like the rules just fine...if it works for people they … [Read more...] about Burris and Kennedy (U.S. Senate 2009 – 2010)
Blogger Mood Disorder
It was first defined at Legal Insurrection as a "a condition in which one's mood swings up and down in sync with the level of blog traffic." The Other McCain expands on two closely-related syndromes: SiteMeter Fever -- A neurosis typified by obsessively refreshing your SiteMeter to see if your traffic has increased since the last time you checked it, seven minutes … [Read more...] about Blogger Mood Disorder
From Boxy Beige to Silver Sleek, MacWorld Declines But Apple Still Shines
I'm not sure I understand the headline of the Wired News story, Apple Says Farewell to Macworld, Hello to the Big Time. There's plenty about the impending decline of Apple, not a word about a big-time hello: Apple and its cult following have much to celebrate, but its future is uncertain. The majority of speculators believe that Jobs' era -- and the entire Apple era -- is … [Read more...] about From Boxy Beige to Silver Sleek, MacWorld Declines But Apple Still Shines
Barack Obama: Is This ‘Ox & Leo’ Powerhouse Infallible?
What is common between Barack Obama and all these guys and gal...Monica Lewinsky, Napoleon Bonaparte, Oscar Peterson, Russell Baker, Dustin Hoffman, Louis Armstrong, Menachem Begin and Robert Redford? In Chinese astrology, as interpreted by my favourite Suzanne White, all of them are "Ox & Leo". (In my earlier posts I had mentioned about Suzanne's apt/fun descriptions about … [Read more...] about Barack Obama: Is This ‘Ox & Leo’ Powerhouse Infallible?
The Cost of Governing Afghanistan
Everything, it seems, has a price: Want to be a provincial police chief? It will cost you $100,000. Want to drive a convoy of trucks loaded with fuel across the country? Be prepared to pay $6,000 per truck, so the police will not tip off the Taliban. Need to settle a lawsuit over the ownership of your house? About $25,000, depending on the judge. “It is very … [Read more...] about The Cost of Governing Afghanistan
President-Elect Obama Is Getting Lots Of Advice
Hopefully, it'll be good advice. Here are some examples of good advice, via the late, great song parody writer Allan Sherman: … [Read more...] about President-Elect Obama Is Getting Lots Of Advice
Say No: Nicastro Asks for Bailout of Newspaper
There's a story told in my Old Country family, a type of 'the old man and the sea...' tale... about learning how to say No instead of continuing to make soulful responses to those who conduct themselves soullessly. In the case of the most recent 'wish' by a Connecticut lawmaker for the state's government to bail out a newspaper... being able to form the word no, and mean … [Read more...] about Say No: Nicastro Asks for Bailout of Newspaper
Let’s Get 2009 Off To A Showstopping Start
With a big, glitzy, rousing opening number. A bit of....classic Americana: … [Read more...] about Let’s Get 2009 Off To A Showstopping Start
The Joy of Sex Revised and Reviewed
From Ariel Levy's droll review of the new edition of the 1970s phenom, The Joy of Sex, which appears in this week's New Yorker: The book is still emphatically straight, but [British sexologist Susan] Quilliam has given it a gay-positive tone, in sharp contrast to [the original’s] advice that if you might be that way inclined it was better not to experiment too much with a … [Read more...] about The Joy of Sex Revised and Reviewed
The $6 Million Social Worker (Guest Voice)
Is the way people are paid in the United States way out of whack? In this Guest Voice post, journalism professor and author Walter Brasch looks at the issue. The $6 Million Social Worker by Walter Brasch The New York Yankees just bought a first baseman for $180 million. For the next eight years, Mark Teixeira will earn about $22.5 million a season. … [Read more...] about The $6 Million Social Worker (Guest Voice)
Gaza: People Standing Up, Governments Lying Down – Le Quotidien d’Oran of Algeria
To all readers of the Moderate Voice, HAPPY NEW YEAR from the people at WORLDMEETS.US Once again, America's image in the Muslim world is dropping due to Israel's use of U.S.-made weapons and Washington's perceived bias against the Palestinians and Arabs in general. So will Israel's latest military onslaught - which has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties lead … [Read more...] about Gaza: People Standing Up, Governments Lying Down – Le Quotidien d’Oran of Algeria
230 Million People…
...now apparently more divided by a common language. The resistance reminds me a bit of wariness of attempts at metrifying the US. … [Read more...] about 230 Million People…
Una Vez Más: The Old Man and The Baby of New Year’s Iconology: A Lost Story
The Lost Story About What The Old Man and the New Baby Used to Mean for Human Action at New Year's We’re led to believe that New Year’s images are about the Old Year going out as a bent over old man… and the New Year toddling in as a grinning infant. That’s what the buycandy buywine buybeer folks would have us believe. But those are degraded images. Long ago, … [Read more...] about Una Vez Más: The Old Man and The Baby of New Year’s Iconology: A Lost Story
The Great Infrastructure Initiative Canard
We've all been hearing a lot about in-coming President Obama's plan to dramatically improve this nation's infrastructure with a huge new federal spending initiative—one akin to the way our national infrastructure was improved in the 1950s by the interstate highway building program. Sound great? Well, maybe not so great. Infrastructure improvements in this country … [Read more...] about The Great Infrastructure Initiative Canard