Soon after returning to the Bronx from World War II, I went to the Stadium to see a football game. The home team, called the New York Yankees, was inept but all through the game a stout woman sitting alone several rows away was loudly cheering her heart out. Watching her, I thought about the emptiness of some lives that could only be filled with devotion to a team of … [Read more...] about The Fat Lady Sings at Yankee Stadium
Financial Crisis: Still In The Early Innings
The more I try to digest the $700 billion taxpayer bailout of failing financial institutions proposed over the weekend by the Bush administration the greater my chest pains become. Other than its aim -- to buy up distressed mortage-related assets -- there is nothing to like about it and much to fear. The prescient Kevin Phillips, the former Republican strategist, explains to … [Read more...] about Financial Crisis: Still In The Early Innings
Nightmare Scenario: McCain and Obama 2008
We've seen various postings on possible nightmare scenarios for Election 2008 so I did some working with the math as well as considering the scenarios suggested on places like Politico.com and came up with a real nightmare. Very unlikely to pan out but not impossible. How's this for a nightmare scenario. McCain 269 Obama 269 McCain wins popular vote narrowly but Obama … [Read more...] about Nightmare Scenario: McCain and Obama 2008
Spain’s Growing Immigration Problem
American's tend to think they are the only ones with an immigration problem. But The Brussels Journal reminds us that a major immigration problem is occurring in Spain: More than 920,000 new immigrants arrived in Spain during 2007, according to data just published by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE). This comes on top of the 802,971 new arrivals in 2006, the … [Read more...] about Spain’s Growing Immigration Problem
Should Wall Street Chiefs Go To Jail?
Here are a few opinions. What's yours (in comments)? … [Read more...] about Should Wall Street Chiefs Go To Jail?
Old Piranha Pants (Guest Voice)
Is Sarah Palin-mania on the decline due to the Wall Street meltdown that thrust GOP Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain squarely back into the news spotlight?? Humorist Will Durst gives his take on McCain's retaking center stage in this Guest Voice post. Old Piranha Pants by Will Durst Got a message for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Hey, lady. How ya doing? Me too. … [Read more...] about Old Piranha Pants (Guest Voice)
Judge Orders Cheney To Preserve Records Of His Time In Office
The White House has suffered yet another setback in its battle over the powers of the Executive Branch in light of a federal judge's orders that Vice President Dick Cheney must preserve his records: Vice President Dick Cheney must preserve a broad range of records from his time in office, a federal judge ordered Saturday, ruling in favor of a private watchdog group. U.S. … [Read more...] about Judge Orders Cheney To Preserve Records Of His Time In Office
Quote of the Day: John McCain On Health Care Fix
The political Quote of the Day comes from a new magazine article by Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain on fixing health care: Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: John McCain On Health Care Fix
Remembering David Foster Wallace
You've probably already heard that David Foster Wallace committed suicide at his home in California on Friday, Sept. 12. A brilliant writer and thinker, he was 46. His father said Wallace had been taking medication for depression for 20 years, had gone off the medication in June 2007 and, when the depression returned, no other treatment was successful. "Everything had been … [Read more...] about Remembering David Foster Wallace
Maliki, Can You Spare a Dime?
As Washington prepares to tap taxpayers for a bipartisan bailout of the US financial system, is it out of order to ask our Iraqi friends who are sitting on $80 billion of oil profits to put a little something into their own pot? After our expenditure of half a trillion dollars, $10 billion a month of American money is still going there. Our friends in Baghdad could ease the … [Read more...] about Maliki, Can You Spare a Dime?
A Crisis and Bailout that Greatly Advance the Capitalist Cause: Folha, Brazil
When it comes to what amounts to the largest corporate bailout in history, the world seems split into two camps: Those who think it demonstrates everything that's wrong about modern capitalism, and those that think it proves the amazing resilience of the capitalist system. For Sérgio Malbergier, Money Editor for Brazil's Folha newspaper, the crisis merely reflects the human … [Read more...] about A Crisis and Bailout that Greatly Advance the Capitalist Cause: Folha, Brazil
Gallup: Obama Hits 50% To McCain’s 44%
Democratic Presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama has hit he 50 percent mark in the latest Gallup Daily Tracking poll -- a number matching the record high the Illinois Senator achieved over Republican Sen. John McCain right after the Democratic convention. Gallup's assessment over the likely reason for Obama's rising numbers: the public's assessment of the two candidates on … [Read more...] about Gallup: Obama Hits 50% To McCain’s 44%
Poll: White Democrats’ Racism Could Cost Obama White House
A new AP-Yahoo News poll finds that white Democrats' resistance to voting for a black man for President could cost Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama the White House: Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative … [Read more...] about Poll: White Democrats’ Racism Could Cost Obama White House
Is SMS text-messaging dangerous? Too expensive?
In an echo of the cell-phone scares that have been with us for years (driving, honey bees, cancer), the NY Times today headlines, As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks: [T]exting at the wrong time can be extremely dangerous. Over the last two years, news accounts across the country have chronicled the death or serious injury of people who walk into traffic while texting or who … [Read more...] about Is SMS text-messaging dangerous? Too expensive?
Greed Is Not Good: Interview with MSNBC’s Erin Burnett (Guest Interview)
In this Guest Interview, columnist Bill Steigerwald talks to MSNBC's Erin Burnett about the current Wall Street meltdown and government bailouts. Greed Is Not Good: Interview with MSNBC's Erin Burnett by Bill Steigerwald Erin Burnett of CNBC is not just another frequently appearing pretty TV face in the world of big-time business reporting. The anchor of CNBC's … [Read more...] about Greed Is Not Good: Interview with MSNBC’s Erin Burnett (Guest Interview)
Oh Sarah! The Week That The Music Stopped
I'm not buying into rumors that Sarah Palin is on the way out. If John McCain can't admit that he misheard an interviewer regarding Spain and its premier there is no way in Hell that he's going to acknowledge that picking the vetting-free Alaska governor as a running mate is turning out to be a disaster of enormous magnitude. To wit: Palin has cancelled fundraisers in … [Read more...] about Oh Sarah! The Week That The Music Stopped
More World Cartoonists Views On The Wall Street Crisis And Bailouts
Patrick Chappatte, Le Temps, Switzerland John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune Some more cartoons are below. … [Read more...] about More World Cartoonists Views On The Wall Street Crisis And Bailouts
The Troubling Story Of John McCain & The Vietnam Prisoners of War Cover-Up
McCain came home a hero, but has made a mockery of those who didn't. I have long been puzzled by the troubled relationship that John McCain, a war hero by virtue of his five-and-a-half year incarceration in a North Vietnamese POW camp, has had with veterans in general and Vietnam veterans in particular. The friction has typically been over medical benefits and expanding … [Read more...] about The Troubling Story Of John McCain & The Vietnam Prisoners of War Cover-Up
Quote Of The Day: McCain Plays The Patriotism Card
The political Quote of the Day comes from Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain who is framing this election as one between a candidate who cares for his country (him) and a candidate who really only cares for his own political advancement (Democratic Sen. Barack Obama) -- suggesting his opponent knowingly discards the vital interest of the United States for … [Read more...] about Quote Of The Day: McCain Plays The Patriotism Card
Spain’s Conservatives Back McCain’s ‘Snub’ of President Zapatero: El Plural, Spain
Controversy has broken out in Spain over an interview John McCain did on Wednesday, during which the Republican presidential nominee appeared to imply that Spain - a fellow member of NATO - is not a U.S. ally. While Americans are still trying to figure out whether John McCain even knows who Spain's President is - let alone what continent his country is in - Spain's right-wing … [Read more...] about Spain’s Conservatives Back McCain’s ‘Snub’ of President Zapatero: El Plural, Spain