The Indefatigable Molly Ivins By Bill Steigerwald You might not have liked her brand of left-liberal politics, but no one in America wrote a more entertaining, smart or partisan political column than Texas Troublemaker Molly Ivins, who died Jan. 31 of breast cancer at age 62. No one had as much obvious fun writing and throwing her wit and opinions around, either. … [Read more...] about Remembering The Indefatigable Molly Ivins
Global Warming Debate
Consider the source…
Obviously crime pays, or there'd be no crime. -G. Gordon Liddy … [Read more...] about Consider the source…
Sporadic Super Bowl Blogging
I do not have a laptop computer so my comments will be sporadic. Even when I have a laptop, it must compete with my furry feline laptop. The Bears have a player whose last name is Muhammad - twice now it has seemed that the crowd boos this man due only to his name. Not good! Score is 29-17 Colts at the beginning of the 4th Quarter. Colts Just Won! As someone who … [Read more...] about Sporadic Super Bowl Blogging
Literary Quote of the Day: Charles Dickens
Today's literary quote of the day is from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations: In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed to; but the child is small, and its world is small, and its rocking-horse stands … [Read more...] about Literary Quote of the Day: Charles Dickens
The Boston Police Have a Blog!
They don't call it a blog, of course. It's a police blotter. Powered by Movable Type. With sitemeter. And comments. And trackback. It's a blog. Via Majikthise. … [Read more...] about The Boston Police Have a Blog!
Romney DistortsBlasts Hillary
Ami Eden reports for The Jewish Daily Forward that Mitt Romney issued a statement "blasting Hillary Clinton’s call at a recent AIPAC meeting for engagement with Iran." From that statement:
"In a speech two days ago in New York City, Senator Hillary Clinton said that she needs to quote 'understand' unquote Iran better - and we need to quote 'engage Iran' unquote. She argued … [Read more...] about Romney DistortsBlasts Hillary
National ID
States challenge nat'l driver's license Wiki has a summary of the issues. I am in favor of a universal ID system to help separate predators from the general population. I would like for my society to know who is entering the country, who is buying explosives, who is moving around large amounts of money, to keep tract of chronic predators who physically, emotionally or … [Read more...] about National ID
Emerging Political Identities: Idealism or Realism
David Brooks writes in today's NY Times about "Children of Polarization", "For many students, the main axis of their politics is not between left and right but between idealism and realism" ...I’m struck by the universal tone of postboomer pragmatism. ...In general, their writing is calm, optimistic and ironical. Most students in my class showed an aversion to broad … [Read more...] about Emerging Political Identities: Idealism or Realism
I’m With Stupid
India’s Cities & Farms: A Bewildering Contrast
Oh! Is this a big bubble or a big Indian vegetable? With investment banks predicting that India will become the world's third largest economy within two decades and a CIA report forecasting that the 21st century will be India's, this national self-confidence is spreading fast, says Amelia Gentleman in The Observer. "Beneath the headline 'Empire Strikes Back', one paper … [Read more...] about India’s Cities & Farms: A Bewildering Contrast
Can Rudy Giuliani Reassure Conservatives?
It sounds like he's making some headway. … [Read more...] about Can Rudy Giuliani Reassure Conservatives?
Florida Recovers From Tornado Terror
Our airplane from St. Louis was supposed to land in Fort Myers, on Florida's Gulf Coast, around 10 p.m. Thursday Feb. 1. It was around 9:15 p.m. we got the announcement that made us brace ourselves. "We're heading into two bands of bad weather right now and there could be some turbulence," the pilot said. "Please fasten your seat belts. I've also asked the crew to stop their … [Read more...] about Florida Recovers From Tornado Terror
Football Sunday
Bush Extends Rhetorical Olive Branch To Democrats
President George Bush, in his first big meeting with a wide variety of Democratic members of Congress in six years, has clearly extended a rhetorical olive branch -- formal notice that he is not suggesting they're unpatriotic if they differ with him:President Bush squarely addressed the issue most on the mind of House Democrats, saying Saturday that deep divisions over the Iraq … [Read more...] about Bush Extends Rhetorical Olive Branch To Democrats
Gaza is Burning
What to do about the Palestinian Civil War? … [Read more...] about Gaza is Burning
Center of Attention
I'm back on the CoA beat, today, for Michael vdG. Did you miss me? Don't answer that. But please do give some extra attention and a little love to these generally Centrist blogs. At Left of Centrist, Robert Rouse has finally had it with reality TV. Earlier this week, another Robert re-visited the subject of payroll disparity, i.e., the grand-canyon gap in … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
Buying Influence in Africa
Chinese President Hu Jintao is in Africa this week. Why is he there? And what is the controversy surrounding his visit? I analyze the situation in a new post at Foreign Policy Watch. … [Read more...] about Buying Influence in Africa
Literary Quote of the Day: John Fowles
John Fowles (1926-2005) is my favorite English novelist. He is considered a forefather of British postmodernism, which is kind of over my head, but his beautifully stylized writing and proclivity for multiple endings certainly are not. Among Fowles’ terrific novels are “The Collectorâ€? (1963), “The Aristosâ€? (1964), “The Magusâ€? (1965), “The French … [Read more...] about Literary Quote of the Day: John Fowles