God help us all. Star Wars fans (evangelists) finally have a dope ass film to hang their coat on. I can’t in good faith bash The Force Awakens because once you weigh up all of the elements, it is a very good film. Not the best film of 2015, but still a very good film. The first spoken dialogue in the film is “this will start to make things right,” and people are … [Read more...] about Star Wars: The Force Awakens video review
Have journalists contributed to our hyperpartisan politics?
Have journalists contributed to our hyper-partisan politics? NYU Journalism Professor Jay Rosen suggests the contribution of journalists to what many of them decry is inescapable. And he makes a good case for that argument, pointing to journalists tsk-tsking about the lack of unity and the tone of our politics: It’s hard to know how seriously to take their bewilderment. … [Read more...] about Have journalists contributed to our hyperpartisan politics?
SciFi Weekend: Arrow; Legends of Tomorrow; Jessica Jones; Luke Cage; The Man In The High Castle; The Expanse; Childhood’s End; 11.22.63; Minority Report; House of Cards; Fargo; Doctor Who; Ted Cruz Christmas Infomercial
Matt Nable will be reprising his role of Ra’s al Ghul from Arrow in the ninth episode of Legends of Tomorrow. Considering that much of the cast is made up of people who either died or appeared to die on Arrow, this doesn't really come as a surprise. Damian Dark will also be making an appearance on Legends of Tomorrow. On Arrow, Nyssa will also continue to fight Malcolm Merlyn … [Read more...] about SciFi Weekend: Arrow; Legends of Tomorrow; Jessica Jones; Luke Cage; The Man In The High Castle; The Expanse; Childhood’s End; 11.22.63; Minority Report; House of Cards; Fargo; Doctor Who; Ted Cruz Christmas Infomercial
There is no bromance between Trump and Putin
KYIV, Ukraine — A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Donald Trump as a “very outstanding man, unquestionably talented,” the Republican presidential candidate seemed pleased. “When people call you brilliant it's always good, especially when the person heads up Russia,” Trump said on MSNBC Friday morning. He also applauded Putin as “a leader, unlike, you… … [Read more...] about There is no bromance between Trump and Putin
Weekend Picture
I'm working on a serious post for Monday but today I will give you a picture. I have not been posting as many pictures recently because the upgrade to Windows 10 totally screwed up my PhotoShop making it more difficult. This is a picture of a sparrow hawk that was my friend and companion for several years. Most of the time he lived in my bedroom and would fly down on my … [Read more...] about Weekend Picture
Bernie vs. The DNC Part II: Sanders Wins & Shows He Is Better Than Clinton At Responding To Scandals
It didn’t take long after the Sanders campaign carried out its threat to file suit against the Democratic National Committee for the DNC to give in and allow Sanders access to his voter data: After midnight, Sanders and the DNC put out statements that both indicated the impasse had been resolved but that put remarkably different spins on the outcome. Sanders’s … [Read more...] about Bernie vs. The DNC Part II: Sanders Wins & Shows He Is Better Than Clinton At Responding To Scandals
Wayne Pare Daniels, the pied piper of children, leaves us at age 49
In January 2014 I wrote a post about a remarkable person who devoted his life to his family and to children everywhere. He did it with very little fanfare and had a huge impact with anyone who knew him, regardless of their age. But it was the young, innocent ones, so impressionable who he so impacted in what he presented and how he presented himself. The post nearly two years … [Read more...] about Wayne Pare Daniels, the pied piper of children, leaves us at age 49
Trump brings bigots out of hiding (Guest Voice)
Trump brings bigots out of hiding by Dana Milbank Washington Post Writers Group Columnist WASHINGTON -- A couple of weeks ago, I wrote: "Let's not mince words, Donald Trump is a bigot and a racist." I cited a long list of incidents in which he targeted women, Latinos, African-Americans, Muslims, Asians and the disabled. Here's what I heard back from Trump's … [Read more...] about Trump brings bigots out of hiding (Guest Voice)
Thank God for Political Correctness
Where and when did “Political Correctness” originate? Well, if one believes Bill Lind, “the name originated as something of a joke, literally in a comic strip…” Further in his essay, however, Lind dates the origins of Political Correctness back to the Vietnam War -- “the 1960s and the hippies and the peace movement” -- but stretching back to the Political Correctness of … [Read more...] about Thank God for Political Correctness
My most sacred day of 2015 was in a grieving church
CHARLESTON, SC, June 21–Like a lot of people around the nation, I simply felt the need to be here on that Sunday with the good people of “Mother Emanuel”—The African Methodist Episcopalian Church. Four days earlier, a crazed young white man had opened fire and killed 9 black people who were studying Bible and had welcomed him in. Not everyone who was so moved could actually … [Read more...] about My most sacred day of 2015 was in a grieving church
Trump is leading the Republican party into dangerous game of climate change denial (Guest Voice)
By Doug O'Malley In 1988, a presidential candidate argued that critics who said we're powerless to act on the "greenhouse effect" had forgotten about the "White House effect." A year later, a New Jersey governor issued an executive order calling on New Jersey to recognize the "scientific consensus" of climate change and prepare for rising sea… … [Read more...] about Trump is leading the Republican party into dangerous game of climate change denial (Guest Voice)
Bad News for Democracy Is Great News for TV Profits
Bad News for Democracy Is Great News for TV Profits by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship Political campaigns, as well as anonymous millionaires and billionaires, are spending more and more on ads to influence the presidential election — and network heads are cheering them on. Television news has gone off its rocker and turned our politics into the equivalent of a freak … [Read more...] about Bad News for Democracy Is Great News for TV Profits
The ABC News Democratic Party Presidential Debate: Did it change anything? (Blog, News and Twitter roundup)
And now the spin from partisans of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and the Republicans will begin: in columns, on blogs, on cable and on Monday on talk radio shows. There will be more cherry-picking than during cherry season. But did the debate substantially change anything for Clinton, Sanders or a third candidate who is doomed to be a footnote, former Maryland Gov. Martin … [Read more...] about The ABC News Democratic Party Presidential Debate: Did it change anything? (Blog, News and Twitter roundup)
‘Mein Kampf’ Seen As Antidote To Extremism
Schoolteachers in Germany want to add a 90-year-old text to the high school curriculum: “Mein Kampf,” the anti-Semitic autobiographical manifesto written in 1925 by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. German teachers' association Deutschen Lehrerverbandes says that an annotated version of the text could help "inoculate" German high school students against extremism, Agence France-Presse … [Read more...] about ‘Mein Kampf’ Seen As Antidote To Extremism
Bernie vs. The DNC Part I: Response To Crisis Shows Difference From Clinton Crisis Management
Bernie Sanders’ campaign has filed suit against the Democratic National Committee after they were suspended from access to the party’s voter database. The database is being used by all three campaigns, with each campaign adding their own voter data. A breech in the system led to members of Sanders’s campaign improperly obtaining access to information from the … [Read more...] about Bernie vs. The DNC Part I: Response To Crisis Shows Difference From Clinton Crisis Management
Today’s Media: Often Pandering to Bias and Ignorance
by Walter Brasch The Texas board of education didn’t find anything wrong with a world geography textbook that said slaves from Africa were workers, but that immigrants from northern Europe were indentured servants. This is the same school board that five years ago demanded that textbooks emphasize that slavery was only a side issue to the cause of the civil war, and that … [Read more...] about Today’s Media: Often Pandering to Bias and Ignorance
Public Policy Polling Poll: 41% of Trump voters favor bombing Aladdin’s (fictional) country, 36% of Democrats oppose it
To the descendants of Aladdin who live in the fictitious country of Agrabah: a poll finds 41 percent of Republican primary voters favor bombing your country. But there is a bright side: 36 percent of Democrats poll oppose bombing it. However, the poll didn't ask voters whether they think magic carpets should be targeted and destroyed as a threatening weapon that could be used … [Read more...] about Public Policy Polling Poll: 41% of Trump voters favor bombing Aladdin’s (fictional) country, 36% of Democrats oppose it
Sanders regains access of voter files after bitter fight over data breach
By Megan Cassella and James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders regained access to crucial voter files on Friday after taking the Democratic National Committee to court and accusing party leaders of trying to undermine his White House bid and help rival Hillary Clinton. The DNC had blocked access to the voter data after a … [Read more...] about Sanders regains access of voter files after bitter fight over data breach
Civil war rages in Democratic Party over DNC response to allegations of Sanders’ campaign seeing Clinton voter files
For months now, Democrats have watched the Republican primary battle with its cast of political Twilight Zoners and smiled. They could sit back and enjoy the spectacle of a weakened and threatened GOP political establishment battle the party's increasingly powerful talk-radio-show and Tea Party fueled base -- political debate encased within razor-thin layers of anger, rage and … [Read more...] about Civil war rages in Democratic Party over DNC response to allegations of Sanders’ campaign seeing Clinton voter files
Military Weekend: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Update)
Update: Found this year’s U.S. Air Force Band’s flash mob performance. It is a lively musical arrangement sequence of “Jingle Bells” and “Auld Lang Syne” performed at DC’s Union Station on Dec. 3. Enjoy, too, following last year’s classic performance at the Air and Space Museum at the bottom. Original Post: We have seen how NORAD is preparing to track Santa … [Read more...] about Military Weekend: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Update)