During the 2012 Democratic National Convention, some right-wing pundits declared that the Democratic Party was officially godless. That claim was absurd because plenty of Democrats are anything but godless. In his post The Merits of the Democratic Party, this author states, "Contrary to what anti-Democrat zealots would have everyone to believe, plenty of Democrats are good, … [Read more...] about Democrat Faith/Republican Faith
Which party loves the USA?
WASHINGTON -- Which political party loves America? Not the United States that once existed, but the flesh-and-blood nation that we all live in now. The debates we have witnessed -- too few and far between for the Democrats, frequent enough for the Republicans to constitute a new reality TV show -- have provided an incontestable answer to that question. The … [Read more...] about Which party loves the USA?
Wrong Winner Crowned at Miss Universe 2015 (with VIDEO)
Steve Harvey, the host of the Miss Universe beauty pageant, mistakenly declared the wrong winner on Sunday, causing an online storm that overshadowed the contest. For a few blissful minutes, Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez thought she was the winner of the 64th edition of the pageant, held in Las Vegas, after host Steve Harvey read out… … [Read more...] about Wrong Winner Crowned at Miss Universe 2015 (with VIDEO)
Third Democratic Debate Showed Sanders’ Strength On Foreign Policy, Health Care, And Social Justice
The third Democratic Debate (transcript here) was most significant for Sanders doing his best job yet in the debates of taking on Hillary Clinton on foreign policy. Unfortunately, with the debate airing on the Saturday night before Christmas, The Guardian might have it right in this headline: Sanders outshone Clinton on foreign policy at the debate. But who watched? Both … [Read more...] about Third Democratic Debate Showed Sanders’ Strength On Foreign Policy, Health Care, And Social Justice
Star Wars: The Force Awakens video review
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