Politics

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  • Issa's Latest Racket Unravels

    Talking Points Memo
    Josh Marshall
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:12 pm
    House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) says he is "deeply disappointed" that Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) decided to release the full unedited interviews from the IRS investigation. These supplement the bits and pieces selectively leaked to the press by Issa's staff.     

  • Chris Christie is Republican with highest favorability rating in the party

    Michelle Malkin
    Doug Powers
    16 Jun 2013 | 7:26 am
    **Written by Doug Powers While it’s true that Chris Christie is the Republican with the highest favorability rating in the party, I should mention that the party I’m talking about is the Democratic Party. Watch out, Hillary: (CNSNews.com) – According to a newly released Gallup poll, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the most-favored Republican and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the least-favored–among Democratic respondents. The poll sought to measure the favorable/unfavorable sentiments toward five Republicans Gallup believes may run for president in 2016. Conducted June 1-4.

  • In Massachusetts Senate Race, Odds for G.O.P. Upset Are Slim

    FiveThirtyEight
    By NATE SILVER
    17 Jun 2013 | 5:10 am
    With just eight days until the vote on June 25, Gabriel Gomez trails Edward J. Markey in the polls by an average of nine percentage points and has raised only about one-third the money Mr. Markey has raised.

  • Not ‘The Onion’: IRS official claims agency used term ‘Tea Party’ to describe many groups, even liberal ones

    Michelle Malkin
    Doug Powers
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:43 pm
    **Written by Doug Powers Have you ever been talking about an activist liberal and referred to him or her as “a Reagan” just because it was shorthand to describe a political person? Me neither, but one IRS official is trying to say such a slapstick labeling culture exists at the IRS: When front-line tax agents in Cincinnati used the term “tea party,” they didn’t just mean conservative groups. Instead, a “tea party” case could refer to an application for tax-exemption from any group – including liberal ones – believed to be engaging in political activity, one IRS…

  • 70% Oppose Arming Syria Rebels

    Drudge Retort
    rcade
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:47 am
    Broad majorities continue to oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms and military supplies to rebels in Syria. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted June 12-16 among 1,512 adults, finds that 70 percent oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms and military supplies to anti-government groups in Syria; just 20 percent are in favor. Majorities of independents (74 percent), Republicans (71 percent) and Democrats (66 percent) oppose the move.
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    The Atlantic

  • World o' Flight Updates: NYT Mag, Gliders, Yeshivah of Flatbush, Solar Impulse

    James Fallows
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:25 pm
    Have been off the grid for several days, seeing sights like the one above: flooded farmland this past weekend in the Missouri River basin just west of St. Louis. Herewith a series of sky-related updates.1) 'The Plane Was About to Crash.' Except it wasn't. Margaret Sullivan, public editor of the NY Times, takes another look at the fantasized New York Times Magazine story whose author, Noah Gallagher Shannon, I interviewed last week. Good to see an official response.2) Paragliders vs. Bulldozers, Round 2. In March I mentioned the showdown between, on the one side, the adventurer / hang-glider /…

  • Bobby Jindal Is Confused About Tom Friedman and Economics

    Matthew O'Brien
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:25 pm
    Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal thinks Republicans need to "stop being the stupid party", and he knows just how to do it: by changing nothing. Now, that isn't exactly how Jindal put it in his recent Politico op-ed, but close enough. Here's his blueprint for Republican revival, insofar as repeating economic nonsense qualifies:At some point, the American public is going to revolt against the nanny state and the leftward march of this president. I don't know when the tipping point will come, but I believe it will come soon.Why?Because the left wants: The government to explode; to pay everyone;…

  • 'Yes We Scan': Germans Protest at Checkpoint Charlie as Obama Arrives in Berlin

    Olga Khazan
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:33 pm
    President Obama landed in Berlin this evening for his first official visit to the German capital, but his reception in the privacy-loving nation might have been warmer if not for the recent revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. A few dozen demonstrators gathered at Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall crossing that became a historic symbol of Cold War tensions. Wielding signs reading "Yes We Scan" and "Privacy Ends Here," the group told reporters that they see widespread data collection as a human rights violation. Here are a few of the images from the…

  • What It's Like to See the Aurora From Space

    Rebecca J. Rosen
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:31 pm
    These astronauts, Mike Massimino and Don Pettit, are a bit blasé about the view of the aurora from Earth. "One of the things that we've noticed," Massimino says, "is that when you see something, you get used to it in your daily life." But, he continues, when "you get to space, and you see the same type of phenomenon, it's a completely different experience, it's a completely different perspective, like the Earth's aurora." I myself haven't quite gotten used to seeing aurorae here on Earth (having never seen them in person), but as Pettit describes them, and with the footage of them showcased…

  • America's Teacher Training Programs Aren't Good Enough

    Emily Richmond
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:55 pm
    Reuters A report out today from the National Council on Teacher Quality rates more than 1,100 elementary and secondary programs at just over 600 institutions of higher education across the country and concludes that the bar is set too low for entrance into professional training, future teachers are not being adequately prepared for the classroom or new requirements such as the Common Core State Standards, and the nation's expectations are far below those for teachers in countries where their students score higher on international exams. NCTQ is an advocacy group that has pushed for greater…
 
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    Daily Kos

  • Open thread for night owls: Excerpts from the July edition of Harper's Index

    18 Jun 2013 | 8:30 pm
    Here are a few excerpts from the latest edition of Harper's Index: • Number of U.S. retail jobs Doritos Locos tacos created in the past year, according to Taco Bell: 15,000 • Number of retail jobs created worldwide by Apple in that same period: 400 • Percentage of college professors teaching online courses who do not believe students should receive credit for them: 72 • Number of bills strengthening gun control that have been signed into law since the Sandy Hook shooting: 14 • Number weakening gun control: 37 • Percentage of criminal suspects asked to waive their Miranda rights…

  • Anyone can be a PAC. Even you, unhinged crackpot guy.

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:45 pm
    Sorry, bigots. Via Right Wing Watch: Government Is Not God PAC has issued a warning to All right, I'm gonna stop you right there. Government Is Not God PAC is an actual thing? Oh for the love of ... Government Is Not God PAC has issued a warning to President Obama over his ceremony marking LGBT Pride Month, warning that “his goal of normalizing homosexuality in America” will not go unpunished. The "warning" apparently is that God will be smiting all those who let gay Americans raise children and hold government jobs without properly hating them, or something. It appears to be mostly about…

  • Hannity's lame justification for partisan hypocrisy

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    When last we heard from Sean Hannity, he was for data mining before he was against it. Having been exposed yet again as a partisan hypocrite, Hannity offers this ...  defense? I guess, if Hannity whining he's completely consistent and a Republican congressman agreeing is a defense. Not that this anything new for Sean Hannity, he was also against hacking emails before he was for it.

  • Immigration reform cuts deficits—a lot

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:55 pm
    New American citizens swearing in. Not a good day for opponents of comprehensive immigration reform, who have been arguing that legalization would explode the deficit. The reality? It's one of the best deficit-cutting measures on the table. The immigration bill under consideration in the Senate would reduce federal deficits by nearly $200 billion over the next decade, and continue generating savings in the years beyond, even after millions of new citizens became eligible for health-care and welfare benefits, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday. Everyone assumed immigration reform would…

  • House votes for jobs for masturbating fetuses, or something

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:46 pm
    All up in your uterus, again. Or maybe it wasn't jobs. No, it definitely wasn't a vote about jobs, because John Boehner's House just doesn't do that. It was yet another vote—destined to be ignored by the Senate, and with a promised presidential veto—for yet one more abortion restriction: banning the procedure after 20 weeks. It passed. 228-196. But it's totally not about a war on women, guys. It's all about the fetuses. Because fetuses pleasure themselves and something about rape (although it took them a while to care about the rape part).
 
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    Drudge Retort

  • Florida Makes Bong Sales a Felony

    kanrei
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:30 pm
    Russ Belville, Huffington Post: Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed into law the "bong ban" bill this weekend. Under this statute, someone caught owning or selling a pot pipe twice in the state is a felon, which in Florida means losing the right to vote virtually for life. But at the consumer level, if you're caught with a used marijuana pipe, it's going to be hard to argue it was for tobacco use. You'll get a first degree misdemeanor and face one year in prison the first time you're caught and a third degree felony and face five years in prison if you're caught again.

  • Congressman: Fetuses Pleasure Themselves

    AuntieSocial
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:08 pm
    Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) said Monday that abortion should be banned as early as 15 weeks after conception because he has witnessed male fetuses masturbate at that stage. "This is a subject that I do know something about," said Burgess, a former OB/GYN. "Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful. They stroke their face. If they're a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to think that they could feel pain?"

  • Company Digs for Atari 2600 E.T. Cartridges

    rcade
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:53 pm
    A digital company in Los Angeles has secured the rights to dig at an Alamagordo, N.M., landfill to look for a legendary treasure of early videogaming -- the millions of E.T. game cartridges buried by Atari after the game was an enormous flop. "It's not a myth," said Mark Esquero, 69, who claims he scooped up an E.T. cartridge and more than a dozen others in 1983 from a deep hole in the landfill the night after Atari's trucks dumped them.

  • Bank of America Employee: 'We Were Told to Lie'

    lee_the_agent
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:03 pm
    Bank of America routinely denied qualified borrowers a chance to modify their loans to more affordable terms and paid cash bonuses to bank staffers for pushing homeowners into foreclosure, according to affidavits filed last week in a Massachusetts lawsuit. "We were told to lie to customers," said Simone Gordon, who worked in the bank's loss mitigation department until February 2012. "Site leaders regularly told us that the more we delayed the HAMP [loan] modification process, the more fees Bank of America would collect."

  • 70% Oppose Arming Syria Rebels

    rcade
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:47 am
    Broad majorities continue to oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms and military supplies to rebels in Syria. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted June 12-16 among 1,512 adults, finds that 70 percent oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms and military supplies to anti-government groups in Syria; just 20 percent are in favor. Majorities of independents (74 percent), Republicans (71 percent) and Democrats (66 percent) oppose the move.
 
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    Talking Points Memo

  • No Help There

    Josh Marshall
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:36 pm
    House Republicans appear to be coalescing around an attempt to kill immigration reform. But they're not getting any help from this CBO study, requested by arch-immigration reform for Sen. Jeff Sessions. It shows that rather than ballooning the deficit the current Senate bill would reduce the deficit by almost $200 billion over the next decade.     

  • Issa's Latest Racket Unravels

    Josh Marshall
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:12 pm
    House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) says he is "deeply disappointed" that Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) decided to release the full unedited interviews from the IRS investigation. These supplement the bits and pieces selectively leaked to the press by Issa's staff.     

  • The Day In 100 Seconds

    Michael Lester
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:00 pm
    Wondering if the NSA is monitoring America's phone calls? The agency's chief supplied an answer, over and over again. Full-size version.    

  • Is That How It Works?

    Josh Marshall
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:09 pm
    Shorter WSJ columnist: Let's be honest, it takes two to have a sexual assault.     

  • Could Change Everything

    Josh Marshall
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:57 pm
    Don't look now but medical costs may actually be starting to go down.     
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    Political Animal

  • Day's End and Night Watch

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:07 pm
    This Thursday through Saturday I'll be live-blogging from the Netroots Nation event, just up the road (nearly said "the 101," but remembered the trouble that got me in!) in San Jose. More on that tomorrow. Here are some final items of the day: * Thune border fence amendment to immigration bill fails 39-54. As with Grassley amendment last week, only nay-voting GOPers were Gang of Eight members plus Lisa Murkowski. * Big Tea Party march in Washington to protest IRS on tap for tomorrow. * TPM publishes caustic comments on Politico from Nate Silver. * At Ten Miles Square, Jonathan Zasloff hails…

  • Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:39 pm
    Here's a fascinating take on new polling data from Florida by Politico's Tal Kopan, with the headline: "Gov. Rick Scott rebounding." Florida Gov. Rick Scott trails two potential 2014 challengers by 10 points in a new poll, but the numbers show the governor is closing the gap and his approval rating is the highest ever. Forty percent of voters had a favorable opinion of Scott, his best rating since he was elected and up 7 points from March, according to the Quinnipiac poll on Tuesday. Also trending up, 43 percent of those surveyed approved of the job Scott was doing as governor, the highest…

  • Jindal Should Have Left Well Enough Alone

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:21 pm
    From the mockery it's arousing, I'm beginning to think Bobby Jindal's Politico op-ed today (which I mocked earlier) could wind up being as big a problem for his image, at least among Beltway types, as his disastrous 2009 State of the Union response. Here's Josh Barro at Business Insider: This is a big reason the Republican party can't change. So many of its members have a warped vision of what liberalism is. They think it's something so mind-bendingly awful that they cannot fathom how voters could willingly choose it. It must be some mistake. And sooner or later, mistakes get fixed. Back in…

  • Early Nose-Counting On Filibuster Reform

    18 Jun 2013 | 2:45 pm
    WaPo's Greg Sargent reports today that Harry Reid won't have much of a margin of error if he "goes nuclear" next month in order to end or restrict filibusters of confirmations of presidential appointees. He may, in fact, need Joe Biden's vote to obtain a simple majority, in part because of the loss of the Lautenberg seat. What's troubling about that situation is that it represents the nose-counting before the fight actually begins. The fresh threat from Mitch McConnell to go "totally nuclear" in the future if Reid messes with the filibuster could rattle a Democratic senator or two. And as the…

  • For Those Who Can't Get Enough of Politico

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:37 pm
    Gotta say, TNR's Isaac Chotiner is on a roll today. Aside from raising solid doubts about Marco Rubio's investment in the ultimate success of comprehensive immigration reform, he's got an interview with Politico co-founders John Harris and Jim VandeHei that is by turns illuminating, disturbing, and hilarious. You should definitely read the whole thing, but what grabbed me was the rationale Harris and VandeHei offered for Politico's upcoming foray into the long-form format under the direction of former Foreign Policy editor Susan Glasser. Chotiner tries with mixed results to get the duo to…
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    New Republic

  • Is DOMA Headed for Disaster?

    Adam Winkler
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    Ever since the Supreme Court heard two major gay rights cases in March, the conventional wisdom among court-watchers is that we’re likely to see a split decision. The Court, according to most experts, will probably strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and issue a narrow ruling, perhaps on proce

  • Must-See Summer Art Shows

    Jed Perl
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    What do museumgoers want? Can our data-obsessed era explain what turns the average citizen into an occasional or even an ardent visitor? We all know that attendance figures are closely followed by museum officials, but attendance figures and other performance metrics miss the magic that occurs in pa

  • Boondoggle Goes Boom

    Robert Draper
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    In July 2011, an army combat team known as the Arctic Wolves moved into the Kandahar district of Panjwai, where the Taliban was born and where Osama bin Laden is said to have planned the 9/11 attacks. The area was all but evacuated—it was not yet poppy-growing season, and Panjwai’s residents ha

  • The Appeal of the Antiheroine

    Sarah Weinman
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    One wonders if Publishers Weekly contributor Annasue McCleave Wilson wishes she could get a do-over. In a much-discussed April 29 inter

  • Therapy

    Patrizia Cavalli
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:59 pm
    O give me a room in a hotela little room a little room in a hotel yes, a room a room in a hotela little room a little room in a hotel.(...and so it goeswithout end,until bored and exhaustedI fall half-deadon any old bed even unmade, even dirty.)             Translated by Mark Strand
 
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    Michelle Malkin

  • Not ‘The Onion’: IRS official claims agency used term ‘Tea Party’ to describe many groups, even liberal ones

    Doug Powers
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:43 pm
    **Written by Doug Powers Have you ever been talking about an activist liberal and referred to him or her as “a Reagan” just because it was shorthand to describe a political person? Me neither, but one IRS official is trying to say such a slapstick labeling culture exists at the IRS: When front-line tax agents in Cincinnati used the term “tea party,” they didn’t just mean conservative groups. Instead, a “tea party” case could refer to an application for tax-exemption from any group – including liberal ones – believed to be engaging in political activity, one IRS…

  • Irish press: FLOTUS staying in $3,300-per-night hotel suite

    Doug Powers
    17 Jun 2013 | 8:58 am
    **Written by Doug Powers First Lady Michelle Obama has warned that the sequester could negatively impact seniors and cut food stamps, but one thing it doesn’t seem to have affected is the White House travel budget. Keith Koffler at White House Dossier: First Lady Michelle Obama is staying Monday evening in the $3,300-per-night Princess Grace suite of Dublin’s Five-Star Shelbourne Hotel, according to Irish press reports, adding some credence to accusations she is in the city for a quick vacation at taxpayer expense. Michelle jetted to Dublin Monday afternoon Irish time after a brief…

  • Al Gore: Keystone pipeline an ‘atrocity’

    Doug Powers
    16 Jun 2013 | 12:58 pm
    **Written by Doug Powers Any oil operation that Al Gore can’t capitalize on is inherently eeeevil. From The Hill: Gore made the case for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for new and currently operating plants in an interview with the Guardian newspaper on Friday. The former vice president also encouraged Obama to veto the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. “This whole project [Keystone XL] is an atrocity but it is even more important for him to regulate carbon dioxide emissions,” Gore told the British paper. “Atrocity”? Witnesses to atrocities in…

  • Chris Christie is Republican with highest favorability rating in the party

    Doug Powers
    16 Jun 2013 | 7:26 am
    **Written by Doug Powers While it’s true that Chris Christie is the Republican with the highest favorability rating in the party, I should mention that the party I’m talking about is the Democratic Party. Watch out, Hillary: (CNSNews.com) – According to a newly released Gallup poll, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the most-favored Republican and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the least-favored–among Democratic respondents. The poll sought to measure the favorable/unfavorable sentiments toward five Republicans Gallup believes may run for president in 2016. Conducted June 1-4.

  • Police report filed for lost and stolen items from Dem convention include $30k iPhone and $75k laptop computer

    Doug Powers
    15 Jun 2013 | 7:33 am
    **Written by Doug Powers Is this police report a precursor to the 2012 Dem convention slogan eventually having to be revised to “Yes we can wildly inflate value for insurance purposes”? From ABC News: Organizers of the Charlotte, N.C., convention have filed a police report for lost and stolen electronics, some of which they appear to have valued at as much as 62 times the listed market prices. A reportedly stolen 13-inch MacBook Pro laptop? $75,537. The price listed on the Apple website is $1,199. A lost iPhone? $30,503. A lost Blackberry? $54,250. [...] Other items reported to…
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    Swampland | TIME.com

  • Gov’t Report: Smooth Launch Unsure for Health Law

    AP / Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:48 am
    (WASHINGTON) — There’s no guarantee that President Barack Obama‘s health care law will launch smoothly and on time, congressional investigators say in the first in-depth independent look at its progress. But in a report to be released Wednesday, the congressional Government Accountability Office also sees positive signs as the Oct. 1 deadline approaches for new health insurance markets called exchanges to open in each state — in many cases over the objections of Republican governors. Additionally, the report discloses that the administration had spent nearly $400 million as of…

  • Border Security: Will it Block a Final Deal on Immigration?

    Alex Altman
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:45 am
    As the bill to rewrite U.S. immigration laws edges closer to a vote in the Senate, its architects are wrestling with a familiar dilemma: how far should they go to mollify critics and attract new supporters, without wrecking the bipartisan compromise that took months to forge? In the days since the landmark legislation made its way to the Senate floor, border security has emerged as a flashpoint. GOP Senator Marco Rubio, one of eight negotiators to craft the legislation and its chief envoy to conservatives, says the bill can’t pass without tougher border security. While Democrats…

  • House Passes 20-Week Abortion Ban

    Kate Pickert
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:46 pm
    In what some conservatives are calling the most important abortion measure to be considered by Congress since 2003’s partial birth abortion ban, the House today passed a bill that would make it illegal to terminate pregnancies after 20 weeks. The bill, which passed 228-196, is not expected to have an impact on federal abortion law. The Senate is unlikely to take up the bill and the White House has already threatened to veto such legislation if it ever lands on President Obama’s desk. Championed by Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is symbolic.

  • Talking With the Taliban

    Massimo Calabresi
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:06 pm
    With the announcement Tuesday that the U.S. will engage in direct talks with the Taliban in coming days, the Obama Administration has moved one step closer to implementing it’s slow-motion version of Vermont Republican Senator George Aiken’s famous 1966 suggestion for ending the war in Vietnam: declare victory and go home. The question is whether that strategy will be any more successful this time around. There are some reasons to think so. The Taliban have made concessions in beginning formal peace talks. Previously they said they wouldn’t engage with Afghan President Hamid…

  • Report Says Immigration Bill Cuts Deficit

    AP / David Espo and Erica Werner
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:54 pm
    (WASHINGTON) — The Congressional Budget Office says a sweeping immigration bill before the Senate would cut deficits by $197 billion over 10 years. The bill would add $262 billion in new spending and tax credits over 10 years, a sum more than covered by $459 billion in increased revenues, according to the report Tuesday by Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeepers. The bill would cut deficits by an additional $700 billion in the second 10 years after taking effect, the CBO says. Some 8 million people in the U.S. illegally would initially gain legal status under the legislation, according to…
 
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    CNN.com - Politics

  • Shifting polls contradict deposition

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:37 pm
    Roughly half of all Americans now think the White House was behind the Internal Revenue Service decision to target conservative political groups -- a growing belief at odds with information recently provided to CNN by congressional investigators.

  • Senators seek new compromise

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:43 pm
    A bipartisan group of senators is scrambling to reach a fresh compromise they hope can propel a proposal to overhaul U.S. immigration policy toward passage in that chamber and provide momentum heading into the Republican-controlled House.

  • NSA defends snooping

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:40 pm
    Bomb plots targeting the New York Stock Exchange and the city's subway were among more than 50 terrorist acts worldwide thwarted by top-secret surveillance programs since the 2001 al Qaeda attacks on the United States, security officials said Tuesday.

  • Senate negotiators seek new compromise on immigration

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:16 pm
    A bipartisan group of senators is scrambling to reach a fresh compromise they hope can propel a proposal to overhaul U.S. immigration policy toward passage in that chamber and provide momentum heading into the Republican-controlled House.

  • Bergen: Did snooping stop 'dozens' of attacks?

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:36 pm
    Peter Bergen says the public record tends to cast doubt on the NSA's claim that its electronic surveillance has helped stop numerous plots
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    Politics News Headlines - Yahoo! News

  • Obama to renew calls for nuclear reductions

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:12 am
    BERLIN (AP) — President Barack Obama will renew his call Wednesday to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, the White House said.

  • West Wing Wednesday: Top 5 constitutional moments

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:12 am
    Welcome back for Constitution Daily’s West Wing Wednesday, where we walk and talk about everyone’s favorite now-on-Netflix political drama and the top constitutional lessons, mistakes, and moments from the show. Today, we’re wrapping things up with a look at the top 5 constitutional moments from the show.

  • Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes

    19 Jun 2013 | 1:48 am
    BERLIN (AP) — Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement.

  • Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses

    19 Jun 2013 | 1:20 am
    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.

  • House to consider cuts to food stamps

    19 Jun 2013 | 1:12 am
    WASHINGTON (AP) — A wide-ranging farm bill the House is considering would cut food stamps by $2 billion a year and make it more difficult for some people to qualify for the domestic food aid program.
 
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    Political Irony

  • Late Night Political Humor

    Iron Knee
    17 Jun 2013 | 11:26 pm
    “According to a poll, the majority of Americans are OK with the Obama administration listening in on our phone calls. Guys approve because they feel it increases security. And women approve of Obama’s policy because finally a man is listening to them.” – Conan O’Brien “Do you mind that the NSA is opening your mail and listening to your phone calls? I don’t care. It’s like the lady that tells you the directions in your car. At first I thought it was annoying, and then I realized it’s just like being married.” – David Letterman…

  • The Two Faces of Obama

    Iron Knee
    17 Jun 2013 | 8:36 am
    © Matt Wuerker What’s ironic about this is that I don’t think Republicans care if their accusations against Obama are contradictory. They just keep throwing shit until something sticks. Also ironic is that even though some of the recent scandals have stuck a bit (and the NSA scandal is even getting strong support from the left), none of this seems to be affecting Obama’s favorability ratings. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to downplay the NSA issue. I don’t agree with everything that Obama does and I’m deeply troubled by the NSA spying on US…

  • Late Night Political Humor

    Iron Knee
    16 Jun 2013 | 11:39 pm
    “The NSA has been listening in on phone calls. It’s people with cellphones — you hear these people walking down the street screaming into their cellphones. They’re the ones who are upset about people listening to their phone calls.” – David Letterman “This weekend, President Obama held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It went well, although it got awkward when Obama asked China to stop spying on America and Jinping said, ‘You first’.” – Jimmy Fallon “Last week it was revealed that the National Security Agency has spied on…

  • Late Night Political Humor

    Iron Knee
    16 Jun 2013 | 1:52 am
    “Big breaking news about something we’ve known for like seven years, which is that your phone calls are being tracked and your emails are being accessed by the government. And married men all over are saying, ‘The government? Thank God. I thought you were going to say my wife’.” – Bill Maher “The White House today closed the gift shop and opened a Verizon store after it was revealed that the National Security Agency seized millions of Verizon phone records. How ironic is that? We wanted a president who listens to all Americans. Now we have one.” –…

  • The Two Faces of Sean Hannity and Fox News

    Iron Knee
    15 Jun 2013 | 10:56 am
    The video is far worse. Hannity actively promoting NSA surveillance then, over and over again, versus decrying it as unconstitutional now: What a two-faced tool. Please Share / Save Related posts: Patriotism is the last refuge of Sean Hannity Jon Stewart responds to Sean Hannity The Easiest Job in the World is Making Fun of Sean Hannity
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    Politics on HuffingtonPost.com

  • Banks Caught In How Many Mortgage Settlement Violations?

    Shahien Nasiripour
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:39 pm
    The government-appointed monitor overseeing mortgage practices as part of last year’s robo-signing settlement between five big U.S. banks and dozens of government agencies found few violations after grading the banks’ compliance with ambitious new standards, according to court documents filed Tuesday. The finding of just three audited failures by Joseph Smith, the government-appointed watchdog heading the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight, may prompt criticism by borrower advocates, consumer attorneys, and members of Congress after numerous reports by state attorneys general and…

  • Report Finds Obstacles Ahead For Obamacare Rollout

    AP
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:33 pm
    WASHINGTON -- There's no guarantee that President Barack Obama's health care law will launch smoothly and on time, congressional investigators say in the first in-depth independent look at its progress. But in a report to be released Wednesday, the congressional Government Accountability Office also sees positive signs as the Oct. 1 deadline approaches for new health insurance markets called exchanges to open in each state – in many cases over the objections of Republican governors. Additionally, the report discloses that the administration had spent nearly $400 million as of March to…

  • James P. Hoffa: CEOs Want To Hide Riches Through Repeal Of Wage Gap Disclosure Requirement

    James P. Hoffa
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:04 pm
    The divide in pay between top executives and regular workers is out of control. A recent Bloomberg News calculation concluded that chief executives on average take home 204 times more than their rank-and-file employees. But that average gulf in pay is merely a stream compared to the pay disparity at some companies. McKesson, a leading pharmaceutical company, pays its CEO 313 times more than its average worker. J.C. Penney's CEO earned a whopping 1,795 times more than the average worker employed by the retailer. Abercrombie and Fitch paid its CEO 1,640 times more than the average worker. At…

  • Young Adults Want Health Insurance, Which Is Good News For Obamacare: Survey

    Jeffrey Young
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:01 pm
    Young adults overwhelmingly value health insurance and don't believe they are too healthy to need it, according to survey data published Wednesday. The findings of the poll by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation could have significant implications for the prospects of President Barack Obama's health care reform law. Enrolling large numbers of younger, healthier people into health insurance is key to keeping premiums affordable for everyone. Moreover, young people are uninsured at higher rates than older people and tend to have lower incomes. But Obamacare skeptics maintain that young people…

  • House Committee Advances Immigration Bill Over Dem Objections

    AP
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:11 pm
    BY DAVID ESPO AND ERICA WERNER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweeping immigration legislation moving toward a vote in the Senate would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, at the same time it would bestow legal status on an estimated 8 million immigrants living in the United States unlawfully. In an assessment that drew cheers from the White House and other backers of the bill, Congress' scorekeeping agency said the measure would reduce federal red ink by $197 billion across a decade, and $700 billion in the following 10…
 
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    Media Matters for America - Latest Items

  • Media Misunderstanding Of IRS Story Triggering Baseless Links To Washington Office

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:42 am
    Major media outlets are misinterpreting testimony from a former high-ranking Internal Revenue Service official to baselessly suggest that Washington, D.C.-based officials were involved in the improper targeting of conservative groups seeking non-profit status. Those misinterpretations are based on an apparent confusion on the part of journalists over what made the actions of the Cincinnati-based IRS officials who engaged in that scrutiny improper. On June 16, several journalists were apparently granted access to review the transcript of an interview the House…

  • Experts: Fox News' Coverage Contributes To Violence, Discrimination Against Transgender Community

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:32 am
    Fox News' inaccurate, defamatory, and dehumanizing coverage of the transgender community contributes to transphobic violence and discrimination according to several groups working toward transgender equality.Experts: Fox News' Coverage Contributes To Transphobic Violence, Discrimination Fox News Routinely Promotes Inaccurate And Defamatory Depictions Of The Transgender Community. Fox News' transgender coverage consistently includes derogatory and harmful misinformation - including name-calling and transphobic pseudoscience - including: Joking About "The One Part Of Chaz [Bono] That Hasn't…

  • Fox Suggests Obama's Overseas Trips Are Ploy To Help Poll Numbers

    18 Jun 2013 | 8:44 am
    Fox News host Martha MacCallum and contributor Byron York suggested that the President Obama may have scheduled his current trips to Europe and Africa to help his poll numbers even though both trips were scheduled as early as November 2012. Obama is currently in Northern Ireland attending a G8 summit before embarking on a tour of Africa -- an effort to strengthen economic ties to the continent. On the June 18 edition of America's Newsroom, MacCallum and York were discussing the president's current job approval rating when MacCallum wondered aloud whether…

  • UPDATED: WSJ's Taranto Dismisses Military Sexual Assault Epidemic, Cries "War On Men"

    18 Jun 2013 | 8:14 am
    The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto dismissed the epidemic of sexual assault in the military, claiming that efforts to address the growing problem contributed to a "war on men" and an "effort to criminalize male sexuality."  In May, the Department of Defense released its  "Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military," which found that up to 26,000 service members may have been the victim of some form of sexual assault last year, up from an estimated 19,000 in 2010. The report also found that 62 percent of victims who reported their assault faced…

  • Wall Street Journal Hosts More Wind Myths

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:57 am
    A Wall Street Journal op-ed authored by a staffer of the industry-funded Heartland Institute claimed that "[p]hysical limitations" will not allow wind to become a major source of our power. However, he ignored recent positive developments for the wind industry and areas where further innovation can help wind capacity further grow.WSJ Obscures Wind's Growth WSJ Op-Ed Claimed Wind Cannot Be A Viable Large-Scale Energy Source. In an op-ed titled "The Rationale for Wind Power Won't Fly," Jay Lehr of The Heartland Institute claimed that "[p]hysical limitations will keep this energy source a niche…
 
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    The WIP: Byline portal + WIP Contibutors

  • The Radical Notion That Women Are People

    17 Jun 2013 | 1:25 pm
    by Andrea Bohnstedt, Star, Kenya - I was more than a little taken aback to read an article by a Peter Mutua on ‘The problem with having too many women leaders in a firm’. Mr Mutua states: ‘Women are necessary, lovely, delightful, wonderfully colourful creatures. However, when they constitute an overwhelming majority of management within a workplace, the resulting corporate environment can be disturbing.’

  • Problems of Place: Do Quotas in China’s College Admissions System Reinforce Existing Inequalities?

    17 Jun 2013 | 1:20 pm
    by Yiqin Fu, Tea Leaf Nation, China/USA - Earlier this month, millions of Chinese students took the exam for which they had been preparing their entire lives – the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, known colloquially as the gaokao. For some, the process was more arduous than others.

  • Arizona Drops Felony Charges Against Undocumented Immigrant

    17 Jun 2013 | 1:12 pm
    by Valeria Fernandez, New America Media, USA - Luz Ruiz Rascón noticed the signs as she stepped into her home. Missing lampshades, grease in the kitchen, papers everywhere. Tiny details that any other time would have caused her to admonish her children.

  • Gezi generation joining Turkey’s Protests Made Up of Free Souls, Says Activist

    17 Jun 2013 | 1:08 pm
    by Barçın Yinanç, Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey - There are free people in Turkey but not-so-free public spaces in Turkey, according to a representative of an NGO that has been objecting to the plans to redesign Istanbul’s Taksim Square.

  • Pieces of Junk are the Choice in Crisis Time

    17 Jun 2013 | 1:03 pm
    by Valentina Ovalles R., El Universal, Venezuela - The González family was leaving the country. One fine day, on visit to the Museum of Transport, they found a Sunday antique market. They contacted one of the sellers and while they settled down in Spain, their belongings are still exhibited there.
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    This Week in Blackness | TWiB!

  • SCOTUS On AZ Voting Law: Not The Victory You Were Looking For

    David von Ebers
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:19 am
    On Monday, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., No. 12-17 (.pdf file), to applause on the left. The Court’s decision, penned by Justice Scalia, struck down a provision of Arizona law requiring individuals registering to vote in federal elections to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in certain cases. But, alas, it’s not quite what it seems. The case stems from Arizona’s Proposition 200, adopted in 2004, which “amended the State’s election code to require county recorders to ‘reject any application for registration that is not…

  • Dear GOP: Fetal Fapping Isn’t A Thing That Happens

    Imani Gandy
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:58 am
    Just in case you weren’t aware that reproductive rights and bodily autonomy for women hinges on a male and what he does or doesn’t do with his penis, here’s Texas Republican Congressman Michael Burgess — a former OB/GYN, no less — citing masturbating fetuses as a reason to outlaw virtually all abortions after 20 weeks. Via Addie Stan at RH Reality Check: As the House of Representatives gears up for Tuesday’s debate on HR 1797, a bill that would outlaw virtually all abortions 20 weeks post fertilization, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) argued in favor of banning…

  • Secure Our Smartphones Coalition: Kill Switch Engaged!

    Randle Aubrey
    17 Jun 2013 | 3:52 pm
    Attorneys General Eric Schneiderman of NY (left) and George Gascon of SF (right). Imagine if, when your smart phone was lost or stolen, all you had to do was send an e-mail or make a call to someone, and your phone could immediately be deactivated, rendered completely useless in both function and value. Not only would this protect unauthorized access to your data, it would void any resale value by would-be thieves who, until now, stood to make a few bucks stealing smart phones just like yours. How awesome would that be? There’s just one question, though. To who do you make that phone…

  • Mad Men Season Six Recap: “The Quality of Mercy”

    Anibundel
    17 Jun 2013 | 9:10 am
    “My father has never given me anything.”- Sally So after last week’s absolute horror show, Sally has decided she wants to go to boarding school. Don’s been on a bender apparently since it happened, and is so relieved/guilty/drunk when Betty calls with the news that he’s all for this. He’ll pay for all of it! Sure! Fine! So off to Miss Porters School goes Sally, to interview for an escape from the hell she was born into. I’m a little stunned, but mostly disappointed. I wanted her to go full on stoner hippie. Running away from the family is such a Don…

  • President Obama’s Weekly Address: Father’s Day

    Jamal Lacy, J.D. (aka B-Serious)
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:51 am
    President Obama takes a personal approach in this Father’s Day address. Looking back on his own upbringing, the President acknowledged the sacrifice it takes to be a father and why it’s important that he strive to be the type of father to his children that he didn’t have as a child. As President Obama put it, the standard he sets for himself as a father and husband is what matters the most: Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way, it’s that all our personal successes shine a little less brightly if we fail at family. That’s what…
 
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    Digg Top Stories

  • Missing Michael Hastings

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:17 pm
    One of the great reporters of his generation died Tuesday at 33. The stories he wrote, and the ones he didn’t live to write.

  • Why You Don't Climb A Tree To Escape A Bear

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:20 pm
    And don't bring honey when you go hunting.

  • 'We Were Told To Lie'

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:01 pm
    Bank of America whistle-blowers detail horrid schemes to fleece borrowers and reward foreclosures.

  • Michael Hastings Dead At 33

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:24 pm
    Michael Hastings, the fearless journalist whose reporting brought down the career of General Stanley McChrystal, has died in a car accident in Los Angeles. He was 33.

  • Serena Williams On Steubenville: 'I'm Not Blaming The Girl But ...'

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:46 pm
    "I'm not blaming the girl, but if you're a 16-year-old and you're drunk like that, your parents should teach you: don't take drinks from other people. She's 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn't remember? It could have been much worse. She's lucky."
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    Wonkette

  • TSA Keeping Us Safe From Terrorists And Teen Girls

    Kaili Joy Gray
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:25 pm
    We understand that the hard-working hard workers of the Transportation Security Administration are just trying to keep us safe from Muslims and stuff, and that is why they make us take off our shoes and strip down until we are practically nekkid and get X-rayed and put our laptops in their own special little boxes and buy those little itty bitty tubes of toothpaste and why they decided not to permit pocket knives on planes after all, but we did not realize that we also needed to be protected from teen-aged girls in, like, clothes. Here’s what happened, as my daughter described it in…

  • Texas Rep. Michael Burgess: Ban Abortion, Because Fetuses Can’t Stop Masturbating

    Doktor Zoom
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:41 pm
    Golly, it’s been, what, a whole bunch of hours since someone on the right said something incredibly stupid about abortion, so we guess this is right on schedule: Texas Congressman Michael Burgess (R-Like We Had To Say “R”) has a whole new reason to ban abortion at 20 weeks, and maybe earlier: masturbating fetuses. Specifically, the former OB/GYN said, Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful … They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to…

  • Rick Perry Line-Item Vetoes Funding For Public Integrity Unit Because Some Lady Got A DWI, Makes Sense To Us

    Alex Ruthrauff
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:06 pm
    So you see, Texas has this thing called a Public Integrity Unit, which is supposed to ride herd on public officials’ ethics and spending and stuff. Except now it doesn’t do anything, because Gov. Rick Perry used his line-item veto to eliminate funding for the Unit after the “some lady” in our headline, Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg, who runs the Public Integrity Unit, went and got a DWI citation. Lehmberg is a Democrat, but of course her party affiliation has nothing to do with this, what a vile notion! So Perry isn’t exactly saying “Someone, somewhere is a drunk…

  • Tonight! The Wonk Your Brains Out Orgy & World Tour Is Stormin’ Norman, Oklahoma!

    Doktor Zoom
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:41 am
    Attention Wonklahomans! The 2013 Wonk Your Brains Out Midwest-Southwest Orgy and World Tour is on its exciting “Homeward Bound: The Quickening” leg (also known as the “Hey, does this Prius smell funny to you?” leg), and is swinging back through the Sooner State tonight! As part of an exclusive two-day side tour of cities whose names sound like boys who get picked on in 8th grade, Wonk Your Brains Out follows its trip to Lawrence, Kansas with a stop in Norman, Oklahoma. TONIGHT! Tues., June 18, 6 p.m. at The Mont, 1300 Classen Blvd Norman, OK 73071, (405) 329-3330.

  • Wingnut Patiently Explains That You Cannot Quote Him Because The Umbrella Of Jesus Covers His Words

    snipy
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:30 am
    You know, we really can’t figure out anymore if right-wingers are playing some four-dimensional meta chess sorta thing these days or have really become untethered from reality or why even choose. Exhibit eleventy: the weird tendency of wingnuts to cry foul when people have the temerity to quote them. Witness Bradlee Dean, who wanted to sue yr Wonkette SO BAD because we pointed out that by saying he wanted to use the rod of correction on kids he actually wanted to use the rod of correction on kids. Late to the game but no less weird is superstar E.W. Jackson, running for Lieutenant…
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    Hot Air

  • Quotes of the day

    Allahpundit
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:11 pm
    Winning? It is painful to watch Marco Rubio’s maneuverings on immigration. He is refusing to say whether he will vote “yes” on his own Gang of Eight bill after spending months drafting, defending, and helping shepherd it to the floor. He has supposedly discovered that the enforcement provisions are inadequate, although he has done countless interviews [...] Read this post »

  • Organizing for Action gathers a whopping three people for gun-control rally in California

    Mary Katharine Ham
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:21 pm
    Tidal wave. Feel the momentum: Exactly six months after 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a small group from Organizing for Action stood here Friday with 26 flags and signs calling for stricter gun control… The protest drew three members of Organizing for Action, a nonprofit group that [...] Read this post »

  • MSNBC panel agrees: Progressives are probably soft-pedaling their civil liberties concerns under Obama

    Mary Katharine Ham
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:51 pm
    But Cheney is still a big ol' meanie. This is a fun evening dip in the progressive pool. Ed Rendell, who falls in my affectionate, love-to-hate-’em pundit category with Bob Beckel for his general cantankerousness and occasional unabashed moments of counter-partisan push-back, serves up the diagnosis of hypocrisy for the rest of the crowd here. It comes only after they’ve had their fun [...] Read this post »

  • Videos: What do Americans think about the IRS and DOJ scandals?

    Erika Johnsen
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:01 pm
    Men on the street. It’s been a slow day, so let’s round it out with a couple of fun videos from Jammie Wearing Fools and Campus Reform, respectively — although, when I say “fun,” I actually mean something more along the lines of intellectually horrifying more than anything else. I always have to fiercely remind myself that, while perhaps [...] View the video »

  • Pennsylvania union ad: Liquor store privatization is pretty much a death trap

    Erika Johnsen
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:11 pm
    ...What? I have no words. …Never mind — I found words. No, this isn’t a PSA about the criminality, terrible dangers, and tragic consequences of drunk driving; this is basically a campaign ad from a Pennsylvania union trying to invent reasons about why it is they should be allowed to maintain their vast state-sponsored monopoly… and [...] Read this post »
 
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    NPR

  • Secret Surveillance Credited With Preventing Terror Acts

    19 Jun 2013 | 2:14 am
    The National Security Agency director made the rounds again on Capitol Hill to defend two surveillance programs leaked to the press. Gen. Keith Alexander appeared before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday, along with other members of the intelligence community and FBI. The government says its Internet monitoring program and the collection of phone logs have stopped more than 50 terrorist attacks.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Liberal Groups Say They Received IRS Scrutiny Too

    19 Jun 2013 | 1:00 am
    The conventional shorthand for the IRS scandal is that employees "targeted" conservative groups for extra scrutiny in the applications for tax-exempt status. Except, as an inspector general's report showed, it wasn't just conservative groups that got the extra scrutiny. Plenty of liberal groups had to produce extensive documentation answer dozens of questions, too. » E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • How A Merger Could Affect Congress' Favorite Airport

    19 Jun 2013 | 12:19 am
    Members of Congress are pushing the Justice Department to preserve flights to small- and medium-sized cities from Reagan National Airport amid a review of the proposed merger of US Airways and American Airlines. Changes there could affect flights for lawmakers themselves.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • House Passes Bill That Would Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    The legislation is one of the most far-reaching abortion bills in decades and follows the May murder convictions of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. The bill, which would ban nearly all abortions starting 20 weeks after fertilization, is unlikely to ever become law.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Boehner Seeks To Reassure House GOP On Immigration

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:50 pm
    House Speaker John Boehner strongly suggested he would abide by the Hastert rule on immigration legislation, meaning no floor vote unless a majority of House Republicans backed the bill.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us
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    Real PolitixReal Politix

  • Insurance Tips: Making Your Future Safe

    Randy
    14 Jun 2013 | 11:23 am
    TIP! Save your wallet some grief and price shop for current quotes whenever a policy of yours comes up for renewal. Most insurance companies determine their rates in various manners and they are not always figured the same way. There are many different types of insurance: medical, dental, vision. life, car, and home owners insurance just to name a few. This article can help you figure out the kinds of insurance, what kind you need, and which you can avoid if money is tight. TIP! When shopping for insurance, look for a company that fulfill all of your insurance needs. You can receive…

  • Setting Realistic Goals For Your Home Business Enterprise

    Randy
    13 Jun 2013 | 5:18 am
    TIP! If your home business requires an Internet connection, don’t miss out on the tax deductions for it. You can claim a portion of the total cost of these services for business purposes. It is very exciting when you start your own home based business. Many people want to be their own boss. You must remain professional when dealing with your own business. Continue reading to learn how to be successful at running your own home based business. TIP! If your home business is going to be your first source of income, make sure to build a Plan B just in case. Having a plan for when a disaster…

  • Stock Market Tips That Can Work For Anyone

    Randy
    12 Jun 2013 | 5:21 am
    TIP! Before going to a broker, you should do some background research to make sure you can trust them with your money. By taking the time to investigate their background, you leave yourself less open to the possibility of investment fraud. Jumping into stock investing can be a scary thing to do. There are many different variables to consider, and there is also always the chance that you might lose money. The article below has some of the best tips on wise investing. TIP! Keeping it simple applies to most things in life, and the stock market is no exception. Keep your investments strategies…

  • Simple Things To Consider When Shopping For Insurance

    Randy
    7 Jun 2013 | 7:55 am
    TIP! Get new quotes from several insurance companies on a yearly basis. Insurance companies use various criteria for coming up with policy premiums, and each is different. Everyone wants to get the real truth on insurance, and not just snips or tidbits of information here and there. There are many so-called experts out there, and you have to make sure you weed through all the information in order to have the correct advice. Read on to find out some valuable tips to educate yourself more regarding insurance. TIP! Try to find the best overall insurance company to take care of all your insurance…

  • How To Grow Your Home Business Enterprise On A Budget

    Randy
    6 Jun 2013 | 12:17 am
    TIP! Tax deductions are a big part of running a home business. You will be able to deduct a percentage of your annual bill against your taxes, that percentage will be dependent if it is used for personal use as well. Many people see the potential of making and running their own home business enterprise. However, you could still face stiff competition with a home based business. This is one reason you need to know as much as possible about your business in order to be successful. This way you will be able to lead the pack. TIP! What else can you do if your business fails? Plans that help…
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    FamousDC

  • Hyper Hill: Daytime Drama

    Morgan
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:16 am
    Tapper heads to daytime [soap] Keep them all straight [scandals] Secretary Lew’s signature revealed [scribbles] The internet has come full circle [snapcat] Photo by Kevin WolfThe post Hyper Hill: Daytime Drama appeared first on FamousDC.

  • Nick Muzin: Coalitions Director & Lifesaver

    Morgan
    17 Jun 2013 | 10:02 am
    Last Thursday Nick Muzin proved that coalition directors are indeed lifesavers. From coordinating offices to performing Heimlich maneuvers, there’s nothing these guys can’t do. Thursday night at the Capitol Hill Club, Representative Ted Poe had a scary choking incident and was thankfully aided by a doctor-turned-GOP-aide, Nick Muzin, who may have saved his life. Read [...]The post Nick Muzin: Coalitions Director & Lifesaver appeared first on FamousDC.

  • HiddenDC: Soldiers, Sailors and First Ladies

    Marie Formica
    17 Jun 2013 | 9:21 am
    Settled on the edge of the Mt. Vernon neighborhood, a self-described historic hotel projects into DC an image of its near-past. Intricate eaves of the Morrison-Clark Inn lock together under an Asian-inspired, red tiled roof. Its dark, grand woodwork and bold colors lend a masculine touch, but its history and leadership were commanded by prominent women in the early 1900s.   The post HiddenDC: Soldiers, Sailors and First Ladies appeared first on FamousDC.

  • Hyper Hill: Second Best

    Morgan
    17 Jun 2013 | 6:23 am
    Pink Floyd times one million [Spotify] Clinton needs to chill out [tweets] CNN gets a new look [anchor] Photo by John SondermanThe post Hyper Hill: Second Best appeared first on FamousDC.

  • Famous Friday [Round Up]

    Morgan
    14 Jun 2013 | 12:18 pm
    NBWA’s Mike Johnson has been named the next president & CEO of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, you wish you could dance like Pelosi, for scheduling purposes – Luke Marchant will be in town July 3rd to July 10th, Congratulations to WPA Partner Chris Perkins on being selected as a “40 Under 40″ award [...]The post Famous Friday [Round Up] appeared first on FamousDC.
 
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    -- Politics

  • IRS cases were referred to ‘Group 7822’

    McClatchy Washington Bureau (David Lightman and Kevin G. Hall)
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:33 pm
    The Internal Revenue Service diverted applications for tax-exempt status from tea party and like-minded organizations to a special track known as Group 7822 for special scrutiny, according to transcripts of…Click to Continue »

  • NSA chief: Spying stopped 50 terrorist ‘events’

    McClatchy Washington Bureau (William Douglas and Ali Watkins)
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:06 pm
    The director of the National Security Agency testified Tuesday that the government’s massive surveillance program helped thwart more than 50 terrorist “events” worldwide since Sept. 11, 2001, including a planned…Click to Continue »

  • Farm bill is fertile ground for complaints

    McClatchy Washington Bureau (Michael Doyle)
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:15 pm
    California dairy processors are still trying to squeeze a better deal from a big farm bill up for House debate this week.Click to Continue »

  • Dispute over Obama’s choices for D.C. court centers on need – and politics

    McClatchy Washington Bureau (Kate Irby)
    17 Jun 2013 | 2:23 pm
    A fight is brewing over President Barack Obama's efforts to fill three vacancies on a single federal court that Republicans claim doesn't do enough work to merit them.Click to Continue »

  • IRS scandal brings out more charges of political audits

    McClatchy Washington Bureau (Kevin G. Hall)
    17 Jun 2013 | 11:59 am
    If reports of political targeting of conservatives by the Internal Revenue Service shocked the nation, they didn’t seem that surprising to many other groups who experienced problems with the tax…Click to Continue »
 
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    Democracy Now!

  • Glenn Greenwald: As Obama Makes "False" Surveillance Claims, Snowden Risks Life to Spark NSA Debate

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:33 am
    Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who broke the NSA surveillance story earlier this month, joins us one day after both President Obama and whistleblower Edward Snowden gave extensive interviews on the surveillance programs Snowden exposed and Obama is now forced to defend. Speaking to PBS, Obama distinguished his surveillance efforts from those of the Bush administration and reaffirmed his insistence that no Americans’ phone calls or emails are being directly monitored without court orders. Greenwald calls Obama’s statements "outright false" for omitting the…

  • A Medical Ethics-free Zone? Guantánamo Doctors Urged to Stop Force-Feeding Hunger-Striking Prisoners

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:14 am
    As the prison-wide hunger strike at Guantánamo enters its 133rd day, a group of top U.S. doctors and public health specialists are calling on their colleagues in the military to boycott the mass force-feeding of prisoners. In an article for The New England Journal of Medicine, three professors from Boston University write: "Physicians at Guantánamo cannot permit the military to use them and their medical skills for political purposes and still comply with their ethical obligations. Force-feeding a competent person is not the practice of medicine; it is aggravated assault." We…

  • Headlines for June 18, 2013

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 am
    Edward Snowden: NSA Leaks Motivated by "Litany of Lies" from U.S. OfficialsObama Claims Domestic Spy Programs are "Transparent"China Demands Explanation for U.S. Internet SurveillanceApple Admits Receiving Thousands of Requests for User DataRussia, U.S. Remain at Odds on Syria After Talks at G8Obama Announces Talks for Massive Free Trade Deal with EuropeProtests Against U.S. Foreign Policy, Austerity Continue at G8 SummitBrazil: Hundreds of Thousands Take to the Streets in Historic ProtestsTurkey: Scores Arrested in Raids Targeting ProtestersAfghan Forces Assume Leadership…

  • Turkish Unions Hold National Strike as Protesters Face Worst Crackdown to Date

    17 Jun 2013 | 5:54 am
    More than 800,000 people are believed to be taking part in a national strike by Turkish unions in protest of the government’s crackdown on nearly three weeks of protests. The strike follows a weekend that saw the protests’ worst violence to date. On Sunday, around 400 people were arrested as police used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in the streets of Istanbul, Ankara and other cities. Medics treating wounded demonstrators were among those detained. We’re joined from Turkey by Çigdem Öztürk, an independent journalist covering the protests for Express magazine.

  • Long Before Helping Expose NSA Spying, Journalist Laura Poitras Faced Harassment from U.S. Agents

    17 Jun 2013 | 5:47 am
    Journalist Laura Poitras is being described as the connection between the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and the reporters for The Guardian and The Washington Post who published his leaked documents about government surveillance. Poitras shared a byline on two of the key articles about the ongoing NSA revelations, and filmed the Guardian interview in Hong Kong in which Snowden went public with his identity. But well before she took on Snowden’s case, Poitras has come face to face with issues of privacy and state surveillance over her work as a documentary filmmaker. In an excerpt of…
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    NYT: The Caucus

  • The Early Word: Frenemies

    By JADA F. SMITH
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:00 am
    Political news from today's Times and a look at the latest happenings in Washington.

  • Testy Debate in Mass. Senate Race Over Term Limits

    By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:47 pm
    The Democrat, Edward J. Markey, accuses the Republican, Gabriel Gomez, of shading the truth about his discussions with Senator John McCain and term limits.

  • Biden Touts White House Progress on Guns

    By PETER BAKER
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:07 pm
    Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. resumed the White House campaign for gun control on Tuesday by reporting on executive action taken unilaterally by the administration and pressing Congress to take up legislation again.

  • The Early Word: Rematch

    By JADA F. SMITH
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:00 am
    Political news from today's Times and a look at the latest happenings in Washington.

  • Americans Are Reluctant to Aid Syrian Rebels, Polls Show

    By DALIA SUSSMAN
    17 Jun 2013 | 3:46 pm
    A majority of Americans oppose supplying military aid to Syrian rebels, but they are not paying much attention to the situation there, new national polls find.
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    Outside the Beltway

  • OTB Caption Contest Winners

    Rodney Dill
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:53 pm
    The Clown Wars Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over. Photo By JON NAZCA/REUTERS ✰ THE WINNERS ✰ First: John425 – IRS employee conference photo Second: Hal 10000 – Attempts by military personel to blend into the protests were not entirely successful. Third: jd – “I see nothinggg. Nothhh-inggggg!” HONORABLE MENTION Allan Bourdius – “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the…”, wait, what? Paul Hooson – “Just a normal day in Portland, Oregon….” Tillman – FREE PATCH…

  • Journalist Michael Hastings Dead at 33

    Doug Mataconis
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:36 pm
    Michael Hastings, a journalist who vaulted into notoriety with an article about General Stanley McChrystal’s tenure as head of allied forces in Afghanistan, has sadly passed away at far too young an age: Michael Hastings, a contributor to Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed, died on Tuesday morning in a car crash in Los Angeles at the unforgivably young age of 33. He is best known, rightly, for his 2010 Rolling Stone profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who as commander of the U.S.-led force in Afghanistan was the face of the war that Hastings saw as misguided and poorly managed. His…

  • Elijah Cummings Releases A Full IRS Interview Transcript To The Public

    Matt Bernius
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:34 am
    When last we left the stand off between the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Daryl Issa, and the committee’s senior Democratic Member, Elijah Cummings over the release of IRS Interview Transcripts, Issa had largely ignored Cummings request to begin to publicly release the full transcripts of recent interviews with IRS employees. Instead, Issa made select excerpts of the transcripts available to members of the press. Earlier today Cummings released a full (redacted) transcript of one of the interviews via the Democrat’s House Oversight Committee Page.* Well,…

  • Republican Political Calculations On Immigration Reform: Complicated, And Contradictory

    Doug Mataconis
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:08 am
    Over the weekend, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been among the most vocal Republican voices for immigration reform in the Senate going back to the last immigration reform battle in 2007, warned his fellow Republicans that they risk a “demographic death spiral” if they try to stand athwart the effort to reform the nation’s immigration laws: WASHINGTON — Republicans are “in a demographic death spiral” and will fail in their effort to win the presidency if the party blocks an immigration overhaul, a leading GOP senator said Sunday. Sen.

  • Jack Lew Finally Has A (Mostly) Legible Signature

    Doug Mataconis
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:31 am
    When Jack Lew was confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury, there was much speculation about what would happen to his signature, which would appear on all U.S. currency printed after his succession to the office. This was understandable, considering what passed for Lew’s signature while he was White House Budget Director, as shown by this mock-up created at the time: Today, the Treasury Dept. released Lew’s “official” currency signature: Much better,  Mr. Secretary. H/T: Zachary Goldfarb  
 
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    Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines

  • Greenland’s Great Melt Is Pinned On Climate Change

    editor@truthdig.com
    19 Jun 2013 | 12:44 am
    By Tim Radford, Climate News Network The forensic search for the mysterious agent that almost melted Greenland goes on. The latest suspect to be rounded up for questioning is the jet stream, scientists in the U.K. say. Related Entries June 18, 2013 Climate Change Puts Lake Life at Risk June 15, 2013 The Pentagon’s Preparations for War Against Us

  • The U.S. Military and the Unraveling of Africa

    editor@truthdig.com
    19 Jun 2013 | 12:31 am
    By Nick Turse, TomDispatch A careful examination of the security situation in Africa suggests that it is in the process of becoming Ground Zero for a veritable terror diaspora set in motion in the wake of 9/11 that has only accelerated in the Obama years. U.S. “stability” operations in Africa have increased, militancy has spread, insurgent groups have proliferated and the continent has become more unsettled. Related Entries June 18, 2013 Climate Change Puts Lake Life at Risk June 15, 2013 The Pentagon’s Preparations for War Against Us

  • Negotiating with the Taliban

    editor@truthdig.com
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:54 pm
    By Nick Anderson Related Entries June 18, 2013 Climate Change Puts Lake Life at Risk June 15, 2013 The Pentagon’s Preparations for War Against Us

  • A Moderate Mullah in Iran

    editor@truthdig.com
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:45 pm
    By Patrick Chappatte, Cagle Cartoons, Le Temps, Switzerland Related Entries June 18, 2013 Climate Change Puts Lake Life at Risk June 15, 2013 The Pentagon’s Preparations for War Against Us

  • War Infinitum

    editor@truthdig.com
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:43 pm
    By Christopher Weyant, Cagle Cartoons, The Hill Related Entries June 18, 2013 Climate Change Puts Lake Life at Risk June 15, 2013 The Pentagon’s Preparations for War Against Us
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    PunditMom

  • PunditMom Has Moved!

    PunditMom
    5 Jun 2013 | 12:07 pm
    Well, moved and rebranded, really! After seven amazing and rewarding years as “PunditMom,” it was time for me to become myself and launch new ventures. Don’t worry — I’m writing and being a pundit, but as myself — both at my new personal site JoanneBamberger.com, and as publisher and editor-in-chief of The Broad Side, and as I launch my political and social media consulting business, Broad Side Strategies. Thank you all so much for helping me find my voice and finding all of you in the process!!   Please come visit at my new homes!

  • Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer: “Lean In” and Get Your Butt to the Office!

    PunditMom
    25 Feb 2013 | 9:01 am
    Lean in! Take charge! No fear! Out with flex-time! In with face time! These are the messages two of the highest profile working mothers in America are sending to the rest of us. If  Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, and Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!’s Chief Executive Officer, have their way, women in the workplace will remake themselves in their C-Suite images which, sadly, is looking like something from the 1980′s movie Working Girl. The funny thing about their recent messages to working women is this –  some of their sentiments sound an awful lot like…

  • What Happens to Global Women’s Issues Without Hillary Clinton?

    PunditMom
    21 Feb 2013 | 10:40 am
    What’s going to happen to America’s global women’s and girls initiatives without Hillary Clinton? Clinton was a champion for women and children around the world in a way no other Secretary of State before her.  She’s brought money, attention and the political gravitas and power of the United States to a spectrum of issues and programs to better the lives of women and girls around the globe, like The Equal Futures Partnership designed to get more women into government positions of power globally, The 100 Women Initiative which is working to find ways to economically…

  • Sticks and Stones: Changing Our Culture of Teen Bullying

    PunditMom
    20 Feb 2013 | 1:54 pm
    As the mother of a seventh-grade girl, to say that I’m navigating through the treacherous waters of middle school, bullying, drama and various cyber-issues would be an understatement. Sometimes it feels like I have things under control, but I know that’s just a fantasy. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she survives, without too much trauma, what are probably the worst school years of her life. When it comes to finding advice about how to help our kids with this rough time of their childhoods, with we often turn to our schools or psychologists or social experts — but…

  • A New President Obama? Thoughts on State of the Union 2013

    PunditMom
    14 Feb 2013 | 8:12 am
    Image via WhiteHouse.gov/Official White House Photo by Pete Souza   For years, I’ve had a pet peeve with President Obama. I knew he wasn’t as progressive as many Democrats thought he was in 2008. Don’t get me wrong — I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 ad 2012. But many people the first time around thought he was going to be the champion of so many progressive causes that had been swept under the rug during the George W. Bush era. Maybe he would have been more willing to take on more social issues if he’d had a Congress that was a little less obstructionist,…
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    ThinkProgress

  • Defining ‘White’ And ‘Hispanic’ In Majority-Minority America

    Ruy Teixeira, Guest Blogger
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:03 pm
    From back when Irish-Americans weren't "white." The Census Bureau released its latest population data last week, providing a portrait of the nation through July of 2012. Among the most interesting findings was that, for the first time, deaths among white Americans exceeded births. While this does not mean, of course, that white people are about to disappear, it is nonetheless a harbinger of the vast race-ethnic changes that are leading us inexorably toward a majority-minority nation by around the year 2043. It’s also a fascinating testament to the complex, variegated ways…

  • Transgender Nondiscrimination Law Passes Delaware House

    Kumar Ramanathan, Guest Blogger
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:57 pm
    Kumar Ramanathan is an intern at ThinkProgress. The Delaware House of Representatives voted 24 to 17 to pass legislation protecting against discrimination on the basis of gender identity on Tuesday. The bill is an amended version of one that was passed by the Senate two weeks ago, meaning the bill now has to be approved by the Senate before heading to Gov. Jack Markell’s (D) desk. If the bill is signed into law, Delaware will become the seventeenth state to legally protect transgender people from discrimination. The Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act would make discrimination on the…

  • Is Obama So Feckless On Climate Change That He’s Influenced By Meaningless Dial Testing?

    Joe Romm
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:18 pm
    Juliet Eilperin drops this vial of nitroglycerin into her latest Washington Post piece: … according to several people familiar with his private remarks at the home of clean-tech entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, Obama expressed concerns about the political pain involved, saying that “dial testing” of his State of the Union speech showed that the favorability ratings “plummeted” when he vowed to act on climate change if Congress refused to do so. Not exactly “profiles in courage.” Not exactly “the Environmental President.” This may not come as a big surprise given how…

  • Immigration Bill Would Lower Country’s Deficit By $197 Billion Over 10 Years

    Esther Yu-Hsi Lee
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:44 pm
    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated on Tuesday that passage of the Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill, known as S.744, would decrease federal budget deficits by $197 billion over a ten year period between 2014 to 2023. It also estimates that 8 million undocumented immigrants would be legalized. Between 2024 and 2033, the CBO estimates that the federal budget deficits would be cut by $700 billion. The CBO’s estimate blasts the conservative argument that immigration reform is costly out of the water. The report contradicts the $6 trillion cost estimate used by…

  • One Million HIV-Free Babies Have Now Been Born To Mothers Who Have The Virus

    Tara Culp-Ressler
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:30 pm
    (Credit: Shutterstock)In a milestone for the global fight against the AIDS epidemic, this month will mark the one millionth HIV-free baby born to a mother who suffers from the virus. On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry credited much of the progress toward preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission to the significant work that the U.S. President’s Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has accomplished over the past decade. “When this disease appeared to be unstoppable, history will show that humanity and individual humans rose to the challenge,” Kerry said in a…
 
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    Slate Articles

  • Approaching Death

    Kimberly A. Condon
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:30 am
    This essay originally appeared in I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse, a collection edited by Lee Gutkind, out now from In Fact Books.

  • Trent Franks Feels Your Pain

    David Weigel
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:17 pm
    It’s the day of the vote for one of the biggest bills of his career, and Arizona Rep. Trent Franks has been sidelined. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (no easy acronym), which had been a pipe dream in the last Congress, was coming to the floor and expected to pass. The trial of Philadelphia’s illegal-late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell, and the attendant gross-out media attention, powered the bill out of committee. So, typically, the bill’s author would lead the debate on his product.

  • The Second-Term Slump

    John Dickerson
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:05 pm
    Barack Obama's poll numbers are sliding. Around Christmastime, his average approval rating, according to RealClearPolitics, was nearly 54 percent, 12 points higher than his average disapproval rating of 42 percent. Now his numbers have flipped. His average approval rating at 46.6 percent is roughly 2 points lower than his disapproval rating at 48.3 percent. If these numbers hold, President Obama is never going to get re-elected. 

  • The Whitey Bulger Trial

    Seth Stevenson
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:53 pm
    Boston tough guy John Martorano gets back on the stand this morning. I think all 20 of Martorano’s confessed murders have been covered in detail by the end of direct questioning. It’s possible we glossed over a few. The prosecution wraps up by asking him, “Do you regret your life of crime?”

  • Drop the Taper Talk

    Matthew Yglesias
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:17 pm
    Investors will be sitting on the edge of their seats Wednesday at 2 p.m. to hear the latest pronouncement from the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee. FOMC releases are always highly anticipated, but this one more than most. And the word on everyone’s lips on Wall Street all morning will be “taper”—which has become Fed-speak for reducing the FOMC’s current pace of $85 billion worth of bond purchases per month. The question is: Will the tapering begin this month, or will it be delayed? And if it is delayed, what kind of hint will the FOMC give as to when the tapering will…
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    Political Mojo | Mother Jones

  • RIP Michael Hastings. Here's His Advice to Young Journalists.

    Nick Baumann
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:46 pm
    Michael Hastings, a respected young journalist for Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed, was killed in a car accident in Los Angeles Tuesday, according to his boss, BuzzFeed Editor in Chief Ben Smith. Hastings, who was 33, was perhaps most famous for "The Runaway General," his June 2010 Rolling Stone article on General Stanley McChrystal, then the commander of US forces in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama fired McChrystal after the publication of the article. Hastings expanded "The Runaway General" into a book, The Operators, that was published in January 2012 and became a New York Times bestseller.

  • Sen. Reid: "Poison Pill" Immigration Amendment Will Get a Vote

    Gavin Aronsen
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:25 pm
    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has called an amendment floated by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) a "poison pill" that, if passed, could kill the immigration bill. Nevertheless, Reid will allow the controversial border security measure, which his fellow Gang of Eighter Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) recently called "very reasonable," to come to a floor vote as early as Wednesday before he moves to end debate and bring the full bill to a vote. Cornyn's amendment would require the implementation of four security measures before undocumented immigrants could be granted provisional legal…

  • Soros-Backed Super-PAC to New York Pols: Pass Reform or We're Taking You Down

    Andy Kroll
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:13 pm
    The deadline draws closer by the hour. In New York, the band of good-government reformers, labor unions, enviros, community organizers, religious leaders, and more have until Thursday night, when the current legislative session ends, to press state lawmakers to pass legislation combating political corruption and kickstarting a public financing program for statewide elections. Standing in their way: The odd coalition of breakaway Democrats and Republicans who control the state Senate and who are blocking the public financing bill, which passed the state Assembly earlier this year and is backed…

  • 5 New Revelations About NSA Surveillance

    Dana Liebelson
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:45 pm
    In the wake of Edward Snowden's leaks, National Security Agency and Justice Department officials testified today before the House intelligence committee about the government's controversial surveillance programs. Here are the five most interesting revelations to emerge from the hearing: 1. Surveillance has contributed to thwarting more than 50 terror plots since 9/11, according to the NSA. NSA Director Keith Alexander testified that NSA surveillance has played a role in preventing more than 50 terrorist attacks since September 11, 2001. FBI deputy director Sean Joyce provided an outline of…

  • Study: Poor People More Likely to Get a Job If They Work for Free First

    Erika Eichelberger
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:03 am
    The current share of the American population with a job is still far below what it was before the recession, stagnating at a level not seen since the 1980s. And the jobs that have been regained since 2008 have overwhelmingly been low-wage. But now there's good news for unskilled unemployed people who are interested in getting one of those low-wage jobs—working for free can help them eventually land a paid gig. A new study to be released Tuesday by a federal agency called the Corporation for National and Community Service found that jobless Americans can increase their chances of finding…
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    Crooks and Liars

  • R.I.P. Michael Hastings

    Heather
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:27 pm
    Click here to view this media Very sad and tragic news on Michael Hastings passing: BuzzFeed is saddened to report that Michael Hastings died in a car accident early this morning in Los Angeles. He was 33. Ben Smith, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief, said in a statement: We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone. Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without…

  • Open Thread

    Bluegal aka Fran
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:30 pm
    The tweet is fake, but still perfect. Open thread below...

  • Late Nite Music Club w/ Dierks Bentley & Kacey Musgraves

    Diane Sweet
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:00 pm
    Genre: CountryTitle: Bourbon in KentuckyArtist: Dierks Bentley Bourbon In Kentucky Price: $1.29 (As of 06/18/13 03:46 pm details) Dierks Bentley is readying the fall release of his next album, Riser, on Capitol Records Nashville. Here's the first release for its lead single, "Bourbon in Kentucky," which features country songstress Kacey Musgraves. She joins in on the chorus "There ain't enough bourbon in Kentucky to forget you," which serves as a tribute to Bentley's father's death. Riser was written and recorded in the year after he passed. For information on tour dates, check out his…

  • July 4th: Liberate Space from the Surveillance State

    Diane Sweet
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:00 pm
    Via OccupyWallSt: Liberate Space - July 4th - Cities Everywhere - Be Daring In a few weeks, on July 4th we call on all individuals to blockade, disrupt and disobey the architecture of repression in their own cities. We act against the surveillance state not because it has overstepped an imaginary line, we rebel against it for the simple fact that it is designed to intimidate, imprison and demoralize us. We act against it because we know that politicians, corporations and the ruling class will never listen or change. We know that it is up to us to be disobedient, that direct action is the only…

  • Immigration Debate: Cue National ID Scary Music

    karoli
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:00 pm
    I am so tired of the same ancient, wrinkled BS arguments against every single inch of progress we try to make as a nation. Gun debate? No problem, that one's easy, just cue up the argument that they're "trying to take away your guns." Health care reform? Yeah, "government takeover of health care." Now we get the usual baloney argument over immigration reform. OH NOES, we'll have to have a national identification card!!! This time, it's coming from Democrats who have concerns about E-Verify. New York Times: Driver’s license photographs and biographic information of most Americans would be…
 
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    Scholars and Rogues

  • S&R Nonfiction: “The Nobodies,” by Jennifer Pocock

    fiction
    17 Jun 2013 | 11:50 am
    Girls from the church youth group I led were taken from their home by Child Protective Services with a police escort, their step father yelling and threatening violence. They called a few hours later. With no foster parenting prep classes, no reading over the rules, no official designation, my introduction to foster care was strangely […]

  • “See You in Hell” and the dominatrix garage: The Lost Patrol drops a new video, and btw, the CD is fantastic

    Samuel Smith
    17 Jun 2013 | 9:40 am
    The new CD from The Lost Patrol, Driven, was released on May 1, and I’ve just about played it to death ever since. This is their ninth album (I think – if there’s more I missed them and need copies asap) and there’s something a little uncanny about their ability to continue mining such a distinct […]

  • Iran’s election nuclear, but not nuked

    Russ Wellen
    17 Jun 2013 | 4:24 am
    Iran has to be the only country where one nuclear negotiator defeated another for the presidency. Iran’s new President Hassan Rohani/Rowhani/Rouhani* was Iran’s nuclear negotiator with Britain, France, and Germany between 2003 and 2005. One of his opponents and Supreme Leader Khameini’s candidate of choice, was Saeed Jalili, the current chief nuclear negotiator. In what other state, […]

  • More light! More light! Reviewing Fred Chappell’s Brighten the Corner Where You Are

    Jim Booth
    16 Jun 2013 | 4:00 am
    In an earlier review of books from my 2013 reading list, I looked at poetry by one of North Carolina’s best writers, Fred Chappell. This next installment looks at one of his finest novels, the poetic and (one guesses) semi-autobiographical Brighten the Corner Where You Are. In a way, to call this work a novel is to debase it. Chappell is […]

  • Happy Father’s Day: "The Day Daddy Died"

    Samuel Smith
    15 Jun 2013 | 11:10 pm
    Today is Father’s Day, and S&R would like to wish a happy one to America’s dads. At the same time, and in the contrary spirit that often typifies what we do around here, I’d like to be the one who acknowledges that our relationships with our fathers are often less than we’d hope for. Frankly, […]
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    Power Line

  • Are Republican Politicians Really Stupid?

    John Hinderaker
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:53 pm
    (John Hinderaker) I have never thought so. On the contrary, the Republican politicians I know well are far smarter and much more hard-working than the public gives them credit for. Still, there are times when you wonder: are Republican politicians–not voters, but politicians–pathologically unable to learn from experience? The current immigration controversy is a case in point. Who could possibly consider it a good idea to bring in one-quarter to one-third of the population of Mexico to compete for low-wage jobs with native Americans? Hey, they will now be legal, so it must be OK!

  • Two Stories About Privacy: A Journalist and a Quisling

    John Hinderaker
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:04 pm
    (John Hinderaker) There is lots of talk, these days, about privacy: about cyber surveillance; about intrusive government; about whether we can feel secure on the telephone and on line. Amid all the noise, it is sometimes hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. But one story that definitely deserves our attention is the hacking of CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s home and work computers. This is precisely the kind of totalitarian scenario that people wring their hands over: Attkisson had reported on several stories that were unfavorable to the Obama administration, including Fast and…

  • CBO Analysis Confirms: Gang of Eight Bill Is a Disaster

    John Hinderaker
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:02 pm
    (John Hinderaker) The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the Gang of Eight’s immigration proposal today, and spinning is in full swing. The fact is, however, that the basic facts can’t be spun: the bill is a disaster. As with Obamacare, the Gang structured its bill to make it “score” artificially well from a budget perspective. They did this by delaying the newly legalized immigrants’ eligibility for most federal welfare benefits for ten years, which takes those benefits outside of the ten-year window that is scored by the CBO. But that cosmetic…

  • Let’s not go there [Updated]

    Paul Mirengoff
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:18 pm
    (Paul Mirengoff) Yesterday, I suggested that the most plausible scenario under which Congress enacts Schumer-Rubio style amnesty legislation is one in which: (1) the House passes very different legislation, but (2) relents in conference with the Senate, and (3) adopts the conference version with near unanimous Democrat support and a few dozen Republican votes. One way to avoid this scenario is for the House to pass no immigration reform legislation at all, not even a proposal that would merely increase border security. Then, there will be no conference. Accordingly, some conservatives on the…

  • “Marco, There’s Somebody on Television Pretending To Be You!”

    John Hinderaker
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:43 pm
    (John Hinderaker) Today the Senate voted down amendments to the Gang of Eight’s bill that were proposed by Senators Thune and Vitter. Thune’s amendment would have required 350 miles of the 700-mile border fence that was mandated by the 2006 Secure Fence Act to be completed prior to any legalization of illegal aliens. The remaining 350 miles would have to be built thereafter. Thune’s amendment highlights what a joke the Gang’s promises of border enforcement are. The fence has been required by an act of Congress for seven years, and so far less than 36 miles, out of 700,…
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    Informed Comment: Global Affairs

  • What do the Turks want?

    2 Jun 2013 | 8:17 am
    Until now, Turkey’s governing Islamist and conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) saw itself as immune to the political and economic turmoil which shook Europe, Americas and the Middle East. Having regulated its economy, especially its banking sector prior to the global meltdown of 2007-2008, AKP government believed it was on the right track. Having subsided the Kurdish insurgency in a rather peaceful manner, it thought it avoided a possible Kurdish Spring. And having dealt with the Syrian war in tandem with the international community, it was careful enough to avoid being sucked…

  • "The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Lessons from the Iraqi Refugee Experience"--a new report from the Institute for Iraqi Studies at Boston University

    18 May 2013 | 8:16 am
    Download the free report (PDF) from the IIS website.  A Kindle version is due presently, and an iBooks edition is in progress.[Cross-posted with "From the Field"]From the Foreword:Credible estimates reveal that one of every six Syrians has fled their home, or what remains of their home, often with little more than what they might carry in their arms or wear on their back. Millions have sought safety in other towns and villages, and many have been forced to flee several times to escape the crossfire of rival opposition fighters and government forces. About one and half million Syrians now…

  • Obama’s Moment to Make the Case for Middle East Peace

    11 Mar 2013 | 6:10 pm
    Boston Study Group on Middle East Peace*[Cross-linked with From the Field.]If it were easy to do, an American president would have long ago shepherded Israelis and Palestinians into the negotiated two-state peace agreement that both peoples and their neighbors so clearly need — a peace that would greatly enhance U.S. interests.There are many reasons why it will be hard for President Obama to achieve, in his second term, the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord that has eluded him and his predecessors for so long. The rise of radical one-state nationalists and ideologically driven settlers in…

  • FAREWELL, MY TYCOONS...

    6 Mar 2013 | 11:30 am
    (first published in the South China Morning Post as "Cutting the Fat"  February 25, 2013)PHILIP J. CUNNINGHAMWhen politicians stake out the high moral ground and order a crackdown, it can be a smokescreen for business as usual, or it can mean they really mean business.China’s incoming top leader Xi Jinping has signaled the media that he wants to cut back on banquets, but it is too soon to say if this means the anti-corruption campaign of the communist party led is for real, or just a smokescreen for managing public opinion while consolidating power.Excessive consumption…

  • Two headlines from ANF and a fresh scenario

    22 Nov 2012 | 8:36 pm
    Today, under two separate headlines, the Kurdish news agency ANF argued that AKP started to support paramilitary groups to cross from the Turkish border into the Kurdish region of Syria, to attack the Kurdish population who have been trying to establish an autonomous Kurdish region. Along with the paramilitaries, the agency argued, AKP is collaborating with the Salafi Muslim militants who are associated with Al-Qaeda, so to start a Kurdish vs. Arab conflict.ANF reports that so far hundreds of paramilitaries crossed from Turkey into Syria and clashed with the local Kurds. 29 paramilitaries…
 
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    Salon.com

  • R.I.P. Michael Hastings

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:42 pm
    There are so few committed truth-tellers in the world that when you lose one, it feels like a loss of more than one life -- it feels like a moment of loss for the larger world. Michael Hastings' death from a car crash is one of those moments.Michael is probably best known as the Rolling Stone reporter who had the guts to challenge the military establishment by publishing a piece that ended up getting Gen. Stanley McChrystal removed from his post. Even a brief perusal of the headlines of his reporting for Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed show that such a truth-to-power attitude defined his…

  • Country music has always been feminist, even if Taylor Swift isn’t

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Taylor Swift might not want to be a feminist, but that hasn’t stopped the rest of us from wishing that she were. Sure, she throws us a female empowerment bone every once in a while, giving the occasional public, barely veiled middle finger to the men who have wronged her (who among us hasn’t dreamed of the opportunity to do the same?), but then she does something like picking a fight with universally idolized feminist icons Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, or refusing to identify herself as a feminist, and we find ourselves once again shaking our heads at the singer, even if we are…

  • NSA spying kills my faith in America

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Dear Cary,I write to you about the idea of identity, particularly my identity as an American in the wake of the NSA warrantless wiretapping and PRISM program. Growing up, perhaps naively, I have carried this ideal of America, freedom, liberty and the right to privacy as absolutes. The First Amendment of free speech and the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches provided a base that shaped my understanding of my place and role in society. As a citizen I could anonymously say within reason almost any idea or thought without repercussions from the government. As a citizen I expected my…

  • John Horne Burns: The writer Hemingway and Vidal envied

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    In the fall of 1941, John Horne Burns, Andover ’33, Harvard summa cum laude ’37, was teaching English at the Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut. Burns was an isolationist (“I am a pacifist. I don’t want to get shot,” he had said), a linguist (fluent in French, Italian, and German), and musician, an accomplished pianist and vocalist. He was also a dazzling intellect and a would-be novelist (he’d written many unpublished ones already). He was also a gay man, as closeted as the era required but nonetheless sufficiently out to inspire his gay students, both those who knew they were…

  • Five easy steps for becoming a rape apologist

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:07 pm
    James Taranto, a well-practiced Internet troll, has come out with a Wall Street Journal editorial on military sexual assault that would make a great best-practices manual on how to be a rape apologist.Let's examine his process, shall we?Step 1: Frame an effort to curb rampant sexual assault in the military as a "war on men" If you thought that Sen. Claire McCaskill's, D-Mo., objections to the nomination of Lt. Gen. Susan Helms to vice commander of the Air Force Space Command were about Helms' decision to overturn -- against the advice of legal counsel -- the conviction of a captain twice…
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    The Daily Dish: Andrew Sullivan

  • The Best Of The Dish Today

    Andrew Sullivan
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:44 pm
    In one of those strange confluences that sometimes occur on the Dish, suicide came up twice today – both Vice magazine’s disgusting attempt to get page-views out of fashion models dressed as famous women at the time of their deaths at their own hands – and a helpful study of the major actual causes of killing yourself – not a sudden impulse or cry for help, but unbearable and unrelenting emotional pain. I have to say that Stephen Fry’s confession of his own recent suicide attempt (see video above) is one of the more moving attempts to de-stigmatize bipolar…

  • What The Hell Is Happening In Brazil? Ctd

    Andrew Sullivan
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:47 pm
    O Rio de Janeiro continua lindo! #Brazil Social Protests. Photo Joao Pedro Sa. pic.twitter.com/w1aspthiO8 — Patricia G. Ferreira (@Pat_Galvao) June 17, 2013   Dish readers supplied the initial context for the massive protests in Brasilia, Rio, and Sao Paulo. David Lavin zooms out: Brazil’s public transportation is often slow, dangerous and crowded, and these fare increases come at a time when Brazil’s decade-long economic success has slowed dramatically. Inflation is on the rise and many basic services are woefully underfunded. For years, the economy grew, the middle class…

  • Face Of The Day

    Andrew Sullivan
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:29 pm
    U.S. President Barack Obama turns to his wife Michelle as they sit in their limousine after descending from Air Force One upon their arrival at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany on June 18, 2013. Obama is visiting Berlin for the first time during his presidency and his speech tomorrow at the Brandenburg Gate is to be the highlight. Obama will be speaking close to the 50th anniversary of the historic speech by then U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Berlin in 1963, during which he proclaimed the famous sentence: Ich bin ein Berliner. By Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

  • How Much Of An Economic Engine Is The Internet?

    Andrew Sullivan
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:09 pm
    Brian Merchant reviews recent research that draws a connection between scientific productivity and economic development: New research published in PLoS One purports to show that the best way to determine how prosperous a nation is, and how wealthy it will be in, say, five years, is to analyze how productive its scientists are. ”Scientific productivity is a much better predictor of economic wealth and Human Development of a nation than other variables tracked by a number of commonly used indices proposed worldwide,” the authors state. … But the kind of science invested in…

  • Epistemic Closure Watch

    Andrew Sullivan
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:39 pm
    In Politico, Bobby Jindal attempts a rallying cry for Republicans: At some point, the American public is going to revolt against the nanny state and the leftward march of this president. I don’t know when the tipping point will come, but I believe it will come soon. Why? Because the left wants: The government to explode; to pay everyone; to hire everyone; they believe that money grows on trees; the earth is flat; the industrial age, factory-style government is a cool new thing; debts don’t have to be repaid; people of faith are ignorant and uneducated; unborn babies don’t matter;…
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    WSJ.COM

  • U.S. to Propose New Phase In Nuclear-Arms Cuts

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:01 am
    Obama is set to make the case for a new phase in nuclear-weapons reductions in a major foreign-policy speech in Berlin.

  • Officials Amp Up Spying Defense

    19 Jun 2013 | 1:49 am
    The NSA director mounted his most vigorous defense of data-surveillance programs, saying they helped thwart more than 50 terror plots and might have helped prevent the 9/11 attacks.

  • Banks Are Sticking Point in Trade Talks

    19 Jun 2013 | 1:47 am
    Analysis: An immediate obstacle in free-trade talks between the U.S. and Europe is a split over whether such a pact should include regulations of the financial-services sector.

  • G-8 Syria Talks Avert Fissure, Not War

    19 Jun 2013 | 1:45 am
    After holding bruising sessions on Syria, international leaders closed a two-day summit here mostly at odds over the long civil war but unanimously endorsing an increasingly uncertain peace process.

  • Health-Insurance Exchanges Behind Schedule

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:57 pm
    Government officials have missed several deadlines to set up new health-insurance exchanges for small businesses and consumers—a key part of the federal health overhaul, Congress's watchdog arm said.
 
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    Lew Rockwell: The LRC Blog

  • Frank Meyer on Lincoln

    Ryan W. McMaken
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:23 pm
    Neocon Rich Lowry is raging over the Lincoln issue these days. He's shocked and appalled than anyone could ever not agree with him that Lincoln, a corporate lobbyist turned tax-and-spend big government inflationist was the greatest thing to ever happen to America. Lowry even makes the laughably ludicrous statement that Lincoln "was perhaps the foremost proponent of opportunity in all of American history." As is the case with most conservatives these days, Lowry simply ignores the history of his own movement and ignores the fact that Frank Meyer, the most mainstream of mainstream…

  • Detroit's Anarcho-Transportation vs the Establishment Transportation

    Karen De Coster
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:00 pm
    Andy Didorosi, the founder and CEO of the Detroit Bus Company, is an amazing and heroic entrepreneur. Almost a year ago, I blogged about Didorosi's Detroit Bus Company, a private bus service that is introducing Detroiters to anarcho-transportation and changing the way they think about transit systems. Didorosi is expanding his gig, and quickly. He's branching out into Poletown (Hamtramck) and flirting with routes to/from nearby suburban areas. Sarah Schmid, who authored this article on Detroit Bus Company's expansion, notes: Also in the data-collection stage is Didorosi’s Take Back the…

  • Look to Libya For a Guide to Post "Liberation" Syria

    Daniel McAdams
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:36 pm
    Asked about the state of Libya after the US-led intervention to liberate the country and bring prosperity and human rights, Professor Yehoudit Ronen, a Libya expert at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, had this to say: "The post-Gaddafi Libya is a chaotic and violent state without political stabilization, without internal security for its people, without security on its borders." Asked who runs Libya these days, after the West's favorite tyrant Gaddafi has been sodomized and murdered by NATO allies, he replied: "I would say...the armed militia. They have the last word, and the ruling…

  • Adventure Tourism in Egypt

    Daniel McAdams
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:06 pm
    Post Arab Spring Egypt is a barrel of laughs. Just over two years ago the president glowingly praised the US-assisted Arab Spring, claiming a triumph of US-style values. He reaffirmed American exceptionalism and his "firm belief that America’s interests are not hostile to people’s hopes; they’re essential to them." But things haven't turned out so well. In Luxxor, home of the most important ancient Egyptian treasures, for example, US-allied president Mohamad Morsi has just appointed as new governor a member of the Gamaa Islamiya terrorist group, which which was responsible for the 1997…

  • Try Explaining This to Young People

    Michael S. Rozeff
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:56 pm
    The 5th Amendment says "No person...shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself..." This can be taught to 9th graders or earlier. So now you explain that this means you have a right to remain silent. OK, so far. But now you have to explain the Supreme Court's decision. Despite the unhedged language of the 5th, the Court says it's not true! In the words of their decision: “The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no one may be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; it does not establish an unqualified right to remain silent.” You cannot be…
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    ABC NEWS

  • The Note's Must-Reads for Wednesday, June 19, 2013

    19 Jun 2013 | 12:38 am
    The Note’s Must-Reads are a round-up of today’s political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com Compiled by ABC News’ Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen, Will Cantine and Carrie Halperin FOREIGN AFFAIRS: ABC News’...    

  • NSA: Data Dragnets Foiled Terrorism

    18 Jun 2013 | 8:57 pm
    The director of the National Security Administration today told Congress that more than 50 potential terrorist attacks have been thwarted by controversial two programs tracking more than a billion phone calls each day.    

  • Far-Reaching Anti-Abortion Bill Passed

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:31 pm
    WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted this evening to pass legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks, except in what Democrats assailed as “narrow” cases of incest of a minor, rape, and health of the mother, prompting a partisan debate on the House floor...    

  • Tea Party Fight Brewing in Alaska

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:22 pm
    Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Alaska Tuesday, ensuring there will be a Republican primary in the race to run against Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat.    

  • Can Immigration Reform Help Economy?

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:50 pm
    The immigration reform bill drawn up by the Senate Gang of 8 would boost the economy and lower the deficit, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says in a report out today. The newly released, and highly anticipated, report from the government’s nonpartisan bookkeeper comes as...    
 
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    town hall

  • A letter from me to you

    Stephanie
    17 Jun 2013 | 2:44 pm
    Dearest reader, First off, thank you for stopping by today.  I truly appreciate your willingness to read my blog and get to know me a little bit better.  I feel like I know most of you, but I'm certain that there are a number of you out there that I don't know personally and I sincerely hope that one day I may become friends with you and get to know you.  But, if you want to keep your anonymity, it's completely a-okay with me too.  I know what it is like to regularly read a complete strangers blog and desire to stay hidden behind the shadows.  I have bloggers that I…

  • Once in a while Q&A

    Stephanie
    12 Jun 2013 | 9:00 am
    I often get emails and texts asking questions about myself and my blog. So, I thought I would take a moment every once in a while to answer these inquiries. Your kids seem to like each other a lot.  How do you help your children foster positive/kind relationships with one another? For most parents, this is the million dollar question, isn't it?  How do you get your kids to get along? I grew up in a home where I was the peacemaker.  I have an older brother and a younger sister, and the two of them went at it quite a bit when we were kids.  Mostly, their fighting had to do…

  • Doing hard things together

    Stephanie
    11 Jun 2013 | 1:44 pm
    Emma and I ran a half marathon last Saturday. It was probably last January when she and her friend, Megan, informed their parents that they wanted to sign up for a race to do in the spring.  They had both just finished their first year of cross country at the high school, so the idea of signing up for a race to train for during the off season seemed like a perfect situation. So, a few weeks later, I signed Emma and myself up, and Megan and her dad signed up too.  We all started our training plans a few weeks later.  For Emma, the initial few weeks of training were no big deal,…

  • Letting go...

    Stephanie
    6 Jun 2013 | 12:14 pm
    {image via pinterest} *disclaimer* Although I did do a fairly good job in my quest to blog every day in May, I didn't quite hit the 100% mark.  And, since there are still a few good post ideas I never touched on, I'm going to attempt to cover those in the next few weeks. Isn't learning to let go the essence of maturity, of wisdom?  Letting go is moving forward.  Letting go is closing one chapter so you can open the next.  The older I become the more I marvel at, and try to embrace, the beauty of letting go. Since motherhood is my primary profession these days (and maybe…

  • While you were gone… Alice edition

    Stephanie
    4 Jun 2013 | 9:21 pm
    Dear Grannie and Papa, We are all thrilled you guys enjoyed your month-long trip back east this May.  Unfortunately, during May you missed a lot of stuff, so I'm going to help you catch up.  And, since your granddaughter Alice loves to be in the spotlight, I'll begin with her.  By the way, before every performance of hers during May she would always look over at me and say "Grannie and Papa are missing this Mom." and look kinda bummed.  But, don't fret!  I took photos, some video and of course, the minute you get back into your normal routine, Alice will snuggle up…
 
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    Mother Jones

  • The US Military and the Unraveling of Africa

    Nick Turse
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:28 pm
    This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. The Gulf of Guinea. He said it without a hint of irony or embarrassment. This was one of US Africa Command's big success stories. The Gulf... of Guinea. Never mind that most Americans couldn't find it on a map and haven't heard of the nations on its shores like Gabon, Benin, and Togo. Never mind that just five days before I talked with AFRICOM's chief spokesman, the Economist had asked if the Gulf of Guinea was on the verge of becoming "another Somalia," because piracy there had jumped 41% from 2011 to 2012 and was on track to be even…

  • The GOP Tries to Redefine Rape Exemptions—Again

    Kate Sheppard
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:02 pm
    The House debated and passed a bill on Tuesday that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks across the country. The bill, passed by a nearly party-line vote of 228 to 196, replicates laws passed in a dozen states in the past three years limiting the time period during which women can obtain a legal abortion. HR 1797, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), is not expected to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, and President Barack Obama has already threatened to veto it. But it does contain a provision that redefines rape exemptions, significantly limiting the number of women who would…

  • What Happened to the Money That Occupy Sandy Raised?

    James West
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:30 am
    An incomplete section of the destroyed Rockaway Beach boardwalk in late May squirrel83/Flickr Nearly eight months after Hurricane Sandy destroyed almost three miles of historic boardwalk along the Rockaway peninsula at the southern end of New York City, the shore hums with sounds of $140 million worth of beach recovery: circular saws, jack hammers, and tractors. While construction continues around the clock, officials have reopened beaches in hopes that a vibrant tourist season will kick-start the local economy; on this hot June day, a handful of surfers catching breaks on the city's…

  • Drone Pilots: "Overpaid, Underworked, and Bored"

    Elijah Solomon Hurwitz
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:30 am
    Mike, an MQ-9 Reaper pilot, sips coffee on his 20-minute morning commute to Holloman Air Force Base outside Alamogordo, New Mexico. Drones: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Always Afraid to Ask Holder: Obama Can Use Lethal Force Against Americans on US Soil Senators Will Get to Know When Obama Can Kill Americans—But You Won't 8 Drones That Aren't Out to Kill You Can Police Be Trusted With Drones? Google-Funded Drones To Hunt Rhino Poachers Obama Targeted Killing Document: If We Do It, It's Not Illegal Drones Could Help Conserve Endangered Wildlife Mike's morning…

  • Charts: Here's How Often Google and Facebook Say Yes to Government Snoops

    Dana Liebelson
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:30 am
    Edward Snowden's leaks have prompted many questions about government surveillance activity in the United States, including this one: How often do tech firms turn over user data to the feds? In recent years, companies including Google, Microsoft, and Twitter have released data on this front—but it's been incomplete, because the government has prohibited them from revealing the full extent of the requests they've received. Last week, following Snowden's disclosures about the National Security Agency's PRISM program, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter pressed…
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    The Raw Story

  • FBI search for Jimmy Hoffa’s body may last two more days

    Reuters
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:37 am
    By Joseph Lichterman OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan (Reuters) – Investigators looking for the remains of former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa in a suburban Detroit field could search the area for two more days, seeking evidence to prove an elderly mobster’s claim the labor leader was buried alive on the property shortly after his 1975 disappearance. Investigators widened the search area and brought in a cadaver-sniffing dog on Tuesday, but apparently did not find the remains of Hoffa, who is thought to have been murdered by mobsters. The site where FBI agents have been digging for…

  • Japan finds highly toxic strontium-90 in Fukushima groundwater

    Reuters
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:15 am
    By Osamu Tsukimori and Yuka Obayashi TOKYO (Reuters) – High levels of a toxic substance called strontium-90 have been found in groundwater at the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, the utility that runs the facility said on Wednesday. Strontium-90 is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors as well as nuclear weapons, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says on its website. The discovery of rising levels of such radioactive material is likely to complicate efforts by the utility, Tokyo Electric Power Co, to get approval to release…

  • Anchorman 2 trailer: Ron Burgundy is back – and it’s kind of a big deal

    Ben Child, The Guardian
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:55 am
    Will Ferrell and the Channel 5 news team make headlines once again, as they find their place in 1980s New York The debut full-length trailer for Anchorman 2 has hit the web, with Ron Burgundy and his team of eccentric news types relocating from San Diego to New York at the start of the 80s. The new film, which arrives more than nine years after the release of 2004′s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, sees Will Ferrell’s moustachioed lothario/sex pest transferring to a new 24-hour news channel in the Big Apple. As he tells his recruiter: “I’m going to do the thing…

  • John ‘The Executioner’ Martorano under microscope in trial of accused U.S. mobster James Whitey Bulger

    Reuters
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:41 am
    By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) – Attorneys for accused mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger will seek on Wednesday to paint star witness John “The Executioner” Martorano as a heartless killer whose testimony cannot be trusted in the trial of one of Boston’s most feared men. Martorano, a former altar boy who has confessed to 20 murders, has spent two days on the stand for federal prosecutors describing chilling executions he said were either ordered or conducted by Bulger, head of the ruthless Winter Hill Gang during the 1970s and 1980s. Free after serving…

  • Reckless British bankers could face jail: commission

    Agence France-Presse
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:51 am
    Bankers found guilty of reckless misconduct in Britain could end up in prison and be stripped of bonuses, under draconian proposals to clean up the City of London published on Wednesday. The radical penalties were put forward by an official commission which said that a string of scandals in British finance had caused an “enormously damaging” loss of trust. The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, created by the government after the Libor rate-rigging scandal which had global repercussions last year, made the recommendations in a final report amounting to a blunt…
 
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    Guardian: UK Politics

  • Shimon Peres feted by celebrities and leaders on 90th birthday – video

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:38 am
    Barbra Streisand, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton are among the guests at the 90th birthday of Israel's president, Shimon Peres    

  • Britain's soft power is greater than Gangnam Style – so appreciate it | Dorian Lynskey

    Dorian Lynskey
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:14 am
    While Asian nations pour cash into promoting culture, the UK is slashing budgets. We shouldn't take our position for grantedLike good health, soft power is something you only really appreciate in its absence. Last year, the outgoing Chinese president, Hu Jintao, wrote an essay bemoaning his country's poor performance in the cultural arms race. "We must clearly see that international hostile forces are intensifying the strategic plot of westernising and dividing China, and ideological and cultural fields are the focal areas of their long-term infiltration," he wrote, somewhat dramatically,…

  • NHS regulator exposed as 'not fit for purpose' by maternity deaths

    Haroon Siddique
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:56 am
    Care Quality Commission head says previous management was 'totally dysfunctional' after report reveals 'cover-up' over deaths of mothers and babies at NHS foundation trust in CumbriaThe head of the Care Quality Commission has admitted the organisation was "not fit for purpose" after an independent report highlighted key failures in its inspections at a maternity unit where police are investigating the death of a newborn baby.Consultants from Grant Thornton were commissioned to look into the CQC's activities in relation to University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS foundation trust, which faces…

  • Bankers banged up? They need to return to planet Earth first | Polly Toynbee

    Polly Toynbee
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:43 am
    The banking commission report takes good steps forward and makes fun reading, but can it bring a change in culture?Bang up the bankers! That has a nice ring to it, like the rioter's line in Henry VI (part two) that always gets a roar of approval, "let's kill all the lawyers". But does anyone really think any of them will land in the clink? The degree of personal recklessness would have to be extreme.The parliamentary commission on banking standards makes many sensible proposals on how to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. As another housing bubble is setting off right now, inflated by…

  • PMQs and statement on CQC cover-up and G8: Politics live blog

    Andrew Sparrow
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:32 am
    Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including David Cameron and Ed Miliband at PMQs, Jeremy Hunt's statement on the CQC cover-up scandal and Cameron's statement on the G8 summitAndrew Sparrow    
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    The Plum Line

  • Happy Hour Roundup

    Jonathan Bernstein
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:26 pm
    1. Big news on those three D.C. Circuit Court nominees today: John McCain said that he thinks they deserve confirmation votes, telling Sahil Kapur, “Elections have consequences.” There’s still plenty of time for him to walk that back on one … Continue reading →    

  • Breaking: Full House committee transcripts shed new light on genesis of IRS targeting

    Greg Sargent
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pm
    Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have just released a full transcript of testimony from a key witness in the investigation of IRS targeting of conservatives — and it appears to confirm that the initial targeting did originate with a low-level … Continue reading →    

  • Is Obama losing the public’s trust? Very possible.

    Jamelle Bouie
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:34 am
    There’s been a lot of suggestions that President Obama’s approval rating is in steep decline. There is some evidence for the view that this is a statistical artifact — the product of an outlier CNN poll that inflated his approval numbers. But … Continue reading →    

  • John Boehner is bluffing

    Greg Sargent
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:57 am
    The House Speaker, in a private meeting with House conservatives this morning, made a big show of talking tough on immigration reform, claiming he has “no intention” of allowing a House vote on anything that doesn’t have the support of a majority … Continue reading →    

  • The Morning Plum: Conservatives may be getting marginalized in immigration talks

    Greg Sargent
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:20 am
    If you want to judge the chances for real, comprehensive immigration reform becoming law this year, keep an eye on the amendment Marco Rubio is negotiating with fellow Republican Senators — the one meant to toughen up border security in … Continue reading →    
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    Watchblog: Democrats

  • May Jobs Stay Above Concensus

    7 Jun 2013 | 1:39 am
    Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in May, just above consensus of 167,000. Unemployment ticked back up to 7.6%. Nearly one million private sector jobs have been added this year so far.Despite a month that was mostly disappointing as far as economic numbers go this was another decent job report. Expect the GOP to continue to turn everything they can into a scandal to deflect away from the fact that our economy is still improving years after they said it would slide into recession and doom the "Democrat Party" forever. More good news that flies in the face of the permabears:…

  • The Hobgoblins of Small Minds

    23 May 2013 | 3:32 am
    This is politics for stupid people, by stupid people. Sometimes you have to recognize that if you want to look smart, if you want to look like you care about doing your job, sometimes the simplest thing to do is just pick more sensible ideas to be true to.I always thought it was stupid, politically speaking, tone deaf in the extreme. I mean, it's like "Let me get this straight: you pick now of all times to promote reducing the size of government?" If Coburn wanted to be completely consistent with the idea he's expressing, he could just as well have refused to vote for anything to help his…

  • America Unites with Moore, Okalahoma in Our Thoughts

    21 May 2013 | 5:58 am
    Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, the survivors, and all the rescue teams involved with the devastation that has hit Moore, Oklahoma. How You Can Help:There are many ways we can all help, and CNN has a list of needs and ways that we can all pitch in. Every little bit counts!

  • Benghazigate Investigation Continues

    10 May 2013 | 10:12 am
    This week, House committee meetings continued in regards to the happenings of the 9/11/2012 attacks in Benghazi. Once again fingers are pointing the blame on the former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. The whole agenda in this investigation is fueled by Republican interrogation to place responsibility on Obama. Senator Rand Paul proclaims Hilary Clinton is "absolutely responsible" for the 9/11 attacks in Benghazi. Paul added, "Benghazi proves that Hilary Clinton should never hold high office again." What's next for the committee is getting answers from victims and witnesses who were…

  • Decent Job Report Adds To Six Months of Decent Growth

    3 May 2013 | 2:46 am
    The BLS report today showed better than consensus job growth at 165,000. Upward revision to the previous two months brings the six month average to 208,000 jobs added per month. Unemployment ticked down just a hair to 7.5%.The good news beyond the headline numbers is that long term unemployment declined by 2.2%, or 258,000. Compare that to a drop of 687,000 total over the last 12 months and this month's change seems like good news. But this number is still incredibly high at 4.4 million people and is probably the source of greatest pain in an economy that is otherwise doing fair and headed in…
 
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    Watchblog: Third Party & Independents

  • Archaic Corpocracy

    9 Jun 2013 | 9:17 am
    A good article by George Will in today's WP re the sugar Corpocracy. The article relates that sugar subsidies were created as a 'temporary' commodity support program during the Great Depression. Recently the Senate voted 54 to 45 to continue subsidizing sugar cane and sugar beets. The article relates that 85% of the US sugar market is gov't guaranteed. Fifteen percent is allocated for imports from preferential countries with a preferential tariff. Minimum prices are guaranteed and what producers can't sell is bought by the gov't and sold at a loss to ethanol producers. Folks pay something…

  • Not So Free Speech

    31 May 2013 | 12:36 pm
    In defense of the administration, many of the partisan left are trying to label the recent scandals as 'so called' and 'imaginary'.  However, as new information makes its way to the media, and the lawsuits start to mount, even the most partisan protector of the administration must be asking themselves some very hard questions, even if they aren't being asked out loud.  One recent story was the treatment of Catherine Englebrecht. Catherine and her husband own a small manufacturing company.  Over time, she has become interested in political policy, specifically after witnessing…

  • The Spin Stops Right Here!

    27 May 2013 | 5:42 pm
    Bill O'riley' asked a Mass. Congressperson, and Tim Kane, who ran for president and James Carvel what the major problem was with the US. According to O'riley the main problem is not the debt, not that Obama is running a 'nanny' state but, the US voters/taxpayers have become so 'out of touch' with politics'gov't . He believes that most folks just want more free stuff, spend their time playing digital games, and doesn't mind joining the nanny state crowd. The Mass. Rep named on the usual suspects, debt, mortgage crisis and so on as the culprit and couldn't give a good answer as to why the state…

  • Corpocracy set to take a double header

    22 May 2013 | 11:07 am
    The Corpocracy is lined up to win a double header this summer. In the news that Apple has been harboring profits in tax havens because they can. And, the Senate immigration bill passed without a scratch. Corporations bought and paid for those tax 'loopholes' years ago so its only natural they would use them. One estimate is that over a $T is being held in foreign tax havens and corporations won't return it for use in the US until they can get a better tax deal. Hint, tax reform is likely coming. What the corpocracy wants, the corpocracy usually gets.

  • President Says "They're gonna look good next to us"

    16 May 2013 | 7:57 am
    It's more like he's going to look good next to them! What arrogance!"
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    Foreign Policy: Passport

  • Michael Hastings, 1980-2013

    Uri Friedman
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:20 pm
    We're learning tonight that Michael Hastings -- the 33-year-old journalist whose 2010 Rolling Stone profile of a remarkably unguarded Gen. Stanley McChrystal cost the top commander in Afghanistan his job -- died in a tragic car crash on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. Hastings may be best known for exposing McChrystal's critical views of the Obama administration, but he also painted memorable portraits of Gen. David Petraeus and American prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl (a blunt, aggressive, and controversial reporter, Hastings also got in the occasional sparring match with the State…

  • The Strange Letter That Has France Asking, 'Use Me?'

    Lydia Tomkiw
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:20 pm
    On Monday, France's Le Monde newspaper published a letter that has left many amused -- and others utterly confused. Investigators found the handwritten, undated letter, allegedly from current IMF chief Christine Lagarde to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during a search of Lagarde's Paris apartment in March, and it's now been leaked to the press. France 24 posted a translation of the note, which Le Monde has dubbed "La lettre d'allégeance": Dear Nicolas, very briefly and respectfully, 1) I am by your side to serve you and serve your plans for France. 2) I tried my best and…

  • The Suddenly Booming Business of Secretive Communications

    Elias Groll
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:10 pm
    For anyone in the habit of wearing a tinfoil hat, the last couple of weeks have been ones of redemption. With a steady stream of revelations about the National Security Agency's astonishingly broad intelligence-gathering activities, conspiracy theories about its reach have seemingly been validated. Those same raise a related question: Are there ways to avoid the NSA's prying eyes? It turns out there are (for the most part, anyway). And for the companies selling communication tools to circumvent surveillance programs, business is going like gangbusters.[[BREAK]] Silent Circle, a company that…

  • 'Lonely' Vladimir Putin Dominates G-8 Summit

    Elias Groll
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pm
    With the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland concluded, Vladimir Putin -- one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's few remaining allies, and the main obstacle to achieving international consensus on a way out of the Syrian civil war -- appeared before the media Tuesday to take some questions. A reporter asked the Russian president whether he felt "lonely" among other world leaders at the gathering.[[BREAK]] "No, that's absolutely not true," Putin said. "It was a general discussion, someone was agreeing and others were arguing. But Russia was never left to defend its…

  • 'Standing Man' Finder: The Spread of Silent Protest in Turkey

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:00 am
    On Monday night, beginning at 6 p.m., Turkish performance artist Erdem Gunduz walked to the middle of Istanbul's Taksim Square, which was cleared of protesters on Sunday, and, facing Turkish flags and a portrait of the country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, stood quietly. Within hours, his silent protest had gone viral -- pictures of Gunduz proliferated across social media, memes like the #duranadam (Turkish for "standing man") Twitter hashtag cropped up, and people across Turkey began imitating his understated protest (as a rule of thumb, never underestimate the power of a…
 
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    Salon.com

  • R.I.P. Michael Hastings

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:42 pm
    There are so few committed truth-tellers in the world that when you lose one, it feels like a loss of more than one life -- it feels like a moment of loss for the larger world. Michael Hastings' death from a car crash is one of those moments.Michael is probably best known as the Rolling Stone reporter who had the guts to challenge the military establishment by publishing a piece that ended up getting Gen. Stanley McChrystal removed from his post. Even a brief perusal of the headlines of his reporting for Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed show that such a truth-to-power attitude defined his…

  • Country music has always been feminist, even if Taylor Swift isn’t

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Taylor Swift might not want to be a feminist, but that hasn’t stopped the rest of us from wishing that she were. Sure, she throws us a female empowerment bone every once in a while, giving the occasional public, barely veiled middle finger to the men who have wronged her (who among us hasn’t dreamed of the opportunity to do the same?), but then she does something like picking a fight with universally idolized feminist icons Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, or refusing to identify herself as a feminist, and we find ourselves once again shaking our heads at the singer, even if we are…

  • NSA spying kills my faith in America

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Dear Cary,I write to you about the idea of identity, particularly my identity as an American in the wake of the NSA warrantless wiretapping and PRISM program. Growing up, perhaps naively, I have carried this ideal of America, freedom, liberty and the right to privacy as absolutes. The First Amendment of free speech and the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches provided a base that shaped my understanding of my place and role in society. As a citizen I could anonymously say within reason almost any idea or thought without repercussions from the government. As a citizen I expected my…

  • John Horne Burns: The writer Hemingway and Vidal envied

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    In the fall of 1941, John Horne Burns, Andover ’33, Harvard summa cum laude ’37, was teaching English at the Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut. Burns was an isolationist (“I am a pacifist. I don’t want to get shot,” he had said), a linguist (fluent in French, Italian, and German), and musician, an accomplished pianist and vocalist. He was also a dazzling intellect and a would-be novelist (he’d written many unpublished ones already). He was also a gay man, as closeted as the era required but nonetheless sufficiently out to inspire his gay students, both those who knew they were…

  • Five easy steps for becoming a rape apologist

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:07 pm
    James Taranto, a well-practiced Internet troll, has come out with a Wall Street Journal editorial on military sexual assault that would make a great best-practices manual on how to be a rape apologist.Let's examine his process, shall we?Step 1: Frame an effort to curb rampant sexual assault in the military as a "war on men" If you thought that Sen. Claire McCaskill's, D-Mo., objections to the nomination of Lt. Gen. Susan Helms to vice commander of the Air Force Space Command were about Helms' decision to overturn -- against the advice of legal counsel -- the conviction of a captain twice…
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    Capitol Valley

  • Why Payday Loans are Very Popular Today

    admin
    6 Jun 2013 | 9:35 am
    There are instances that we need to find money to handle some of our finances between our paycheck. It is important to acquire extra cash to ensure that we can budget our remaining money correctly. Nowadays, most of us are beginning to locate the best lenders who provide payday instant loans. These are actually the latest popular monetary solutions that can guarantee immediate cash to eligible borrowers. We can easily apply for these loans because they never involve document faxing. When we say no document faxing, this refers to a loan application that does not require an applicant to submit…

  • Learn the Value of Online Payday Cash Loans

    admin
    5 Jun 2013 | 9:13 am
    If you are working daily to support your family, it may be difficult to overcome unwanted expenses if your paycheck is insufficient. It is somehow hard to manage all your household bills, tuition fees for your kids and credit card bills payment. These types of expenses are tough if you have to savings that you can spend right away. Perhaps the best way to defeat these issues is to find a suitable loan provider who can assure you fast cash without scrutinizing your past credit history. Lately, the most favorable solution that you can depend will be an online payday cash loan. We have to admit…

  • The Popularity of Payday Loans

    admin
    5 Jun 2013 | 9:01 am
    For millions of people around the world, the introduction of the Internet truly offered an impressive resource when searching for information, things, businesses and more. Just like when a person decides to apply for a financial assistance, the Internet serves as a remarkable element to discover the best and reputable lending firms. Among the best financial solutions nowadays will be the short-term payday cash loans. They call these options as short-term loans because a debtor ought to pay back the complete amount within 30 days or less. Although the term is shorter, this guarantees the…

  • The Help of Payday Loans

    admin
    5 Jun 2013 | 7:24 am
    If you are familiar with the exact rules of a payday loan, it is not difficult to apply for a loan because you know exactly what to do. This type of loan is a very dependable solution because it guarantees you immediate funds that you need to repay once your next paycheck is ready. The interest rates are considerable and the term when repaying the loan is flexible. Without a doubt, cash payday loans are the most dependable options whenever you need money for your urgencies. Because they never incorporate processing fees and hidden charges, they remain as the best financial aids from countless…

  • Best Tips For Payday Loans

    admin
    5 Jun 2013 | 4:47 am
    In the past years, applying for a loan is somehow costly because you have to visit the exact location of the lender to inquire and submit an application form. This kind of scenario today improved a lot because you can easily apply for a loan without leaving your home. The available payday cash advance loans now are accessible online and offers 24/7 service in serving many loan borrowers out there. With the use of your laptop or PC at home, you can browse the Internet and locate the exact lending firm that offers quality cash advance loans. Remember that once you locate the best option, spend…
 
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    Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

  • Britain's soft power is greater than Gangnam Style – so appreciate it | Dorian Lynskey

    Dorian Lynskey
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:14 am
    While Asian nations pour cash into promoting culture, the UK is slashing budgets. We shouldn't take our position for grantedLike good health, soft power is something you only really appreciate in its absence. Last year, the outgoing Chinese president, Hu Jintao, wrote an essay bemoaning his country's poor performance in the cultural arms race. "We must clearly see that international hostile forces are intensifying the strategic plot of westernising and dividing China, and ideological and cultural fields are the focal areas of their long-term infiltration," he wrote, somewhat dramatically,…

  • Bankers banged up? They need to return to planet Earth first | Polly Toynbee

    Polly Toynbee
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:43 am
    The banking commission report takes good steps forward and makes fun reading, but can it bring a change in culture?Bang up the bankers! That has a nice ring to it, like the rioter's line in Henry VI (part two) that always gets a roar of approval, "let's kill all the lawyers". But does anyone really think any of them will land in the clink? The degree of personal recklessness would have to be extreme.The parliamentary commission on banking standards makes many sensible proposals on how to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. As another housing bubble is setting off right now, inflated by…

  • G8: what did it achieve?

    Caroline Crampton, Natalia Antonova, Richard Murphy, David Hearst, Steven Hill
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:00 am
    On tax, trade and Syria, did the G8 countries made headway at their meeting in Enniskillen? Our panellists give their verdictCAMERON: 'He led the charge on tax avoidance'David Cameron really rolled his sleeves up (both metaphorically and literally) and got stuck in this week at the G8. It's traditional that more heat than light should emerge from summits like this, but this time round, the prime minister has made it through with something more than an awkwardly-posed photograph to show for his efforts.The fact that the meetings were taking place on UK soil helped, of course, but Cameron…

  • Steve Bell's If ... on the Cameron-Putin G8 face-off

    Steve Bell
    19 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    Steve Bell's If ...Steve Bell    

  • Why Australians deserve a universal minimum income | Godfrey Moase

    Godfrey Moase
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:06 pm
    Godfrey Moase for Overland: I'd like to see every citizen receive a basic income of AUD$30,000 per year. No exceptions, no means testing. This is whyGodfrey Moase    
 
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    Stately McDaniel Manor

  • It’s Always Christmas When It’s Tax Time!

    Mike McDaniel
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:44 am
    Back on November 10, 2011, I wrote an article titled “The Grinch Heard ‘Round the World.”   That satiric little article …Continue reading »

  • A Never-Ending War II

    Mike McDaniel
    17 Jun 2013 | 1:30 pm
    People of good will often wonder why supporters of the Second Amendment and those who claim to want “gun safety” …Continue reading »

  • Testing Time IV

    Mike McDaniel
    16 Jun 2013 | 10:01 pm
    In Testing Time, Testing Time II and Testing Time III, I explored many issues relating to mandatory, high stakes testing.  However, I …Continue reading »

  • The Travyon Martin Case; Update 31.3: Of Tea and Skittles and Profiling

    Mike McDaniel
    15 Jun 2013 | 1:39 pm
    Recent comments, and the upcoming trial of George Zimmerman, including the never-ending statements of the Martin family and Scheme Team, …Continue reading »

  • Testing Time III

    Mike McDaniel
    13 Jun 2013 | 7:40 pm
    In the first two installments of this series (available here and here), I explained the many negative effects of mandatory, high-stakes …Continue reading »
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    Betsy's Page

  • Cruising the Web

    Betsy Newmark
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:44 pm
    Awwww. One congressional Democrat thinks that it just isn't fair that congressional aides as well as the Congressmen to have to be subjected to Obamacare. The rest of America is weeping for them.Sharyl Attkisson is giving out some more information on the suspicious intrusion into both her CBS work computer and her personal computer at home. It all sounds very intriguing.“Whoever was in my work computer, the only thing I was working on were work-related things with CBS were big stories I guess during the time period in questions were I guess Benghazi and ‘Fast and Furious.’ The intruders…

  • Cruising the Web

    Betsy Newmark
    17 Jun 2013 | 5:37 am
    Shouldn't we be spying on the Russian president? I don't get how this is a surprise or even a bad thing. Another new leak from Snowden is that British spies were spying on allies such as South Africa and Turkey during the 2009 G20 summit meeting. So now Snowden is out to embarrass Britain for spying on other leaders. What does that have to do with his purported concerns about NSA violating people's privacy? In revealing this information, Edward Snowden is not blowing any whistle; he's simply revealing information in order to damage American intelligence gathering. He has no freedom of speech…

  • Cruising the Web

    Betsy Newmark
    16 Jun 2013 | 8:54 am
    Kevin Arnovitz has a long story at ESPN about why people across the nation don't just love or hate the San Antonio Spurs as much as the public usually feels about a winning team. They're not flash and their players don't seek the limelight. They just get the job done. One more reason to pull for them to win two more games. They're like the good guy who finally wins the girl in the end after she takes a ride with the flashy, but lesser guy. They're the Jimmy Stewart of basketball, but I hope that this time he gets the girl.Somehow the media got a lot of the story about PRISM all wrong.The…

  • Cruising the Web

    Betsy Newmark
    14 Jun 2013 | 9:24 am
    CBS announces that it turns out that Sharyl Attkisson's computer was indeed accessed by unknown and unauthorized parties. Makes you go hmmmm, doesn't it?Ed Morrissey reminds us what Attkisson had been reporting at the time of the intrusion into her computer. Jonah Goldberg demolishes the liberal argument that libertarianism is a failed idea simply because there is no country organized on libertarian principles.Pick a date in the past, and you can imagine someone asking similar questions. “Why should women have equal rights?” some court intellectual surely asked. “Show me anywhere in the…

  • Cruising the Web

    Betsy Newmark
    13 Jun 2013 | 6:59 am
    This is rich: Bill Clinton criticizes Barack Obama for paying too much attention to polls.This will surprise no one: an academic study "blames collective bargaining for education stagnation."And this is not at all surprising either: all the lawyers working for the federal government contribute overwhelmingly to the Democratic Party. As taxprof writes, The political contribution numbers of government lawyers show that the IRS controversy is really a symptom of a larger disease -- the rule by career bureaucrat lawyers. Lawyers as a group are not politically representative of the country as a…
 
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    Riehl World News

  • Afghanistan calls off talks with U.S. on security agreement

    Dan
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:28 am
    Typical Obama foreign policy, one step forward, two steps back. KABUL, June 19 Xinhua — The Afghan government on Wednesday announced that it suspended talks with the United States on the proposed security agreement, saying the United States had contradictory stance over the peace process in Afghanistan, local media reported. via Afghanistan calls off talks with U.S. on security agreement – Xinhua | English.news.cn. The post Afghanistan calls off talks with U.S. on security agreement appeared first on Riehl World News.

  • Edward Snowden speaks to Chinese newspaper

    Dan
    12 Jun 2013 | 8:14 am
    Edward Snowden spoke with the South China Morning Post on Wednesday. Edward Snowden, the former CIA analyst behind one of the most significant government leaks in U.S. history, has vowed to expose further surveillance secrets as he speaks out again. The 29-year-old whistleblower remained defiant in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Wednesday and said he will stay in Hong Kong to fight any extradition bid from the U.S. via Im neither a traitor nor a hero. Im an American: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks to Chinese newspaper | Mail Online. The post Edward Snowden speaks…

  • Secret Service “Visits” Outspoken Twitter Critic of Obama?

    Dan
    12 Jun 2013 | 7:45 am
    Tom Francois is an outspoken critic of Barack Hussein Obama- and has a robust Twitter presence. He also likes to dabble with his “paint” program to create funny cartoons. He has never threatened the President in any way, manner or form. On April 11, 2013, he heard relentless pounding on his door shouts of “Police!” The officers introduced themselves as members of The Secret Service and asked if they could “take a look around.” via Secret Service “Visits” Outspoken Critic of Obama – Because of Twitter? – Atlanta Conservative |…

  • Syrian Islamists Executed Mohammed Qatta, 14 in front of his family

    Dan
    12 Jun 2013 | 7:40 am
    A teenager selling coffee in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo was arrested by Islamist rebel fighters for insulting the Prophet Mohammed, beaten and then executed in front of his family, a watchdog group claims. The boy, Mohammed Qatta, 14, reportedly refused to give a customer coffee, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Sunday. “Even if [Prophet] Mohammed comes back to life, I won’t,” the boy said, who was known by his nickname “Salmo.” via Teenager, 14, Executed By Islamist Rebels in Syria – ABC News. The post Syrian Islamists Executed Mohammed Qatta, 14 in…

  • NSA leakers girlfriend says shes a “pole-dancing superhero”

    Dan
    12 Jun 2013 | 5:44 am
    The girlfriend of self-avowed National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wrote that she was “adrift in a sea of chaos” after he spilled government secrets and decamped to Hong Kong. In a post on her blog, Lindsay Mills — who described herself as a “pole-dancing superhero” — said she was typing on a “tear-streaked keyboard.” Oh goody, we should turn America’s national security over not just to Ed Snowden but his pole slinging gal pal, too. Amazingly, that’s precisely what some people seem happy to do because, basically, he’s…
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    Wizbang

  • IRS To Hire ‘Diversity and Inclusion Specialist’ At $123,758 Salary

    Warner Todd Huston
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:56 am
    After repeated scandals, the IRS is looking to hire a new “Diversity and Inclusion Specialist” and is offering a generous $123,758 annual salary plus benefits. The opening was announced on June 11 and will be advertised until June 24. According to the description this “diversity” officer will “serve as a change agent to provide strategies, [...]

  • Miss Alabama 2013 Proves American Freedom is Dying

    Warner Todd Huston
    17 Jun 2013 | 12:05 pm
    Mary Margaret McCord, the dull witted “beauty queen” from Alabama, said during the 2013 Miss USA contest that she’d trade freedom and liberty for safety. This empty-headed twit proves that the liberals have won. We have lost our freedom if people care so little about it that they would trade liberty and freedom for government-sponsored [...]

  • Weekend Caption Contest™ Winners

    Kevin
    16 Jun 2013 | 10:41 pm
    This week’s Weekend Caption Contest™ was another smashing success. The assignment this week was to caption the following picture: Here are the winning entries: 1) (Rodney Dill) – “Close, but no cigar.” 2) (guido81_MA) – “Eva Longoria, may I introduce you to my best friend? I call him Even Longer-ia!” 3) (Paul Hooson) – “I [...]

  • Last Weekend’s Caption Contest™ Winners

    Kevin
    16 Jun 2013 | 10:26 pm
    Last week’s Weekend Caption Contest™ was another smash hit. The assignment last week was to caption the following picture: Here are the winning entries: 1) (alanstorm) – “Go to the next email. I already read that one.” 2) (Rodney Dill) – Kid: “Gee… I thought googling ‘Big Boobs’ would get me in trouble… but its [...]

  • Jihawg Ammo: Anti-Islam Pork Covered Ammunition

    Warner Todd Huston
    16 Jun 2013 | 9:18 am
    (And happy Father’s Day, everyone….) You know the claim, right? Islamic terrorists don’t allow any sort of pork products to come near them. Well, one ammunition company is taking advantage of that religious tenet by making bullets dipped in pork-infused paint. They say that since radical Islamists don’t like pork, these bullets may deter terrorism. [...]
 
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    Hullabaloo

  • Put 'em on the grid: CBO edition

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:30 pm
    Put 'em on the grid: CBO editionby digbyI've been saying for a long time that immigration is good for what ails us. The right disagrees, of course. A month ago one of their leaders thought he was being very clever:Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, has urged the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to consider the costs of immigration reform beyond the next decade.Sessions is concerned the CBO will dramatically underestimate the costs of comprehensive immigration reform by only projecting its costs over the next decade.He argues that the biggest…

  • Killing the messengers

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:15 pm
    Killing the messengersby digbyThere's a ton of demeaning stuff floating around about Glenn Greenwald's lack of qualifications to be a member of the vaunted journalism profession because he's just a "blogger". And even though he's written numerous books on civil liberties and railed with equal fervor against the Bush administration many members of the press that he's set out to besmirch the reputation of Barack Obama for political reasons. People can think what they want. But I can't help but be reminded of an earlier story that exposed a secret program and was brutally assailed by members of…

  • Republican misogyny may doom them faster than racism, by @DavidOAtkins

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:57 pm
    Republican misogyny may doom them faster than racismby David AtkinsIn the constant internal GOP tug-of-war between "tone it down to appeal to sane voters" and "ramp it up for the wingnut base", guess which side is winning?The Republican-led House on Tuesday sought to shore up their support from conservatives with a vote on one of the most far-reaching anti-abortion bills in years.The measure to restrict abortions to the first 20 weeks after conception will be ignored by the Democratic-controlled Senate but not necessarily by voters in next year's GOP primaries. Supporters see it as an…

  • Our secret court is totally transparent

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:30 pm
    Our secret court is totally transparentby digbyI'm sure you seen the president's interview with Charlie Rose last night by now. If you haven't you certainly should. I get the impression that he's not happy with the loss of his reputation as a champion of civil liberties, but perhaps I'm reading into it. In any case, he said a lot of interesting things that are being well parsed all over the blogosphere today. I just wanted to highlight this one little bit in this post:Charlie Rose: Should this be transparent in some way?Barack Obama: It is transparent. That’s why we set up the FISA…

  • Headline 'O the Day, Wonkblog edition

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:06 pm
    Headline 'O the Day, Wonkblog editionby digbyWelfare reform took people off the rolls. It might have also shortened their lives.I've got to ask: feature or bug?The people in the experimental welfare-to-work group were much likelier to obtain employment, but they weren’t likely to make more total income than those in AFDC, once you take cash assistance and other forms of income AFDC recipients received into account. Of the 1,611 experiment participants in the county the study focused on, 75 died by November 2011. Of the 1,613 members of the control group, by contrast, 67 died by November…
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    Eschaton

  • Overnight

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:26 pm
    Long day. Good time to get sick.

  • Evening Thread

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:13 pm

  • Skills Gap

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:48 pm
    We've been getting regular reports of employers who are deeply concerned that they don't have a vast pool of highly skilled workers with specialty training willing to work in undesirable locations for 12 bucks an hour. That isn't actually a skills gap.

  • Afternoon Thread

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:05 pm
    This has to be the most absolute stupidest thing I've ever heard: There is no question in my mind that a baby at 20-weeks after conception can feel pain. The fact of the matter is, I argue with the chairman because I thought the date was far too late. We should be setting this at 15-weeks, 16-weeks,” said the former OB/GYN during the House Rules Committee debate on the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful,” he continued. “They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand…

  • 34,000 Feet

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:37 am
    Flying is awful.
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    Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News

  • Russia's Vladimir Putin says his marriage is over

    6 Jun 2013 | 2:21 pm
    Source: [b]BBC[/b] Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila have said their marriage is over. The couple, who had been married for 30 years, made their divorce public on Russian state television after attending a ballet performance. "It was a joint decision, we hardly ...

  • Christie expected to name Lautenberg successor

    6 Jun 2013 | 1:36 pm
    Source: [b]News12 NJ[/b] New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appears poised to name a temporary successor to the late U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg. The governor has scheduled a 1:30 p.m. news conference in Trenton. However, the announcement did not specify a topic. Lautenberg died Monday a...

  • George Zimmerman wants ‘inflammatory terms’ banned from trial

    6 Jun 2013 | 1:31 pm
    Source: [b]Yahoo News[/b] George Zimmerman wants ‘inflammatory terms’ banned from trial The Lookout By Jason Sickles, an arrives for a pretrial hearing on Thursday. (Joe Burbank/Getty) “Profiled” “Vigilante” “Self-appointed Neighborhood Watch Captain” “Wannabe cop” Suspec...

  • Swimming Champion, Movie Star Esther Williams Dies

    6 Jun 2013 | 1:07 pm
    Source: [b]ABC News[/b] By BOB THOMAS Associated Press LOS ANGELES June 6, 2013 (AP) Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91. Williams's died early Thursday in h...

  • Syria Hails Qusair Capture as Foreshadowing Rebel Defeat

    6 Jun 2013 | 1:06 pm
    Source: [b]Bloomberg[/b] The Syrian governmment’s capture of al-Qusair is a “strategic turning point” marking the beginning of the end for the armed opposition, Syria’s premier said, as the army promised mercy for surrendering rebels. Retaking the city opens the door “for successive vi...
 
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    Firedoglake

  • That one shoe you may have forgotten finally dropped

    Attaturk
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:30 am
    pic via ssoosay at flickr.comI know it seems rather quaint compared to what the NSA can do, but cases against Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp continue to percolate along in regard to the hacking of phone calls. What has been missing, is a suit alleging that News Corp hacked into phones in America. Until now…and in a rather unexpected manner. News Corporation is facing its first phone-hacking lawsuit in the US after a former stunt double for Angelina Jolie launched a lawsuit alleging her mobile phone messages were intercepted by the now defunct News of the World and the Sun. The civil…

  • Late Late Night FDL: Shatner Sings

    Suzanne
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:00 pm
    William Shatner — F*ck You, on Lopez Tonight. What’s on your mind?  

  • NSA: New Sexy Attitude!

    Lisa Derrick
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:00 pm
    Sasha Grey, the 2008 recipient of the AVN “Best Oral Sex Scene” award, who volunteered for  Read Across America Compton in 2011 and caused a furor when it came out that the porn star (gulp!) had read books to first and third graders—is featured in this (parody) recruiting ad for the NSA.  Considering how cash strapped the US is, maybe the National Security Agency should charge $2.99 a minute to listen in! Sexy NSA Commercial With Sasha Grey from Sasha Grey   I wish I could come up with a way to link this to the Texas masturbating male fetuses, but it’s just too…

  • How Shell Is Trying to Send a Chill Through Activist Groups Across the Country

    Philip Radford
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:59 pm
    This article is co-authored by Ben Jealous One of our most important rights as Americans is the freedom to express ourselves. This takes the form of voting, it takes the form of activism, and it takes the form of our First Amendment right to free speech. This summer, the 9th Circuit Court in California is weighing the question of whether companies have the right to take preemptive legal action against peaceful protesters for hypothetical future protests. This will be an extraordinary decision that could have a significant impact on every American’s First Amendment rights. The case, Shell…

  • What Then Must We Do?

    David Swanson
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:58 pm
    Editor’s Note: This book was featured May 12, 2013 in FDL’s Book Salon with Mr. Alperovitz, hosted by David Dayen. If you’re like me you’ve read several books that list inspiring examples of worker owned businesses and co-ops, suggesting that expanding on such models might begin to right the wrongs of an incredibly unequal society that is growing even more unequal by the day. Gar Alperowitz’s What Then Must We Do? The best such collection I’ve found is in a new book by Gar Alperovitz called What Then Must We Do?  This book also offers a powerful argument…
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    TalkLeft

  • Zimmerman Jury Selection: 40 Pass First Round

    Jeralyn
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:54 pm
    Round 1 of jury selection in the George Zimmerman case has concluded with 40 potential jurors passing for cause on the issue of pre-trial publicity. They are: B12 B29 B76 B7 B35 B37 B51 B86 E6 E40 E44 E73 M75 B61 B72 E22 E13 E28 K80 K95 P67 G14... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Monday Open Thread

    Jeralyn
    17 Jun 2013 | 1:14 pm
    Big immigration news day: The Supreme Court strikes down Arizona's law requiring additional proof of citizenship for voter registration, and ICE raids and seizes 14 East Coast 7-Eleven stores . On the Supreme Court Case, the court held ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • New Snowden Release: U.S. and U.K. Spied on Allies During G-20

    Jeralyn
    16 Jun 2013 | 9:16 pm
    The Guardian disclosed more information from Edward Snowden today. The U.S. and U.K. spied on their allies at the G-20 summit in 2009, by intercepting telephone lines and email. Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • 3,500 Jurors May Be Called for James Holmes Case

    Jeralyn
    16 Jun 2013 | 5:44 pm
    The judge in the Aurora Theater shooting case of James Holmes wrote in an order yesterday that 3,500 prospective jurors may be called for his trial. The order, which grants the defense request for a questionnaire to be submitted to jurors in advance... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Dick Cheney Defends NSA Surveillance...Again

    Jeralyn
    16 Jun 2013 | 5:16 pm
    Dick Cheney came out of the woodwork today to defend warrantless NSA surveillance. The former No. 2 in the Bush administration defended the NSA's ability to monitor phone and email data, and labeled as a "traitor" the analyst who has admitted... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    New Republic

  • Is DOMA Headed for Disaster?

    Adam Winkler
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    Ever since the Supreme Court heard two major gay rights cases in March, the conventional wisdom among court-watchers is that we’re likely to see a split decision. The Court, according to most experts, will probably strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and issue a narrow ruling, perhaps on proce

  • Must-See Summer Art Shows

    Jed Perl
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    What do museumgoers want? Can our data-obsessed era explain what turns the average citizen into an occasional or even an ardent visitor? We all know that attendance figures are closely followed by museum officials, but attendance figures and other performance metrics miss the magic that occurs in pa

  • Boondoggle Goes Boom

    Robert Draper
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    In July 2011, an army combat team known as the Arctic Wolves moved into the Kandahar district of Panjwai, where the Taliban was born and where Osama bin Laden is said to have planned the 9/11 attacks. The area was all but evacuated—it was not yet poppy-growing season, and Panjwai’s residents ha

  • The Appeal of the Antiheroine

    Sarah Weinman
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    One wonders if Publishers Weekly contributor Annasue McCleave Wilson wishes she could get a do-over. In a much-discussed April 29 inter

  • Therapy

    Patrizia Cavalli
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:59 pm
    O give me a room in a hotela little room a little room in a hotel yes, a room a room in a hotela little room a little room in a hotel.(...and so it goeswithout end,until bored and exhaustedI fall half-deadon any old bed even unmade, even dirty.)             Translated by Mark Strand
 
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    The Fix

  • Poll: Americans view GOP in less favorable light than Democratic Party

    Sean Sullivan
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:27 pm
    FIRST ON THE FIX: Gessler poll shows trouble for Hickenlooper: A Magellan Strategies poll conducted for Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler  (R) shows him running about even with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), with the incumbent at 44 percent … Continue reading →    

  • The story of Barack and Vladimir — in 8 photos

    Chris Cillizza
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:56 pm
    The G-8 summit in northern Ireland is over.  And, while there was plenty of policy discussed – and you should read all about it – our lasting memory of the gathering will be the awkward body language between President Obama and Russian … Continue reading →    

  • 2 amendments to immigration reform bill passed, 2 defeated

    Ed O'Keefe
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:41 pm
    Updated 4:32 p.m. ET The Senate voted Tuesday on amendments to the bipartisan immigration reform bill, marking the first time since debate started that senators were making changes to the massive legislative proposal. Every day that the Senate plans to … Continue reading →    

  • Rand Paul is the most interesting man in the (political) world

    Chris Cillizza
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:45 am
    The first six months of 2013 have made two things very clear: 1) Rand Paul is running for president and 2) Rand Paul is the most interesting politician in the country at the moment. From his filibuster over drones to … Continue reading →    

  • An October governor’s election in New Jersey? Not going to happen.

    Sean Sullivan
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:40 am
    Some New Jersey Democrats have come up with a novel idea: If Gov. Chris Christie (R) wants to spend millions holding an October special election, why not move his own election from November to October to save money? It’s an … Continue reading →    
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    Blue Jersey - Front Page

  • The Myth That Christie is Pro-Business

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:18 pm
    promoted by Rosi There's a myth out there, repeated often by Democrats endorsing Governor Chris Christie, that Christie is supportive of business in New Jersey. Apparently he's supportive of big business, ludicrously large malls and failing casinos but when it comes to the small manufacturer or local retail joint he can't be bothered to help: New Jersey's investment in its network of Small Business Development Centers lags far behind that of other states, with funding levels totaling less than one-quarter of the nationwide average, according to survey results released today. The national…

  • An Early View of A Fast Approaching Primary

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:05 am
    Were you looking forward to an enjoyable summer with beach music on our airwaves, beach balls on the sand and relaxing, care-free days? Well, a Special Election primary in the midst of a General Election campaign will also generate political ads, spit balls, and political tension. In less than two months, all too soon, on Tuesday, August 13, there will be a primary for the U. S. Senate seat formerly held by Sen. Frank Lautenberg.   Although still early in the race, Real Clear Politics' average of the four June polls has "Mayor Cory Booker: 56.3%, Rep. Rush Holt: 9.8%, Rep. Frank Pallone:…

  • News Roundup & Open Thread for Tuesday, June 18, 2013

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:37 am
    Christie's October special election timetable October Senate election violates NJ law, critics argue in NJ Supreme Court briefs. Peg Schaffer Files Supreme Court Appeal Regarding Special Election. Candidates for U.S. Senate Sheila Oliver makes the case to send a NJ woman to the Senate. Frank Pallone calls for multiple debates. Christie on endorsing Lonegan: 'I've got my own campaign to run'. Do U.S. Senate Dems have the votes for the `nuclear option'? The death of Frank Lautenberg shakes up a key formula for Senate Dems. Christie A Fathers concern about Chris Christie and Right's Assault on…

  • The Lesson We Never Learn

    17 Jun 2013 | 5:51 pm
    promoted by Rosi Cross-posted at A New Jersey Farmer After 29 years in the classroom, and with a pretty savvy political sense, if I may be so bold, I consider myself a keen observer of most things educational, but this story about Philadelphia's schools made me shiver with anger from the first paragraph: Andrew Jackson School too agitated to eat breakfast on Friday, an aide alerted the school counselor, who engaged him in an art project in her office. When he was still overwrought at 11, a secretary called the boy's family, and soon a monitor at the front door buzzed in an older brother to…

  • Appellate Division Stops Christie Administration from Seizing Affordable Housing Trust Funds

    17 Jun 2013 | 2:04 pm
    promoted by Rosi On June 7, 2013, the New Jersey Appellate Division created a process the Council on Affordable Housing must follow before the Christie Administration can seize up to $165 million dollars in affordable housing trust funds needed to recover from Hurricane Sandy. As stated by NJ Chapter NAACP president, in his recent op-ed published in the Star Ledger, "At this time of extreme need, it is unbelievable the Christie Administration is attempting to seize these funds and stop the development of new homes." Over the past few months, plans to build over 3,000 homes for victims of…
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    xpostfactoid

  • How now, Politico?

    ASP
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:38 pm
    A double dactyl in honor of Politico's  founders, who defiantly dished out their credo to TNR's Isaac Chotiner today: Rubio cubio,Harris and VandeHeirivet the Capitol:"Who the day won?"Beltway CWretailed so thrillingly --consciously, willinglyget themselves spun.

  • Healthcare consolidation perverted by pricing power

    ASP
    16 Jun 2013 | 6:09 am
    Last week, I noted Eduardo Porter's warning that the ACA was spurring hospital consolidation, which increases the hospitals' pricing power. That's the downside of consolidation. Below, that post is updated with a snapshot of the upside of consolidation, realizable when the power to set prices lies elsewhere. --- Eduardo Porter today spotlights a key factor in healthcare inflation: consolidation among hospitals and other healthcare providers:What is missing from the stampede of policy innovation is something to tackle one of the best-known causes of high costs in the book: excessive market…

  • Did Obama just cross a Rubicreek in Syria?

    ASP
    14 Jun 2013 | 9:38 am
    Just how much of a game changer was the Obama administration's announcement yesterday that it would start providing lethal aid to selected Syrian rebels?  This was one case where the feints and false starts in the news-breaking process suggest that there may have been less of a departure from existing policy than meets the eye. At least, that's what my absorption of the news over an evening and morning suggested to me.At around 4:45 ET yesterday, a short item in the WSJ Online reported rather ambiguously about a U.S. "proposal" to establish a no-fly zone in a strategic 25-mile sliver of…

  • Do past abuses of personal data point toward future abuses of NSA metadata collection?

    ASP
    13 Jun 2013 | 6:28 am
    Stephen Walt spotlights why we worry about metadata collection:The real risk to our democracy is what this situation does to potential dissenters, whistle-blowers, investigative journalists, and anyone else who thinks that some aspect of government policy might be boneheaded, unethical, or maybe even illegal. If you are one of those people -- even on just a single issue -- and you decide to go public with your concerns, there's a possibility that someone who doesn't like what you are doing will decide to see what they can find out about you. It doesn't have to be the attorney general either;…

  • Healthcare competition is good. Uniform pricing is better

    ASP
    12 Jun 2013 | 7:01 am
    Eduardo Porter today spotlights a key factor in healthcare inflation: consolidation among hospitals and other healthcare providers:What is missing from the stampede of policy innovation is something to tackle one of the best-known causes of high costs in the book: excessive market concentration. Two decades ago, there were on average about four rival hospital systems of roughly equal size in each metropolitan area, according to research by Martin S. Gaynor of Carnegie Mellon University and Robert J. Town of the University of Pennsylvania. By 2006, the number of competitors was down to…
 
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    Marbury

  • just coincidence?

    Ian Leslie
    8 Jun 2013 | 2:26 am
    Here's GCHQ: Here's the new Apple campus: I'm scared. Somebody call Dan Brown.

  • james can't

    Ian Leslie
    5 Jun 2013 | 5:14 am
    OK not this one. This one. For those of you who haven't been following, this is how it goes: government appoints James Caan, a self-made millionaire and former judge on Dragon's Den, to be its "social mobility tsar". In his first public statement Caan makes the bold and admirable assertion that parents should resist the instinct to help their children up the career ladder: "I fully understand that parents would want to do the best for their children. But...I don't think it's good to create a society where people get jobs based on who you know rather than…

  • save our souls

    Ian Leslie
    31 May 2013 | 3:30 am
    Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil CEO (Photo: Dave Rossman) “What good is it to save the planet if humanity suffers?” This plainitive question was posed by Rex Tillerson, head of ExxonMobil, at the company's annual meeting this week. Tillerson was arguing that if oil production is cut at the rate and speed demanded by environmental activists, billions of people will be condemned to poverty (he wasn't talking about himself, of course). For these words, Tillerson was awarded Andrew Sullivan's much coveted Malkin Award, for hyperbolic and intemperate right-wing rhetoric, and accused…

  • on the stupidity of ken

    Ian Leslie
    23 May 2013 | 4:54 am
    If for any reason you regret Boris Johnson's victory over Ken Livingstone a year ago, just be glad that it's only a former mayor of London who issued this statement today: In 2002, before the invasion of Iraq, the security services warned the Prime minister, Tony Blair, that this would make Britain a target for terrorist attacks. We are still experiencing the dreadful truth of this warning. The multi-faceted stupidity of this statement is hardly worth your time or mine but here are a few observations. First, why didn't he make this point after the 7/7 bombings, when he was…

  • how andrew mitchell saved cameron

    Ian Leslie
    22 May 2013 | 5:10 am
    I hate to say I told you so (actually I love it, like everyone else) but when the twittersphere was exploding at news of swivelgate on Saturday I predicted that it would soon come to be seen as a storm in a wine glass. So it has proved. After Cameron's solid Today programme interview this morning, the wagons have moved on. Nobody has been shot. That's not to say that the affair hasn't left rancour and bitterness in its wake, among the press - whose members have been called liars - and possibly among Tory activists (I don't know any so can't comment, although I suspect…
 
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    Hendrik Hertzberg

  • No News is Good News

    Hendrik Hertzberg
    8 Jun 2013 | 12:14 pm
    In late May, Cheerios launched a thirty-second spot called “Just Checking,” produced by the firm of Saatchi and Saatchi. “Just Checking” features a white mom and a black dad, whose adorable little girl is “just checking” to see if Cheerios really are good for your heart. The end frame highlights the word “Love.” With a Cheerio for the period, of course. The ad has been viewed some 3.3 million times on YouTube, though not in all cases approvingly. In fact, General Mills, the cereal’s parent company, ended up disabling the video’s…

  • “ ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists.”

    Hendrik Hertzberg
    3 Jun 2013 | 11:31 am
    The new Pope has been saying interesting things of late, including (but not limited to) some remarkably kind words for me and my co-irreligionists. Consider this, from Vatican Radio’s account of a recent Papal pronouncement: ...read more

  • “Diet Overlords” vs. Legal Overlards

    Hendrik Hertzberg
    22 May 2013 | 1:39 pm
    The Washington Legal Foundation—a sort of right-wing A.C.L.U. without the civil, the liberties, or the union, though it is, of course, proudly American—took up a quarter of the Times’ Op-Ed page yesterday with an advertisement notable for its use of scare quotes. Scare quotes, as you are no doubt aware, are quotation marks used not in order to mark off verbatim quotations, highlight unfamiliar phrases, or indicate book titles and the like but in order to be heavily “ironic,” if you “get my drift.” The Foundation, taking a break from defending…

  • Summers of “42”

    Hendrik Hertzberg
    18 May 2013 | 10:17 am
    Junior Gilliam, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson… That’s how I remember the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 1956 lineup from the one time my dad took me to Ebbets Field to see the team I had loved since my age was in single digits. I can’t recall who was eighth in the batting order (Don Zimmer maybe?) or who was pitching, or who the other team was, or who won. But I do remember exactly where we were sitting—around twenty rows back in the upper deck, halfway between third and home. I remember the tall right field fence, the…

  • Total Information Awareness: The Sequel

    Hendrik Hertzberg
    17 May 2013 | 8:41 am
    In the Comment for this week’s magazine, while acknowledging the seeming efficacy of the government’s anti-terrorist program over the past decade, I do some hand-wringing about the immense data-collecting, data-mining, data-interpreting snoopocracy that has grown up in the nearly twelve years since 9/11. I liken the purpose of this electronic behemoth to that of the “precogs” in Steven Spielberg’s movie, “Minority Report”: stopping crimes (murder in the movie, terrorism in the current real world) before they’re committed. ...read more
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    Restoring Truthiness

  • Bugsy ‘effin Malone

    Hank Griffin
    14 Jun 2013 | 10:47 pm
    Bugsy ‘effin Malone Recognizer her? That’s Jodie Foster.  Jodie Foster covered in cream pie which what the guns shot in the movie Bugsy Malone. I recalled this scene when I heard about a letter a boy wrote to President Obama suggesting that the solution to gun violence was chocolate bullets.  Awe, isn’t that sweet. And whaddya know,  Joe Biden writes back to say it’s a great idea: If we had guns that shot chocolate, then not only would our country be safer, it would be happier. You are a good boy, -Joe Biden Well that’s a kid that’s never felt the kick…

  • NSA Makes First Arrest In Cyber War On Terror and It’s One of Their Own

    Bill Dixon
    7 Jun 2013 | 12:27 pm
    NSA Makes First Arrest In Cyber War On Terror and It’s One of Their OwnHeadquarters of the NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland. Español: Instalaciones generales de la NSA en Fort Meade, Maryland. Русский: Штаб-квартира АНБ, Форт-Мид, Мэриленд, США (Photo credit: Wikipedia)   The NSA has been secretly gathering information on people via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter for the past six years through a top secret program. According to secret documents obtained by RestoringTruthiness, it appears the NSA has made their first arrest in…

  • Politics: DOMA-Frog Legs For Dinner

    Alexandria Love
    14 May 2013 | 5:24 pm
    Politics: DOMA-Frog Legs For Dinner   Emperor Augustus (63 BCE – 14 CE). (Photo credit: Wikipedia) There is no question that the marriages have been around since one could recall the beginning of time. However, it was under Emperor Augustus when marriage became more of a… ” legal institution”.   Augustus’s Leges Juliae (Julian Laws) of 18 – 17 BC attempted to elevate morals and increase the population by encouraging marriage and having children. It also attempted to legitimize natural children by having the parents marry in order to acknowledge…

  • Endangered Doodles and the State of Education

    Trevor Reece
    30 Apr 2013 | 1:28 pm
    Endangered Doodles and the State of Education Restoring Truthiness

  • How Mainstream Media Can Better Handle National Tragedies

    Bill Dixon
    19 Apr 2013 | 9:30 am
    How Mainstream Media Can Better Handle National TragediesTV2-teamet med Nils Gunnar Lie (Photo credit: aktivioslo) 1. For the Love of Everything Holy, Stop Telling Me How to Make Bombs Stop telling me how easy it is to make a bomb. I spent the afternoon of the Boston Marathon bombing in L.A. traffic, screaming at my radio as they told me just how easily I could make my very own explosive or incendiary device. “From what we are understanding, the bomb was a simple device made from everyday items you might find in your own kitchen.  All you need is ____________, ___________ and a little…
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    Reuters: Politics

  • Massachusetts Senate candidates spar on U.S. surveillance programs

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:23 pm
    BOSTON (Reuters) - The Republican underdog fighting for Massachusetts' open U.S. Senate seat in a Tuesday debate attacked his rival, a veteran Democratic congressman, over recently revealed programs in which federal agencies track Americans' use of phones and the Internet.

  • Republican-led House passes bill restricting abortion

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:12 pm
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation severely restricting abortions, a move that could alienate women from the conservative party.

  • NSA head, lawmakers defend surveillance programs

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:33 pm
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the National Security Agency said U.S. surveillance programs had helped disrupt more than 50 possible attacks since September 11, 2001, as sympathetic members of Congress also defended the use of the top-secret spying operations.

  • United States to meet Taliban to seek Afghan peace

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:27 pm
    WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The United States and the Taliban raised hopes on Tuesday for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan with commitments to meet this week after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents.

  • Senate immigration bill to aid economy, budget office says

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:13 pm
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House-backed bill to overhaul the U.S. immigration system got a boost on Tuesday when the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that the measure would cut federal budget deficits and boost the U.S. economy.
 
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    Slashdot: Politics

  • Nicaragua Gives Chinese Firm Contract To Build Alternative To Panama Canal

    timothy
    11 Jun 2013 | 6:25 am
    McGruber writes with this news from late last week: "The Guardian is reporting that Nicaragua has awarded a Chinese company a 100-year concession to build an alternative to the Panama Canal, in a step that looks set to have profound geopolitical ramifications. The new route will be a higher-capacity alternative to the 99-year-old Panama Canal, which is currently being widened at the cost of $5.2bn. Last year, the Nicaraguan government noted that the new canal should be able to allow passage for mega-container ships with a dead weight of up to 250,000 tonnes. This is more than double the size…

  • The Free State Project, One Decade Later

    samzenpus
    10 Jun 2013 | 6:43 am
    Okian Warrior writes "About a decade ago Slashdot ran an article about the Free State Project: an attempt to get 20,000 liberty-minded activists to move to one state (they chose NH) and change the political landscape. Eleven years on, the project is still growing and having an effect on statewide politics. NPR recently ran a program discussing the movement, its list of successes, and plans for the future. The FSP has a noticeable effect on politics right now — still 6,000 short of their 20,000 goal, and long before the members are scheduled to move to NH."Read more of this story at…

  • Scientists Explain Why Chairman of House Committee On Science Is Wrong

    samzenpus
    9 Jun 2013 | 2:30 pm
    Lasrick writes "Michael Oppenheimer and Kevin Trenberth take apart Rep. Lamar Smith's (R-Tex.) Washington Post op/ed on climate science saying: 'Contrary to Smith's assertions, there is conclusive evidence that climate change worsened the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy. Sea levels in New York City harbors have risen by more than a foot since the beginning of the 20th century. Had the storm surge not been riding on higher seas, there would have been less flooding and less damage. Warmer air also allows storms such as Sandy to hold more moisture and dump more rainfall, exacerbating…

  • What Charles G. Koch Can Teach Us About Campaign Finance Data

    timothy
    8 Jun 2013 | 12:46 pm
    Lasrick writes "Lee Drutman is a political scientist with the Sunlight Foundation who does terrific work. In this article, he attempts to trace campaign donations made by one of the Koch Brothers and discovers just how difficult it is to do: 'The case of Charles G. Koch is a nice lesson in just how hard it is to determine who is breaking and who is abiding by campaign finance limits. It's hard to make accurate tallies of individual aggregate campaign contributions when the Federal Elections Commission doesn't require donors to have a unique ID, and when campaigns don't always reliably report…

  • The NSA: Never Not Watching

    timothy
    6 Jun 2013 | 11:12 am
    Trailrunner7 writes "For many observers of the privacy and surveillance landscape, the revelation by The Guardian that the FBI received a warrant from the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to require Verizon to turn over to the National Security Agency piles of call metadata on all calls on its network probably felt like someone telling them that water is wet. There have been any number of signals in the last few years that this kind of surveillance and data collection was going on, little indications that the United States government was not just spying on its own citizens,…
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    The Independent: On The Campaign Trail

  • iBet: Look To The Lady In The Prince Of Wales

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:01 pm
    The Prince of Wales Stakes today is regarded by many as the No1 race of the Royal Ascot meeting and with all 11 runners standing their ground at the declaration stage we certainly have a field to do the race justice, with more than half of them having already won a race worth over £100,000 and two of them (Camelot and Red Cadeaux) having races worth over £700,000 under the belt.

  • “I’m not going to do ANYTHING for you”

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:17 pm
    Time for the monthly treat from David Hayes, who writes about British politics for the Australian Inside Story.

  • The Chagos conspiracy

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:48 am
    Lord Justice Richards and Mr Justice Mitting's recent decision in the High Court the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) hardly comes as a surprise.

  • David Cameron and other virile swimmers

    18 Jun 2013 | 8:42 am
    By boasting of his early morning dip in the water, David Cameron is using a propaganda technique once brilliantly deployed by Mao Tse-tung

  • When Brown feared that Blair wouldn’t go ahead with Iraq

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:45 am
    The UK’s participation in the invasion of Iraq was briefly in doubt, nine days before the bombing began, a hesitation that I discuss in the Afterword to the new edition of Tony Blair: Prime Minister, to be published on Thursday. I chose that day, 11 March 2003, as the focus of the exclusive extract in [...]
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    Reason.com Full Feed

  • Video: What if Miss Utah Gave the Correct Answer at the Miss USA Pageant?

    Todd Krainin
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:10 pm
    Instead of a series of awkward silences, punctuated by the vacuous desire to "create education better," do you wonder what might have happened if the lovely Marisa Powell had prepared for the pageant by, say, studying a relevant article about the gender wage gap at Politifact? Imagine no longer.  "What if Miss Utah Gave the Correct Answer at the Miss USA Pageant?" is the latest from Reason TV?  Watch above or click on the link below for video, full text, supporting links, downloadable versions, and more Reason TV clips. View this article.

  • What John McCain's Immigration Dishonesty Tells Us About the Folly of Comprehensive Reform

    Matt Welch
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:00 pm
    The New Yorker this week has published an exhaustive—and exhausting—account of the Senate's attempts thus far to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The article, by Ryan Lizza, focuses on the "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of legislative negotiators whose non-negotiable criteria for membership was that participants had to favor "a comprehensive approach to immigration—all the major issues had to be settled in one bill—and they had to support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants." Tuck away those groundrules for later. The lead character in Lizza's story is Gang…

  • What if Miss Utah Gave the Correct Answer at the Miss USA Pageant?

    Todd Krainin
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:49 pm
    Imagine if Miss Utah's answer during the 2013 Miss USA Pageant had been something much better than a series of awkward silences, punctuated by the vacuous desire to "create education better"? Instead of primping and preening, imagine what would've happened if the lovely Marisa Powell had prepared for the pageant by, say, studying a relevant article about the gender wage gap at Politifact? If only Miss Powell had been a subscriber to Reason magazine, she would've been ready for "celebrity" judge NeNe Leakes' sneaky gotcha question! Well, imagine no longer.  About one…

  • Michael Hastings, R.I.P.

    Brian Doherty
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:12 pm
    Michael Hastings, a great young journalist whose reporting from Afghanistan for Rolling Stone ended the active career of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and whose excelllent book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan limned in vivid detail the futility and madness of our Afghanistan intervention, died today in a car crash in Los Angeles at age 33, according to a report from BuzzFeed. I interviewed Hastings in Reason's June 2012 issue. He and his future reporting will be missed.

  • Obama: Spilling Secrets Is Bad When It Scares People, Good When It Reassures Them

    Jacob Sullum
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:37 pm
    In an interview with Charlie Rose that aired last night, President Obama said that despite his defense of the NSA's recently revealed surveillance programs, he continues to believe "we don't have to sacrifice our freedom in order to achieve security," which he called "a false choice." Still, he said, "that doesn't mean that there are not tradeoffs involved in any given program or any given action that we take." The first example he gave was telling: All of us make a decision that we go through a whole bunch of security at airports....When we were growing up, that wasn't the case, right? You…
 
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    Lehigh Valley Conservative

  • BIG BROTHER IS LOOKING

    The Outsider
    17 Jun 2013 | 6:34 pm
    This is from my good friend Clyde. Big Brother is Looking…. ……and under the watchful eyes of Barack and Hillary, just see what has been accomplished: Fast and Furious - several in this administration, the B.A.T.F., and Erick Holder are accessories to murder and should be in jail. The Benghazi killings - just let them die, they wanted them dead because dead people can’t talk. The I.R.S. - monitors those who object to waste because they and this administration want more money to waste. The N.S.A phone and e-mail records - check on everyone, they’ll get blackmail info on tea party…

  • Cause And Affect

    Randy Toman
    4 Jun 2013 | 3:35 pm
    There is a myth attached to what had become know as the “Copernican Revolution” (Nicolaus Copernicus 1473-1543)–it was all where man saw himself and how he was no longer the center of the universe and his earth no longer the center point around which all things revolved. This realization changed nothing in his focus of how man and his planet fit into the cosmos, with nothing changing in his relationship to God. Man understanding of his position and the vastness of the universe, with God’s glory surrounding this concept and the coming attack had everything to do with…

  • Are We Close To This?

    Randy Toman
    24 May 2013 | 9:59 am
    John Adams said; “We have no government capable of dealing with an irreligious people.” Why is this and can’t we separate the religion of the founding fathers from the government formed by those fathers? And what is to be lost if that founding religion (Christianity) is excluded from influencing that government? Before I show you what I think has happen let me quickly say—Note well John Adams understood the two spheres (Church & State) for he said rightly “…an irreligious people.” For without the rightness of a proper religion in the people you will never have…

  • Insanity or Political Arrogance?

    The Outsider
    21 May 2013 | 2:46 pm
    Do the American people know that the Fort Hood shooter still receives a salary? “The Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others during a shooting at Fort Hood has reportedly been paid more than $278,000 since the 2009 incident” “U.S. Department of Defense officials confirmed to NBCDFW.com that Maj. Nidal Hasan’s salary cannot be suspended unless he is proven guilty in the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting in Texas, citing the Uniform Code of Military Justice” On top of that we have this! “The White House and Pentagon have refused to characterize…

  • As He Thinketh

    Randy Toman
    11 May 2013 | 12:06 pm
    Disraeli’s famous description of one of his opponents: “He had only one idea and it was wrong.” Life with its surrounding culture is becoming increasingly confusing, the so called good guys have lost their ability to convince the other they have the correct position. They have lost the ability to frame the argument and with it the ability to give convincing standards that will win the day. Why have we lost the standards by which we must live? What is this element that has been lost? We have lost the ability to argue from the Bible because we do not believe that is to be the…
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    National Review Online - The Corner

  • Drop the Pimp Talk

    Mona Charen
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:56 am
    In the Food section of today’s Washington Post you can find a recipe for “Dad’s Pimped-Out Gin and Tonic.” We’re supposed to think this is cute, as we were invited to chuckle at the HBO show “Pimp my Ride,” or at the 2005 Academy Award for best movie song to “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” Pimps aren’t funny or cute. Ask any cop who’s dealt with them. They are brutal rapists who frequently hold women in what amounts to slavery. The mainstreaming of the word, with its hip connotations, is revolting.    

  • Pa. Union Ad: Privatizing Liquor Stores Will Kill People

    Patrick Brennan
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:52 pm
    At the Manhattan Institute's PublicSectorInc, Steve Malanga writes about the ongoing battle in Pennsylvania to privatize the state's alcohol business, which is just about the most dysfunctional and ridiculously regulated in the nation (after Utah's, of course). In addition to a whole lot of other bizarre regulations, wine and spirits can only be sold in the state of Pennsylvania from stores that are run by the state's liquor monopoly, which employs several thousand organized workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. Their political power, naturally, pushes up…

  • Deplorable

    Kathryn Jean Lopez
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:19 pm
    The "National Organization for Women" -- I assume Marsha Blackburn and I don't fall under their "women" umbrella -- "deplores" House passage of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. NOW is "appalled" by the vote.  Words like these could be put to better use calling attention to the deplorable, appalling acts we tolerate in the name of women's rights and health, of course.  "Anyone who thinks the Republican leadership's war on women is moderating, let alone over, is mistaken," NOW insists in their statement.  How can anyone not see through this? Wake…

  • Krauthammer's Take: Hillary 'Eminently Defeatable' in 2016

    NRO Staff
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:32 pm
    Charles Krauthammer called Hillary Clinton "eminently defeatable" in a general election and welcomed her early-frontrunner status among 2016 Democratic presidential hopefuls: "I think if she wants the nomination, it'll be handed to her. Obviously the party's swooning and believing that she's inevitable . . . She was inevitable in 2008 as well; it didn't exactly work out." Krauthammer offered a distinctly underwhelmed assessment of Clinton's record since her last stay in the White House: "I thought as a senator she was rather good, but people speak about her as a…

  • Home Invasion

    Mark Krikorian
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:30 pm
    Over the weekend, a mob of maybe 100 pro-amnesty protesters swarmed around the home of Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, a prominent immigration hawk, chanting "Si, se puede." Kobach, his wife, and their four girls happened to be out of town, but you can see from the video that people are crowded on his front porch and steps, his driveway, and front lawn. The Left thinks the story is Kobach's pointing to the outrage as an example of why we need the Second Amendment. (It took cops 15 minutes to show up.) Kobach's right, of course, but the real issue is that political protests should…
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    The American Prospect

  • The Boehner Ultimatum

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:26 pm
    Sometimes it's hard to tell which Republicans in Congress fear more: immigration reform passing, or immigration reform not passing. They need to help pass reform to show America's Latino voters that, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, the Republican party doesn't actually hate them. But their base doesn't actually like the idea of comprehensive reform, particularly if it involves a path to citizenship (even a long and painful one). What to do? In the Senate, where six-year terms allow for a longer view and members represent entire states, immigration reform probably has more than…

  • David Brooks and the Anti-Neuroscience Backlash

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:52 pm
    Neuroscience has come a long way in recent years. Our understanding of the brain is expanding rapidly, even as we grasp more and more just how spectacularly complex the blob in your head is. And as we gain new understanding and new tools to look at what's going on in the brain, like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), it's not surprising that there are people—both legitimate scientists and hucksters—eager to push the technology where it might not be quite prepared to go. For instance, people are working on turning fMRI machines into lie detectors; there are even companies that…

  • Your Guide to the Polls on U.S. Military Involvement in Syria

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:06 am
    It's obviously a bad idea for the administration to decide whether to jump into a whole new Middle East quagmire based on whether the famously inattentive and uninformed American public thinks it's a good idea. Nevertheless, public opinion is inevitably going to play a role in President Obama's decision-making on this. That isn't to say Obama won't take any particular step unless the polls show the public approves, but any time a politician does something unpopular, he'll always be looking over his shoulder a little bit. So what do the American people think about the prospect of American…

  • Oops, Will Perry Do It Again?

    Abby Rapoport
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:40 am
    As soon as Rick Perry uttered his infamous “oops” during the Republican presidential primary, most Americans likely figured the Texas governor’s political career would soon fade to black. Even before he forgot which federal departments he wanted to axe, Perry’s performance had been less than inspiring, and the aftermath only made things worse, culminating with an overtly homophobic ad complaining that “there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” I’m guessing once Perry…

  • John Oliver's Summer Audition

    Tom Carson
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:02 am
    AP Photo/Charles Dharapak What did we learn from John Oliver's debut week hosting The Daily Show? We learned that Jon Stewart is nobody's fool. Stewart may be restless enough with his long-standing gig to take the summer off playing movie director, but that doesn't mean he wants a dauphin getting funny ideas. Oliver is an ideal placeholder—skillful, amusing, adding just enough novelty that he doesn't come off as a direct imitation. But he's plainly not a guy to go rogue and seize the opportunity to make us not miss our Jon. Supposing Obama were temporarily incapacitated, could we rely on…
 
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    The American Prospect

  • The Boehner Ultimatum

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:26 pm
    Sometimes it's hard to tell which Republicans in Congress fear more: immigration reform passing, or immigration reform not passing. They need to help pass reform to show America's Latino voters that, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, the Republican party doesn't actually hate them. But their base doesn't actually like the idea of comprehensive reform, particularly if it involves a path to citizenship (even a long and painful one). What to do? In the Senate, where six-year terms allow for a longer view and members represent entire states, immigration reform probably has more than…

  • David Brooks and the Anti-Neuroscience Backlash

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:52 pm
    Neuroscience has come a long way in recent years. Our understanding of the brain is expanding rapidly, even as we grasp more and more just how spectacularly complex the blob in your head is. And as we gain new understanding and new tools to look at what's going on in the brain, like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), it's not surprising that there are people—both legitimate scientists and hucksters—eager to push the technology where it might not be quite prepared to go. For instance, people are working on turning fMRI machines into lie detectors; there are even companies that…

  • Your Guide to the Polls on U.S. Military Involvement in Syria

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:06 am
    It's obviously a bad idea for the administration to decide whether to jump into a whole new Middle East quagmire based on whether the famously inattentive and uninformed American public thinks it's a good idea. Nevertheless, public opinion is inevitably going to play a role in President Obama's decision-making on this. That isn't to say Obama won't take any particular step unless the polls show the public approves, but any time a politician does something unpopular, he'll always be looking over his shoulder a little bit. So what do the American people think about the prospect of American…

  • Oops, Will Perry Do It Again?

    Abby Rapoport
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:40 am
    As soon as Rick Perry uttered his infamous “oops” during the Republican presidential primary, most Americans likely figured the Texas governor’s political career would soon fade to black. Even before he forgot which federal departments he wanted to axe, Perry’s performance had been less than inspiring, and the aftermath only made things worse, culminating with an overtly homophobic ad complaining that “there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” I’m guessing once Perry…

  • John Oliver's Summer Audition

    Tom Carson
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:02 am
    AP Photo/Charles Dharapak What did we learn from John Oliver's debut week hosting The Daily Show? We learned that Jon Stewart is nobody's fool. Stewart may be restless enough with his long-standing gig to take the summer off playing movie director, but that doesn't mean he wants a dauphin getting funny ideas. Oliver is an ideal placeholder—skillful, amusing, adding just enough novelty that he doesn't come off as a direct imitation. But he's plainly not a guy to go rogue and seize the opportunity to make us not miss our Jon. Supposing Obama were temporarily incapacitated, could we rely on…
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    Wonkblog

  • The best sentences we read today

    Dylan Matthews
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 pm
    – “You have studied the words of the Prophet Tufte, and you have concluded that they demand jihad.” – “Though Bundy was extremely guilty, in general the science of biting is, well, bollocks.” – “If there is one man in this world who can convince markets that America will tolerate above-trend inflation, it is Paul Krugman.” – “It took 10 years and an elite unit from America’s navy seals to hunt down Osama bin Laden. Now the technology used to track the most elusive terrorist in history is at the centre of another top…

  • CBO: Immigration reform is a free lunch

    Ezra Klein
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:07 pm
    Good news for immigration reformers: The Congressional Budget Office has scored the Senate immigration bill and concluded it will cut deficits by $200 billion in the first 10 years and $700 billion in the second 10 years. This just got a little more likely. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) How? In a word, growth. But in two words, population growth. CBO expects that passage of the bill would mean 10.4 million more U.S. residents in the next decade. To be clear, that’s not a measure of newly legal residents. CBO isn’t counting the newly legalized population — which they estimate at 8…

  • READ: The CBO finds immigration reform will save $197 billion over 10 years

    Dylan Matthews
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:26 pm
    The CBO’s score of the Gang of Eight immigration reform bill is out and it’s very positive. While the bill increases spending by $262 billion over 10 years, it increases revenue by $459 billion, for a deficit reduction of $197 billion in total. Additionally, it projects $690 billion in deficit reduction in the second decade of implementation, from 2024 to 2033. The reports predicts that the bill will add 10.4 million permanent U.S. residents and 1.6 million new temporary visa-holders, and reduce the undocumented immigrant population by 1.6 million. Read the whole thing: Update:…

  • Ask the wonks!

    Brad Plumer
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:56 pm
    Here at Wonkblog, we spend a lot of time writing about questions that we’re interested in. But we also want to answer your questions. Last time around, you asked about blue-state secession, the Avengers, global warming, the consequences of a default on U.S. Treasuries, and charts on boxers vs. briefs. We tried our best to answer. Send along any further questions you want us to look into. If we missed your question last time around, try us again! And we’re happy to answer non-wonky questions too — hypotheticals about Superman, dining etiquette, whatever.

  • Is Boehner bluffing on the Hastert rule? Even he doesn’t know.

    Ezra Klein
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:59 pm
    Will John Boehner break the Hastert rule and bring an immigration reform bill to the floor even if a majority of House Republicans oppose it? “It’s not gonna happen,” he said Tuesday. My colleague Greg Sargent thinks he’s bluffing. And perhaps he is. But at this point, even Boehner doesn’t know if he’s bluffing or not. He doesn’t know what his cards will be. Will Boehner break the Hastert rule? Who knows? (AFP/Getty) The first rule of the Hastert rule: It’s not a rule. The Hastert rule — which states that the Speaker of the House won’t…
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    feeds.feedburner.com

  • CBO’s Unicorn Cost Study on Amnesty

    ()
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:29 pm
    Repealing Obamacare will increase the deficit by $109 billion over 10 years. That was a headline from a CBO report in May when Republicans voted on full repeal of Obamacare.  Somehow, when it comes to ascertaining the costs of wrongheaded policy, CBO wants us to engage in willing suspension of disbelief.  The most costly entitlement will actually reduce the deficit, they claim.  In Washington, up | Read More »

  • Morse Recall Supporters Clear Major Hurdle In Colorado Recall Effort

    ()
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:36 pm
    In an afternoon press release, the Colorado Secretary of State has verified that the effort to recall Senate President John Morse (D-SD11) will proceed. Colorado Springs activists who were concerned with Morse’s leadership and votes in the 2013 session gathered over 16,000 signatures to initiate a recall, after a verification process conducted by the Secretary of State the total number of valid signatures was 10,137, | Read More »

  • The beauty queen view of modern America

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:33 pm
    Who knew that a beauty pageant could be brimming with so much socio-political insight?  The Miss USA pageant on Sunday gave us not one, but two, remarkable observations on the state of the Union. First, here’s Miss Alabama, Mary Margaret McCord, offering her thoughts on the surveillance state: “I think the society that we live in today, it’s sad that if we go to the | Read More »

  • Open Borders Politicians Responsible for More Illegal Immigration

    ()
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:35 am
    The real issue with the immigration debate is not a question of what to do with those illegals already here; it is a question of what to do with the next wave.,.and the next wave….and the next wave. While everyone is focused on the past – what to do with those already here – and the future – whether the promises of more enforcement will | Read More »

  • Alaska’s LT GOV Mead Treadwell to run for Senate in 2014.

    ()
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:00 am
    Well, this should be interesting: Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell (R) announced Tuesday that he will officially challenge Sen. Mark Begich (D) in 2014, transitioning from an exploratory committee to a full-fledged campaign. “This intense exploratory effort has convinced me that I have the support necessary to build a winning campaign,” Treadwell said on his Web site. “Today I’m taking the next step by announcing | Read More »
 
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    News

  • Sen. Lee: It's 70 votes or bust for immigration bill

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:09 pm
    Supporters of the Senate immigration bill will have suffered a defeat if their legislation garners less than 70 votes, Sen. Mike Lee said Tuesday.Lee (R-Utah), who opposes the comprehensive reform bill, said he was surprised that members of the Gang of Eight decided to set the bar so high."It certainly could help opponents of this particular bill if they fall short of the 70-vote mark," Lee said in an interview with The Blaze Radio Network on Tuesday. "And so yes, that's a reason why it was somewhat odd that they set it at that level." Members of the Gang believe passing their immigration…

  • Rand Paul: Clapper can't be trusted and would not work in my administration

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:12 pm
    Sen. Paul said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has "lost our trust by lying to us."

  • Poll: Congressional approval just 16 percent

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:32 pm
    Only 16 percent of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job, according to a new poll released Tuesday.The survey from CNN and ORC found that 83 percent of those questioned reported disapproving of the way lawmakers handled their jobs.While Congress remains staggeringly unpopular, the numbers actually represent a slight improvement over an earlier CNN/ORC poll taken last January, when just 11 percent of voters approved of the way Congress was working.

  • Houston man arrested for threatening to 'burn' Sen. Ted Cruz

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:03 pm
    A Houston man was arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

  • Sen. Gillibrand: 'I am personally urging Secretary Clinton to run'

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:11 am
    Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) wants Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016 and plans to "support her in any way" possible.
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    SCOTUSblog

  • Relist Watch

    John Elwood
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:39 pm
    John Elwood reviews Monday’s relisted cases. As the world gathers at One First Street to watch the Term’s remaining blockbusters indelibly change life as we know it, life in the Relist Watch tidal eddy continues at its normal unrushed pace. Two of this week’s grants paid their dues in the Relist Watch bush leagues before getting the call to the majors.  Mount Holly v. Mount Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc., 11-1507, the disparate impact Fair Housing Act case, first made an appearance here last fall, before the Court CVSG’ed.  Ditto (twice) for Law v. Siegel, 12-5196. The only…

  • Petition of the day

    Mary Dwyer
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:04 pm
    The petition of the day is: Grocery Manufacturers Association v. Environmental Protection Agency 12-1055Issue: (1) Whether prudential standing is jurisdictional, as the D.C., Second, and Sixth Circuits have held, or whether it is non-jurisdictional and can be conceded or waived by a defending party, as the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Federal Circuits have held; (2) whether, when Congress enacts a comprehensive and integrated statute governing a single subject matter, a group of petitioners whose interests Congress expressly identified and protected are in the “zone of interests” of…

  • Tuesday round-up

    Matthew Lanahan
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:18 am
    Coverage and commentary focused on the five opinions that the Court issued yesterday; this blog’s round-ups of the early coverage of the decisions can be found here and here. Coverage of the opinion in Arizona v. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., in which the Court held that an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for would-be voters is preempted by federal law, comes from Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio (audio), Bill Mears of CNN, Jess Bravin and Tamara Audi of The Wall Street Journal, Jeremy Leaming of ACSblog, Richard Wolf of USA Today, Laura Klein Mullen at…

  • Petition of the day

    Mary Dwyer
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:33 am
    The petition of the day is: Jefferson County School District R-1 v. Elizabeth E. 12-1175Issue: Whether the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires a school district to pay for a residential placement that is required to treat a child’s mental illness. In association with Bloomberg Law

  • Menu of today’s coverage (UPDATED: 9:40)

    Kali Borkoski
    17 Jun 2013 | 6:41 pm
    This morning the Court granted four new cases and issued five opinions. Lyle’s report on the opinion in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (including a “Plain English” summary) is here. Marty Lederman’s post examining the possible implications of the decision is here.  Tejinder Singh also provided our initial analysis of that decision. Lyle has coverage of the decision in Salinas v. Texas (including a Plain English summary).  Tejinder posted early coverage of the decision this morning Lyle has analysis (which includes a Plain English summary) of the…
 
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    Politifact.com Truth-O-Meter rulings from National

  • Jeb Bush: "Immigrants are more fertile."

    18 Jun 2013 | 2:14 pm
    The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Jeb Bush says immigrants are 'more fertile' The aging of America draws a lot of attention as the country tries to control the rising cost of health care and sustain critical programs such as Social Security. Jeb Bush, former Republican governor of Florida and potential 2016 presidential candidate, has a partial solution -- promote immigration. Bush, speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington, made a pitch for immigration reform, saying America needs more new workers to help pay for retirees -- "to rebuild the demographic…

  • Saxby Chambliss: "The United States has never stood by and seen innocent people slaughtered to the extent that's happening in Syria."

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:22 am
    The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | Saxby Chambliss says U.S. has "never stood by and seen innocent people slaughtered" as in Syria Last week, the United States announced that it was convinced that the Syrian regime led by Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons, thus crossing a line set by President Barack Obama that would trigger U.S. involvement in the three-year-long rebellion and resulting civil war. On CNN’s The Situation Room, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., made the case for U.S. involvement in Syria. Chambliss serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

  • Peter Roskam: "Worldwide credit card transactions, the credit card fraud rate is 0.04 percent, compared to almost 8 percent, 9 percent, 10 percent of Medicare fraud."

    17 Jun 2013 | 12:53 pm
    The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Medicare fraud rate is 8 to 10 percent, says Roskam of Illinois Fraud by its very nature tries to hide from view. So when Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., talked about how big the problem is for the Medicare program, he gave himself some wiggle room. Roskam was talking to Fox News about a bill he has that would borrow tools used in the credit card industry to pare down the tens of billions of dollars that criminal gangs and unscrupulous operators pocket from the federal government’s health care program for the elderly. "Worldwide credit card…

  • Jim Bridenstine: "This president spends 30 times as much money on global warming research as he does on weather forecasting and warning."

    14 Jun 2013 | 2:41 pm
    The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Rep. Jim Bridenstine says U.S. spends 30 times as much on climate change research as on weather forecasting Freshman Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., attracted some attention for a House floor speech on June 11, 2013, in which he said he’s ready to accept President Barack Obama’s "apology" for spending too much on climate change research. In his one-minute speech, Bridenstine -- whose state has been hard-hit by severe tornadoes in recent weeks -- expressed skepticism that human activity has historically caused either global warming or…

  • Mike Rogers: "It's expressly prohibited by law that you can read and wholly surveil domestic email traffic in the United States."

    13 Jun 2013 | 1:10 pm
    The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Rep. Mike Rogers says 'it's expressly prohibited by law' for the government to read domestic email traffic So, is the NSA reading your email? News reports from the Guardian and the Washington Post in June raised questions about just what data the National Security Agency collects about Americans, and how it’s used. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who chairs the House committee that oversees intelligence agencies, argues the data-collection programs are effective and operate under strict limits. "The National Security Agency does not listen to…
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    Balloon Juice

  • Michael Hastings, RIP

    Anne Laurie
    19 Jun 2013 | 1:24 am
    I read of Hastings’ death and pulled down my copy of The Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan. Fortuitously, it’s just coming out in paperback, if you still need a copy. Here are the first and next-to-last paragraphs from the epilogue, “Someday, This War’s Gonna End”:The car horns sounded like victory. I could hear them blaring from my apartment. Osama Bin Laden was dead. We’d killed him…That night, I thought of all the dead, and what adding Bin Laden’s name to the list actually meant… I…

  • Goddamnit, True Blood

    John Cole
    19 Jun 2013 | 12:14 am
    My friend Walt showed up, and we were just talking and I asked him what he wanted to watch, and he said True Blood. So I watched ep. 1 of Season 6, and now I am a goner. I’m watching ep. 2 of Season 1, and I think I just kissed the next two months goodbye.Why is there always so much sexual tension within the vampire genre, btw? It’s always been that way, even in the White Wolf days, the VTM and other game play including the GodWars and Circlemud renditions of vampires, and of course, Ann Rice.

  • She Was Terminally Pretty

    John Cole
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:06 pm
    Got home from a town planning commission at eight and started to cook a late dinner, turned the boob tube on, and just spent the last three hours watching a really excellent documentary on the Eagles. Not really one of my favorite bands, but damned if I didn’t know every single song. I’ll still take a solo Joe Walsh over them, because it’s music and a personality I can recognize and understand, but still, this was a great documentary.Another documentary I really liked was Knuckleball, about the pitch and mostly centered on Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey and their careers and…

  • Open Thread: Another Bottom Feeder Resurfaces

    Anne Laurie
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:55 pm
    It is a mystery to me why some of the dedicated “social media activists” forever scouring the left-of-center for signs of negative deviationism can’t expend some portion of their energies on our actual enemies, like for example, Dead Breitbart’s favorite scavenger James O’Keefe. Jon Chait at NYMag updates us on O’Keefe’s new grift:… [T]here is no Obamaphone… the phone in question is part of the Lifeline program, dating back to the Reagan administration, in which phone companies give free telephone service to indigent customers who need a…

  • And Steve Doocy Will Probably Live Forever

    John Cole
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:52 pm
    RIP, Michael Hastings.
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    Oliver Willis

  • Edward Snowden, Childish Simpleton

    owillis@gmail.com (Oliver Willis)
    17 Jun 2013 | 10:07 pm
    Two separate dispatches from Edward Snowden on Monday have continued to unravel the wannabe whistleblower and show him to be something of a simpleton in the way he views the world. First, his latest leak published by The Guardian. Snowden has revealed the shocking fact that the American government spies on people. Not just any people, but agents of foreign governments. Of course, the overall concept of this practice is widely known by any citizen with half a brain in their heads. All Snowden and the Guardian have done is expose some of the secret methods used in an attempt to embarrass…

  • Review: Man Of Steel

    owillis@gmail.com (Oliver Willis)
    14 Jun 2013 | 4:11 pm
    It’s pretty hard to make a globally recognized 75 year old icon appear new and fresh, but somehow Man of Steel manages to do it. I’ve loved the character of Superman for most of my life (age 4 or 5 to present) and the fanboy cliché with these sort of movie reboots often ends up in a lot of wailing about “WHAT have you done?” After watching Man of Steel, which is a sensory overload from the opening frame to the last, my feelings ended up being more along the lines of “Oh! What HAVE you done.” Man of Steel has the best action/fight sequences of any superhero movie ever. They…

  • NSA Leaks, Nuance & Me

    owillis@gmail.com (Oliver Willis)
    11 Jun 2013 | 6:12 pm
    I’m a pretty bad person to argue in favor of nuance. Historically, I’m more likely to take a hammer to an issue, rather than a scalpel. But for a second, I’d like to amble on over to Nuanceville. I think that leaking classified information is clearly a crime, punishable by jail time and even worse in some cases (Bradley Manning, for instance). Ideally, real “whistleblowers” who want to alert us to abuses within the government should use the resources available to them to alert the proper people – often congressmen and the like – in order to have these issues addressed in a way…

  • America Has A Right To Fight CyberWar In The Shadows

    owillis@gmail.com (Oliver Willis)
    7 Jun 2013 | 6:17 pm
    The people have a right to know what their government is doing, certainly when it involves deaths and possible abuses of a physical or civil libertarian nature. But there are some things we don’t need to know. At any given movement, the world’s governments are all spying on each other, keeping an eye on enemies and allies alike in order to stay on top in one way or another. It’s why we have the CIA, the British have MI-6, the French the DGSE, Russia has the SVR, and so on. These are not nice things, but they must be done for nations to maintain and acquire power. While a case could be…

  • The NSA Violates The Batman Standard

    owillis@gmail.com (Oliver Willis)
    7 Jun 2013 | 5:10 am
    In the film The Dark Knight, Batman believes that the threat from mass killer Joker is at such a high level that he makes the choice to violate the privacy of the entire city by tapping into their cellphones in order to find and eliminate his nemesis. His friend and ally, Lucius Fox, is shocked and appalled by this. He goes along with Batman, because he knows the Joker won’t be satisfied until thousands maybe millions are dead. But Batman builds in a self-destruct mechanism for his giant dragnet, which is erased after one use. The National Security Agency, on the other hand, has taken a…
 
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    The Moderate Voice

  • Sebastien De La Cruz, Bigots and the American Dream

    JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:05 pm
    Yes, it is possible. You can pursue the American dream. And maybe even be on your way to achieving it by age 11. That won’t necessarily stop comments by racists or cretins who think it’s cool and intelligent to stereotype, belittle and insult. But they can’t stop a proud and determined kid from marching, head held high, straight towards that American dream. And that’s the story of San Antonio’s Sebastien De La Cruz, a young singer who sang his heart out on “America’s Got Talent” and at other venues, pouring virtually his entire being into his…

  • This will not end well

    EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Columnist
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:58 pm
    WASHINGTON — In Syria, the Obama administration seems to be stumbling back to the future: An old-fashioned proxy war, complete with the usual shadowy CIA arms-running operation, the traditional plan to prop up ostensible “moderates” whose prospects are doubtful and, of course, the customary shaky grasp of what the fighting is really about. This will not end well. It is tragic that more than 90,000 people have been killed in the bloody Syrian conflict, with more than a million displaced. But I have heard no claim that President Obama’s decision to arm the rebels will…

  • Impact of Supreme Court DNA Decision (Guest Cartoonist)

    MIKE PETERS, Guest Voice Cartoonist
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    Impact of Supreme Court DNA Decision by Mike Peters OF RELATED INTEREST: –Human DNA not patentable: US Supreme Court –FORUM: Supreme Court’s DNA decision a good result despite its flawed reasoning – Supreme Court’s DNA ruling raises doubts --Law prof explains impact of Supreme Court DNA decision –Maryland v. King: An Unfortunate Supreme Court Decision on the Collection of DNA Samples Mike Peters is recognized as one of our nation’s most prominent cartoon artists for his outstanding work as both a political and comic strip cartoonist. His favorite…

  • Death of One of Today’s Top Journalists: Michael Hastings, 33, Dies in Car Crash

    JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:15 pm
    One of today’s top journalists — described repeatedly as totally professional, embracing the highest of old-school journalism standards, fearless, and a role model for aspiring journalists — is now dead. Buzzfeed’s Michael Hastings, 33, died in a car crash in Los Angeles. Buzzfeed’s full bulletin: BuzzFeed is saddened to report that Michael Hastings died in a car accident early this morning in Los Angeles. He was 33. Ben Smith, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief, said in a statement: We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone. Michael was a…

  • Chelsea Clinton’s Father-in-Law An Ex Iowa Congressman Who Went To Jail

    SCOTT CRASS
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:00 pm
    Historic Tidbit: The day before Richard Nixon resigned, one of his staunchest defenders in Congress, Indiana Republican Earl Landgrebe, made his views known. “Don’t confuse me with the facts,’ he said. “I’ve got a closed mind. I will not vote for impeachment. I’m going to stick with my President even if he and I have to be taken out of this building and shot.” Voters respectfully passed on the firing squad but did opt for death by the ballot. Landgrebe lost his 1974 re-election bid to Democrat Floyd Fithian.” Everyone knows Chelsea Clinton’s…
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    VideoSift.com

  • Democracy Now! - Obama Makes "False" NSA Surveillance Claims

    MrFisk (/politics/member/MrFisk)
    19 Jun 2013 | 12:38 am
    "Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who broke the NSA surveillance story earlier this month, joins us one day after both President Obama and whistleblower Edward Snowden gave extensive interviews on the surveillance programs Snowden exposed and Obama is now forced to defend. Speaking to PBS, Obama distinguished his surveillance efforts from those of the Bush administration and reaffirmed his insistence that no Americans’ phone calls or emails are being directly monitored without court orders. Greenwald calls Obama’s statements "outright false" for omitting the warrantless spying on…

  • Brazil Bedlam: Largest-in-decades protests sweep country

    blahpook (/politics/member/blahpook)
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:39 pm
    Teh biggest mass protests in 20 years continued throughout Brazil on June 17, with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators converging in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, the capital of Brasilia and other cities against government corruption and income inequality. Protests initially began last week following a government announcement of an increase in public transportation costs, which brought out students and young workers and led to more than 250 arrests.

  • Why Government Should Be Paying You for Your Information

    Trancecoach (/politics/member/Trancecoach)
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:17 pm
    Via PBS: What if government paid for the information it collected on its citizens? Jaron Lanier, widely regarded as the father of virtual reality and the author of "Who Owns the Future?", suggests that would be one step toward balancing the exploitative nature of the free technology that's making society more unequal. Paul Solman recently sat down with Lanier. You can watch their full interview -- soon to air on The PBS NewsHour -- above. Below is a separate excerpt from their conversation. Interview available at the link.

  • The revolving door relationship of Booz Allen and Washington

    radx (/politics/member/radx)
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:36 pm
    "Military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton of McLean, Virginia, has shot into the news recently over two of its former employees: Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who has just revealed the extent of US global spying on electronic data of ordinary citizens around the world, and James Clapper, US director of national intelligence." -- YT

  • Woz: This is not my America

    Grimm (/politics/member/Grimm)
    17 Jun 2013 | 12:58 pm
    Stopped by Spanish language tech journalists at an airport, the Apple co-founder says that after the NSA revelations, he questions his own government and wonders whether it's behaving like a king.
 
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    The American Prospect

  • The Boehner Ultimatum

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:26 pm
    Sometimes it's hard to tell which Republicans in Congress fear more: immigration reform passing, or immigration reform not passing. They need to help pass reform to show America's Latino voters that, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, the Republican party doesn't actually hate them. But their base doesn't actually like the idea of comprehensive reform, particularly if it involves a path to citizenship (even a long and painful one). What to do? In the Senate, where six-year terms allow for a longer view and members represent entire states, immigration reform probably has more than…

  • David Brooks and the Anti-Neuroscience Backlash

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:52 pm
    Neuroscience has come a long way in recent years. Our understanding of the brain is expanding rapidly, even as we grasp more and more just how spectacularly complex the blob in your head is. And as we gain new understanding and new tools to look at what's going on in the brain, like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), it's not surprising that there are people—both legitimate scientists and hucksters—eager to push the technology where it might not be quite prepared to go. For instance, people are working on turning fMRI machines into lie detectors; there are even companies that…

  • Your Guide to the Polls on U.S. Military Involvement in Syria

    Paul Waldman
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:06 am
    It's obviously a bad idea for the administration to decide whether to jump into a whole new Middle East quagmire based on whether the famously inattentive and uninformed American public thinks it's a good idea. Nevertheless, public opinion is inevitably going to play a role in President Obama's decision-making on this. That isn't to say Obama won't take any particular step unless the polls show the public approves, but any time a politician does something unpopular, he'll always be looking over his shoulder a little bit. So what do the American people think about the prospect of American…

  • Oops, Will Perry Do It Again?

    Abby Rapoport
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:40 am
    As soon as Rick Perry uttered his infamous “oops” during the Republican presidential primary, most Americans likely figured the Texas governor’s political career would soon fade to black. Even before he forgot which federal departments he wanted to axe, Perry’s performance had been less than inspiring, and the aftermath only made things worse, culminating with an overtly homophobic ad complaining that “there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” I’m guessing once Perry…

  • John Oliver's Summer Audition

    Tom Carson
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:02 am
    AP Photo/Charles Dharapak What did we learn from John Oliver's debut week hosting The Daily Show? We learned that Jon Stewart is nobody's fool. Stewart may be restless enough with his long-standing gig to take the summer off playing movie director, but that doesn't mean he wants a dauphin getting funny ideas. Oliver is an ideal placeholder—skillful, amusing, adding just enough novelty that he doesn't come off as a direct imitation. But he's plainly not a guy to go rogue and seize the opportunity to make us not miss our Jon. Supposing Obama were temporarily incapacitated, could we rely on…
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    Calitics - Front Page

  • Showdown over PG&E Penalties for San Bruno Explosion

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:32 am
    PG&E calls CPUC's $2.25 Billion Fine Excessive by Brian Leubitz In 2010, one of PG&E's main gas lines exploded, killing 8 people, and injuring many more. Since that time, we have discovered that PG&E hadn't properly inspected the lines, and continued to resist the real work that was necessary to maintain system safety. The CPUC has proposed that the company be fined $2.25 billion, with administrative law judges scheduled to rule on that soon. The Commission is rather fed up with PG&E at this point. Director of Consumer Safety Jack Hagan had this to say: PG&E's brief on penalties displays a…

  • Fresno Bee: Denham Betrayed Central Valley

    17 Jun 2013 | 2:31 pm
    Newspaper editorializes against Denham's anti-rail stance by Brian Leubitz California's High Speed Rail system isn't very popular among California Republicans. Or Republicans in general. But one thing you don't often see: a Congressman telling the federal government to move money from his own district to another part of the country. That's just what Jeff Denham has done: "Given that there are over 11.4 million Amtrak riders and over 200 million commuters that use the Northeast Corridor every year, it would be an investment in an area where we have proven ridership," Denham said at a hearing…

  • Not Just the Budget: Legislature Spends Some Time on MediCal

    17 Jun 2013 | 10:29 am
    A busy few days for the Legislature as they move forward on important priorities by Brian Leubitz The Legislative leaders and the Governor agreed to a framework for the budget at the beginning of last week, but on Friday, the plan was sealed and sent to the Governor. He promptly signed it and tweeted the accomplishment: After two and a half years of struggle and difficult times, California's budget is balanced and sustainable into the future.— Jerry Brown (@JerryBrownGov) June 15, 2013 The total budget is at $96.3bln, a spending total that should give the state some breathing room. If…

  • Gov. Brown Outlines Plan for Good Jobs

    13 Jun 2013 | 2:15 pm
    by Steve Smith To some politicians, economic development means giving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to strip clubs, fast food joints and retail giants like Walmart. Gov. Brown, thankfully, has a better idea. Today, the Governor announced a broad coalition of labor, business and others in support of his good jobs plan that will flip the broken enterprise zone program into real incentives for creating quality, middle-class jobs. Gov. Brown: California's 30-year-old Enterprise Zone program is not enterprising, it's wasteful. It's inefficient and not giving taxpayers the biggest bang…

  • Report: Redistricting Commission Succeeded

    13 Jun 2013 | 7:51 am
    New report praises commission, commissioners for process, results by Brian Leubitz The redistricting commission wasn't particularly popular when it passed. Nor were great results predicted by many, including myself. However, I've thoroughly changed my tune, and acknowledge the solid work done by the 14 commissioners and staff in creating a new system with transparency and openness. Now a new report sponsored by the League of Women Voters finds that the system was popular statewide, and really did their job. (h/t Josh Richman) A new report "When the People Draw the Lines," finds that…
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    The Weekly Standard Blog

  • Philadelphia-Area Congressman Can't Explain Difference Between Gosnell Slayings and Late-Term Abortions

    John McCormack
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:21 pm
    Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania was one of only six Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted Tuesday night against a bill restricting post-viability abortions (six Democrats voted for the bill). Dent was also the only Republican to publicly criticize House leadership for bringing the bill to the floor for a vote. "The stupidity is simply staggering," Dent told CQ Roll Call last week Dent's colleagues introduced the bill in response to the murder trial of Kermit Gosnell, whose abortion clinic was located about an hour from Dent's district. Supporters of the…

  • House Passes Bill Restricting Post-Viability Abortions

    John McCormack
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:04 pm
    The House of Representatives voted 228 to 196 on Tuesday evening to pass a bill that prohibits most abortions later than 22 weeks in pregnancy (20 weeks after conception), the point by which some infants can survive long-term if born and the point by which medical science indicates they can feel pain. The bill contains exceptions for late-term abortions in the cases of rape, incest, or when a physical health condition puts the life of the mother at risk. It was mostly a party-line vote, with six Democrats voting for the bill and six Republicans voting against it. The White House issued…

  • Happy Hour Links: The Big Question

    Michael Warren
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:31 pm
    Neoconservatism: The idea that won't quit. What's Obamacare going to cost me? State department whistleblower says she's being bullied. Surprise, surprise: Iran moving forward on nuclear program despite sanctions. Scott Brown lying low in Massachusetts special election. Rubio's lack of candor. "Why I am a Republican."

  • Jan Brewer’s Obamacare Deception

    Jeffrey H. Anderson
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:04 pm
    At least for now (although a statewide referendum may be pending), Arizona governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, has succeeded in her efforts to implement a key part of Obamacare in her state.  Brewer has very aggressively — and entirely voluntarily — spearheaded the charge to implement Obamacare’s massive Medicaid expansion on her watch.  She now claims, however, that she’s not really implementing Obamacare — or at least not any significant portion of it.  In a recent interview reported by the Associated Press, Brewer said, “This business that this is Obamacare is a little bit…

  • Easy for Him to Say

    Geoffrey Norman
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:14 pm
    Al Gore believes, as Johan Carlstrom at Bloomberg writes, that it is time for some reforming of capitalism.  Mr. Gore has done all right under the old regime having recently: ... sold his Current TV network to Al Jazeera, the cable channel funded in part by oil-rich Qatar ... with a price tag of about $500 million.  And, then, there were those Apple options which he exercised: ... at $7.48 a share, on 59,000 shares ... that he’d been granted for serving on the Cupertino, California-based company’s board since 2003. On paper, it was about a $30 million payday based on the…
 
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    James Fallows : The Atlantic

  • World o' Flight Updates: NYT Mag, Gliders, Yeshivah of Flatbush, Solar Impulse

    James Fallows
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:25 pm
    Have been off the grid for several days, seeing sights like the one above: flooded farmland this past weekend in the Missouri River basin just west of St. Louis. Herewith a series of sky-related updates.1) 'The Plane Was About to Crash.' Except it wasn't. Margaret Sullivan, public editor of the NY Times, takes another look at the fantasized New York Times Magazine story whose author, Noah Gallagher Shannon, I interviewed last week. Good to see an official response.2) Paragliders vs. Bulldozers, Round 2. In March I mentioned the showdown between, on the one side, the adventurer / hang-glider /…

  • The Author of the New York Times 'Plane Crash' Story on What He Got Wrong

    James Fallows
    14 Jun 2013 | 9:07 am
    Last month, as part of its last-page "Lives" feature, The New York Times Magazine published an article by Noah Gallagher Shannon called "The Plane Was About to Crash. Now What?" It described the author's experience on a 2011 flight whose track is shown above: It was headed to Denver from Washington's National Airport, but turned back after 20 minutes of flying time and made an unscheduled landing in Philadelphia.Almost as soon as the story was published, it provoked controversy and questions about the accuracy or even plausibility of its details. You can find links to many related items here.

  • The Perilous Shoals of Memory: Back to that Dicey NYT Mag Story

    James Fallows
    11 Jun 2013 | 9:21 pm
    [TL;DR Executive summary of what's below: Patrick Smith, of Ask the Pilot, has seen maintenance records from the flight described in a controversial NYT Magazine piece. These records show no evidence of the "landing gear failure" on which the entire story was based.]Let's step away from NSA and Edward Snowden, and even from Pooh and Tigger, for a moment. Earlier I said I would not re-prosecute the case against the recent, fantasized NYT Magazine "Lives" story on what a writer felt when an airliner was (supposedly) about to plunge to its doom. For a refresher on the story, see this -- plus…

  • Update on Pooh, Tigger, and the 2 Presidents: Art Recreates Life, not Vice Versa

    James Fallows
    11 Jun 2013 | 8:51 pm
    Last night I posted the wonderful Weibo-viral-hit matchup of Xi Jinping walking with Barack Obama, and Winnie the Pooh walking with Tigger. In case you've forgotten:Many readers have written in to underscore a point that was clear pretty early on. This is almost certainly a case of art recreating life, rather than vice versa. The Pooh/Tigger pose is too perfect a match for the shot of the two presidents. Shadows, gait, proportions, background, placement, expressions. Also, through the magic of Google Image Search, there don't seem to be any examples of the Pooh/Tigger scene before the…

  • Life Recreates Art: Sunnylands Division

    James Fallows
    10 Jun 2013 | 7:28 pm
    According to everyone I know in China, all writing in at once, here is the now-most-wildly-popular image being shared on Sina Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter):It's a Small World After All.    
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    The American Scene

  • Reform Conservative Manifesto TL;DR

    Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
    5 Jun 2013 | 4:55 am
    I wrote a fairly long ‘Reform Conservative Manifesto’ post on Forbes this morning. For those interested in skipping to the good parts, here are the key points. 1) The key problem facing America is family breakdown, which causes inequality of opportunity, economic insecurity and social dysfunction, and drives higher demand for government as private safety nets fail and human capital formation is inadequate. There are a number of policies that can address this, particularly family-friendly tax reform. The Republican Party needs to take up this mantle of affordable family formation.

  • We're Getting Our Asses Kicked Over Here, Guys

    Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
    24 May 2013 | 6:36 am
    A message from a Catholic to Catholics. Via Matt comes this Times Mag piece which is a true monument. It depicts how Mormons have been stealthily infiltrating Hollywood, on the strength of BYU’s excellent computer animation program. Really do read the whole thing, but here’s some excerpts: “Honestly,” says Marilyn Friedman, the former head of outreach at DreamWorks, who visited B.Y.U. frequently, “the first few times I went to Provo, I was like: What am I doing here? I’m a little Jewish girl from back East. But I was just amazed by how absolutely lovely those kids are.

  • Sex In A Sex-Drenched World Is Sexless

    Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
    21 May 2013 | 6:39 am
    Evidence for the prosecution.

  • Ama Et Fac Quod Vis

    Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
    17 May 2013 | 12:06 am
    Now Conor has gotten into the fray and Rod has a response. Conor tackles the question of whether consent can be the only lodestar of sexual morality, and then tackles my post. As I said, the consent-sexuality question is to me incidental to the Witt essay. I may have some things to say about that later on, but I want to respond to Conor’s points about my post. To be frank, I’ve been surprised at the positive reaction to my post because, since I’m the only guy on this thread who doesn’t write for a living (Alan doesn’t count, because tenured professors don’t…

  • Consider The Fist And Other Essays

    Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
    15 May 2013 | 1:37 am
    TAS alums debating morals and kinky sex? Where do I sign up! By now the intellectual internet has read Emily Witt’s excellent n+1 essay, which is fascinating and is self-consciously only superficially about an extreme BDSM porn shoot in San Francisco. (In this post I will assume you’ve read the essay and will not censor my language.) Here’s Rod Dreher calling it a glimpse of hell. Here’s TAS Alum Noah Millman reacting to the essay and Rod’s post saying, essentially, why are you a bunch of squares (obviously his post is much smarter than this), and pushing back at…
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    Obsidian Wings

  • yay!

    russell
    13 Jun 2013 | 11:51 am
    by russell Human genes cannot be patented say the Supremes. Unanimously. OK, so maybe we're not totally screwed. That is all.

  • Starbucks and the African Savanna

    Doctor Science
    10 Jun 2013 | 6:49 pm
    by Doctor Science It was this kind of Monday here in New Jersey: Hiroshige, Two men on a sloping road in the rain, from Eight views of Kanazawa. Rainy and cold, cold and *really* rainy. It reminds me of my theory (need I say it is mine?) about the connection between Starbucks and the African savanna. Suppose humans evolved on the African savanna or something like it. Even in the rainy season, the savanna doesn't see many days that are cold and grey. So I theorize that on such days ancestral humans (being apes and thus notoriously prone to pneumonia) would be better off just snoozing and…

  • (Not) Everything Old Is New Again: Part 1

    liberal japonicus
    10 Jun 2013 | 6:02 am
    by dr ngo Another advantage of aging is that it helps give us perspective on the world over time, just as travel, especially residence abroad, helps provide perspective on the world across space and ethnicity. Put in terms of academe, both history and area studies point us to alternatives to what it's like all around us. Things don't have to be as they are. (Fiction, particularly science fiction, may do this even more memorably, but reality is more real.) The fact is that we all grow up thinking that the world is – and always has been, and really ought to be – more or less what…

  • National Security Agency Surveillance

    Ugh
    9 Jun 2013 | 2:28 pm
    by Ugh It seems that there is a bit of a to do about the information the NSA collects on Americans.  Whether or not this is "legal" - from a statutory or Constitutional perspective - it's a bit troubling. First, it has been done in complete secrecy outside of government officials (until these reports).  Second, it seems it's been done with minimal oversight, other than via the rather docile FISA court, which almost never objects.  Third, the current Administration, like the one before it, invokes the state secrets doctrine/privilege whenever a citizen of the United…

  • your John Oliver open thread

    liberal japonicus
    7 Jun 2013 | 4:14 pm
    by liberal japonicus This insightful piece about Daily Central correspondent John Oliver in the Grauniad is quite interesting, but what I want to highlight His earliest Daily Show appearances played almost exclusively on his Britishness; most Americans, he points out, hear his distinctively Brummie accent as standard Posh English. He once interviewed Tea Party activists while purporting to be offended that they called Obama a tyrant, on the grounds that it was an insult to real British tyranny in pre-revolutionary America. (Or there's this, from a back-and-forth with Stewart, on…
 
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    International Budget Partnership » Blog Posts

  • How Are Social Audits Empowering Citizens of South Africa?

    Jay
    10 Jun 2013 | 9:06 am
    This post appeared as an op-ed piece in the Cape Times on 10 May 2013 as part of a recent social audit that took place in Khayelitsha, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. For more information on the social audit and its outcomes, see our featured page. The original article was written by Vivek Ramkumar, Director of International Advocacy and the Open Budget Initiative at the International Budget Partnership in Washington, D.C., and Sowmya Kidambi, Director of the Society for Social Audit Accountability and Transparency, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India.

  • The IBP Releases New Landmark Book on the Causes and Consequences of Budget Transparency

    Jay
    29 Apr 2013 | 8:43 am
    This post was written by Paolo de Renzio, Senior Research Fellow for the Open Budget Initiative at the International Budget Partnership. At the IBP, we believe that people have a right to know what their governments do with public resources. We also think that budget transparency has a transformative potential to reshape the relationship between governments and their citizens. When governments publish more information on their fiscal operations, citizens can better monitor government actions and hold them accountable for how they raise and spend public resources. The huge and persistent…

  • In South Asia Governments Need to Put More Budget Information Out and Bring More People In

    Jay
    25 Mar 2013 | 11:31 am
    This post was written by Ravi Duggal, Program Officer at the International Budget Partnership. On 14 February 2013 civil society organizations, government representatives, and media from South Asia released the regional results of the Open Budget Survey 2012 at an event in Delhi, India. Every two years the International Budget Partnership conducts the Survey (the first round was in 2006) to measure the openness and accountability of government budget systems and practices around the world. Drawing from the Survey, the IBP calculates the Open Budget Index (OBI), the most comprehensive…

  • Twitter activism is not enough

    Albert van Zyl
    28 Feb 2013 | 7:37 am
    Over the last few days an old blog post by David Sasaki has been circulating on Twitter. In the post he argues that fiscal transparency portals are not enough to bring about government accountability for public spending. To him, the “problem with fiscal transparency portals is that there is no mechanism to oblige government agencies to defend the purchases they make, much less sanction them when they misspend public funds.” After dismissing the media and civil society organizations, such as Fundar in Mexico and Openspending.org, as agents of applying such sanction, Sasaki argues that the…

  • European Donor Institutions Use the Open Budget Survey 2012 to Brainstorm on How to Open Budgets Faster

    Jay
    22 Feb 2013 | 11:34 am
    This post was written by Elena Mondo, Project Coordinator of the Open Budget Initiative at the International Budget Partnership. In late January the IBP met with key European donors to discuss the Open Budget Survey 2012, and what the findings mean for donor institutions. The first stop was on 30 January at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) in Stockholm; then it was on to the European Commission’s Development and Cooperation Directorate-General in Brussels, Belgium, on the 31st. Finally the IBP met with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) on…
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    The American Scene - Politics

  • Reform Conservative Manifesto TL;DR

    Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
    5 Jun 2013 | 4:55 am
    I wrote a fairly long ‘Reform Conservative Manifesto’ post on Forbes this morning. For those interested in skipping to the good parts, here are the key points. 1) The key problem facing America is family breakdown, which causes inequality of opportunity, economic insecurity and social dysfunction, and drives higher demand for government as private safety nets fail and human capital formation is inadequate. There are a number of policies that can address this, particularly family-friendly tax reform. The Republican Party needs to take up this mantle of affordable family formation.

  • The Radicalizing Of A Young Conservative

    Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
    15 Apr 2013 | 4:40 am
    I like to think of myself as a pretty moderate guy. I like to think that politics is the art of the possible, and try to support policies that could get passed in the real world (while trying to shift the Overton Window a little bit with my writing). I especially like to think of myself as the kind of guy who remembers that no “side” has a monopoly on truth, and that all sides are mostly made up of well-intentioned people who want a better future for their polity. I like to think it’s important to remind myself that I’m a Christian first and a right-winger second, and…

  • Liberalism, Secularism and Political Theology

    David Sessions
    19 Sep 2012 | 9:47 am
    I have an essay up at Religion & Politics, a great new site that covers just what you would expect, reviewing two recent books by secular critics seeking to salvage the structure of religion for their respective projects: If the violence of September 11, 2001, accomplished one thing, it was to force the United States, and by proxy the other Western powers who joined its military adventure in the Middle East, to drop the pretense of being secular nations. When one saw some of the most prominent atheists in American discourse calling for crusades against Muslim invaders, the supposed…

  • Christianity Isn’t the Only Thing in Crisis: A Reply to Andrew Sullivan

    David Sessions
    3 Apr 2012 | 10:04 am
    Andrew Sullivan has written a cover story for Newsweek (disclosure: where I also work) that I think deserves attention and scrutiny. It could not be more timely, and in many ways more needed. But even as it advances some crucial criticisms of the contemporary monstrosity that presents itself as Christianity, I think there is a lot more to be said. Specifically, I’m not sure Andrew’s political framework is up to the task of diagnosing the real crisis we face as inhabitants of Western democracy. If only things were as easy as putting a mutant political Christianity back in its cage. I have…

  • Mutiny on the NFL:Bounty

    Walker Frost
    5 Mar 2012 | 12:44 pm
    Revelations surrounding “bounty programs” in the NFL, where players and coaches provide teammates with financial incentives to make game-changing plays or injure opposing players, have elicited broad public disgust; at least for the intent-to-harm part of the equation. Killing people aside, I typically love performance-based incentives – anything that provides real-time sticks and carrots to help govern decisions and encourage performance. My company generally does a good job of rewarding performance, fortunately, but some days it would be a nice stimulus if my boss would drop by and…
 
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    Politics » Matthew Dowd

  • Learning From Loss, in Life and Politics

    Matthew Dowd
    2 Jun 2013 | 4:00 am
    Learning and lessons in life come more from our losses than from our wins. And our growth and forward movement arises more out of our mistakes and mishaps, than out of what we perceive as our smart decisions and choices. This is as true in our relationships as it is in our politics. One big lesson I have learned through many relationships, including two marriages and two divorces (as I tell people, anyone who gets married a second or third time must be the ultimate optimist), is that I finally realized that I was only ready for a relationship when I no longer needed a relationship. Let me…

  • Lessons From Boston: How to Be a Man

    Matthew Dowd
    25 Apr 2013 | 3:00 am
    Courtesy The Sun of Lowell, Mass| FBI/AP Photo OPINION Last week, in the midst of the search for the remaining Boston bombing suspect, I tweeted out a note saying I wished folks would come up with a different term than “manhunt” because the behavior and actions of the Tsarnaev brothers were anything but the acts of men.  As I said, “real men don’t harm innocents and real men don’t disrespect or abuse women. Interestingly, it turns out Tamerlan Tsamaev was arrested previously for abuse, and had a history of controlling behavior and verbal abuse of women. It…

  • Do Americans Crave Justice or Revenge in Wake of Boston Bombing?

    Matthew Dowd
    17 Apr 2013 | 11:22 am
    What is strength?  How does one define standing tall and strong in life?  Why do we often confuse patience, kindness and gentleness with weakness? Many of these questions come to mind as I watch the horrific scene in Boston in the aftermath of the horrible bombings.  The same feelings came to mind in the midst of the fallout of tragedy in Newtown at Sandy Hook Elementary.  As anger justifiably rises and a demand for justice is called for, the question surfaces, Where does this end? The line between justice and vengeance is a very thin one.  In the aftermath of 9/11 we…

  • Advice for Pope Francis: Remember Your Namesake

    Matthew Dowd
    16 Mar 2013 | 3:40 pm
    A few years ago I decided to go on a self-directed solo pilgrimage to holy places representing Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Of course, this was all in the aftermath of my rather public break with President Bush in which the White House described my motivation for doing this as “Matthew is on a personal journey.”  I think that is code for he is crazy. I traveled to India, Nepal, Turkey, Israel, Rome, but my final stop was the most heartwarming — Assisi.   I thought it the best way to end this long trip. St. Francis has always been a…

  • Affective Forecasting: State of the Union and Great Expectations

    Matthew Dowd
    11 Feb 2013 | 12:50 pm
    Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images What do affective forecasting and the State of the Union have to do with each other?  Stay with me for a bit, and I will try and show you. Affective forecasting is a sociological term (much discussed by psychologist Daniel Gilbert in his book “Stumbling on Happiness“) that describes the human tendency to project forward how we might feel about an event or an impending decision in our lives.  It is one of the cognitive biases, which involves the idea that we have a tendency to forecast ahead that either a decision ahead is going to make us…
 
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    Corrente

  • It's all about the rents, part one million and forty

    lambert
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:16 pm
    Body:  Dear Lord. Suit: McDonald's wages put on costly debit card A Pennsylvania woman has filed suit to avoid fees she may be charged to get her McDonald's wages from a debit card. Single mom Natalie Gunshannon has filed suit over bank fees that allegedly include $1.00 to check her balance, $1.50 to withdraw cash and $15 to replace a lost card. The 27-year-old Gunshannon, who lives near Wilkes-Barre, says the JPMorgan Chase payroll card was her only payment option. Her suit names franchise owners Albert and Carol Mueller, who employ about 800 people at 16 McDonald's restaurants in…

  • PPACA Link Dump for 2013-06-24: Please contribute!

    lambert
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:34 pm
    Body:  As part of the PPACA FAQ, we're going to do a link dump every Monday; here is last Monday's. As the rollout approaches, we'll be forecasting future events for the coming week, but we're also interested in good links from the past week, so please, add those in comments! Your reward will be undying fame at Corrente and The Confluence in the form of a hat tip.

  • Gardendote of the Day 2013-06-18

    lambert
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:07 pm
    Body:  This is really close to a garden brag, in fact. Below, a photograph of my not-heating season office, where I sit -- on the path, about where the "Lungwort" label is -- and work whenever I can (and I should really get off the vampire shift, so I don't miss the morning). The photograph is not very good, since the iPad [Hi, NSA! [waves]] lens is pretty lo-res, but I didn't want to dig a camera out from the morass in my kitchen and then figure out how to charge it. Anyhow, I making keen diagrams with Skitch, an iPad app. But the photograph and the sketch show the design. I thought of…

  • Dog Whistle 2008: "Generational"

    Rangoon78
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:53 am
    Body:  Dog Whistle 2008: "Generational" Born in1 946, I am among the first baby boomers and I have dutifully checked the "white" or "Caucasian" box in official questionnaires. Due to this background, I know i was not alone in being marginalized and labeled as an obvious racist for my outspoken support of Hillary in 2008. All of my attempts to raise issues with candidate Obama fell on deaf ears to many including, sadly, my sweet and kind hearted daughter.

  • US Joins Genocidal Jihad Against Middle Eastern Shia! WTF?

    libbyliberal
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:11 am
    Body:  Criminal hegemonic war-mongerers, including Obama with his charming PR speech, are among the G-8 power leaders meeting in Northern Ireland to discuss the fate of Syria. The Obama administration, just as Bush used WMDs for the pre-emptive war with Iraq, is using the bogus “highly confident” (wink, wink) “chemical weapons accusation” to justify officially supporting the supposedly “rebel” forces in Syria.
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    Dependable Renegade

  • Happy Hour News Briefs

    Tengrain
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:25 pm
    News on the rocks Get off the cross, "Dr. Chaps" (!!!) Gordon Klingenschmitt. Someone needs the wood. Racist harpy Phyllis Schlafly tells us that immigrants were Americanized when they voted for Ronald Reagan, and now they join gangs: Duggars, The Next Generation - Josh Duggar, the first of Daddy's 19 little squirts to exit the clown car, is now an Executive Director of the noted hate group The Family Research Council. (The Cloakroom) It's WAR - Yes, it is true according to Wingnuttia: all the recent rape revelations in the military is proof that there is a war on men. (Media Matters)…

  • I'm sold. Where do I sign?

    watertiger
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:55 pm
    Real estate description du jour.  "Excellent finish and workmansheep" --WT

  • I call dibs

    watertiger
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:32 am
    on "Masturbating Fetuses" for a band name. Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) on Monday asserted that he witnessed male fetuses pleasuring themselves as early as 15-weeks after conception, RH Reality Check reported. His comments came during a House Rules committee debate on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of pregnancy. “This is a subject that I do know something about,” Burgess said, citing his experience as an OB/GYN. “There is no question in my mind that a baby at 20-weeks after conception can feel…

  • Blink!

    twolf1
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:04 am
    Funny or Die: Bachmann Retires --twolf

  • News Briefs

    Tengrain
    17 Jun 2013 | 6:54 am
    News you can use all day (Petunia and Pals) Alaska's part-time governor and full-time grifter Mooselini makes her triumphant return on Fox News. And if this isn't an event horizon of stupidity, then what is? Full Disclosure - Many of the big, brand-name Silicon Valley Tech Giants are releasing information about the number of NSA requests that they have received: Facebook announced late Friday that it received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests from all levels of government in the U.S., from local law enforcement to classified national security requests, in the second half of 2012 alone.
 
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    Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective

  • Texas’ Senators Cruz & Cornyn charting a course to turn the Lone Star State Blue

    Latina Lista
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:47 pm
    Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective - News from the Latino perspective. Texas’ Senators Cruz & Cornyn charting a course to turn the Lone Star State Blue by Latina ListaLatinaLista — Two senators that have been major thorns in the sides of the Gang of Eight during these senate debates over immigration reform have been two men that hail from the same state — Texas. Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz have both been uncompromising in their attitudes and not shy about their disdain for a bill, when passed, will not only…

  • Video: Getting the story out to all about the heroics and bravery of the only Latino-segregated Active-Duty military unit in US history

    Latina Lista
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:25 pm
    Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective - News from the Latino perspective. Video: Getting the story out to all about the heroics and bravery of the only Latino-segregated Active-Duty military unit in US history by Latina ListaLatinaLista — They were officially known as the 65th Infantry Regiment. Yet to their families and friends they were the Borinqueneers — “the only Hispanic/Latino-segregated Active-Duty military unit in US history that played a prominent role in the American military, participating in three major wars (WWI,…

  • Young Latino embarks on a dream to create the next fashion trend

    Latina Lista
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:01 pm
    Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective - News from the Latino perspective. Young Latino embarks on a dream to create the next fashion trend by Latina ListaBy Juan Miret LatinaLista Seeing Carlos Angon reminds one that today´s immigrants in Oklahoma have an incredible impact on the economic development and cultural diversity. He represents the new ´Okie´ face, a face that reflects both old traditions and new memories. He is part of the millennium generation, a group of extraordinary entrepreneurs and innovators that are changing…

  • Guantanamo Has a History

    Marisa Treviño
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:56 am
    Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective - News from the Latino perspective. Guantanamo Has a History by Marisa TreviñoBy Miguel Pérez Hidden Hispanic Heritage Long before Guantanamo became synonymous with al-Qaida prisoners, American injustice and hunger strikes — yes, even before it became known as a high-security prison for suspected terrorists — it was a U.S. Naval Base with a long and fascinating history. It still is! And long after the military prison is gone, the U.S. Naval Base is very likely to remain there, surrounding…

  • Guest Voz: There’s good reason why Brazilians have taken to the streets in protest

    Latina Lista
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:28 am
    Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective - News from the Latino perspective. Guest Voz: There’s good reason why Brazilians have taken to the streets in protest by Latina ListaBy Edy Bestle LatinaLista (LL Editor’s Note: News outlets have been reporting over the rising protests, the biggest in 20 years, to hit Brazil. The following piece provides insight into the unrest that a country making preparations to host the 2016 Olympics and currently hosting the FIFA Confederation Cup is facing from its own people who are demanding a…
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    NYT > Columnists

  • Of Rats and Hit Men

    18 Jun 2013 | 10:00 pm
    The criminal trial of Boston’s Irish gang is an immorality tale brimming with Judases.

  • Postcard From Turkey

    18 Jun 2013 | 10:00 pm
    The protesters in Istanbul have a message for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Butt out!

  • Lesser Lights, Big City

    17 Jun 2013 | 10:00 pm
    Anthony Weiner preens. Christine Quinn calibrates. And New Yorkers wonder: who’s got the stuff to be our next mayor?

  • Beyond the Brain

    17 Jun 2013 | 10:00 pm
    Advances in neuroscience promise many things, but they will never explain everything.

  • Obama’s German Storm

    17 Jun 2013 | 10:00 pm
    Where Kennedy spoke of freedom, Obama must speak of the end of the security-skewed post-9/11 era.
 
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    Observer

  • To Error Is Human: The Slapstick Shakespeare in the Park Is Irresistible

    Jesse Oxfeld
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:05 pm
    'The Comedy of Errors.' (Photo by Joan Marcus) Your stalwart theater reviewer faces a great and ongoing occupational hazard, at which he has from time to time hinted in these pages: he doesn’t really care for Shakespeare. He ought to, he knows—history’s greatest English-language dramatist, timeless lessons and ongoing moral dilemmas, peerless poetry, yada yada—but instead, often, philistinically, he cowers before another endless evening of women wearing hats and their husbands thus not recognizing them. To compound this problem, your humble reviewer’s favorite spot in the five…

  • Alms for the Upper Middle Class: Subsidized Apartments Aim at $200K Earners

    Stephen Jacob Smith
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:39 pm
    Inside an Elliott-Chelsea apartment. Standing outside a shiny new red and tan brick building at 401 West 25th Street, indistinguishable from any other late-2000s new construction throughout the West Side, you can catch a glimpse of the future of hou ing if New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidates get their way. A young woman who works in finance and moved into this building from a “real shithole” in the West Village, a computer programmer from South Carolina, a lifelong New Yorker who moved in from the projects a few blocks south, and a gay couple—one a playwright, the other a…

  • Michael Hastings Dies In Car Accident

    Peter Sterne
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:10 pm
    Hastings. Buzzfeed reporter Michael Hastings, 33, was killed in a car accident in Los Angeles, the site announced this evening. Editor in chief Ben Smith released a statement praising Mr. Hastings. "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians," Mr. Smith wrote. "He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold." Mr. Hastings joined Buzzfeed in February of last year, after working as…

  • Stare Thee Well: Eye-Gazing Parties Aren’t Just for Pick-Up Artists Anymore

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:06 pm
    “This is not a romantic experience,” Christina Berkley says, looking around the circle at the 23 of us who signed up for her eye-gazing party. We sit on folding chairs in a private yoga studio on West 49th Street. The curtains are drawn against the glitter of Times Square and soft lighting filters through paper ceiling lanterns. Eye-gazing parties—in essence, silent speed-dating events—were invented a few years ago by a salsa teacher named Michael Ellsberg, who later wrote The Power of Eye Contact: Your Secret for Success in Business, Love, and Life. The objective of his parties was…

  • Write Man in the Palais: Michael Azerrad’s New Site Brings DIY Ethos and Peer Review to Music Criticism

    Matthew Kassel
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:03 pm
    Michael Azerrad. A few months ago, a music website called The Talkhouse was unleashed on the Internet. It might have gone unnoticed amid the detritus of blogs and online startups that litter the cyber-commons were it not for its unique mission: to revolutionize music reviewing as we know it. Edited by legendary rock journalist Michael Azerrad, The Talkhouse is a web magazine that showcases writing about musicians by musicians, and in the embattled world of modern music coverage—in which reviews are so often shrunk to the size of a fist and sensible opinions are crowded out by the din of…
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    Lynn Sweet

  • Sen. Mark Kirk pokes at Eric Holder: Did NSA spy on Congress?

    6 Jun 2013 | 3:23 pm
    WASHINGTON--In the wake of revelations the U.S. government secretly asked Verizon for massive amounts of data on tens of millions of phone calls, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) asked Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday if the National Security Agency monitored calls placed from the Capitol. Holder said there was no intention to "spy" on Congress and said he would not go into details on the calls in a public setting. Kirk quizzed Holder during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing where Holder was testifying on the Justice Department fiscal 2014 budget request. Kirk used the occasion to ask…

  • Democratic National Committee Executive Committee meeting in Chicago June 8

    6 Jun 2013 | 2:05 pm
    WASHINGTON--The Democratic National Committee's Executive and Rules and Bylaws Committees will meet in Chicago this Saturday and as of Thursday, nothing controversial is on the agenda. Executive Committee members will be addressed by DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) The DNC meeting is at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan.

  • Emily's List hits Chicago June 27: Sebelius, Lisa Madigan, Neely, Finney to speak

    6 Jun 2013 | 11:46 am
    WASHINGTON--EMILY'S List hits Chicago on June 27 for a fund-raising event featuring a panel with EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock; Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan; City of Chicago Treasurer Stephanie D. Neely and MSNBC's Karen Finney. EMILY'S List helps to bankroll the candidacies of viable females who support abortion rights. EMILY is an acronym from "Early Money is Like Yeast"--it makes the dough rise." The EMILY's List Chicago Luncheon will be at the Willis Tower with a variety of price points: *$5,000 Host (includes…

  • Feinstein, Chambliss defend phone data snooping to "keep the homeland safe." Durbin has concerns. UPDATED

    6 Jun 2013 | 8:41 am
    Updated with Durbin comments.... WASHINGTON--Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Vice-Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) on Thursday defended the Obama administration secretly gathering phone data on tens of millions of users because "I think people want the homeland kept safe to the extent we can," Feinstein said. Congress approved the surveillance, Feinstein said in a hurriedly called press conference in the Capitol, because of the threat terrorists pose. "I know people are trying to get to us," Feinstein said. Just as the Transportation Security…

  • President Obama official schedule and guidance June 6, 2013. North Carolina, California

    6 Jun 2013 | 5:39 am
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    DavidMixner.com

  • Southern California Faces Worst Fire Season In 100 Years; Could Be Catastrophic

    David Mixner
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:00 am
          Fire and emergency officials throughout Southern California warned that this could be worse fire season in one hundred years. The severe dry conditions, newly developed housing areas and metrological conditions are coming together to create the perfect storm for wildfires. NBC News reports: Southern California fire officials warned Monday that the state should take caution during a brutal fire season that projections suggest could be the worst to hit the region in a century. “We’re going to have a very volatile fire season,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl…

  • VIDEO: Christine Quinn Was There For Breezy Point After Hurricane Sandy

    David Mixner
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:00 pm
        People can complain that she is too 'bossy' or 'too inside' but the fact of the matter is that Christine Quinn has gotten thing accomplished while others simply offered words. After Hurricane Sandy, Quinn was in Breezy Point which was swamped both with water and fire. Day in and day out she fought for the survivors of Hurricane Sandy, was present in person and showed love and compassion.

  • VIDEO: Little Kitten Goes Crazy! Absolutely Hysterical!

    David Mixner
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:53 pm
    Oh my God did I laugh with this one. This video of the lizards and the kitten was fantastic! Enjoy

  • Eternal Flame At President Kennedy's Grave To Light Irish Memorial

    David Mixner
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:17 am
        President Kennedy Graves Site With Eternal Flame (1964) This is the 50th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy and throughout the year there will be memorials and moments to remember the young idealistic and vibrant President. Those of us alive at that time will never forget those three years of his Presidency. He inspired us to do more for the rest of our lives. Irish Central is reporting that the flame from the grave of President John F. Kennedy will light a torch to be taken to Ireland to light a memorial which will commemorate his visit there fifty years…

  • SIGN NOW: Join Malala Yousafzai And Support A Girls Right To Education Around The World!

    David Mixner
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:24 am
          A massive international petition drive called "Raise Your Hand" is taking place to present the United Nations with hundreds of thousands of signatures from around the world. The effort is to demand that every child has a right to an education and that includes millions of young girls denied that opportunity because of their gender. Currently around the globe over 55 million children are not receiving an education and a majority of them are women. The goal is to present one million signatures by September to the United Nations General Assembly. Malala…
 
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    Salon.com

  • R.I.P. Michael Hastings

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:42 pm
    There are so few committed truth-tellers in the world that when you lose one, it feels like a loss of more than one life -- it feels like a moment of loss for the larger world. Michael Hastings' death from a car crash is one of those moments.Michael is probably best known as the Rolling Stone reporter who had the guts to challenge the military establishment by publishing a piece that ended up getting Gen. Stanley McChrystal removed from his post. Even a brief perusal of the headlines of his reporting for Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed show that such a truth-to-power attitude defined his…

  • Country music has always been feminist, even if Taylor Swift isn’t

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Taylor Swift might not want to be a feminist, but that hasn’t stopped the rest of us from wishing that she were. Sure, she throws us a female empowerment bone every once in a while, giving the occasional public, barely veiled middle finger to the men who have wronged her (who among us hasn’t dreamed of the opportunity to do the same?), but then she does something like picking a fight with universally idolized feminist icons Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, or refusing to identify herself as a feminist, and we find ourselves once again shaking our heads at the singer, even if we are…

  • NSA spying kills my faith in America

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Dear Cary,I write to you about the idea of identity, particularly my identity as an American in the wake of the NSA warrantless wiretapping and PRISM program. Growing up, perhaps naively, I have carried this ideal of America, freedom, liberty and the right to privacy as absolutes. The First Amendment of free speech and the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches provided a base that shaped my understanding of my place and role in society. As a citizen I could anonymously say within reason almost any idea or thought without repercussions from the government. As a citizen I expected my…

  • John Horne Burns: The writer Hemingway and Vidal envied

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    In the fall of 1941, John Horne Burns, Andover ’33, Harvard summa cum laude ’37, was teaching English at the Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut. Burns was an isolationist (“I am a pacifist. I don’t want to get shot,” he had said), a linguist (fluent in French, Italian, and German), and musician, an accomplished pianist and vocalist. He was also a dazzling intellect and a would-be novelist (he’d written many unpublished ones already). He was also a gay man, as closeted as the era required but nonetheless sufficiently out to inspire his gay students, both those who knew they were…

  • Five easy steps for becoming a rape apologist

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:07 pm
    James Taranto, a well-practiced Internet troll, has come out with a Wall Street Journal editorial on military sexual assault that would make a great best-practices manual on how to be a rape apologist.Let's examine his process, shall we?Step 1: Frame an effort to curb rampant sexual assault in the military as a "war on men" If you thought that Sen. Claire McCaskill's, D-Mo., objections to the nomination of Lt. Gen. Susan Helms to vice commander of the Air Force Space Command were about Helms' decision to overturn -- against the advice of legal counsel -- the conviction of a captain twice…
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    The American Conservative » Daniel Larison

  • Regional Opinion and Syria

    Daniel Larison
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:51 pm
    Earlier this week, Hussein Ibish was expressing his hope for “mission creep” in Syria, but here he wants us to understand that “Syria is not Iraq.” He makes one claim that seems demonstrably false: The regional atmosphere is completely different. There was a virtual unanimity in the Arab world in opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Now, to the contrary, virtually the entire Sunni Arab world, along with Turkey and others, are desperately looking for American leadership on the Syria question [bold mine-DL]. Outrage at any proactive American backing of Syrian rebels will…

  • Jindal: “Deal With It”

    Daniel Larison
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:14 am
    Bobby Jindal makes the case that Republicans should stop “navel-gazing” about their problems: We are the conservative party in America — deal with it. We have a lot of dissenting voices. So what? Deal with it. The American public waxes and wanes. Fine. It will wax again soon enough. Deal with it, and start fighting for our principles instead of against them, so we can be in position to create the next wave. This is the sort of cri de coeur that one might expect from an activist or maybe a pundit, but it’s remarkably tone-deaf for an elected official. Jindal seems to be…

  • The Weary Recitation of Bad Analogies

    Daniel Larison
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:09 pm
    Richard Cohen reminds us that his references to interventions in the Balkans are completely unreliable: The more apt comparison is the 78-day NATO bombing campaign in 1995 that ended the bloodshed in Bosnia — and cost not a single American life. I’m not sure why someone so predisposed to military interventionism and endless Balkan references as Cohen is can’t get basic facts about the Balkan interventions right. The 78-day bombing campaign was in 1999 in Kosovo, and NATO intervention in Bosnia was a much more complicated and prolonged affair than Cohen describes. If Cohen…

  • Rouhani and U.S. Iran Policy

    Daniel Larison
    17 Jun 2013 | 1:38 pm
    Paul Pillar reflects on the significance of Hassan Rouhani’s victory in the Iranian presidential election: Rouhani’s win brings to Iran’s presidency the candidate who was least associated with attributes of the Iranian regime that the West finds most offensive. While one must always be careful in affixing labels to individual leaders and factions in Iranian politics, the pre-election characterization of Rouhani as the most moderate of the six candidates remaining in the race until election day is accurate. It remains to be seen how much influence Rouhani will have, or rather…

  • Realism and National Interests

    Daniel Larison
    17 Jun 2013 | 10:11 am
    Noah Millman uses last week’s decision on arming rebels to ask a broader question: Is there a convincing realist explanation for America’s Syria policy? And if not – if American policy is being driven by forces divorced not only from the national interest but from a clearly-discernable parochial interest of the regime or powerful interest groups – then what are the implications for realism as a descriptive theory of foreign affairs? In practice, a government has its own definition of the national interest, and that definition may or may not be correct. Many of our political…
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    RollingStone.com: All News

  • Michael Hastings, 'Rolling Stone' Contributor, Dead at 33

    18 Jun 2013 | 4:15 pm
    Michael Hastings the fearless journalist whose reporting brought down the career of General Stanley McChrystal has died in a car accident in Los Angeles Rolling Stone has learned He was 33 Hastings' unvarnished 2010 profile of McChrystal in the pages of Rolling Stone "The Runaway General" captured the then-supreme commander of...

  • Serena Williams: The Great One

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:35 pm
    Who is the most dominant figure in sports today? LeBron James? Michael Phelps? Please Get that weak sauce out of here It is Serena Williams She runs women's tennis like Kim Jong-un runs North Korea ruthlessly with spare moments of comedy indolence and the occasional appearance of a split personality Random...

  • Miley Cyrus Talks Drugs and Alcohol

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:30 pm
    A few years ago Miley Cyrus learned firsthand the perils of unguarded moments in the digital age when video surfaced of her using a bong supposedly to smoke a legal substance called salvia – an incident she later spoofed on Saturday Night Live While the pop singer doesn't exactly cop...

  • Tame Impala on Touring, Success and Festival Crowds

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:00 pm
    Kevin Parker recorded Tame Impala's psychedelic masterpiece Lonerism mostly alone in a Paris apartment but he had no problem recreating it live when the Aussie band played Bonnaroo on Sunday finding deep grooves in "Elephant" and "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" "Playing live is a different beast altogether" Parker tells...

  • John Mayer Pairs 'Paper Doll' With Prancercise Clip

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:30 pm
    Prancercising is America's favorite new craze and John Mayer is hopping on the bandwagon in the lyric video for "Paper Doll" the first single from his upcoming record Paradise Valley In the clip prancercise expert Joanna Rohrback demonstrates "a prance to romance to" set to the tune of Mayer's sweet subtle...
 
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    The Brody File

  • Only on The Brody File: Joe Scarborough Turns To Fox News To Get Away From Media's Liberal Bias

    David Brody
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:29 pm
    In an exclusive interview with The Brody File from 30 Rock in New York, MSNBC Morning Joe Host Joe Scarborough says he turns on Fox News when he thinks the media is being too liberal. ““I love Fox News. I’m glad that Fox News was created and I’ve admitted it publicly too that whenever I’m pulling my hair out because I think the media is being too liberal and too bias I just as a reflex, as a conservative I turn to Fox News. I watch Fox News and I’m like… (Takes deep breath). It’s like I’ve jumped into a warm swimming pool.” The Brody File recently spoke with Scarborough on…

  • Only On Brody File: Joe Scarborough On His Talk Radio Show Critics: "Most Of These Guys Couldn’t Get Elected Dog Catcher"

    David Brody
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:53 pm
    In an interview you will only see on The Brody File, MSNBC Morning Joe Host Joe Scarborough has the following to say about conservative radio-talk show hosts who criticize him: “Most of these guys couldn’t get elected dog catcher.” Scarborough acknowledges the popularity of these shows but says he’s interested in making sure the Republican Party wins future elections. “Getting a big audience on radio and winning elections those are two completely different things.” There’s no doubt that ever since Scarborough has settled in at MSNBC, he has ticked off a certain section of…

  • Exclusive: Jeb Bush Calls Hillary "Formidable Force On The Left"

    David Brody
    14 Jun 2013 | 2:34 pm
    In an exclusive sit-down interview with The Brody File, Jeb Bush says that, “Hillary Clinton is a formidable force on the left.” We sat down with Jeb Bush Friday morning at the Faith and Freedom Coalition event in DC. If Jeb Bush decides to run for president, he will most likely be considered the frontrunner for the GOP nomination. The full story on Jeb Bush runs Monday on The 700 Club. View more clips from the Jeb Bush interview here. Courtesy: CBN News/The Brody File Jeb Bush: “Hillary Clinton is a formidable force on the left. I wouldn’t discount her ability to make a difference…

  • Exclusive: Jeb Bush On Ted Cruz

    David Brody
    14 Jun 2013 | 2:28 pm
    In an exclusive sit-down interview with The Brody File, Jeb Bush took a slightly veiled shot at Senator Ted Cruz today when he said the following: “He's very articulate.  He was a great candidate and he's starting out here.  He's deciding right now, I think, what path he wants to take.  I'm for solutions. To me, being able to use your skills to solve problems should be the focus for everybody in elected office today because our systems are broken. They're not working and to point out the fact that they're broken is one thing.  To actually find creative solutions in a divided country to…

  • Exclusive: Jeb Bush Begins To Lay Out Case For President

    David Brody
    14 Jun 2013 | 2:13 pm
    In an exclusive sit-down interview with The Brody File, Jeb Bush began to sketch out his case for President of the United States if he decides to run next year. “It will be based on my record. And that record was one of solving problems from completely from a conservative perspective.  I cut taxes every year, I shrunk the size of government,” Jeb Bush tells The Brody File. And as for his critics who say he’s too mainstream establishment he offers this: “I will be able to, I think, manage my way through all the chirpers out there.” We sat down with Jeb Bush Friday morning at the…
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    The Reality-Based Community

  • Oh, Bears!

    Michael O'Hare
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:52 pm
    Time to update the amazing failing-upward saga of the UC Berkeley Intercollegiate Athletics program, because we have hit the front page of our local paper with another humiliating roundup.  Just to review, we are talking about a $70m-per-year business that loses $10m sending athletes to compete against other schools in a couple of dozen sports where they have fun, do fairly well, and mostly graduate without a lot of handholding and tutoring.  It also sells tickets and television access to people who want to watch about 150 men play basketball and football, and rights to make the usual…

  • What Detroit means

    Kelly Kleiman
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:21 pm
    The first thing I thought about Detroit is that the state’s appointment of a receiver demonstrated the Republican governor’s profound indifference to the democratic process of a Democratic city, not to mention a white governor’s profound indifference to a black city.   This may be true, but it’s also true that Detroit’s finances are such a catastrophe that, like New York in the 1970s, it seems to need an outsider to get its house in order. It helps that the trustee is African-American, though not very much: even temporary government without the consent of the…

  • Will House Republicans Save Food Aid Reform?

    Jonathan Zasloff
    17 Jun 2013 | 8:40 pm
    Rep. Ed Royce (R – CA): the potential hero of food aid reform These next 48 hours are critical for advancing reform of US international food aid, which I have blogged about previously.  Short version: because current rules essentially demand that we provide aid in food grown in the US via government subsidy, our current aid regime wastes money, delays delivery of aid by weeks, lines the pockets of agribusiness and big shipping, often undermines farmers in the Global South, and leaves 2-4 million people starving who could otherwise be helped. The basic answer is to allow food to be…

  • Quote of the Day

    Keith Humphreys
    17 Jun 2013 | 3:16 pm
    Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. –Benjamin Franklin (but probably not really)

  • Phoenix Figures Out How to Reduce Water Demand During Ongoing Drought

    Matthew E. Kahn
    17 Jun 2013 | 8:02 am
    The New York Times reports that Phoenix is figuring out how to reduce the demand for water during a time when it isn’t raining.   For economists who read the RBC, note that the words “water prices” are not mentioned in the article.  Instead, conservation is achieved through rebates and on the supply side water is recycled.    While Phoenix is often predicted to become a hell hole thanks to ongoing climate change, millions of people have chosen to live there.  They have the right incentives to search for solutions to emerging challenges.  I know that you are tired of…
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    Bleeding Heartland - Front Page

  • Census data confirm growing Asian, Latino population in Iowa

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:40 am
    The latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that Asian-Americans are now the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group nationwide and in Iowa. An estimated 60,004 Asian-Americans were living in Iowa as of July 2012, which is 10.6 percent more than the census estimate for 2010 and 4.8 percent more than the estimate for 2011. Sanjita Shrestha, who leads the Iowa Department of Human Rights' Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, told Radio Iowa that "many Asians who come here are reuniting with family members and finding jobs." The largest numbers of Asian-Americans live in…

  • Branstad ready to put tourism industry ahead of teaching kids

    17 Jun 2013 | 1:13 pm
    Nothing says "not serious about giving Iowa kids a world-class education" than putting the needs of the tourism industry ahead of what's best for student learning. But Governor Terry Branstad sounds ready to do just that. Branstad enthusiastically signed the education reform bill earlier this month, suggesting that Iowa is on the verge of transformational change: "Having good schools is no longer good enough." At his regular weekly press conference today, Branstad discussed a different education controversy. Iowa law currently stipulates that K-12 schools should begin the academic year the…

  • Appeals court ruling is mixed bag for Iowa's campaign finance disclosure rules

    17 Jun 2013 | 5:32 am
    Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in 2010, the Iowa legislature adopted and Governor Chet Culver signed into law new campaign finance disclosure requirements for corporate organizations that make independent expenditures for or against Iowa candidates. At the time, I thought those new rules were court-proof, because the law only called for disclosure and did not restrict the size of corporate contributions to independent expenditure campaigns. Nevertheless, conservative "campaign-finance crusader" Jim Bopp filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Iowa Right to Life,…

  • Weekend open thread, with links on Iowa Republican women

    15 Jun 2013 | 6:20 am
    What's on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? This is an open thread. Iowa Republicans will have at least two women on the statewide ballot in 2014: Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds and State Auditor Mary Mosiman, who kicked off her election campaign on Thursday in Des Moines. Excerpts from Kevin Hall's write-up of the event are after the jump. State Senator Joni Ernst could also become a statewide nominee if she joins the U.S. Senate race, as expected. I think she has strong potential in a GOP primary against three or four men. At this writing, no Democratic woman has…

  • More Iowa Congressional reaction to the NSA surveillance story

    15 Jun 2013 | 4:45 am
    None of Iowa's four U.S. House members has issued a press release about the National Security Agency's massive surveillance of phone and online communications, but all have now made some public comment about the controversy. I enclose the details below. Staff for Representative Bruce Braley (D, IA-01) sent me this statement in response to my request for comment: "The disclosures over the past week raise many important questions about the federal government's surveillance of Americans' lives. In the weeks to come, I'll be demanding more information on these programs and pushing to get answers…
 
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    Salon.com

  • R.I.P. Michael Hastings

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:42 pm
    There are so few committed truth-tellers in the world that when you lose one, it feels like a loss of more than one life -- it feels like a moment of loss for the larger world. Michael Hastings' death from a car crash is one of those moments.Michael is probably best known as the Rolling Stone reporter who had the guts to challenge the military establishment by publishing a piece that ended up getting Gen. Stanley McChrystal removed from his post. Even a brief perusal of the headlines of his reporting for Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed show that such a truth-to-power attitude defined his…

  • Country music has always been feminist, even if Taylor Swift isn’t

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Taylor Swift might not want to be a feminist, but that hasn’t stopped the rest of us from wishing that she were. Sure, she throws us a female empowerment bone every once in a while, giving the occasional public, barely veiled middle finger to the men who have wronged her (who among us hasn’t dreamed of the opportunity to do the same?), but then she does something like picking a fight with universally idolized feminist icons Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, or refusing to identify herself as a feminist, and we find ourselves once again shaking our heads at the singer, even if we are…

  • NSA spying kills my faith in America

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    Dear Cary,I write to you about the idea of identity, particularly my identity as an American in the wake of the NSA warrantless wiretapping and PRISM program. Growing up, perhaps naively, I have carried this ideal of America, freedom, liberty and the right to privacy as absolutes. The First Amendment of free speech and the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches provided a base that shaped my understanding of my place and role in society. As a citizen I could anonymously say within reason almost any idea or thought without repercussions from the government. As a citizen I expected my…

  • John Horne Burns: The writer Hemingway and Vidal envied

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pm
    In the fall of 1941, John Horne Burns, Andover ’33, Harvard summa cum laude ’37, was teaching English at the Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut. Burns was an isolationist (“I am a pacifist. I don’t want to get shot,” he had said), a linguist (fluent in French, Italian, and German), and musician, an accomplished pianist and vocalist. He was also a dazzling intellect and a would-be novelist (he’d written many unpublished ones already). He was also a gay man, as closeted as the era required but nonetheless sufficiently out to inspire his gay students, both those who knew they were…

  • Five easy steps for becoming a rape apologist

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:07 pm
    James Taranto, a well-practiced Internet troll, has come out with a Wall Street Journal editorial on military sexual assault that would make a great best-practices manual on how to be a rape apologist.Let's examine his process, shall we?Step 1: Frame an effort to curb rampant sexual assault in the military as a "war on men" If you thought that Sen. Claire McCaskill's, D-Mo., objections to the nomination of Lt. Gen. Susan Helms to vice commander of the Air Force Space Command were about Helms' decision to overturn -- against the advice of legal counsel -- the conviction of a captain twice…
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    Booman Tribune

  • Feeding the Stupid

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:15 am
    There are a lot of reasons that people hate politicians, but one of them is that they so frequently do things not because they have any intrinsic merit but simply to score cheap political points. For example, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is introducing amendments to the immigration bill that he hopes will make him look better than Marco Rubio to the Republican base should they wind up squaring off against each other for the 2016 presidential nomination. These amendments have no chance of passing, and if they did pass they would scuttle the bill. One amendment would "eliminate the pathway to…

  • Peak Wingnut…Achieved

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:15 am
    Let me see if I have this right. Twenty Fifteen week-old male fetuses masturbate, ergo, they must feel pleasure, thus, they must feel pain, therefore, derp. Science, people. Learn it. Discuss

  • Casual Observation

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:15 am
    Even if she tried, she couldn't make John McCain look more stupid for selecting her as his running mate. John McCain wants to punch Ted Cruz in the neck. Discuss

  • Why I Am Concerned

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:15 am
    Somewhat amazingly, we have a president who actually understands the Middle East and the complications involved in taking a side in the Syrian civil war. He actually uses language at the end of this exchange that is indistinguishable from what I've been saying. CHARLIE ROSE: So you think a no fly zone is not necessary? PRESIDENT OBAMA: What I’m saying is, that if you haven’t been in the Situation Room, poring through intelligence and meeting directly with our military folks and asking, what are all our options, and examining what are all the consequences, and understanding that for…

  • We Need to Get Over Ourselves

    19 Jun 2013 | 3:15 am
    I have a thought, but before I share it, you have to read this first: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) hailed efforts to arm opposition forces seeking to topple Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, but said President Obama’s decision to aid the rebels may have come too late. “Timing matters and these were options that were there for us a year-and-a-half ago,” said Rubio on ABC’s “This Week.” Rubio said Obama had “failed” to identify pro-Western elements in the Syrian opposition sooner, leading to a situation where Islamic militants had gained the upper hand in the civil war. I invite…
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    Politics » George Stephanopoulos

  • Jeffrey Goldberg: Iran Holds ‘Fake Election in a Fake Democracy’

    Alyssa Giannirakis
    16 Jun 2013 | 9:50 am
    Below you can find some of the notable comments made Sunday on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” Roundtable guests included ABC News’ George Will, ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz, former Defense Department and CIA chief of staff Jeremy Bash, Bloomberg View columnist Jeffrey Goldberg, Democratic strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. GOLDBERG: Essentially this is a fake election and a fake democracy. Let’s not kid ourselves about what we’re dealing with…

  • Marco Rubio: President’s Inaction Has Led to ‘Worst Possible Scenario’ in Syria

    Benjamin Bell
    16 Jun 2013 | 8:27 am
    During an exclusive interview on “This Week,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio criticized President Obama for not intervening sooner in Syria’s civil war, saying the inaction has led to the “worst possible scenario” in the war-torn country. “It behooved us to kind of identify whether there was elements there within Syria fighting against Assad that we could work with, reasonable people that wouldn’t carry out human rights violations, and could be part of building a new Syria. We failed to do that. This president failed to do that,” Rubio told…

  • Jeb Bush Calls His Father the ‘Best Man I’ve Ever Met’

    Kari Rea
    16 Jun 2013 | 7:55 am
    In a special Father’s Day edition of the Sunday Spotlight on ABC’s This Week, former Florida governor Jeb Bush reflected on lessons he learned from his father and hinted about his own political future. In an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Jon Karl, Bush spoke about Father’s Days spent in the Bush household and called the 41st president “the best dad and the best man I’ve ever met.” “He’s a humble guy,” Bush said. “Every day was Father’s Day as I’m concerned.” Bush said his…

  • Coming Up on ‘This Week’: Sen. Marco Rubio; Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

    ABC News
    14 Jun 2013 | 12:21 pm
    US Senate/Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images In a “This Week” Sunday exclusive, ABC Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl goes one-on-one with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on the debate over immigration reform and U.S. aid to rebels in Syria. The Obama administration announced Thursday that it will begin providing military aid to Syrian rebels, after evidence proving that Syrian troops had used chemical weapons in the country’s deadly civil war. How much will the aid help the rebels, and how far should the U.S. go in intervening in the Syrian conflict? And as the Senate…

  • Bush Ballot Split on Jeb in 2016

    Benjamin Bell
    14 Jun 2013 | 5:36 am
    During an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that will air Sunday on “This Week,” former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush joked that his parents are divided on whether he should follow in his brother’s footsteps and run for the White House in 2016. “I think we’ve got a split ballot amongst the Bush senior family. Pretty sure that’s the case,” he said smiling. There is speculation that Bush might run in 2016 though he has not given any hints on his thinking, saying he will wait until next year to consider a run. Karl asked the former Florida…
 
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    Dandelion Salad

  • Thousands Protesting On The Streets In Brazil

    dandelionsalad
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:39 am
    Dandelion Salad RTAmerica on Jun 18, 2013 Nearly 200,000 demonstrators took to the streets of eight cities in Brazil to protest the rising cost of public services and the government’s spending on next year’s World Cup. The protests originated in Sao Paulo where people showed their opposition to increased public transportation fare, but now that […]

  • Noam Chomsky on TPP Secrecy, Terrorism and Google Glass

    dandelionsalad
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:02 pm
    Dandelion Salad with Noam Chomsky Laura Flanders http://grittv.org June 18, 2013 What do Takism Square, Google Glass, Trans Pacific Partnership and NSA have in common? Find out in this interview with Noam Chomsky. On the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the pending trade deal critics are calling “NAFTA on steroids”: These are patent rules so high, if they’d […]

  • Glenn Greenwald: As Obama Makes “False” Spy Claims, Snowden Risks Life to Spark NSA Debate

    dandelionsalad
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:20 pm
    Dandelion Salad democracynow on Jun 18, 2013 http://www.democracynow.org – Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who broke the NSA surveillance story earlier this month, joins us one day after both President Obama and whistleblower Edward Snowden gave extensive interviews on the surveillance programs Snowden exposed and Obama is now forced to defend. Speaking to PBS, Obama […]

  • Michael Parenti: Waiting for Yesterday: Pages from a Street Kid’s Life

    dandelionsalad
    17 Jun 2013 | 9:31 pm
    with Michael Parenti Writer, Dandelion Salad Michael Parenti Blog www.michaelparenti.org June 17, 2013 Jane Bouey http://www.coopradio.org/ June 10, 2013 Interview with award-winning progressive political analyst and author Michael Parenti about his new memoir, “Waiting for Yesterday: Pages from a Street Kid’s Life.” Interviewed June 10 by Jane Bouey. Listen: http://www.coopradio.org/audio/download/27338/1370872800.mp3 [starts about 17:00 mins in] *** Table of Contents […]

  • Seeds of Change in Ethiopia by Graham Peebles

    dandelionsalad
    17 Jun 2013 | 5:32 pm
    by Graham Peebles Writer, Dandelion Salad London June 13, 2013 Thousands march in the capital The people of Ethiopia have been suppressed and controlled for generations. Under the current EPRDF government, freedom of expression has been curtailed and an atmosphere of fear and intimidation fostered. Peaceful assembly has not been allowed, contrary to the constitution, […]
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    The Best Defense

  • The Best Defense Interview: Armitage on Pakistan's Tactical Nukes, Afghanistan's Future, and Why We Should Withdraw Now

    Thomas E. Ricks
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:13 am
    Best Defense: Do you think Pakistan turned against the United States in Afghanistan in 2005? What makes you think that? Richard Armitage: "When I was deputy secretary [of state], from 2001 to February 2005, I looked constantly for information that the Pakistanis were aiding the Taliban.... I did see liaison, but I could not find" strong evidence of more. "2005, if you look at casualties [in the Afghan war]. There was the beginning of a sharp rise. I believe two things happened. The Talibs started digging up their weapons and the Pakistanis thought, Maybe the Americans will…

  • Rosa's Dystopia: The Moral Downside of Coming Autonomous Weapons Systems

    Thomas E. Ricks
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:10 am
    By Brendon Mills Best Defense guest columnist Last Wednesday, Tom posted about one of the more provocative statements made during CNAS's fantastic annual conference. FP's Rosa Brooks, while discussing the morality of drones, implied that future drones with artificial intelligence would make better judgments than humans about when to kill in war. And if that's the case, she asked, how can we morally justify not using these drones? Brooks may be correct that drones one day will be better at making judgments about when to kill, yet the broader negative moral consequences of making AI drones the…

  • Who Played Left Field, Stalin or Lenin?

    Thomas E. Ricks
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:07 am
    Normally I wouldn't mention this, but I was surprised to see that the winning pitcher in a Pennsylvania high school state championship game was Dylan "Trotsky" Borawski. Reminds me of a fun novel I read once, The Dixie Associationabout the Arkansas Reds. Also the fact that Fidel Castro was a pretty good hurler in his day.

  • SAMs in Afghanistan -- from where?

    Thomas E. Ricks
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:59 am
    If surface-to-air missiles are being intercepted near the Pakistani border, where are they coming from?

  • Australia's top general shows how to talk clearly about sexual harassment

    Thomas E. Ricks
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:58 am
    Bottom line from Australia's top general: Respect your fellow soldiers. "If that does not suit you, get out .... I will be ruthless." (HT to PL)
 
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    POLITICOMIX

  • A Cunning Plan

    Roberto
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:33 pm
    Click comic to ENLARGE.The Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot require would-be voters to prove they are U.S. citizens, voting 7-2 to throw out Arizona's voter-approved requirement that prospective voters document their U.S. citizenship. Somewhat surprisingly, arch-conservative Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion.

  • Sergeant Park (18)

    Roberto
    16 Jun 2013 | 5:40 am
    Click comic to ENLARGE.

  • The Insanity Defense

    Roberto
    12 Jun 2013 | 2:52 am
    Click comic to ENLARGE.

  • Dance, Dance, Dance

    Roberto
    9 Jun 2013 | 4:37 pm
    Click comic to ENLARGE.

  • Enema by the State

    Roberto
    7 Jun 2013 | 3:05 pm
    Click comic to ENLARGE.
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    The Left Coaster

  • RIP, Frank Lautenberg

    Steve
    3 Jun 2013 | 1:04 pm
    Frank Lautenberg, Rest in Peace. You were a good Democrat and served your country very well, and deserved better than to have Cory Booker start pushing you aside. We'll now get to see how good a politician Chris Christie is. Of course, he'll pick a GOP replacement for Lautenberg, and no one should expect otherwise. The key will be whether he picks a conservative for self-serving 2016 reasons, or a moderate GOP replacement to mirror his state and preserve the chances of legislative progress this year on issues like immigration reform. Because if Christie picks a conservative to placate the…

  • A Few Sunday Notes

    paradox
    2 Jun 2013 | 7:13 am
    /* I’m still a little surprised weeks later at the opposition to my proposition in ending the draft altogether, the arguments made great sense to me but still never overrode the triumph of individual liberty. It’s unthinkable in my American experience to force a young man into conscription as a killer, I suspect that proponents of the draft would think very differently if it were their soul and life forced to get shot in the face for British Petroleum. [shrugs] I don’t know, I’m a small person. I remember a nuclear weapon scientist defending their creation because after WWII the…

  • Winning, In Spite Of Himself

    Steve
    18 May 2013 | 1:40 pm
    Having effectively neutered the GOP scandal mongers on Benghazi by releasing emails proving no cover-up took place, (emails that the GOP had months ago), the Obama administration hopes to continue on a dual-track strategy of focusing on achievable small things while devoting a separate effort to scandal-management. Today's NYT reports that the administration will work to get something done on immigration, see if a budget deal is possible, and focus on student loans, implementing health care, and smaller things through executive order while hoping the GOP steam peters out. It's a good…

  • The Wrong Lessons From the IRS Tea Party Flap

    Steve
    14 May 2013 | 12:05 pm
    Much of the media yesterday took away the wrong message from the revelations that IRS field staff were singling out Tea Party Section 501(c)(4) "social welfare" applicants for review. While the GOP will certainly use (as the NYT editorial board said today) the misapplication of government oversight as a political weapon for its base, that doesn't mean Democrats and the White House should be cowered into retreat on this issue. The plain truth is that the IRS has an obligation to review timely all applicants for tax exempt treatment to guard against abuse of this special status. The IRS should…

  • Call the GOP Out

    Steve
    13 May 2013 | 1:46 pm
    President Obama said today that the ongoing GOP “Benghazi is Watergate” nonsense is a sideshow. Unfortunately, he is wrong for two reasons: one because the State Department did modify the original CIA talking points. And two, because this story will continue to have legs until the White House points out how the House GOP shares this one for rejecting additional embassy security funding in 2011. Look, State's own emails confirm that the original CIA talking points were changed. As confirmed by State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, the reason why she wanted the original Agency…
 
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    Download Free - full Movies, crack Software, mp3 Music, electronic Books search Torrents, Mediafire, MegaUpload

  • Aashiqui 2 (2013) BDRip x264 AC3 SAP [DDR]

    shakir69
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:25 am
    Aashiqui 2 (2013) (Hindi) BDRip x264 AC3 SAP ESubs [DDR]IMDB InfoLanguage: HindiSize: 1219296131 bytes (1.14 GiB), duration: 02:12:39, avg.bitrate: 1226 kb/sAudio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1 (und)Video: h264, yuv420p, 864x368, 24.00 fps(r) (und)Genre: Drama | Musical | RomancePlot: Rahul loses his fans and fame due to alcoholism. But he then decides to turn a small time singer into a rising star.

  • Flight (2012) 1080p BRRip sonicx-UKB-RG

    shakir69
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:21 am
    Flight (2012) 1080p BRRip.sonicx-UKB-RGIMDB InfoLanguage: EnglishSize: 14884922473 bytes (13.86 GiB), duration: 02:18:35, avg.bitrate: 14321 kb/sAudio: dts, 48000 Hz, 5:1 (eng)Video: h264, yuv420p, 1920x800, 23.98 fps(r) (eng)Subtitles: eng eng fre spa porGenre: DramaPlot: An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.

  • Man of Steel (2013) UNLIMITEDPoWeR 1280x720 AC3

    shakir69
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:10 am
    Man of Steel (2013) UNLIMITEDPoWeR 1280x720 AC3IMDB InfoLanguage: EnglishSize: 5358629512 bytes (4.99 GiB), duration: 02:12:40, avg.bitrate: 5386 kb/sAudio: mp3, 44100 Hz, stereo, 320 kb/sVideo: mpeg4, yuv420p, 1280x720, 14.99 fps(r)Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-FiPlot: A young itinerant worker is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race.

  • A Good Day To Die Hard (2013) 720p BRRip x264 [English Hindi Punjabi] [EXD]

    shakir69
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:07 am
    A Good Day To Die Hard (2013) 720p BRRip x264 [English Hindi Punjabi] [EXD]IMDB InfoLanguage: EnglishSize: 1016628135 bytes (969.53 MiB), duration: 01:38:10, avg.bitrate: 1381 kb/sAudio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo (hin)Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo (pan)Audio: ac3, 44100 Hz, stereo (eng)Video: h264, yuv420p, 1280x692, 23.98 fps(r) (eng)Subtitles: engGenre: Action | Crime | ThrillerPlot: John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against…

  • Pusher (2012) 720p BluRay x264 DTS-WiKi

    shakir69
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:54 am
    Pusher (2012) 720p BluRay x264 DTS-WiKiIMDB InfoLanguage: EnglishSize: 4677798157 bytes (4.36 GiB), duration: 01:28:49, avg.bitrate: 7022 kb/sAudio: dts, 48000 Hz, 5:1 (eng)Video: h264, yuv420p, 1280x536, 24.00 fps(r) (eng)Genre: Action | Crime | ThrillerPlot: In London, a street dealer's life spins out of control over the course of one week after he borrows money from his supplier on what's supposed to be a sure thing.
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    Politics in the Zeros

  • It’s Not About The Nail (the difference between men and women)

    Bob Morris
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:11 pm
    This is hilarious.

  • Burlington VT seeks power to banish people based on secret memo

    William Boardman
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:04 am
    The story from Burlington VT, of all places, is breathtakingly simple: the elected city council, in a bi-partisan vote, has decided to keep its law-making process secret, rather than openly address the question of whether a draconian no-trespass law it passed last winter is patently unconstitutional. “Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy, ought never to be the system of a regular government.”  — Jeremy Bentham That’s right, rather than explain why the law it passed is constitutional, the Burlington City Council is hiding behind lawyer-client privilege as if it—the council…

  • 3D printed iPhone case with movable gears

    Bob Morris
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:00 am
    This iPhone case is 3D printed in one piece and the gears do indeed move. It’s really amazing what can be done with 3D printing. You can buy it at Shapeways.

  • Santa Cruz desalination fights highlights the issue

    Bob Morris
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:54 am
    Opponents of desalination in Santa Cruz CA object to an environmental report for a $129 million desal plant. They say water conservation measures and improved water management could hold water consumption at current levels so the plant would not be needed. I’m completely in favor of water conservation. However, California is in a drought, climate change is making the water situation worse, and the population is growing. San Diego is currently building a huge desal plant. If California wants to guarantee plentiful water then it will need many more desal plants. That in turn means more…

  • Texas grabs Craziest State Award back from Arizona

    Bob Morris
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:12 am
    This is not satire. GOP lawmaker: Extreme abortion ban justified because of masturbating fetuses Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) said on Monday that he supports the proposed federal ban on abortion at 20 weeks because he has personally witnessed male fetuses with their hands “between their legs” pleasuring themselves at 15 weeks.
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    Free Government Magazines and Downloads from alltop.tradepub.com

  • HR Daily Advisor

    10 Jun 2013 | 9:50 am
    And for a limited time also receive a Free Special Report, Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management.Keep up-to-date with the latest HR issues, trends, and ever changing employment law.HR Daily Advisor will help you:Save Time - with concise, complete, actionable informationStay Up-to-Date - a team of experts does the research for youSucceed - Plain English analysis and advice is immediately usefulRegister for HR Daily Advisor Today!Request Free!

  • Video Beyond the Conference Room

    3 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    Video plays a huge part in every stage of disaster management:Readiness StageDetection and Early Warning StageAnalysis and Incident Response StageRecovery and Reconstruction StageRead this issue brief to find out how and view some real-world examples of video becoming an integral part of crisis management at every scale.Request Free!

  • FierceGovernment

    16 May 2013 | 2:50 pm
    Federal managers rely on FierceGovernment's free weekly email brief for news on open government, Gov 2.0, collaboration, procurement and more. Subscribe to FierceGovernment today to stay up-to-date on these topics and more.Request Free!

  • Military & Aerospace Electronics

    7 May 2013 | 11:50 am
    Military & Aerospace Electronics editorial covers topics such as Navigation/Guidance, Avionics, Missile Systems, Communication Systems, Electronic Warfare, Simulation/ Training Systems, Unmanned Vehicles, Nanotechnology, Biometrics, Homeland Security, Shipboard Electronics, Reconnaissance Equipment and other relevant topics to military professionals in organizations such as the Department of Defense (DOD), NASA, FAA, CIA, FBI, NSA, Defense Contractors, Prime Contractors, Subcontractors/ Integrators, Electronics Manufacturers, Defense Systems Vendors, and R&D, among others.Request Free!

  • Reduce Fraud, Waste and Abuse with Flexible Analytics

    6 May 2013 | 12:00 am
    This recurring problem stemmed from the fact that, in the past, most government agencies lacked the resources to cross-check payee information against databases that might negate these payments.Not anymore.Now, user-friendly, cost-effective software is available to analyze multiple databases in real-time to identify and prevent improper government payments before they happen. Read this paper to learn how SAP’s analytics solutions can help:Speed up the process of accessing multiple data sources to detect patternsReduce the burden on IT staffDramatically cut the number of improper…
 
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    BobMcCarty.com

  • Edward Snowden Should Have Been Caught by Polygraph

    BobMcCarty
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:13 pm
    Many labels will be attached to Edward Snowden’s public identity as the the source behind what one newspaper reporter described as the biggest intelligence leak in the National Security Agency’s history. As far as I’m concerned, the 29-year-old deserves a … Continue reading →

  • Wrong Person Goes to Prison After Interrogation, Polygraph

    BobMcCarty
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:42 pm
    According to a Chicago Tribune report dated June 18, 2013, Chicago cops elicited a false confession out of Nicole Harris– that she killed her young son — during a 27-hour interrogation that included a polygraph exam. As a result, the … Continue reading →

  • Should Nation’s Top Intelligence Official Be Impeached for Lying?

    BobMcCarty
    16 Jun 2013 | 11:28 am
    In an op-ed June 10, writer Derek Khanna compares Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.’s testimony under oath to that of President Bill Clinton almost 15 years earlier: Lying to a Grand Jury was the grounds for President … Continue reading →

  • Documentary Offers Surprising New Details About OKC Bombing

    BobMcCarty
    14 Jun 2013 | 4:18 pm
    When Chris Emery asked me to review a film, I was skeptical at first.  It was only because a mutual friend had sent him my way that I agreed to take a look at it.  Today, I’m glad I watched … Continue reading →

  • Sexual Assault Witch Hunt Moves Forward After Investigating Officer Recommends Otherwise

    BobMcCarty
    14 Jun 2013 | 11:26 am
    Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) stood on her politically-correct soap box, touting the righteousness of her efforts to modify the Uniform Code of Military Justice so that military commanders would, among other things, no longer be able … Continue reading →
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    I Hate the Media Article Feed

  • Hagel approves plan allowing women to join Navy SEALS, Army Rangers

    CO2Insanity
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:58 pm
    Hagel approves plan allowing women to join Navy SEALS, Army Rangers. The drop out rate during hell week is sometimes 70%. These are tough, physically fit men that drop out at that rate. This makes us wonder how far the bar is going to be lowered to be politically correct, not to mention what the results will be in combat.

  • Senate kills John Thune’s border-fence amendment — with help from Rubio and McCain

    CO2Insanity
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:03 pm
    Senate kills John Thune’s border-fence amendment — with help from Rubio and McCain. Este tipo es una puta grande.

  • Structural Excuses

    Kip Hooker
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:02 am
    Paul Krugman: Structural Excuses. Another article in which the Krugmonster denounces the sorts of inadequate steps being called austerity while calling for an increase in money supply. A course that will no doubt be almost as disastrous as his call of the Fed to create a housing bubble.

  • Defanged Dodd-Frank

    Kip Hooker
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:53 am
    The Nation: How Wall Street Defanged Dodd-Frank -Battalions of regulatory lawyers burrowed deep in the federal bureaucracy to foil reform. Reform, we’ve got reform for them. Stop bailing out cronies with tax-payer money. There, problem solved. Unless your from The Nation. In which case the problem is a strong middle class that does not require any economic masters at the top.

  • Workers Crash Walmart’s Party

    Kip Hooker
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:49 am
    Workers Crash Walmart’s Party: We have nothing but mad love for workers. But it isn’t the sort of mad love that includes wanting to subsidize their life choices with a higher cost of living and strained savings.
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    Mario Piperni dot Com

  • Immigration Reform and the Orange Man

    mario piperni
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:04 pm
    It might still be possible to get a bipartisan bill on immigration through the Senate regardless of what the bill looks like and how well it addresses true reform. But it’s getting likelier that there won’t be any immigration legislation coming out of the House any time soon. John Boehner: “I don’t see any way of bringing an immigration bill to the floor that doesn’t have a majority support of Republicans,” Boehner said during a press briefing with reporters Tuesday. “I frankly think the Senate bill is weak on border security, I think the internal enforcement…

  • Face of the Day

    mario piperni
    17 Jun 2013 | 12:54 pm
    Leena at her first birthday bash this last Saturday. The weather was glorious and the little one was radiant decked out in her ladybug-colored outfit. Those are little red and black wings strapped to her shoulders. Thank you for tagging along for the pictorial ride through leena’s first year of life. Happy Monday.   UPDATE And then there were wings… ___ Follow MarioPiperniDotCom on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

  • Republican’s “Demographic Death Spiral”

    mario piperni
    17 Jun 2013 | 10:16 am
    I dislike Lindsey Graham about as much as I can dislike any politician but he’s got this one right. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — one of the Republican co-sponsors of an immigration reform bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 11.1 million undocumented immigrations — told fellow Republicans that the GOP will fail to exist if reform does not become law. “If we don’t pass immigration reform , if we don’t get it off the table in a reasonable, practical way, it doesn’t matter who you run in 2016,” Graham warned during on appearance Sunday on…

  • Happy Father’s Day

    mario piperni
    16 Jun 2013 | 12:49 pm
    Hope it’s a good one. Bob Englehart ___ Follow MarioPiperniDotCom on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

  • Late Night Political Humor

    mario piperni
    14 Jun 2013 | 10:06 am
    The best of late night political humor via Daniel Kurtzman’s Political Humor. Happy Friday. ___ “Hispanic Senator Ted Cruz, who is fighting the immigration bill, described himself as Obama-phobic. You know you have Obama phobia if you’ll deport immigrants even though your last name is Cruz.” –Conan O’Brien “Marco Rubio announced a new bill that would require immigrants to learn English to become citizens. Many Americans already say it’s the goodest news they have heard all year.” –Conan O’Brien “According to a poll, the majority of…
 
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    Hit & Run

  • Video: What if Miss Utah Gave the Correct Answer at the Miss USA Pageant?

    Todd Krainin
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:10 pm
    Instead of a series of awkward silences, punctuated by the vacuous desire to "create education better," do you wonder what might have happened if the lovely Marisa Powell had prepared for the pageant by, say, studying a relevant article about the gender wage gap at Politifact? Imagine no longer.  "What if Miss Utah Gave the Correct Answer at the Miss USA Pageant?" is the latest from Reason TV?  Watch above or click on the link below for video, full text, supporting links, downloadable versions, and more Reason TV clips. View this article.

  • What John McCain's Immigration Dishonesty Tells Us About the Folly of Comprehensive Reform

    Matt Welch
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:00 pm
    The New Yorker this week has published an exhaustive—and exhausting—account of the Senate's attempts thus far to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The article, by Ryan Lizza, focuses on the "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of legislative negotiators whose non-negotiable criteria for membership was that participants had to favor "a comprehensive approach to immigration—all the major issues had to be settled in one bill—and they had to support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants." Tuck away those groundrules for later. The lead character in Lizza's story is Gang…

  • Michael Hastings, R.I.P.

    Brian Doherty
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:12 pm
    Michael Hastings, a great young journalist whose reporting from Afghanistan for Rolling Stone ended the active career of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and whose excelllent book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan limned in vivid detail the futility and madness of our Afghanistan intervention, died today in a car crash in Los Angeles at age 33, according to a report from BuzzFeed. I interviewed Hastings in Reason's June 2012 issue. He and his future reporting will be missed.

  • Obama: Spilling Secrets Is Bad When It Scares People, Good When It Reassures Them

    Jacob Sullum
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:37 pm
    In an interview with Charlie Rose that aired last night, President Obama said that despite his defense of the NSA's recently revealed surveillance programs, he continues to believe "we don't have to sacrifice our freedom in order to achieve security," which he called "a false choice." Still, he said, "that doesn't mean that there are not tradeoffs involved in any given program or any given action that we take." The first example he gave was telling: All of us make a decision that we go through a whole bunch of security at airports....When we were growing up, that wasn't the case, right? You…

  • Matt Welch Gets a Bit Testy Over ‘High School Dropout’ Edward Snowden on MSNBC

    Matt Welch
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:48 pm
    On Sunday, June 16, I appeared on MSNBC’s Sunday Live program with host Craig Melvin to discuss NSA surveillance and Edward Snowden, alongside Washington Post congressional correspondent Ed O’Keefe and WBAI radio host Esther Armah. I confess to airing out a bit of frustration: The day before, I talked about immigration reform on MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry show:
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    THE SECOND CHANCE SHEEPDOG

  • A Tune That Will Make You Think

    The Second Chance Sheepdog
    17 Jun 2013 | 4:39 pm
    Anybody been watching the news lately ? It seems that all we hear is bad news. There's a war in Syria. Plus, we've got IRS Gate, SpyGate, Benghazi Gate, politicians hating each other, and people killing, robbing, and maiming each other for no reason. It's insanity. The world is out of control. Pride (White Lion album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) As I think about all the crap above, and I do mean crap, I can't help but wonder what kind of world is the next generation gonna live in ? As chaotic and mean as it is now, I can't imagine what it's gonna be like in the future as things continue to…

  • Our Veterans Deserve Better

    The Second Chance Sheepdog
    7 Jun 2013 | 3:49 pm
    People who know me personally, or have read this blog for any length of time, know that I have the utmost respect for and wholeheartedly support our veterans 100% of the time. I am grateful for and always in awe of the sacrifices they make both physically and in the amount of time they are away from their families. Many times they are away from their loved ones for anywhere from 9 or 10 months to a year. I cannot imagine what that is like. Back when all the ruckus was going on about ObamaCare, health care, and so-called "Cadillac Health Care Plans," I felt like if anyone deserved a "Cadillac…

  • New Research Shows Beards Have Benefits

    The Second Chance Sheepdog
    4 Jun 2013 | 4:18 pm
    Today's post contains some good "guy news." The other day I ran across an article discussing the health benefits of beards. Researchers in Australia have found that a mustache and full beard can block nearly 100% of the sun's rays leading to a reduction in the risk of skin cancer. For a heart transplant patient, such as myself who is at a higher risk for skin cancer development, I think that's some dang good news. English: Male facial hair (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The good news coming out of the study doesn't stop there, though. According to the article titled "Beards Make Men Healthier, Say…

  • Today Will Be The Last Day of My Husband's Life ...

    The Second Chance Sheepdog
    29 May 2013 | 4:31 pm
    The Sheepdog has reprinted this article via Blue Collar Muse and the courtesy of Ken Marrero. The linkback to Ken's original article is here. Ben and I have been married for 1 year, 4 months and 2 days. Ben has just 16.5 hours left here on this earth with me. Sixteen and a half hours of time and we have no idea the end is coming … The clock is ticking. So my friend, Nikki Goeser, begins her story. On April 2, 2009 she and Ben were operating their karaoke business in Jonny’s Sports Bar in Nashville, TN. A man stalking Nikki was asked to leave the bar. He pulled a gun and murdered Ben…

  • Always

    The Second Chance Sheepdog
    27 May 2013 | 12:00 am
    Today is Memorial Day 2013, and The Sheepdog would like to personally say "thank you" to all those brave men and women, and their families, who sacrificed their very lives protecting the freedoms that we Americans hold dear. May we always honor, be grateful to, and never forget the sacrifice of all those who didn't make it home.  
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    ARCTV

  • Socialism Is a Destructive Philosophy

    David Arceneaux
    17 Jun 2013 | 2:25 pm
    Yaron Brook appears in an interview with Adrian Bye on MeetInnovators.com to discuss socialism, the morality of self-interest, interpretations of Objectivism, and more. This interview was broadcast May 10, 2013.

  • Leonard Peikoff Podcast #273

    Mikey Spicci
    17 Jun 2013 | 2:13 pm
    Topics in Leonard Peikoff’s latest podcast of philosophical Q&As include: We The Living, children of wealthy parents squandering money, relationship demands, and more.

  • How Obamacare Fleeces the Young

    David Arceneaux
    14 Jun 2013 | 2:17 pm
    Rituparna Basu appears on The Schilling Show to discuss health insurance under Obamacare, premiums, young people being forced to subsidize older people, and more. This interview was broadcast May 1, 2013.

  • Call to Action: The IRS Targeting Scandal and Freedom of Speech

    Mikey Spicci
    13 Jun 2013 | 2:26 pm
    Dr. Yaron Brook discusses the IRS targeting scandal and its implications on freedom of speech in a call to action.

  • Business Regulation

    David Arceneaux
    12 Jun 2013 | 2:32 pm
    Doug Altner appears on Butler on Business to discuss food truck regulation, occupational licensing, business lobbying for controls, and more. This interview was broadcast May 10, 2013.
 
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    VOICES for REASON

  • Perspective on the protests in Turkey

    Jordan McGillis
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:46 pm
    1) Some background on the Turkish regime. Although the Turkish government has cultivated the reputation for being pro-Western, the trend has in fact been one of dwindling freedomFor a decade now, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party—the country’s Islamist party—has been consolidating power. In the most recent national elections, the party garnered over 49% of the vote, the highest percentage any party has earned in more than three decades. Turkey’s GDP has tripled since Erdogan was first elected—and that certainly contributes to his degree of popularity—but the…

  • Genetically Modified Monday (#GMOMonday)

    Amanda Maxham
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:47 pm
    On the steps of the Salem, New Jersey, courthouse in 1830, legend has it that a daredevil named Robert Johnson elicited gasps from the crowd when he announced his next trick. Some remarked that he would be dead before morning; others simply watched in horror as he held aloft a small red object. His stunt? He was about to eat a raw tomato. Today this stunt would be laughable, but there’s a reason why it would have excited the crowd back then. At that time, people understood that wild plants are frequently dangerous to those who consume them—they are chock full of toxins and allergens…

  • The financial threat of antitrust

    Tom Bowden
    14 Jun 2013 | 4:00 am
    As part of my mission to raise awareness of antitrust’s impact on American business, I thought I’d take a minute to list some of the more significant legal penalties imposed in recent years. They are not chump change: Earlier this year, a jury awarded damages of $400 million against Dow Chemical in a price-fixing case. Pursuant to statute, the judge trebled the damages. Dow is appealing the resulting $1.2 billionjudgment. In March, the European Union fined Microsoft $732 million for omitting from Windows a screen that offers users a choice of browsers. Over the past several months, the…

  • Calorie display mandates threaten business health

    Doug Altner
    13 Jun 2013 | 4:00 am
    My colleague Rituparna Basu recently mentioned another one of the destructive business regulations buried in the Affordable Care Act: the calorie display mandate, which forces all restaurants, bakeries and other food sellers to display the calorie content of their food. This is another restriction on the freedom of businessmen in these sectors, as it bans selling food without also carefully researching its caloric content and prominently displaying the findings on menus. Providing information that is accurate and complete is not cheap. Sarah Kliff at The Washington Post’s Wonkblog spoke…

  • Apple’s antitrust trial: a good backgrounder

    Tom Bowden
    12 Jun 2013 | 4:00 am
    Roger Parloff, senior editor for legal affairs at Fortune magazine, has written the best summary I’ve seen of the factual and legal issues in Apple’s antitrust trial, currently underway in Manhattan federal court. Parloff’s explanation goes into some detail but remains accessible to those not familiar with antitrust or the economics of book publishing. He also addresses a number of questions that I’ve been waiting for a journalist to answer, such as how Amazon’s pricing strategy for e-books figures into the case. From Parloff’s article: The following basic facts appear to be…
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    New Republic

  • Is DOMA Headed for Disaster?

    Adam Winkler
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    Ever since the Supreme Court heard two major gay rights cases in March, the conventional wisdom among court-watchers is that we’re likely to see a split decision. The Court, according to most experts, will probably strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and issue a narrow ruling, perhaps on proce

  • Must-See Summer Art Shows

    Jed Perl
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    What do museumgoers want? Can our data-obsessed era explain what turns the average citizen into an occasional or even an ardent visitor? We all know that attendance figures are closely followed by museum officials, but attendance figures and other performance metrics miss the magic that occurs in pa

  • Boondoggle Goes Boom

    Robert Draper
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    In July 2011, an army combat team known as the Arctic Wolves moved into the Kandahar district of Panjwai, where the Taliban was born and where Osama bin Laden is said to have planned the 9/11 attacks. The area was all but evacuated—it was not yet poppy-growing season, and Panjwai’s residents ha

  • The Appeal of the Antiheroine

    Sarah Weinman
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm
    One wonders if Publishers Weekly contributor Annasue McCleave Wilson wishes she could get a do-over. In a much-discussed April 29 inter

  • Therapy

    Patrizia Cavalli
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:59 pm
    O give me a room in a hotela little room a little room in a hotel yes, a room a room in a hotela little room a little room in a hotel.(...and so it goeswithout end,until bored and exhaustedI fall half-deadon any old bed even unmade, even dirty.)             Translated by Mark Strand
 
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    E.J. Dionne Columns and Blog Posts

  • Great Gatsby economics are no party for the middle class

    E.J. Dionne Jr.
    16 Jun 2013 | 4:47 pm
    You don’t need me to tell you, but it’s a whole lot tougher leading a garage band than being a superstar. What you might not have known is just how much harder. If you want an example of growing inequality, try the rock ‘n’ roll industry. Between 1982 and 2003, the share of concert income taken home by the top 1 percent of performers more than doubled, rising from 26 percent to 56 percent. The top 5 percent collected almost 90 percent of all concert revenues. Read full article >>    

  • E.J. Dionne Jr.: Yes, liberty always mattered

    E.J. Dionne Jr.
    14 Jun 2013 | 1:05 pm
    In my column earlier this week, I wrote that the "vast majority of Americans were ready to let Washington do almost anything in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, to safeguard us from further harm." I added: "The ardent civil libertarians who resisted the Patriot Act were a tiny minority." Read full article >>    

  • Finding the right balance between security and liberty

    E.J. Dionne Jr.
    12 Jun 2013 | 4:19 pm
    The hardest thing in an argument is to acknowledge competing truths. We know that our government will continue with large-scale surveillance programs to prevent future terrorist attacks. We also know that such programs have operated up to now with too little public scrutiny and insufficient concern over their long-term implications for our rights and our privacy. Read full article >>    

  • Libertarianism’s Achilles’ heel

    E.J. Dionne Jr.
    9 Jun 2013 | 5:07 pm
    In politics, we often skip past the simple questions. This is why inquiries about the fundamentals can sometimes catch everyone short. Michael Lind, the independent-minded scholar, posed one such question last week about libertarianism that I hope will shake up the political world. It’s important because many in the new generation of conservative politicians declare libertarianism as their core political philosophy. Read full article >>    

  • What is Obama fighting for in his second term?

    E.J. Dionne Jr.
    5 Jun 2013 | 4:22 pm
    What is President Obama fighting for? What is the point of his second term? His ability to answer these questions in a compelling way will have more to do with his success or failure than all the Republican congressional investigations combined. Read full article >>    
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    ThinkProgress

  • Defining ‘White’ And ‘Hispanic’ In Majority-Minority America

    Ruy Teixeira, Guest Blogger
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:03 pm
    From back when Irish-Americans weren't "white." The Census Bureau released its latest population data last week, providing a portrait of the nation through July of 2012. Among the most interesting findings was that, for the first time, deaths among white Americans exceeded births. While this does not mean, of course, that white people are about to disappear, it is nonetheless a harbinger of the vast race-ethnic changes that are leading us inexorably toward a majority-minority nation by around the year 2043. It’s also a fascinating testament to the complex, variegated ways…

  • Transgender Nondiscrimination Law Passes Delaware House

    Kumar Ramanathan, Guest Blogger
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:57 pm
    Kumar Ramanathan is an intern at ThinkProgress. The Delaware House of Representatives voted 24 to 17 to pass legislation protecting against discrimination on the basis of gender identity on Tuesday. The bill is an amended version of one that was passed by the Senate two weeks ago, meaning the bill now has to be approved by the Senate before heading to Gov. Jack Markell’s (D) desk. If the bill is signed into law, Delaware will become the seventeenth state to legally protect transgender people from discrimination. The Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act would make discrimination on the…

  • Is Obama So Feckless On Climate Change That He’s Influenced By Meaningless Dial Testing?

    Joe Romm
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:18 pm
    Juliet Eilperin drops this vial of nitroglycerin into her latest Washington Post piece: … according to several people familiar with his private remarks at the home of clean-tech entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, Obama expressed concerns about the political pain involved, saying that “dial testing” of his State of the Union speech showed that the favorability ratings “plummeted” when he vowed to act on climate change if Congress refused to do so. Not exactly “profiles in courage.” Not exactly “the Environmental President.” This may not come as a big surprise given how…

  • Immigration Bill Would Lower Country’s Deficit By $197 Billion Over 10 Years

    Esther Yu-Hsi Lee
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:44 pm
    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated on Tuesday that passage of the Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill, known as S.744, would decrease federal budget deficits by $197 billion over a ten year period between 2014 to 2023. It also estimates that 8 million undocumented immigrants would be legalized. Between 2024 and 2033, the CBO estimates that the federal budget deficits would be cut by $700 billion. The CBO’s estimate blasts the conservative argument that immigration reform is costly out of the water. The report contradicts the $6 trillion cost estimate used by…

  • One Million HIV-Free Babies Have Now Been Born To Mothers Who Have The Virus

    Tara Culp-Ressler
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:30 pm
    (Credit: Shutterstock)In a milestone for the global fight against the AIDS epidemic, this month will mark the one millionth HIV-free baby born to a mother who suffers from the virus. On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry credited much of the progress toward preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission to the significant work that the U.S. President’s Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has accomplished over the past decade. “When this disease appeared to be unstoppable, history will show that humanity and individual humans rose to the challenge,” Kerry said in a…
 
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    Democratic Strategist

  • First book by Democratic Strategist Press: "The White Working Class Today"

    18 Jun 2013 | 10:12 am
    A Message from Ed Kilgore... Dear Readers: The Democratic Strategist is proud to present the first book published under our own imprint: Democratic Strategist Press.The book is titled: The White Working Class: Who They Are, How They Think and How Progressives Can Regain Their Support. The book can be ordered HERE. Written by TDS Contributing Editor Andrew Levison, the book is already generating serious discussion within the Democratic community. On June 6th The New Republic ran a home page article written by Levison and co-author Ruy Teixeira that presented the core argument of the book and…

  • Yo. Dems. Calm Down. Before everybody drinks hemlock or falls on their swords because of the new CNN poll showing a big drop in Obama's approval, take a deep breath and read what pollster.com says

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:31 am
    From "POLLSTER UPDATE: CNN Poll Exaggerates Barack Obama Approval Decline" by Mark Blumenthal and Ariel Edwards-Levy at Pollster.com: Four other pollsters -- Gallup, Rasmussen Reports, Fox News and Economist/YouGov -- have tracked Obama's approval since the NSA revelations were first published in June 6. When compared to their prior surveys in May, the other organizations all showed declines in approval of 1 to 2 percentage points (averaging --1.7 points), and two of four showed slight increases in disapproval (averaging +0.8). None show anywhere near the dramatic pattern of the two CNN…

  • Snowden Mess Shows Why Private Contractors Shouldn't Run U.S. Intel

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:54 am
    Republicans hate to hear it. But it must be said, now more than ever. Some stuff should not be privatized, outsourced or sub-contracted out. There is ample evidence, for example, that the private sector is less than efficient in delivering affordable, quality health care to most Americans, as is the conclusion most non-ideologues would likely to draw from reading this article comparing health care in the U.S. and Sweden. For an even more newsy take on the inefficiencies of government outsourcing to the private sector, however, read Tim Shorrock's "Put the Spies Back Under One Roof" in the New…

  • Political Strategy Notes

    17 Jun 2013 | 6:24 am
    As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to announce its decision on section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Ari Berman has a poignant post up at The Nation , "John Lewis's Long Fight for Voting Rights." Says Berman: "... It's shocking that the Supreme Court appears to be leaning toward overturning the centerpiece of the country's most important civil rights law... If the Court upholds Section 5, as it has in four prior opinions, Lewis's legacy will be cemented. And if the Court eviscerates it, Lewis's voice will be needed as never before." In other voter suppression news, Josh Israel reports at Think…

  • Teixeira: GA Likely to Go Blue Before TX

    17 Jun 2013 | 3:47 am
    The following article by TDS founding editor Ruy Teixeira, is cross-posted from Think Progress: In terms of red states going blue, Texas gets most of the ink (I myself wrote a recent piece on possibilities for a blue Texas). That's understandable. Moving Texas and its 38 votes out of the red column would sunder Republicans' already tenuous path to an Electoral College majority. But Georgia's 16 electoral votes are not trivial and would, if lost, also do grievous damage to Republican prospects. Yet we hear relatively little about possibilities for a blue Georgia, despite the fact that Georgia…
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    Politics News

  • Mamata assures death penalty for Barasat rapists

    17 Jun 2013 | 4:22 am
    Asserting that those who gang-raped and murdered a 20-year-old college student in North 24 Parganas district will be punished within a month, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said the administration will push for death penalty for the culprits.

  • Cabinet reshuffle in the evening

    17 Jun 2013 | 4:16 am
    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to effect a cabinet reshuffle Monday evening with Mallikarjun Kharge, Oscar Fernandes and Sis Ram Ola likely to be included in the council of ministers, sources said.

  • PM Manmohan Singh takes oath as Rajya Sabha member

    17 Jun 2013 | 3:45 am
    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha after being re-elected from Assam.

  • RSS chief Bhagwat to meet Advani in Delhi on Tuesday

    17 Jun 2013 | 3:17 am
    Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is expected to visit national capital New Delhi on Tuesday to meet senior BJP leader L.K. Advani.

  • BJP betrayed us and its senior leaders: Nitish

    17 Jun 2013 | 12:43 am
    A day after Janata Dal (United) broke its 17-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday rejected the opposition party's charge of betrayal and accused them of betraying and ignoring its own senior leaders
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    Project Syndicate RSS-Feed

  • Fixing the Innovation Supply Chain

    David Berry
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:20 am
    Just as individual innovators must challenge conventional wisdom, so companies must approach innovation in a new way – one that resembles the logic behind manufacturing supply chains. But innovation supply chains – where they exist – tend to be characterized by inefficiency, ambiguity, and self-defeating competition.

  • The New Arab Censors

    Daoud Kuttab
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 am
    The Internet has proved to be a powerful tool for overcoming media restrictions and censorship worldwide. But new restrictions on Web-based news media, such as those in Jordan, threaten to reverse the progress that the Internet has enabled, while seriously eroding citizens' trust in their political leaders.

  • Insuring Immigration

    Anu Bradford
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:20 am
    Although open labor migration would bring massive economic benefits, it inspires fear among source and destination countries alike. A "reversible-bond" system would insure both sides against the risks and allow labor markets’ actual needs to dictate migration flows – thus unlocking the global economy's true potential.

  • Four Marijuana Moments

    Jorge G. Castañeda
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:30 am
    Latin America and the United States have experienced what one could call a series of “marijuana moments” over the past few weeks. Given growing support for ending the senseless and bloody decades-long “war on drugs,” these signs of progress toward decriminalization and legalization should not pass unremarked.

  • Only the Poor Die Young

    Johan P. Mackenbach
    17 Jun 2013 | 10:20 am
    The lives of people who are lower on the socioeconomic ladder are shorter and less healthy, on average, than those of people on higher rungs. What is needed are more targeted welfare policies that account for the effects of selective upward social mobility and different rates of diffusion of behavioral change.
 
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    News - AllGov

  • Former Employees Say Bank of America Regularly Lied to Homeowners Seeking Loan Modifications

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:53 am
    Bank of America has again been accused of mishandling homeowners’ requests for mortgage modifications, but this time, the claims have come from former bank employees.   At least half a dozen ex-BofA workers have filed statements in a Boston lawsuit against the bank saying they regularly lied to homeowners seeking assistance with their loans and denied applications for phony reasons—and that they were rewarded for sending homeowners to foreclosure.   In many cases, BofA rejected mortgage modifications en masse—in what bank officials called a…

  • 2 Fatal Chemical Plant Explosions in 2 Days in Louisiana

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:49 am
    A crowded industrial corridor along the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, experienced two chemical plant explosions back-to-back last week.   The first explosion occurred on June 13 at a chemical plant in Geismar owned by Williams Cos. Inc. that resulted in two deaths and dozens of injuries. It is not yet known what caused the accident. The plant produces ethylene and propylene.   The very next day an explosion at a chemical plant just a few miles away in Donaldsonville, killed one worker and injured eight others.   CF Industries, owner of the second plant, said…

  • Growth of Factory Farming Leading to Uncontrolled Problems of Animal Waste

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:45 am
    Large-scale agricultural operations involving livestock are turning into one of the most seriously uncontrolled environmental problems facing the United States.   These so-called factory farms produce enormous amounts of animal waste—in quantities so great that a single farm can surpass a major metropolitan city’s output of excrement.   Take Miami, Florida, for example. It has a human population of about 409,000. But a factory farm with 2,500 cows can equal Miami’s production of “fertilizer.”   Even more concerning is that the waste from really…

  • Federal Government Accused of Adding an Average of One New Crime a Week

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:42 am
    Even amid partisan bickering, Congress knows how to be productive. In fact, lawmakers can be too productive when it comes to creating new crimes.   Over the past decade, Congress has created an average of one new crime a week, according to Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.   Goodlatte and some of his colleagues have grown concerned with what they call the over-criminalization of American life—a result of lawmakers creating too many new crimes.   A study was convened by the Over-Criminalization Task Force, which…

  • Christian Pastor Given Go-Ahead to Sue Oklahoma over Native American License Plate Design

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:38 am
    A federal appeals court last week approved a Christian pastor’s lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma over its license plate image depicting a Native American sculpture.   Keith Cressman of Oklahoma City filed litigation in 2011 objecting to the state’s standard license plate, adopted in 2008, which appears on three million vehicles statewide, claiming the image on it promotes Native American spiritual beliefs and thus endorses a religion. Federal Judge Joe Heaton dismissed the lawsuit last year, but a panel of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reinstate it on…
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    Evidence Trumps Common Sense

  • Security Run Amuck

    Richard J. Cohen
    11 Jun 2013 | 6:57 pm
    This past week saw the start of the Bradley Manning trial and the release of information regarding NSA surveillance activities within the US by Edward Snowden.  Private First Class Bradley Manning stationed in Iraq downloaded and released to WikiLeaks 750,000 classified documents: 250,000 of which were US diplomatic cables and the remaining 500,000 were military intelligence reports. Manning apparently was motivated by disturbing reports that he saw such as the July 12, 2007 video of a helicopter strike in Baghdad that killed many including two Reuters news correspondents;  two…

  • Finally Good Enough

    Richard J. Cohen
    11 Jun 2013 | 6:37 pm
    As I reported previously, the Obama’s policy on emergency contraceptives (Plan B) has until now been not good enough.  However, at last, the policy is finally “good enough.” This week the Obama administration decided to allow emergency contraceptives to be made available to girls and women of all ages without prescription – as originally recommended by the FDA in 2011 and then blocked by the Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius.  U.S. District Judge Edward Korman on April 5, 2013 ruled that the FDA must make the emergency contraceptive…

  • Natural Disasters and the Stockholm Syndrome

    Richard J. Cohen
    22 May 2013 | 6:23 pm
    This past week we witnessed the horrific destruction wreaked by the enormous two mile diameter tornado which devastated the town of Moore, Oklahoma.  We also watched with pride and admiration as first responders and private citizens rushed to pull their friends and neighbors from the wreckage.  Police personnel, firefighters, utility workers, Red Cross volunteers, medics, nurses and doctors all contributed their efforts and expertise to alleviate the suffering and participate in the recovery process.  Even politicians sprang into action promising emergency aid. In this natural…

  • Not Good Enough!

    Richard J. Cohen
    2 May 2013 | 12:39 pm
    There have been some positive movements on some of the issues that I have discussed previously in this blog.  Unfortunately, many of these movements have been inadequate.  Here is a short list of some of those in the Not Good Enough category. Boy Scouts of America Propose Accepting Gays under the Age of 18 The Boy Scouts of America have until now resolutely refused to accept gay scouts or scout masters.  However, this past year the Boy Scouts of America have come under pressure by individuals, businesses and organizations who have refused to continue to support them because of…

  • Chilling Portrait of a Terrorist

    Richard J. Cohen
    22 Apr 2013 | 6:28 pm
    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reportedly are responsible for exploding two bombs near the finish line of this year’s Boston Marathon killing three and injuring 183 (some  critically wounded and/or maimed), murdering an MIT police officer, carjacking and kidnapping, and engaging in a violent shootout grievously wounding an MBTA police officer and injuring others.  Tamerlan was mortally wounded in the shootout; Dzhokhar was also wounded and subsequently captured. The story of these two brothers is gradually coming out.  Tamerlan was an accomplished…
 
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    Blog For Arizona

  • Our Crumbling African Empire

    Bob Lord
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:28 pm
    Posted by Bob Lord There's a bunch of stuff out today on inequality, but the most eye-opening piece I've seen in awhile is Nick Turse's piece, Blowback Central, at Tom Dispatch.  AFRICOM is the Pentagon's most recently established global command. Established just six short years ago, it has imposed our military presence all over Africa, with stunningly depressing results. I was vaguely aware of this situation, but didn't appreciate fully the extent of our imperialistic action. Here are a few of the highlights from Turse: The next year, CJTF-HOA took up residence at Camp Lemonnier in…

  • The games Mark Stegeman plays

    David Safier
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:13 pm
    by David Safier I went on the Bill Buckmaster Show today and talked about a TUSD-related topic that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves: the politically charged nature of the TUSD Board. No serious followers of the State Legislature or Congress would be foolish enough to think they can observe elected officials' speeches, tactics and decisions without considering the players' political motivations. Savvy observers try to peek behind the curtain to figure out what's really going on behind all the posturing for the public. But when we turn to TUSD, too often we forget to ask ourselves,…

  • Obama Opposes Food Stamp Cuts, Threatens Veto of Farm Bill

    p2h
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:30 pm
    by Pamela Powers Hannley President Barack Obama has issued an official statement saying that he opposes the current form of HR1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (AKA the Farm Bill). Specifically, he opposes the deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP– food stamps) and the spending increases in the form of subsidies. (You’ll remember that in public the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is all “we gotta tighten out belts and reduce spending”, but in reality, they love spending money on pet projects– like war and…

  • Senator 'complete the danged fence' just voted against it

    AZ BlueMeanie
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:39 pm
    Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Senator John McCain is a chameleon who changes his positions to the ever-changing political landscape. His only principle and conviction is his own political survival. Senator "comprehensive immigration reform" in 2007 said he would vote against his own bill when he ran for president in 2008. By 2010 when he ran for reelection to the U.S. Senate, he was Senator "just complete the danged fence" (video below the fold). Today, McCain just voted against himself from 2010. Senate rejects Thune amendment requiring 350 miles of border fencing: [A]n amendment from Sen. John…

  • The conservative "education reform" folks are getting worried

    David Safier
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:14 pm
    by David Safier Until recently, it's been tough for any progressive voices to rise above the shouting of the conservative "education reform" movement. Conservatives are swimming in corporate and foundation money, and they have a simple set of myths they repeats ad nauseum: Public schools are failing; Teacher unions are bad for education; Charter and private schools are the answer. Say that often enough, and it sounds like common knowledge. But things are changing. People are getting sick and tired of the endless testing and test prep (with a dash of enrichment thrown in now and then to add a…
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    People Power from YES! Magazine

  • Thousands of Radio Stations Up for Grabs—One Could Be Yours

    Jeff Rousset
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:00 am
    Nonprofits, labor unions, and community groups have a one-time-only chance this year to own the broadcast airwaves. The FCC has just released free applications for thousands of new noncommercial FM radio licenses. These community radio stations can reach listeners in a radius of 2 to 10 miles, and operate on just 100 watts—the amount of power consumed by a light bulb. If you’re interested in starting a station or supporting others to get on air, now is the time to do it. In some cities—like Chicago, Miami, and Philadelphia—a single low power FM station could reach more than 100,000…

  • The NSA’s Spying Program: What’s at Stake for the Climate Movement?

    James Trimarco
    17 Jun 2013 | 8:10 am
    Photo by Eric Anestad. The revelation that the National Security Agency gathers information about our phone and Internet use has been frightening, if not exactly surprising. What’s even scarier are the implications the program has for positive social change in the future. In this time of climactic and economic peril, we need open spaces in which social movements are free to develop in a democratic fashion. We live in a time when issues like climate change, runaway income inequality, and spiraling health care costs threaten our chance at a decent future. While individuals can help in…

  • What to Say When They Say It’s Impossible

    Andrea Brower
    13 Jun 2013 | 4:25 pm
    Photos from Lana N/Shutterstock and Yes! Magazine Those committed to building a more just future must question the taken-for-granted “truths” that support the beliefs that capitalism is the only common-sense possibility and that there is no alternative. We can’t leave this task to the pages of peer-reviewed journals and classrooms of social theory—these conversations can start with family and friends but must spread until we create a new common sense. Here are conversation starters to address some standard defenses of the status quo. Subscribe to YES! starting with this issue. 1.

  • How Bike Friendly Cities Beat the Opposition and Became the New Normal

    Jay Walljasper
    13 Jun 2013 | 4:13 pm
    Mayor Bloomberg and Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan launched Citi Bike, the nation's largest bike share system, on May 27, 2013. Photo by NYCStreets. Former New York mayor Ed Koch envisioned bicycles as vehicles for the future, and in 1980 created experimental bike lanes in Manhattan on 6th and 7th Avenues where riders were protected from speeding traffic by asphalt barriers. It was unlike anything most Americans had ever seen—and some people roared their disapproval. Within weeks, the bike lanes were gone. A lot of the criticism of New York’s bike share…

  • Climate Change Is Happening but We Can Meet the Challenge

    Sarah van Gelder
    13 Jun 2013 | 11:20 am
    Originally published in The Guardian. Photo by Paxson Woelber. "The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere just hit 400 parts per million," I told Alex, my 23-year-old son, as we were catching up on news. "So that's it, huh?" he asked. The news about the climate is daunting, but we don't have to wait for skeptics or politicians to get it. I couldn't think what to say. Alex had just returned from college, a new graduate, ready to start his life as an adult. Like many members of his age group, Alex knows that 350 parts per million is the threshold for safe levels of carbon in the atmosphere.
 
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    Divided Under God

  • Woman Being Denied Citizenship Because Her Morality Doesn’t Come From Religion

    Kevin Davis, Head Writer
    14 Jun 2013 | 7:29 pm
    Margaret Doughty, a 64-year old woman from the UK who has spent the past 30+ years in the U.S., is in the process of applying for United States Citizenship and happens to be an atheist. She is currently a permanent resident running non-profit adult literacy organizations, doing her part to enrich the lives of American citizens. In the process of applying for citizenship, all candidates are asked if they’d be willing to take up arms in defense of the United States of America.  Ms. Doughty responded, “I am sure the law would never require a 64 year-old woman like myself to bear…

  • Help Curb Attempts to Undermine the Constitution – Sign Petition to Require Officials to Pass Test to Hold Office

    Kevin Davis, Head Writer
    7 Jun 2013 | 1:22 pm
    In recent months, several legislators have wasted public funds by proposing legislation that would either circumvent Constitutional law, or is redundant because of Constitutional protection, in order to further their personal agendas. For example, in April of 2013, North Carolina state officials attempted to pass a bill that would allow them to declare a state religion – a clear violation of the First Amendment.  Legislators felt the Establishment Clause did not apply to the states, displaying their lack of awareness of the Fourteenth Amendment and related Supreme Court decisions. …

  • Creationism in Schools. Again. And Again…

    Jessica Mokrzycki, Contributor
    6 Jun 2013 | 6:54 pm
    (Originally posted at http://nationalatheistparty.tumblr.com/post/51727117208/creationism-in-schools-again-and-again) Image courtesy nationalatheistparty.tumbler.com Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-of West Monroe Louisiana, is attempting for what will now be the third time in his political career to cunningly introduce a bill that, if passed, would allow creationist materials to be introduced to students at Louisiana public schools. Hoffman is a known supporter of creationism in the schools of his constituents. In 2008 he was the assistant superintendent of the Ouachita Parish, which openly…

  • Is North Carolina the Most Intolerant State?

    Kevin Davis, Head Writer
    10 Apr 2013 | 7:57 am
    Image courtesy of tryon-nc.com It’s starting to look that way. North Carolina state legislators have recently made statements and proposed legislation that support such a claim.  By now, everyone has heard about the proposed bill to declare an official religion.  It was proposed on 4/2/13 by two Republican legislators, supported by 11 more, and finally shot down by the House Speaker two days later.  House resolution 494 would have allowed the state to ignore the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as well as federal court rulings.  It was proposed as…

  • North Carolina’s Move to Declare a State Religion and Its Constitutional Ripple Effect

    Kevin Davis, Head Writer
    4 Apr 2013 | 9:11 am
    Image courtesy of huffingtonpost.com On Tuesday 4/2/13, two Republican North Carolina state representatives introduced a bill that would effectively allow them to declare an official state religion.  Since then, word of this bill spread like wildfire across social media outlets and blogs on both sides of the aisle.  The sponsors of the proposed legal change are Carl Ford (R-China Grove) and Harry Warren (R-Salisbury), and they’re joined by 11 co-sponsors.  Supposedly, this bill is in response to a recent lawsuit filed by the ACLU to stop Rowan County commissioners from opening…
 
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    The Alternative Conservative

  • Message to Trayvon Supporters Who Are Always Bringing Up Racism Part II

    18 Jun 2013 | 6:36 pm
    This is a continuation from part 1. Trayvon was shot in a racially mixed neighborhood; George Zimmerman lived in that neighborhood. The very idea that George singled out Trayvon solely on race is completely absurd. Obviously he would except to see a black person walking in his neighborhood. Stop kidding yourself. It's obvious Trayvon was singled out because he wasn't acting right. He was acting weird and I challenge you to watch the video of him in the 7 Eleven. Read more »

  • Message to Trayvon Supporters Who Are Always Bringing Up Racism Part I

    16 Jun 2013 | 12:50 am
    I have been following this case from the time it hit main-stream media. Initially I was rather confused. The facts of the story were unclear yet, it was clear the media left no room for error. Zimmerman was a cold-blooded murderer who despised "coons." On that fateful night a young, BLACK CHILD walking with only candy and tea, was hunted down by a 350-pound, WHITE, ARMED MAN  who PROFILED Trayvon and shot him in cold blood; he had a deep-rooted desire to be a cop; he called 911 to report a black man in a HOODIE looking strange. He then got out of his car to chase Trayvon on foot.

  • Michelle Obama -- Struggles With Self Control Like Her Hubby

    6 Jun 2013 | 9:25 am
    Well, it seems the media is trying to do yet another spin on things. They would love for the country to believe that our president has self-control, just like Biden. *cough* Obviously they don't quite see things the same way as I do.Michelle Obama showed her thin-skin when a heckler was bothering her over her husband not signing some crap about gay rights (aka "special rights"), equality. I don't know what it is about the Obama's but they simply cannot handle criticism. Obama is president and his wife is a public figure. They are expected to keep it together and should be held to a much…

  • The Verdict Is In -- Jodi Arias Is Guilty

    4 Jun 2013 | 12:10 pm
    Wednesday, the verdict day finally arrived. Those of us that have been following the trial have anxiously awaited the verdict. Many of us had either prayed and chatted on Facebook expressing our hope for a guilty verdict. For me, and I think many others, this was more than Jodi being found guilty. This was about our ultimate faith the American Justice System. After the acquittal Casey Anthony many Americans had lost all faith in juries. My goodness. What kind of a jury could be so idiotic to think that a woman who knows her daughter is dead, then goes out and parties for 30 days, gets a…

  • When the Law of Attraction Doesn't Work So Well - Magical Thinking -- Hollywood and Politics

    3 Jun 2013 | 3:50 pm
    I think most all of us by now have heard of, The Secret or The Law of Attraction. Overall, these type of books give readers advice on the value of positive thinking. You are encouraged to focus on the things you want in your life and visualize them as if they are already there. Some of these books encourage you to keep a journal or make a visual board, where you keep yourself focused on your goals. Gratitude is another emotion that is important for a person to have and this will help bring your desires into your life faster. So why am I bringing this topic up? Read more »
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    Politics

  • Will the real Ed Miliband please stand up?

    Rafael Behr
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:27 am
    His early supporters thought the Labour leader had the courage and intellectual energy to remake British politics. So what happened to the optimism?“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the leader of the Labour Party,” declaims the bespectacled man in the dark suit, whom none of the assembled journalists has recognised as the mayor of Newham. “. . . And our next prime minister!” In the tiny pause that follows, a sceptical ripple passes through the audience. It is less audible than a titter, more like the rustle of a hundred eyebrows simultaneously raised in quizzical…

  • Why Britain can't afford to fall behind in the race for soft power

    John Holden
    19 Jun 2013 | 2:46 am
    The west must maintain its financial support for culture and cultural diplomacy. If it fails to do so, China’s gain in global influence and trade will be our loss.In spite of all the tweeting and electronic wizardry, the G8 meeting in Ulster was a blast from the past. It was a period costume drama, with men in suits and ties meeting to sort things out. It looked outdated because the world has changed. A new report from the British Council and Demos, Influence and Attraction: Culture and the Race for Soft Power in the 21st Century, explains what has been going on: there has been a revolution…

  • The unsqueezed top: how bankers' pay has already returned to its peak

    George Eaton
    19 Jun 2013 | 12:54 am
    The new report from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards busts the myth that pay has fallen since the crash. One of the many myths busted by today's report from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards is that bankers' pay has fallen significantly since the crash. In his testimony to the inquiry, George Osborne noted estimates that the total City bonus pool fell from from £11.5bn in 2006 to £1.5bn in 2013, while Anthony Browne, the head of the British Bankers Association, pointed out that since 2007, cash bonuses are down 77…

  • Whether under Labour or the Tories, free schools and academies need to be managed

    Jonathan Clifton
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:45 am
    The education department cannot be expected to oversee more than 3,000 schools. We need local commissioners to act as champions for standards.Labour has opened up a debate about the government’s academies and free school programme this week. Rafael Behr described it as "neither a capitulation to Gove's agenda nor a ferocious reaction against it." But across the political divide, there is an elephant in the room for whoever wins the next election. The biggest challenge for both Michael Gove and Stephen Twigg is how to ensure proper oversight of so many autonomous…

  • Cameron insists the culture department will survive, but in what form?

    George Eaton
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:44 am
    Maria Miller refuses to deny that her department will lose some of its responsibilities in the Spending Review. Will next week's Spending Review see the abolition of the culture department? Last month I reported on speculation in Whitehall that the DCMS, which small-staters have long had in their sights, could be scrapped by the government. Shadow culture minister Dan Jarvis told me that while he was "not convinced" that significant savings could be made by scrapping the department, "the government could go down this road to demonstrate that it is…
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    Breitbart Feed

  • Heritage: CBO Report on Immigration Bill Confirms Amnesty Concerns

    18 Jun 2013 | 10:34 pm
    The Heritage Foundation issued a preliminary response to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) report on the costs of the Senate Immigration bill late Tuesday, noting that the CBO and JCT report confirms several financial concerns about an amnesty plan. Derrick Morgan, Heritage’s vice president for domestic and economic policy, wrote that while Heritage is still analyzing the findings of the CBO and JCT report, “already a few items stand out as noteworthy.” First, Morgan points to the report’s calculation that this bill would only…

  • CBO: Immigration Bill Would Drive Down American Workers' Wages

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:45 pm
    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) report on the Senate's immigration bill predicts that the legislation would drive down the wages of American workers and make it difficult for Americans to find jobs in an already-damaged economy. On page seven of the analysis, the CBO and JCT conclude that the "Gang of Eight" bill would drive down American workers’ wages. “Taking into account all of those flows of new immigrants, CBO and JCT expect that a greater number of immigrants with lower skills than with higher skills would be added to the…

  • Protecting New York's Criminal Class

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:09 pm
    Scant evidence exists that the favored liberal gun control measures have any impact on crime whatsoever. And, when you think about it, why should they, as the guns liberals want to control are virtually all owned by law-abiding, non-criminal members of society. But suppose those concerned with controlling crime came up with a plan to take guns away from criminals—the people who actually murder other people with guns. And suppose the system actually worked, and in places where the plan had actually become policy and was implemented, thousands of illegal guns were confiscated from…

  • ObamaCare Rule: HHS, IRS Can Share Private Health Information

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:42 pm
    Though millions of Americans sign forms in their doctors’ offices which claim their personal health information is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a new ObamaCare rule requires federal and local agencies and health insurers to trade the personal health data of any person interested in signing up for the new state exchanges. The Washington Examiner reports that under the 253-page rule, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) late Friday, protected health information (PHI) may be traded among agencies in order…

  • Rep. Labrador Supports Border Security Bill

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:01 pm
    Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID) joined Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), Chairman of the House Public Lands and Environment Regulation Subcommittee, and others to support the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act. H.R. 2398 will allow the U.S. Border Patrol to access and build on lands that are currently off limits to them because of environmental restrictions. In some places, motorized vehicles are not allowed and horses are their only means of transportation.  Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie was murdered in one such area. He and other agents were on horseback at the time because…
 
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    Beppe Grillo's Blog

  • Opinion poll: Pippo doesn’t know it

    18 Jun 2013 | 1:35 pm
    In the beginning there was an attempt to recruit M5S parliamentarians. It failed. Then Gargamel said to Pippo Civati "Go and fetch some M5S senators and deputies". He went off. He talked. He told stories. He made contact. He dined. Pippo was the perfect decoy. Added to his beautiful PDminusL-song, there were other voices. The ones that had been thrown out and the ones who were decoyed sang all together. Sonia Alfano’s shrill voice on her way out as a euro-parliamentarian, Ingroia on his way back from the mountains after his electoral triumph, as well as philosophers and intellectuals as…

  • Passaparola - The economy of happiness, by Helena Norberg-Hodge

    17 Jun 2013 | 10:11 am
    Interview with Helena Norberg-Hodge(11:00) Your videos on: "Passaparola - The economy ..." (4)Send in your video “Governments have ended up supporting big mobile global banks and businesses at the expense of their own national, regional and local businesses. This principle is really at the heart of why things have gone so wrong. Big foreign companies and banks cannot answer the needs of local and national people. We need to be shifting direction towards supporting both banking and business within our political boundaries, within those structures, where we have some degree of accountable and…

  • La Stampa is disgusting

    16 Jun 2013 | 11:49 am
    Each M5S senator categorically denies what was stated in the article by Jacopo Iacoboni with the headline "I quindici senatori del M5S sull’orlo della scissione“ {The fifteen M5S senators on the brink of a split}. The following members of the Senate: Lorenzo Battista, Alessandra Bencini, Rosetta Blundo, Elisa Bulgarelli, Francesco Campanella, Monica Casaletto, Cristina De Pietro, Paola De Pin, Serenella Fucksia, Mario Giarrusso, Barbara Lezzi, Michela Montevecchi, and Ivana Simeoni personally deny that they are "parliamentarians who have decided to go …". It’s obvious that the media…

  • I have no money

    14 Jun 2013 | 11:13 am
    I have no money. Berlusconi’s fabulous electoral promises about the IMU property tax, that we’ll still have to pay, the Government’s poppycock about the IVA sales tax that will go up all the same by one point, and about reducing taxes, that will go up at a local level, all say one thing: the coffers are empty. Captain Findus is taking his time. I hope he has a good night, but there’s no dawn awaiting him. The figures on unemployment and on enterprises, is terrifying. To repeat them over and over again has now become irritating. It has the taste of stuff that’s been said and said too…

  • The RAI is public financing for the parties

    13 Jun 2013 | 10:02 am
    Public financing of the parties has disappeared from the scene, from the first, second and third pages of the newspapers. The famous tweet sent by Captain Findus of the Council of Ministers, a sign of an awareness of new technologies, a tweet that announced the end of the billions of euro raked in by the parties, is by now, just History. Or rather, a story for fools, the ones that say "It’s true - I’ve read it in the newspaper!", "It’s a fact- I’ve seen it on TV!". The money from public financing - Letta Nephew and the psycho dwarf have held onto that nice and tight. And no one yet…
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    TuPolitica.com - El Sitio y Centro de Prensa Oficial de la Política en Panamá

  • En elección de su Junta Directiva Colegio Nacional de Abogados utilizará sistema de voto electrónico

    tupolitica
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:01 am
    Las elecciones de  Junta Directiva y  del Tribunal  de Honor del Colegio Nacional de Abogados (CNA),  programadas para  el próximo 12 de julio, serán celebradas  con el apoyo del Tribunal Electoral a través del  sistema de voto electrónico, que es la herramienta tecnológica moderna para ejercer el sufragio y hacer el escrutinio de forma más rápida. El magistrado Erasmo Pinilla, presidente del Tribunal Electoral,  y César Ruiloba, Presidente del CNA  firmaron un convenio a través del cual el TE montará su plataforma de voto electrónico para ser implementado en esta…

  • La cuña lo que hace referencia es a cosas que son verdad, hay obras que existen

    tupolitica
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 am
    Luis Eduardo Camacho, secretario de Comunicación del Estado, considera que “no existe debate” sobre la cuña del gobierno panameño la cual ha sido criticada por ser parecida a la del gobierno del presidente ecuatoriano, Rafael Correa. En ambas cuñas se muestra a un personaje no vidente que describe las obras de los gobiernos, sin embargo, Camacho dice que el debate pudiera existir si lo que se estuviese diciendo en ella fuera falso, por ello, no entiende la razón de las críticas. “La cuña lo que hace referencia es a cosas que son verdad, hay obras que existen,…

  • Solicitan investigación internacional sobre pinchazos en Panamá

    tupolitica
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:41 am
    En una misiva fechada el 7 de junio del 2013, el Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) denunció ante el gobierno de Estados Unidos que la administración del presidente Ricardo Martinelli utiliza equipos estatales para grabar ilegalmente conversaciones de dirigentes opositores. “Solicitamos que su Gobierno realice una investigación formal sobre el uso actual que se les está dando a esos equipos y al personal que pueda haber sido capacitado con fondos público de los Estados Unidos, a fin de determinar si los mismos han sido o están siendo utilizados por el actual Gobierno de Panamá…

  • Presidente niega que se esté violando la libertad de expresión

    tupolitica
    14 Jun 2013 | 6:02 am
    El presidente de la República, Ricardo Martinelli niega que se esté violando la libertad de expresión. Explicó que allí están trabajando personas en contra del narcotráfico y la delincuencia organizada. “Hay lugares donde uno puede ir y otros no”, manifestó. Afirmó que si esta situación hubiera sucedido en otro país ya estuvieran preso (los periodistas). Las declaraciones de Martinelli se dieron en relación al incidente que se registró entre una periodista, su camarógrafo, el secretario del Sindicato de Periodista y el Alejandro Garuz, Secretario del Consejo de…

  • Presidente sanciona leyes que benefician a trabajadores y dota de recursos al CBP

    tupolitica
    13 Jun 2013 | 4:01 am
    Se trata de la ley que reconoce ciertas prestaciones laborales a los servidores públicos que sean destituidos injustificadamente; la ley que crea los Certificados de Pago Negociable del Décimo Tercer Mes (Cerdem), para aquellos trabajadores del gobierno que dejaron de percibirlos entre los años 1989 y 1991; y la ley que busca dotar de nuevos ingresos al Cuerpo de Bomberos de Panamá (CBP) así puedan hacer frente a la necesidad de más equipos. Estos tres documentos, que serán ley a partir de su promulgación, fueron sancionados este martes 11 de junio por el presidente Ricardo…
 
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    The Conversation - Politics + Society

  • What is going on in Brazil? The World Cup and its malcontents

    Cristina Rocha, Senior Lecturer, Religion and Society Research Centre at University of Western Sydney
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:05 pm
    In the past week, there have been demonstrations in Brazil of a magnitude not seen since the movement for direct elections in the mid-1980s, and for former president Fernando Collor de Mello’s impeachment in 1990. What started with smaller demonstrations São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro has grown to hundreds of thousands of protesting people in other capital cities and towns in the country, and among the global diaspora. The largest demonstration took place on June 17. Then, thousands of marched on to the National Congress in Brasília and legislative assemblies throughout the country. On June…

  • Obama announces peace talks with Taliban

    Scott Burchill, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Deakin University
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:51 pm
    US president Barack Obama has formally announced the beginning of negotiations with the Taliban aimed at achieving a lasting peace in Afghanistan. The talks will be held in the Qatari capital of Doha, where the Taliban will open an official office. Since the November 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, thousands of US and coalition troops, including 39 Australians, have died in the central Asian nation. Taliban and Afghan civilian casualties run many times higher. With Western military forces due to withdraw at the end of next year, and Afghan services taking formal military control of the country…

  • Art out of the wilderness: Turner exhibition shows how far we've come

    Joanna Mendelssohn, Program Director, Art Administration, School of Art History and Art Education. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online at University of New South Wales
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:05 pm
    When visitors come to the Turner from the Tate exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, the experience is to travel through time and space to early 19th century Britain. It was a time of social turmoil and war, when the French Revolution led to the rise of Napoleon and his defeat by the mighty British Navy. It is a beautiful illusion. The Turner exhibition comes to Australia as part of an international tour organised by the Tate in London, but the way in which the works are displayed, the narratives unfolding of the brilliant barber’s son who could draw in the classical tradition…

  • ‘Kindred souls’ exposing abuses of power: journalism in the information age

    Charles Lewis, Professor and Executive Editor, Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:14 am

  • Synthetic cannabis: even regular drug users don’t trust it

    Sarah Macgregor, Senior Research Analyst, Violent and Serious Crime Monitoring team at Australian Institute of Criminology
    17 Jun 2013 | 10:04 pm
    For decades, cannabis has remained the most popular illicit drug among Australians. The strong demand among cannabis and other drug users for methods to evade detection and legal trouble has made online products such as “drug-free urine” popular. More recently, this demand has fuelled the influx of a new category of borderline illicit substance – synthetic drugs. Designed to mimic the effects of cannabis, synthetic cannabinoid products are not “herbal highs”, as is often described on their packaging and in the marketing on various websites. To the contrary, the products contain…
 
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    Cato @ Liberty

  • Only Wusses Go to War Without Cause

    Doug Bandow
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:50 pm
    Doug Bandow President Barack Obama has been evidently reluctant to go to war in Syria, but has started down the long and winding road by deciding to provide weapons to the insurgents. Why he is risking involvement in another conflict in another Muslim nation is hard to fathom. However, the president did act only after former president Bill Clinton warned that Obama could end up looking like a “total wuss” and “a total fool” if the latter did not drag America into war. If there is anyone who should not be giving war-related advice, it is Bill Clinton. His “splendid little war” in…

  • Instead of Free Trade, Have the Transatlantic Trade Talks

    Daniel J. Ikenson
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:29 am
    Daniel J. Ikenson Has the intellectual debate about free trade been won? The close-to-consensus answer among several scholars discussing that question at Cato last week is “yes.” The better answer is “wrong question.” After all, how much does it really matter that free traders have won the intellectual debate when, in practice, trade policy is distinctly anti-intellectual and free trade is the rare exception, not the rule, around the world? Consider the just-launched Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. If the free trade consensus were meaningful outside the…

  • Paying to Learn Nothing = LegalPaying Nothing to Learn = Illegal

    Andrew J. Coulson
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:39 am
    Andrew J. Coulson Last week, a NY district court ruled unpaid internships illegal. Note that if you voluntarily choose to take such an internship, it’s because you think you’ll acquire job skills that will advance your career—and if you decide you aren’t learning such skills you can leave any time. Contrast this with college. Researchers Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa find that almost half of all college students made no significant gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, or written communication after two full years of study. Even after four full years of…

  • Scratching the Surface Until We Bleed

    Andrew J. Coulson
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:56 am
    Andrew J. Coulson Yesterday, the Washington Post published a poignant, ably-written piece on the plight of DC’s high school graduates. Even the city’s top students struggle with college-level work because they’re so ill prepared. The story is heavy on “heart interest” but bereft of “head interest.” It will sadden or even anger most readers, but won’t enlighten them as to potential solutions. If the writer had dug deep into this story, instead of just scratching at its emotional surface, she would have discovered a wealth of relevant research. Private schools,…

  • What’s the Better Role Model, France or Switzerland?

    Daniel J. Mitchell
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:44 am
    Daniel J. Mitchell At the European Resource Bank conference earlier this month, Pierre Bessard from Switzerland’s Institut Liberal spoke on a panel investigating “The Link between the Weight of the State and Economic prosperity.” His presentation included two slides that definitely are worth sharing. The first slide, which is based on research from the Boston Consulting Group, looks at which jurisdictions have the most households with more than $1 million of wealth. Switzerland is the easy winner, and you probably won’t be surprised to see Hong Kong and Singapore also do…
 
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    A View from the Right

  • Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 2

    sirrahc
    16 Jun 2013 | 3:55 pm
    Part 2: Propositions and Logical Relationships “Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed ere long into an amiable indifferentism which to outward appearance differed but little from the indifferentism….”  — Samuel Butler, iconoclastic Victorian author Despite what you [...]

  • Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 1

    sirrahc
    12 Jun 2013 | 7:40 pm
    Part 1:  Firm Foundation “I yam what I yam, and that’s all what I yam.”  — Popeye, the sailorman Given the subjects that I usually read and write about on this blog, critical thinking really comes in handy. Not that I’m some great logician or anything. Far from it! But, over the last few years, [...]

  • Is Sin an “Unintended Consequence” of Creation? (Part 2 of 2)

    sirrahc
    5 Jun 2013 | 6:46 pm
    “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  — Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) Previously, I introduced “Darryl” and his idea that “sin is ultimately a consequence of Creation… albeit, an unintended consequence.” In fact, in an effort to exculpate God from all responsibility for sin, he hypothesized that perhaps “God sovereignly created a ‘Law of [...]

  • Is Sin an “Unintended Consequence” of Creation? (Part 1 of 2)

    sirrahc
    2 Jun 2013 | 8:26 pm
    We often hear people speak of “unintended consequences”. It certainly comes up a lot in talks of politics & economics. But, the other day — OK, it was a few months ago — I heard the term used regarding quite a different topic. I was browsing a Facebook thread, in which a bunch of people [...]

  • Reagan’s 1986 Memorial Day Speech

    sirrahc
    26 May 2013 | 4:34 pm
    In an effort to remind myself (and others) of the many lives lost, sacrificed in the service of this great country, for the freedom of her people and those of her allies, I have reproduced the 1986 Memorial Day speech given by President Ronald Reagan at Arlington National Cemetery: “Today is the day we put [...]
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    Fair Observer

  • Taksim Square: Turkey's Turn to Protest?

    Anna Birawi
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:14 pm
    shutterstock_107351171.jpg Recent protests in Turkey have exposed deep seated divisions within society. But do they threaten to weaken the stability of Erdogan’s government? Background Until recently, Turkey’s citizen-government relations have remained relatively stable, overshadowed by the ever increasing tensions across the Middle East. However, recent protests across the country have set to threaten this stability, exposing an array of suppressed divisions within society. Tensions erupted on May 28, 2013, from a somewhat modest origin. Small groups of activists gathered in the…

  • Kurds in the Turkosphere: A Growing Sectarian Divide

    Nathaniel Handy
    18 Jun 2013 | 6:42 pm
    The Kurds: In Search of a Homeland The rise of Kurdish political power has persuaded Turkey that it is time to strike a deal with its own Kurds. These are fateful days for the Kurdish populations of the Middle East. Caught for almost a century between the competing policies of the states among which they were divided following the First World War, these various communities now inhabit a fast-changing landscape. The Syrian Civil War — increasingly viewed as a conflict between Sunni Arabs and non-Sunni Arabs — has left the Kurds of Syria to quietly take control of their enclaves in…

  • Syria's "Agro-City Regions" - Framing the Civil War

    Nicholas A. Heras
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:41 pm
    Chaos in Syria In order to fully understand the armed conflict in Syria, one has to grasp the country’s agro-city regional organization. In the whirl and the rush of the fast-moving, bloody, and geo-politically significant events ongoing throughout Syria, it is easy to forget that certain classics of Syria studies can help us understand events in the country through culturally relevant socio-political and socio-economic perspectives. One such work is Michael van Dusen's 1972 analysis entitled, "Political Integration and Regionalism in Syria," which was published in the…

  • UK Asylum Seekers: At the End of the Line

    Still Human Still Here
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:42 pm
    A 2010 report by the Still Human Still Here coalition, “At the End of the Line: Restoring Integrity of the UK’s Asylum System”, documents destitution, inadequate access to health care and inability to work among asylum seekers which are still relevant three years on. The following is an executive summary of the report In January 2009, the British Red Cross announced that: “Some of the conditions that the British Red Cross have witnessed in dealing with destitution (in the UK) have shown a degree of suffering and inhumanity that, if we as the world’s largest…

  • Sri Lankan Refugees: Voyages of Uncertainty

    William Crowne
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:09 am
    The Plight of Refugees Even after the end of civil war in Sri Lanka, the fate of its ethnic Tamil refugees remains uncertain. The lives of thousands of Sri Lankans who fled the devastating and prolonged violence of the civil war remain in a state of insecurity worldwide. For many, the desperate hope of beginning a stable life far from persecution and violence and soliciting asylum mainly in Europe and Australia, has been compelling enough to make often perilous and precarious boat journeys. The protracted civil war in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009, between the separatist Tamil Tigers (LTTE) and…
 
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    Booker Rising

  • June Fundraising Challenge: $100

    Shay Riley
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:33 pm
    Yes, it's that time of the month again! Booker Rising's reader fundraising challenge for June is $100. Booker Rising is the only one-stop source on the Internet that specializes in the global black center-right, from America to ZimbabweIt's the go-to source for black center-right news, amid a vast sea of black center-left news sources. It is Day Two of the Challenge. If only five of Booker Rising's readers contribute $20, the June Fundraising Challenge will be met!If you appreciate Booker Rising's work, donate by clicking here or going to the "Donate" button at the top right side of the blog.

  • Crystal Wright Op-Ed: The Grand Old Party Is Stuck On Stupid

    Shay Riley
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:00 pm
    The conservative Republican blogger in D.C. writes: "Republican Senator Jeff Flake had to apologize for his 15-year-old son’s unsavory remarks on Twitter. According to Buzzfeed, Tanner Flake tweeted he would find 'the f____t' who stole his bike and 'beat the crap out of you.' Tanner also posted screenshots of his scores from an online game 'Fun Run' where he used the handle 'n____rkiller'. If this isn’t enough to make anyone’s eyes roll in disgust, Buzzfeed reported that Tanner’s Twitter account, which is now locked, revealed his repeated use of the racial slurs in January and…

  • Bill Would Honor Buffalo Soldiers’ Role In Parks

    Shay Riley
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:46 pm
    From the AP: "In the decades after the Civil War, the nation’s first black Army regiments guarded Yosemite and Sequoia national parks against poaching and timber thefts, a role that in hindsight made them America’s first park rangers. Now as the National Park Service prepares for its 100th anniversary in 2016, there is a move in Congress to formally recognize the role of these 'Buffalo Soldiers.'"More: "The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Monday by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco, allowing the study of a national historic trail between their home base at The Presidio in…

  • Mychal Massie Op-Ed: More Obama Disregard For Blacks

    Shay Riley
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:46 pm
    The late Jamiel Shaw Jr. with his fatherThe conservative Republican commentator opines: "As I indicated, Obama personally interjected himself into what many, myself included, believe was a clear case of self-defense when George Zimmerman shot and killed Martin as Martin was reportedly slamming Zimmerman’s head into the ground. But in the case of Jamiel Shaw Jr., his only offense was being born black – an illegal-alien Mexican shot him to death because of the color of young Mr. Shaw’s skin. Not only has Obama ignored the murder of Jamiel Shaw Jr., but he has taken it upon himself to push…

  • J.C. Watts Talks About Bringing Ethnic Diversity To The GOP

    Shay Riley
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:15 am
    Richard Ivory of Hip Hop Republican blog interviews the conservative Republican and former U.S. Congressman for The Washington Times. Some excerpts:What is the vision for INSIGHT America? And how will you seek to implement it?"INSIGHT America is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization that exists to empower communities of color by offering policy solutions and growing the next generation of public policy leaders. Through our core programs, INSIGHT America empowers young professionals of color who identify with solutions that work and advocate for independent thought with the training, networking and…
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    FactCheck.org

  • A Botched Attack on IRS Budget

    FactCheck.org
    14 Jun 2013 | 1:30 pm
    An ad calling for the abolishment of the IRS incorrectly claimed that the federal agency’s budget increased by $2 billion. In fact, it’s down by nearly $1 billion during President Barack Obama’s first term. To its credit, though, Americans for Fair Taxation, the group behind the ad, removed the $2 billion reference after we asked about it. In the original ad, a narrator accuses an “out of control” IRS of “playing politics” while the words “$2 billion budget increase” appear on screen. The 30-second spot was posted to the group’s…

  • IRS Probe So Far Yields Partial, Partisan ‘Facts’

    Eugene Kiely
    13 Jun 2013 | 11:53 am
    The House Oversight Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat are overreaching in recent statements about the committee’s investigation of the IRS. Chairman Darrell Issa has yet to produce evidence of his theory that the Obama administration in Washington “directly … ordered” the agency to target conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. But Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings has failed to provide evidence that there was “no political involvement,” and he goes too far when he says “the case is solved.” The two men have been engaged in a high-profile exchange in…

  • A Puffed-up Appeal to Job Fears

    Brooks Jackson
    12 Jun 2013 | 2:48 pm
    A TV ad opposing the Senate immigration bill uses inflated numbers in an oversimplified, one-sided appeal to fears about job security. The ad claims that Congress is considering “adding 33 million foreign job seekers” when 20 million Americans can’t find a job. Both those numbers are inflated and misleading. Furthermore, the ad is silent on the offsetting economic benefits of immigration. And it appeals to fear, showing anxious faces in stark black-and-white images, while the narrator says “young adults are wondering if they’ll ever be financially…

  • Outside Attacks in Massachusetts

    Robert Farley
    12 Jun 2013 | 2:24 pm
    New ads from outside Democratic groups attacking Massachusetts Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez distort his positions on Social Security and taxes. An ad from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee claims Gomez “supports protecting special tax breaks for corporations and multimillionaires – like himself.” But Gomez has supported the elimination of special tax breaks, so long as it is part of a comprehensive tax reform. An ad from the Senate Majority PAC shows images of worried seniors and warns that Gomez “wants to raise the retirement age.” The images are…

  • June 7: Judicial Nominees, Immigration

    Eugene Kiely
    7 Jun 2013 | 10:41 am
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    WesternFront America

  • 20 Examples Of How America Is Rapidly Going Down The Toilet

    Editor
    17 Jun 2013 | 9:41 am
    20 Examples Of How America Is Rapidly Going Down The Toilet (via The American Dream)

  • The Continuing Collapse of the Global Warming Hoax

    Alan Caruba
    16 Jun 2013 | 8:32 pm
    While the nation tries to come to grips with the cascade of scandals involving the Obama administration, a significant phenomenon has been occurring. It is the demise of the global warming/climate change hoax that has driven national and international policies since the 1980s. Directed from within the bowels of the most corrupt international organization on planet Earth, the United Nations, the hoax originally generated the Kyoto Protocols in December 1997 to set limits on the generation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The UN’s climate charlatans claimed that CO2 was causing the Earth to…

  • What If They Held a Primary and Nobody Came?

    Michael R. Shannon
    16 Jun 2013 | 8:31 pm
    The Washington Post finally got its primary and in typical leftist fashion, they approved of the candidate selection method that was both inefficient and cost taxpayers the most. Earlier this year the Posties criticized Republicans for using the convention method to choose their nominees — even though Lincoln was chosen by a convention and the Constitution was written at one. The Post complained the 8,000 delegates that attended the Richmond convention were less than one percent of registered Republicans in the Commonwealth. And in fact, the editorial page was in such a snit over the…

  • 1913 Gettysburg Reunion of Blue and Gray

    Calvin E. Johnson Jr.
    16 Jun 2013 | 8:29 pm
    America will celebrate her 237th birthday this year, and….. The Sesquicentennial “150th Anniversary” of the War Between the States continues in remembrance of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson who died in May 1863 and the men of Blue and Gray who fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans commemorates the memory of the Confederate soldier. Read more at: http://www.150wbts.org/ Fifty years had passed since the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1st- 3rd, 1863, when the Veterans of the North and South braved again the summer heat to meet at Gettysburg,…

  • Illegal Immigration Can Be Stopped

    J.D. Longstreet
    16 Jun 2013 | 8:26 pm
    The Obama Administration has been excellent at keeping a crisis of some kind ongoing in the US while they continue to get their crash socialist programs through the Congress and made into law before the American people figure out what hit us. It’s called “misdirection.”  Magicians use it all the time.  The reason Magicians and politicians use it  – because it works! We warned some time ago that when the Obama people run out of crises and the smoke clears a little and the American people begin to get a look through the low hanging mist, there would  be a lot of jaws dropping…
 
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    opposingviews.com

  • House and Senate Have Different Views On Criminal Illegal Immigrants

    Evan Bleier
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:33 am
    As the House and Senate continue to debate the best way to change America's immigration system, differences about how the two want to handle criminal illegal immigrants keep emerging. After two police officers were killed, allegedly by illegal immigrant drunk drivers with prior DUI arrests, the debate has only become more heated. "There are thousands of Americans killed intentionally and accidentally by illegal immigrants who have already been arrested and could have been deported from the U.S.," said Kris Kobach, an attorney who represents Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. After he…

  • President Obama Says That NSA Programs Are ‘Transparent’ (Video)

    Evan Bleier
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:04 am
    During an interview with Charlie Rose on Sunday, President Obama said that the two National Security Agency programs that became public knowledge because of leaked secret documents were “transparent.” Obama also dismissed concerns that the programs were vulnerable to abuse by government officials. “It is transparent,” Obama said. “What I’ve asked the intelligence community to do is see how much of this we can declassify without further compromising the program, No. 1. And they are in that process of doing so now so that everything that I’m describing to you today, people, the…

  • Gay Marriage vs. Black People in 'The New Black' Film (Video)

    Michael Allen
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:16 am
    “The New Black” is a new documentary that shows the conflict between conservative, religious members of the African-American community and gay rights advocates over same-sex marriage (video below). Directed by Yoruba Richen, "The New Black" will be screened at Washington’s AFI Docs Festival on June 22 and June 23. Richen told Politico.com that it is the "ultimate irony that an institution which has historically been the moral center of the civil rights movement, advocated to deny another minority group’s rights.” The documentary follows a gay marriage referendum "Question 6" that…

  • Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach May Use Gun on Undocumented Immigrants (Video)

    Michael Allen
    17 Jun 2013 | 9:35 pm
    About 300 peaceful immigrant activists from Sunflower Community Action protested in front of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's Kansas City home on Saturday and rallied for immigration reform (video below). “They went straight to his front door to ask him to stop spreading his hate, and either focus on his job as Secretary of State or step down. He has long devastated communities and wrought enormous financial costs to many states. A trail of shoes was left on his front steps to symbolize all the fatherless families due to deportations," reports Sunflower Community Action. Kobach was…

  • Rep. Dana Rohrabacher Furious With Marco Rubio Over Immigration Reform

    Heather Manes
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:51 pm
    As a sweeping immigration reform bill draws closer to a vote, Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) is growing steadily more suspicious of Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) intentions. Rubio, one of the Gang of Eight in charge of drafting the bill, is working to soften right-wing conservatives in order to get the bill passed, but Rohrabacher says he won’t be one of them. "Rubio is so mixed up and so confused," Rohrabacher said in an interview with World Net Daily. "I think he has given up his rightful place to advise any of us in Washington what to do, and he’s given up any right to…
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    The Recovering Politician

  • Lauren Mayer: GOP Men Vs. LadyParts

    Jonathan Miller
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pm
    I thought the GOP hit bottom with women voters in 2012, thanks to “legitimate rape,” “binders of women,” etc., and I was looking forward to the ‘new and improved’ party after its public autopsy and rebranding.  But apparently several holdouts haven’t gotten the memo – and it’s not just bothering us leftist liberals.  Several republican strategists and senior leaders (including Bob Dole) have been critical, college-age republicans say the party is out of touch, and Rep Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said the party was ‘stupid’…

  • John Y’s Musings from the Middle: The UPS Whiteboard Guy

    John Y. Brown III
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:00 am
    I wonder whatever happened to this guy? There are many times I wish he were around to explain something to me–or for me! Right now I’m having trouble with my cable and having difficulty explaining it to technical support. I swear I think the UPS guy could probably lay out the entire problem in just a few strokes on a whiteboard and probably never once come close to using using his “outside voice.” I think drawing must be the key because explaining cable problems using words never seems to get me very far. I definitely need to get a whiteboard for times like this! Or…

  • Artur Davis: What We Lost in the Storm — A Review of “The Unwinding”

    Artur Davis
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:00 am
    Click here to review & purchase The Great Recession of 2008-2010 was hell on dreams. For all of the trillions of dollars sunk in the stock market, and the staggering job losses, it is the collapse in confidence and optimism that lingers and that has had the most sustained impact on American life. So argues George Packer’s superb book, “The Unwinding”, which should stand as one of the most compelling narratives of the toll of our near depression. The heart of this book is a series of extended profiles whose lives exemplify different themes: Tammy Thomas, a black woman in Youngstown…

  • Nancy Slotnick: I Love Girls

    Nancy Slotnick
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:30 am
    I love girls. I love girls. Ok, I should really say I love Girls, the new HBO show, but the previous sentence was my feeble attempt to capture the attention of my male readership. Anyway, the show is awesome. The guy’s line “I want you to know, the first time I f*ck you, I might scare you a little, because I’m a man, and I know how to do things,” makes Marni need to masturbate before she even makes it back to her apartment. This is alpha male behavior. Does it exist outside of cable television? Can it be taken seriously or are players, pick up artists and sketch comedians the…

  • Erica & Matt Chua: Sao Paulo Street Art Smackdown

    Erica and Matt Chua
    17 Jun 2013 | 10:30 am
    LOCAVORista may have fallen in love with Buenos Aires and thought it had the best street art, but she was mistaken…Sao Paulo holds that crown.  Yes, Buenos Aires offers a wide array of high-quality street art, but it pales in comparasion to Villa Madalena’s paint covered walls.  In fact, it’s harder to find places without street art in this posh Sao Paulo neighborhood than trying to locate art.  Let’s take a quick walk through the neighborhood to check out just some of the paintings. The minds of the many artists in the neighborhoods have spilled out onto the walls exactly as…
 
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    Ride

  • President George W. Bush Applauds NSA Spying on Americans

    Bungalow Bill
    17 Jun 2013 | 6:54 am
    President George W. Bush's position on spying on Americans should be no secret. Bush didn't have to speak to know where he stands on the issue. He signed the Patriot Act. However, the former president felt the need to get a word in for support for the NSA spying on Americans without a warrant.Former President George W. Bush on Thursday defended some of the cellphone data-gathering tactics used by the National Security Agency that have caused a public uproar in recent weeks, saying America’s “still at risk” and it’s about “connecting the dots” in the war on terror.“There’s kind…

  • Health and Human Services Web Site Now Informing Female Teens of Gay Sex Practices and Birth Control

    Bungalow Bill
    17 Jun 2013 | 6:42 am
    Health and Human Services are now using your federal tax dollars to inform teens about gay sex, birth control distribution for teenagers, and masturbation. CNS news reports:A government website designed for girls ages 10 to 16 offers health advice and information on a wide range of topics, including homosexuality, anal sex and “mutual masturbation.”The Health and Human Services’ girlshealth.gov includes tips on fitness and nutrition and an “environmental health” section where girls can read about leading a “green” lifestyle.But the site also includes a glossary that explains…

  • Congressman Billy Long is a Dangerous Politician Voting Our Rights Away

    Bungalow Bill
    17 Jun 2013 | 6:37 am
    I warned people Billy Long was a dangerous politician. There are two reasons I decided Long is Wrong.The first is, Billy Long wants to be liked by everyone. His ego demands it, and when you are in a place like Washington, DC, and you have the need to be liked, you are going to put the need to be liked before doing what is right.Secondly, which many of his colleagues do know, Billy Long isn't the brightest bulb in the pack. Even Conservative Bill Kristol's The Weekly Standard commented on how Billy Long doesn't really seem to know what's going on, so he tells long-winded stories centered…

  • IRS Spying on Americans Too

    Bungalow Bill
    15 Jun 2013 | 3:58 pm
    The IRS, to no real surprise, is illegally spying on Americans too. We know this because they recently canceled an order for some James Bond like spy equipment as the NSA comes under fire.CNS reports:The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has cancelled its purchase order for surveillance equipment, which had included coffee trays with hidden cameras and cameras that could be hidden in plants.The IRS issued the cancellation on Wednesday at 11:49 a.m.CNSNews.com published an initial story about the IRS's purchase order on Monday afternoon--and that story was linked on The Drudge Report.As…

  • US Corporations Rewarded by the NSA and Federal Government in Exchange for Your Personal Data

    Bungalow Bill
    15 Jun 2013 | 8:18 am
    Bloomberg reports the NSA scandal goes much further than the NSA listening into all of our phone calls. Bloomberg reports the NSA is exchanging rewards for US corporations for access to the data these corporations collect about you.Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information and in return receiving benefits that include access to classified intelligence, four people familiar with the process said.These programs, whose participants are known as trusted partners, extend far beyond what was…
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    Sunshine State News feed

  • Hillary Beats Out Jeb Bush and Rubio in Q-Poll of Florida

    Kevin Derby
    19 Jun 2013 | 3:11 am
    Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the favorite to be the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, beats out two possible Republican presidential candidates in their own back yards according to a poll released Wednesday morning. A poll from Quinnipiac University shows Clinton with a solid lead over former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida. Clinton beats out Bush 50 percent to 43 percent. She does even better against Rubio, besting him 53 percent to 41 percent.read more

  • Miami-Dade Wins Audubon Award

    Allison Nielsen
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:55 pm
    Miami-Dade County and the Miami-Dade Sewer Department have been awarded the Excellence in Water Conservation Award by Audubon Florida. The award was presented today at the Miami-Dade County Comission meeting. “One of the most important things we can do for the Everglades is to conserve water” said the executive director of Audubon Florida, Eric Draper. “Miami-Dade County’s water conservation program, “Use Less,” under the leadership of Doug Yoder, exemplifies this commitment to water conservation through quantifiable results.” read more

  • Ander Crenshaw Honored for Standing Against Malaria

    Kevin Derby
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:37 pm
    U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., was honored on Tuesday for his work against malaria. Malaria No More awarded Crenshaw and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., with the Malaria Action Award and U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., with the Malaria Action Award.read more

  • Tim Tebow Drives Gator Nation to Buy Patriots’ Red, Blue

    Sunshine State News
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:32 pm
    Tim Tebow’s entrance into the New England Patriots' NFL organization came as a sigh of relief to many Gator fans who feared the former University of Florida golden boy could end up playing abroad … on television stations far beyond their reach.read more

  • Rubio on Immigration Reform: 'I Don’t Believe that this is the Salvation or the Doom of the GOP'

    Kevin Derby
    18 Jun 2013 | 10:14 am
    On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio appeared on Bill Bennett’s radio show to weigh in on immigration reform. Rubio insisted that his support for immigration reform has nothing to do with politics and rejected arguments that it will help or hurt the Republicans.read more
 
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    Restoring Truthiness

  • Bugsy ‘effin Malone

    Hank Griffin
    14 Jun 2013 | 10:47 pm
    Bugsy ‘effin Malone Recognizer her? That’s Jodie Foster.  Jodie Foster covered in cream pie which what the guns shot in the movie Bugsy Malone. I recalled this scene when I heard about a letter a boy wrote to President Obama suggesting that the solution to gun violence was chocolate bullets.  Awe, isn’t that sweet. And whaddya know,  Joe Biden writes back to say it’s a great idea: If we had guns that shot chocolate, then not only would our country be safer, it would be happier. You are a good boy, -Joe Biden Well that’s a kid that’s never felt the kick…

  • NSA Makes First Arrest In Cyber War On Terror and It’s One of Their Own

    Bill Dixon
    7 Jun 2013 | 12:27 pm
    NSA Makes First Arrest In Cyber War On Terror and It’s One of Their OwnHeadquarters of the NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland. Español: Instalaciones generales de la NSA en Fort Meade, Maryland. Русский: Штаб-квартира АНБ, Форт-Мид, Мэриленд, США (Photo credit: Wikipedia)   The NSA has been secretly gathering information on people via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter for the past six years through a top secret program. According to secret documents obtained by RestoringTruthiness, it appears the NSA has made their first arrest in…

  • Politics: DOMA-Frog Legs For Dinner

    Alexandria Love
    14 May 2013 | 5:24 pm
    Politics: DOMA-Frog Legs For Dinner   Emperor Augustus (63 BCE – 14 CE). (Photo credit: Wikipedia) There is no question that the marriages have been around since one could recall the beginning of time. However, it was under Emperor Augustus when marriage became more of a… ” legal institution”.   Augustus’s Leges Juliae (Julian Laws) of 18 – 17 BC attempted to elevate morals and increase the population by encouraging marriage and having children. It also attempted to legitimize natural children by having the parents marry in order to acknowledge…

  • Endangered Doodles and the State of Education

    Trevor Reece
    30 Apr 2013 | 1:28 pm
    Endangered Doodles and the State of Education Restoring Truthiness

  • How Mainstream Media Can Better Handle National Tragedies

    Bill Dixon
    19 Apr 2013 | 9:30 am
    How Mainstream Media Can Better Handle National TragediesTV2-teamet med Nils Gunnar Lie (Photo credit: aktivioslo) 1. For the Love of Everything Holy, Stop Telling Me How to Make Bombs Stop telling me how easy it is to make a bomb. I spent the afternoon of the Boston Marathon bombing in L.A. traffic, screaming at my radio as they told me just how easily I could make my very own explosive or incendiary device. “From what we are understanding, the bomb was a simple device made from everyday items you might find in your own kitchen.  All you need is ____________, ___________ and a little…
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    The Conference Channel Blog

  • Popocatépetl Pops Its Top; Volcanic Shockwave Caught on Webcam

    Zain Iqbal
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:40 am
    What does a volcanic eruption and shockwave look like? A webcam caught one on Mexico’s 17,930-foot Popocatépetl yesterday. You can see the power of the eruption reverberate through the clouds at approximately the 5 second mark. Popocatépetl sits only two hours from downtown Mexico City, so naturally videos like this are of great interest to geologists and local officials for the information they provide about the volcano’s eruptions and subsequent pyroclastic flow patterns. Active since the early 1990s, Popocatépetl’s frequent outbursts might also help us understand how…

  • Don’t Cheat Yourself Out of Sleep; Your Health Depends on It

    Zain Iqbal
    17 Jun 2013 | 5:58 pm
    Do you regularly get between 7-8 hours of sleep per night? Or do you find yourself so busy that you’re putting off shut-eye during the weekdays in order to catch-up on weekends? If you’re one of millions who find themselves not getting regular sleep or getting poor sleep, a new series of columns for the New York Times may push you to get back on track. According to today’s post on Well, here’s a laundry list of functions that sleep-deprived individuals put at risk: Heart, lungs and kidneys Appetite, metabolism and weight control Immune function and disease resistance…

  • This Week on FORA.tv: National Journal, New Republic, Intelligence Squared

    Zain Iqbal
    17 Jun 2013 | 11:09 am
    Find out what’s happening in transportation, environment, and defense policy in three different programs this week. The development of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s under the Eisenhower administration was a major contributor into shaping the United States as an economic superpower. But rising oil prices have forced policymakers, industry, and businesses to rethink our transportation system. Join us for a discussion on alternative fuels and the role the private and public sector will play in determine the most viable and economically-beneficial long-term solutions for our…

  • A Rare Look at Hitchcock’s Early Films Show the Seeds of Genius

    Zain Iqbal
    14 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pm
    The works of the great English director and producer Alfred Hitchcock are often considered to be at the apex of Western cinema. Films like Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest display his distinctive directorial style, in which he used pioneering editing and cinematographic techniques in order to engage and toy with an audience’s psyche. But like all artists, he developed his vision over time and audiences can now enjoy watching the metamorphosis of Hitchcock’s style with the “Hitchcock 9″– a collection of his earliest works that were restored by the…

  • Paley Center for Media: Mobile Advertising is the Next Big Thing

    Zain Iqbal
    13 Jun 2013 | 2:44 pm
    When it comes to mobile advertising, Google is killing it. In a story reported across multiple news outlets today, Google sells more advertisements in the mobile space than all of its competitors combined,with 56 percent of the market share. Second on the list is Facebook, coming in at about 13 percent. Of course, just because Google dominating doesn’t mean that’s the end of the story. Mobile is still a nascent medium that is wide open for innovation. A VentureBeat article posted yesterday explored the changes going on in the mobile economy and created a “Mobile…
 
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    Insane Asylum Blog - Social Commentary Off Meds

  • EYEBALL LICKING: THE NEW CRAZE IN JAPAN

    Nena Grace
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:29 am
    Fetishes, we all have them. Whether we want to admit it or not, there is some strange thing that we love that gets us off and starts our motors ticking. Pretty feet, a nice round booty, bulging crotches and big boobs used to suffice when it came to "getting off", but apparently I've been trapped in the dark ages of fetishes because I came across some really weird shit today.Now, I've heard of some crazy fetishes like people loving balloons so much that they get off on rubbing up against them, blowing them up, watching them get big and popping them. Harmless, right? How about Sploshing? That's…

  • MAN STABS BROTHER OVER MAC 'N CHEESE

    Nena Grace
    16 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    We've all been there. Something happens and we get angry. I've even heard people say that they were mad enough to kill someone. Personally, I've gotten angry enough to fight but, I don't think that it's in me to kill, especially someone who I'm supposed to love. Well, maybe Randy Zipperer had been pushed too far, because he got so mad at his brother that he stabbed him in the stomach.Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that 49-year-old Zipperer of Volusia County, Fla.and his 47-year-old brother Edward started arguing over Randy's missing macaroni and cheese. Randy's younger brother began to…

  • MAN CALLS POLICE ABOUT UGLY PROSTITUTE

    Nena Grace
    15 Jun 2013 | 6:39 am
    It's not uncommon and it's happened to all of us at least once or twice in our lives. You make a purchase that sounds like a great deal, only to find out later that it wasn't exactly what you thought you'd ordered. That dress or those shoes that you mail ordered, that set of power tools that you couldn't wait to receive or even that super-sized burger meal you couldn't wait to get home to enjoy. You rip open the packaging and then comes the disappointment as you find it's not exactly what you'd imagined.That dress looks hideous on, those shoes are cramping your toes like sardines in a can,…

  • MAN MOLESTS, URINATES ON WOMAN IN HOSPITAL

    Ed Chapman
    8 Jun 2013 | 6:30 am
    As if there aren't enough crazy things going on in New York, police say a mentally disturbed man molested and urinated on a patient at a hospital in Harlem. 49-year old Tyrone Brown was being treated for an undisclosed injury at the hospital last week. While unattended, he wandered off and found his way into the room of a 45-year old female patient.  The victim, who was being treated for a foot injury, had fallen asleep after being given pain medication. Brown stood over the woman, unzipped his pants and rubbed his penis on her mouth. That's when she awakened.The woman, whose name will…

  • TEXAS MAN STEALS SLAB OF RIBS, GETS 50 YEARS IN PRISON

    Ed Chapman
    3 Jun 2013 | 2:03 pm
    I'm no judge, but I have friends who are. With that said, I can't wait to get their opinion on the 50-year sentence 43-year-old Willie Smith Ward received last week for stealing a slab of ribs.In my home state of Michigan, more specifically Washtenaw County in the city of Ann Arbor, Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor or felony offense punishable by between 93 days in county jail or up to 5 years in prison, depending on how much is stolen.A person who steals something in a store during store hours that is worth $1,000.00 or greater is guilty of first degree Retail Fraud, a felony punishable by…
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    The Maddow Blog

  • Links for the 6/18 TRMS

    Will Femia
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:50 pm
    Tuesday night's citations are listed after the jump. Rick Wiles: Fly Landing on Obama May Be Sign He Is Demonic People for the American Way Duncan has 'questions' about the president's 'validity' The House abortion bill likely won't make it into law. But it still matters. GOP lawmaker tries - unsuccessfully - to remove name from abortion bill Comments by Rep. Michael Burgess About Fetuses Masturbating Not Based in Science, Doctors Say N.M. bill calls post-rape abortion 'evidence tampering' Republicans think they're winning the abortion wars now Texas Congressman: Masturbating Fetuses Prove…

  • Ahead on the 6/18 Maddow show

    Julia Nutter
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:51 pm
    Tonight's guests include:Adele Stan, senior Washington correspondent for RH Reality CheckSister Helen Prejean, anti-death penalty advocate and author of “Dead Man Walking”And here is executive producer Bill Wolff with a preview of tonight's show:

  • House GOP approves sweeping anti-abortion bill

    Steve Benen
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:32 pm
    Associated PressCongress' most restrictive anti-abortion bill in a decade easily passed the Republican-led House of Representatives late this afternoon, with a 228-196 vote. The outcome, which was not a surprise, largely fell along party lines -- all but six Republicans voted for it, all but six Democrats voted against it.Rachel will have plenty more on this on tonight's show.In the meantime, it's worth noting that the bill, a legally-dubious proposal to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, led to a lively debate on the House floor. Debate on the bill was tense on the House floor from…

  • Journalist Michael Hastings dies at the age of 33

    Steve Benen
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:14 pm
    BuzzFeed's Ben Smith made a heartbreaking announcement this afternoon: Michael Hastings died earlier today in a car accident in Los Angeles. He was just 33 years old. "We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone. Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold. Michael was also a wonderful, generous colleague…

  • Tuesday's Mini-Report

    Steve Benen
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:30 pm
    Today's edition of quick hits:* Afghanistan: "U.S.-led troops handed complete control of security to Afghanistan authorities Tuesday -- an act of faith in country's fledgling police and army in the face of near-constant insurgent attacks."* Great potential: "The Taliban signaled a breakthrough in efforts to open Afghan peace negotiations on Tuesday, announcing the opening of a political office in Qatar and new readiness to talk with American and Afghan officials, who said in turn that they would travel to meet insurgent negotiators there within days."* Is the White House moving past efforts…
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    david-frum

  • All Good Things...

    David Frum
    3 Jun 2013 | 8:05 am
    So it's been a rough month for my family and me. It's been a rough month for the blog too. I'm well aware that people come here to read about public affairs, not personal losses.

  • Chill Out on the Top Tax Rate

    Justin Green
    3 Jun 2013 | 7:17 am
    Compared to middle-class friendly changes like increasing the child tax credit and reducing payroll taxes, the top income tax rate should be at the bottom of Republican priorities. (It's not, but this is an argument that shouldn't be abandoned). Reihan writes at National Review:

  • To the Class of 2013

    Justin Green
    2 Jun 2013 | 7:27 am
    I would describe this Rob LaZebnik takedown of millenialls as mean-spirited, but as most kids my age will probably assume he's being heartfelt instead of bitingly sarcastic, I'll just laugh along with the old people. Yet I can't help but wonder: isn't the reason so many kids my age are like this because of parents like LaZebnik?

  • Nazis on Meth

    Justin Green
    31 May 2013 | 11:31 am
    And I feel hardcore when I drink espresso:

  • My Eulogy for My Father, Murray Frum

    David Frum
    31 May 2013 | 10:00 am
    My name is David Frum. As you hear me speak, please add in your minds the counterpoint of a second voice, that of my sister Linda, who cut all the spiciest material. In our mourning for our father, we are joined as one. I speak for our children too, Miranda, Nathaniel and Beatrice; Barbara, Sam and Ellie; and for our spouses, Danielle and Howard, who loved Murray as we did, and whom he loved in return.
 
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    Angry Lebs

  • Those who supported the Orthodox Law should refuse postponing the elections

    Michel
    29 May 2013 | 7:04 am
    Lebanon is heading to postpone the parliamentary election. Instead of voting on a new electoral law, the deputies will enter the parliament to vote for postponing elections and the life of this current parliament to November 20, 2014. The reason “the security situation”. What “security situation” are they talking about? How come these deputies can [...]

  • Between Aitat Village and Beirut Southern Suburbs

    Michel
    26 May 2013 | 3:41 am
    Between them there is around 13 km, the distance that 2 Grad missiles traveled from Aitat village and landed in Beirut Suburbs. Results: destruction and 4 injured. It took less than 24 hours for the Syrian opposition and their Lebanese supporters to answer back to Hassan Nasrallah Speech. Nasrallah declared yesterday: “If Syria falls in the [...]

  • Between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen

    Michel
    23 May 2013 | 4:14 pm
    Many blames the Syrian conflict for the clashes in Tripoli that have been raging for the past few days. Around 20 people killed and hundreds injured so far. The spill over, they call it. Other blames the battle of Qusair in Syria and Hzbullah involvement there that is turning the tide in favor of the [...]

  • Who is to blame?

    Michel
    22 May 2013 | 7:28 am
    No it is not the title of Alexander Herzen novel , I am just trying to figure out who brought back the Christian community in Lebanon to 1999 – 2000? Who else??? The famous:  Michel Aoun and Samir Geagea. The double calamity that hit the Christian Lebanese community 25 years ago was regurgitated by both men this week. Reason: [...]

  • Your death will not go in vain?

    Michel
    21 May 2013 | 4:02 am
    How many times we heard this sentence? How many times we read it in eulogies? How many times we repeated when we know a person close to us got killed in Lebanon? I remembered this sentence when a friend of mine was tagged on Facebook in a picture of martyr Ramzi Irani. I feel ashamed [...]
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    Resnarkable

  • Quit Abusing Social Media: A Treaty Between Marketers And The “Target Audience”

    Lizzie
    13 Jun 2013 | 6:00 am
    Part of my job is to manage paid social media placements and advertisements for clients. Sometimes tiny riots arise on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn … the majority of which are from users who don’t want to see ads in general. A few of those people comment on sponsored Facebook posts saying a much more eloquent version of “Get that ad out. of. mah face.”  So we put out tiny fires one by one. And these clients? They’re the good guys.  An overwhelming majority (if not all) of my clients are not solely focused on ROI, revenue, leads, etc… The majority of…

  • Get More Out Of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn With @LRuettimann and @JenniferMcClure

    Lizzie
    4 Jun 2013 | 6:00 am
    Jennifer McClure and Laurie Ruettimann are like the Beatrix Kiddo badasses ruling at the intersection of HR and social media. That means if you happen to work in HR or recruiting, they can help you do your job better with social media. If you, more likely, don’t work in HR or recruiting, but have ever been an ambitious, but letdown job seeker, Jennifer and Laurie have the cure. They’re hosting an educational webinar series, the final webinar is today at 1 pm CST on how to build a killer Facebook presence for your personal or company networking. You can view the first two webinars in the…

  • JELL-O’s #FML Social Campaign Conflict

    Lizzie
    3 Jun 2013 | 6:00 am
    If you haven’t seen JELL-O’s #FML campaign yet, you’re in for a treat. Just in case you’re unfamiliar, the #FML hashtag is used on Twitter to say “F my life” — usually about “first world problems” as in: JELL-O wants to reclaim #FML to mean “Fun my life.” They have responded to #FML tweets on Twitter with the following response: Read the rest at Social Media Today

  • The Best Things I Read And Saw This Week:

    Lizzie
    31 May 2013 | 6:00 am
    Sad Cat Diaries This is the funniest cat video I have seen since angry cat. Watch it and pass it along. The New Starr Conspiracy I work for a badass B2B marketing agency called The Starr Conspiracy. We launched our new website this week and it’s fly. Go check it out, play around, try to get to level 2 access. Get the most out of LinkedIn Jennifer McClure and Laurie Ruettimann want to teach you how to get the most out of LinkedIn. They’re pros. Go absorb their collective genius on Slideshare and listen to the archived webinar on the same topic to dive deeper. TEDx Talks: Dan…

  • In B2B Social Media, Likes Are Cheap, Shares Are Golden

    Lizzie
    23 May 2013 | 6:00 am
    Today’s guest post is from Oktopost co-founder Daniel Kushner.  Stop! Before you put that little widget on your corporate blog that enables people to “Like” your post, there may be a better alternative. Sure, you like the idea of having a customer give your post a little gold star, and you like to see the total number of “Likes” displayed on your blog (or Facebook page). But what if clicking on that “Like” button is distracting your prospect or customer from doing something far more valuable in terms of your social media ROI? That…
 
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    Washington Wire

  • New IRS Interview: More Blip Than Bombshell

    John D. McKinnon
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:59 pm
    Congressional investigators’ interview of IRS frontline manager John Shafer proved to be more of a blip than a bombshell.

  • IRS Manager’s Interview Transcript Adds Little to Debate

    John D. McKinnon
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:51 pm
    Congressional investigators’ interview of IRS front-line manager John Shafer proved to be more of a blip than a bombshell. The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) released excerpts of the interview more than a week ago, citing Mr. Shafer’s statements as evidence that there was no White House conspiracy to use the IRS to punish Obama administration enemies (as some Republicans have charged).

  • Issa, Cummings Fight Publicly Over Interview Transcript

    Siobhan Hughes
    18 Jun 2013 | 3:20 pm
    The uneasy relationship between the top Democrat and Republican on the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee took a turn for the worse on Tuesday after the Democrat published a transcript of an interview with an Internal Revenue Service manager who had suggested that he wasn't directed by the White House to target applications from conservative groups seeking non-profit status.

  • Red Cross Argues Guantanamo Reports Can’t Be Disclosed

    Jess Bravin
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:53 pm
    International Red Cross reports on detainees cannot be disclosed to a U.S. military commission trying five detainees accused of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks without the organization’s permission, a Red Cross lawyer told a Guantanamo Bay military judge Tuesday.

  • Enroll America Launches Health-Insurance Push

    Jennifer Corbett Dooren
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:36 pm
    Enroll America, a key supporter of the Affordable Care Act, formally launched its “Get Covered America” campaign Tuesday with the first goal being to educate millions of uninsured Americans about new insurance options.
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    BuzzFeed - Politics

  • Missing Michael Hastings

    18 Jun 2013 | 9:12 pm
    One of the great reporters of his generation died Tuesday at 33. The stories he wrote, and the ones he didn’t live to write. Via: Blue Rider Press Michael Hastings was really only interested in writing stories someone didn't want him to write — often his subjects; occasionally his editor. While there is no template for a great reporter, he was one for reasons that were intrinsic to who he was: ambitious, skeptical of power and conventional wisdom, and incredibly brave. And he was warm and honest in a way that left him many unlikely friends among people you'd expect to hate…

  • Heritage Foundation Challenges CBO Immigration Reform Estimates With Controversial Study

    18 Jun 2013 | 5:27 pm
    The Congressional Budget Office released a report saying the immigration reform bill could reduce the federal deficit by $200 billion over the next decade, but the Heritage Foundation has challenged that estimate, citing its own embattled report. Via: Evan Vucci / AP The conservative Heritage Foundation continues to cite its controversial study on the proposed "Gang of Eight" immigration reform bill, this time to challenge the findings of the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that the bill would decrease the federal deficit by about $200 billion over the next decade. The study claims the…

  • Exclusive: Confidential Administration Document Details Plan To Sell Obamacare Through Social Media

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:24 pm
    An internal handout focuses on young Americans — and on people who “distrust government.” WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is ramping up a plan to use the federal government's social media accounts and websites to help convince millions of Americans, including those who "mistrust government," to sign up for health insurance through Obamacare, according to a confidential administration presentation obtained by BuzzFeed. The White House last Tuesday hosted government agency social media directors and chief technology officers in a summit aimed at coordinating…

  • 37 Photos Of Presidents Bro-ing Out

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:16 pm
    From Truman to Obama, so much bro. Harry Truman sunbathing on the presidential yacht during his vacation in Bermuda: Harry Truman sightseeing while on his yacht during his Bermuda vacation: Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower sharing a moment at Camp David: John F. Kennedy chilling on a boat off Cape Cod: View Entire List ›

  • Your Treasury Secretary's Signature No Longer Looks Like A Cupcake

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:05 am
    Much better. Before: Via: thisistwitchy.files.wordpress.com After: Via: @USTreasury
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    visionandvalues.org

  • Don’t Cry For Me, America: Comparing Argentina And The United States

    Alejandro Antonio Chafuen
    15 Jun 2013 | 8:41 am
    Editor’s note: This opinion editorial first appeared at Forbes.com. Many observers have pondered if the United States is following the same troubled path as Argentina. In the 1940s, Argentina’s Juan Domingo Perón used government agencies for political gain and created a popular form of fascism called Perónism. In the United States, the recent revelation of the Internal Revenue Service targeting political enemies is a bad omen. Are we on an Argentinean course? The road to decay in my native country, Argentina, began with the implementation of one of the most powerful collectivist…

  • Because faith and freedom matter

    John A. Sparks
    7 Jun 2013 | 5:30 am
    Editor’s note: As one of his final works of service to his alma mater before retiring, Dr. John Sparks delivered the 2013 Grove City College commencement address, “Because Faith and Freedom Matter,” on May 18. You can watch Dr. Sparks deliver the address here or read it below. Please note that we have embedded links to Dr. Sparks’ past work and commentary in this speech. The 2013 Grove City College Commencement Address – May 18 Dr. John A. Sparks ’66, Dean of the Alva J. Calderwood School of Arts and Letters President Jewell, honored guests, trustees, my dear…

  • V&V Flashback—Remembering the Significance of D-Day

    Marvin J. Folkertsma
    6 Jun 2013 | 9:16 am
    Editor’s note: This piece first ran on our site on May 30, 2012. At 0227 hours on the morning of June 6, 1944, Lieutenant Robert Mathias saw the red light flash above the door of his C47 “Dakota” aircraft, signaling his men to get ready to parachute into a terrifying blackness that was streaked with machine-gun tracers and punctuated by exploding rounds from four-barrel 20-millimeter Flakvierling-38 anti-aircraft guns. The Cotentin Peninsula loomed beneath him as he stared into an abyss crackling with enemy fire and crawling with Nazi troops. Machine-gun rounds peppered their…

  • Remembering D-Day with Ike and Reagan

    Paul G. Kengor
    6 Jun 2013 | 9:07 am
    Editor’s note: This piece first appeared at The American Spectator on June 6, 2011. For me, Memorial Day happens twice within a week. The first, the official holiday at the end of May, is quickly reinforced a week later, every June 6: D-Day. Of all the wartime anniversaries, none strike me quite like D-Day — the invasion of Normandy, the liberation of France, the final push to defeat Nazi Germany. It was June 6, 1944, a date that sticks like December 7, like July 4, like September 11. The mix of extreme sorrow and triumph has been unforgettably replicated on film by Steven Spielberg…

  • Death panels? Of course …

    Tracy Miller
    30 May 2013 | 6:49 am
    Recently the debate about “death panels” has been heating up as Republican Congressional leaders express their opposition to implementing the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) by refusing to appoint members to serve on it. The IPAB, which was referred to as a death panel by Republicans during the 2010 Congressional elections, is a committee that was to be created as part of health care reform and consists of 15 full-time members appointed for staggered six-year terms. The IPAB must provide a report to Congress about how to hold Medicare spending within legislated limits. Congress…
 
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    Politic365

  • 850 Laid Off from Chicago School System, 3,783 in Philly: But $500 Million for Prisons

    Lauren Victoria Burke
    18 Jun 2013 | 2:16 pm
      Build a Prison Close a School: 54 schools closed in Chicago (88% black), 23 closed in Philadelphia (81% black), 26 in New York (60% black).  What’s the difference between the Democrats and Republicans again I forgot? Hundreds of teachers and school staff are being laid off in two of the largest cities in the country — both run by Democrats.  In Chicago and Philadelphia, a total of 4,633 people, including many teachers, will lose their jobs. Both cities, run by Democrats, claim they are closing schools because they need the money.  Yet near both cities, money for…

  • Rep. Gutierrez Warns GOP on Immigration: “Step Away from the Fear-Mongering”

    Adriana Maestas
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:16 am
    This morning Congressman Gutierrez (D – Illinois) made a speech on the House floor warning the Republicans to “come to their senses” on immigration reform. This comes the same day that Speaker Boehner has indicated that he will not bring an immigration bill to the floor without a majority of support from the Republicans, while stating that the Senate bill is weak on border security. Because the House is controlled by the GOP, the immigration bill coming from the lower chamber is expected to be more conservative than the Senate’s version. While Speaker Boehner issued…

  • House GOP Starts Work on Immigration, Rep. Luis Gutierrez Talks on Status

    Lauren Victoria Burke
    18 Jun 2013 | 11:03 am
    T he immigration bill ht one of its first obvious bumps in the road today as House Republicans, led by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) began to discuss a decidedly punitive set of amendments to the bill. Everyone involved in the immigration debate knew from the start that the House would be the place where immigration reform would have trouble. They were right with regard to issues of enforcement. The second House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) hit the gavel to begin today’s hearing, a large group of protesters chanted, “shame, shame, shame!” and had to be removed…

  • Human Rights Watch Asks Over-Criminalization Task Force to Look at Fed Sentencing

    Guest Contributor
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:41 am
    Human Rights Watch sent the following letter to members of the U.S. Congress, regarding the scope of the new Congressional Over-Criminalization Task Force. The Honorable James Sensenbrenner Committee on the Judiciary US House of Representatives 2449 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Bobby Scott Committee on the Judiciary US House of Representatives 1201 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 RE: Scope of Over-Criminalization Task Force Dear Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Scott: Thank you for agreeing to lead the task force created by…

  • Julian Bond: Religious Liberty and Inclusion

    Guest Contributor
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:59 am
    By Julian Bond By the mid-1960s, the civil rights movement had made significant cultural, legal and political progress in advancing the cause of racial justice and equality under the law – a struggle that continues to this very day. This was a rapidly evolving, heady time in American history. It was a time when individual men, women and, yes, children came together to literally bend the moral arc of their nation in the direction of justice. In our current day, we have approached a very similar point in the struggle for basic fairness and equality under the law for our lesbian, gay,…
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    Conservatively Speaking

  • IRS scandal sends public trust for Obama plummeting

    admin
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:27 am
    Monday, CNN released a poll showing that more than 50 percent of Americans have lost trust in President Obama; one day later CNN released a second poll that seems to explain why. Just a month ago a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Catherine Engelbrecht: A story of abuse of power

    admin
    16 Jun 2013 | 10:28 am
    Understanding what the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative non-profit organizations meant to the victims becomes much easier once you hear the story of Catherine Engelbrecht of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Issa and Cummings go to war over IRS scandal

    admin
    14 Jun 2013 | 9:13 am
    There’s a pretty good wrestling match going on between the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and its ranking Democratic member. Chairman Darrell Issa and ranking member... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Edward Snowden: Hero or publicity hound?

    admin
    11 Jun 2013 | 11:56 am
    More than 25 thousand people have signed a petition to pardon Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old former intelligence worker who revealed he leaked the government’s secret tracking of Americans’ phone... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Democrats pour money into Massachusetts Gomez/Markey special election

    admin
    8 Jun 2013 | 11:25 am
    When President Obama nominated John Kerry to be the Secretary of State Democratic Rep. Ed Markey didn’t miss a beat announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Most in Massachusetts assumed that... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Diet Justice 4.0: News

  • A Small Victory

    2 Jun 2013 | 10:37 am
    This blog has tracked my various dramas over the years and those who are regular readers will know how often i have had to change my plans. After 4 years at university, i have finally finished my 2nd year and am pretty chuffed.  At risk of jinxing my 3rd year, i'm starting to think about what to do afterwards...and i really have no idea...

  • One for property lawyers

    29 May 2013 | 11:02 am
    This makes me laugh, but i do not officially endorse its message :)

  • Where is DJ based? …well Leicester

    26 May 2013 | 11:03 am
    Came across this fun video that summarises my little city of Leicester. It is possibly the most catchy tune i've come across in the while...and i just had to, well, share it with you. It doesn't show us in a very good light, but it's a tongue in cheek piss take, so don't let it put you off visiting me!

  • I'm not wrong, i'm freedom of speech: How should we react to terrorism?

    23 May 2013 | 4:16 pm
    Very few news events have an affect on me. In the world of 24 hour news we have become desensitised to the horror of the world around us, something that in the past the print media could describe with expert innuendo that protects us from the true nature of the things that happen. Two recent news events have made me feel physically sick. The first was the murder of Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, and second was the murder of soldier Lee Rigby. On both occasions i have found i have an inner censor, and with that inner censor comes a large dose of guilt. On the one hand i feel i owe it to those…
 
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    In the News with Terrance McAndrews

  • Whistleblower or Traitor? The Jury’s Still Out

    Terrance McAndrews
    18 Jun 2013 | 9:31 am
          Edward Snowden is a 29-year old native of North Carolina.  He never completed high school, and never went to college, and is unmarried.  He has attained a GED and after a being discharged from the military following a training accident in the early 2000’s, found work as a security guard at the National Security Agency (NSA).  He was later hired at the CIA to work on information technology security.  Most recently he has been working as a contractor with the firm Booz Allen Hamilton, also on information technology matters.  Two…

  • The NAFC with Dr. Rani Whitfield

    Terrance McAndrews
    13 Jun 2013 | 10:45 am
    The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics is a non-profit organization dedicated to the needs of the more than 1,200 free and charitable clinics in the US.  Their one-day CARE clinics provide medical services free of charge to anyone who is uninsured and in need.  In the 12 years of their existence they’ve helped more than 15,000 people receive medical care and attention.  In this week’s episode, Dr. Rani Whitfield, Associate Medical Director of the NAFC in New Orleans, joins us to discuss the work of the NAFC and how it is helping those in…

  • Violence in Movies

    Terrance McAndrews
    6 Jun 2013 | 1:43 pm
    By the time the average American child reaches the age of 18 it’s estimated they will have witnessed approximately 200,000 acts of violence in the media.  According to the National Television Violence Study 60% of approximately 10,000 programs sampled contained violent material.  There is an average of 6,000 violent interactions in a single week of programming across both cable and broadcast channels.  What are the effects of this imagery on our nation’s young people and on our society as a whole?In this episode we discuss the need to ask this important question and…

  • The Reset Button

    Terrance McAndrews
    30 May 2013 | 2:52 pm
         In a previous episode we spoke about the growing opportunity gap in this country between children born to upper socio-economic homes and those born into lower socio-economic homes.  We outlined a recent Harvard University study that identified the four key factors that are the largest determinants to future success for children. Recently there have been some additional findings on this opportunity gap, especially as it relates to the income level of the family that a child is born into.  In this episode we outline some of these most recent findings and…

  • Scandal Week

    Terrance McAndrews
    23 May 2013 | 11:56 am
    Three scandals came to light last week that have rocked Washington DC.  They’ve thrown the administration back on its heels and are threatening to overtake what was once an ambitious second-term agenda.  In this episode we tackle the 3 major stories that broke last week.  We take the scandals one by one, give you the who, what, where and why, and try to make some sense of the stories for you.Gregory Hicks’ testimony before the House Oversight Committee can be found here.
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    Stirring Trouble Internationally - A humorous take on news and current affairs

  • US To Start Talks With The Taliban. To Discuss NATO’s Heroic Disengagement From Afghanistan

    Alexander
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:44 pm
    Dan Majestic reports from Washington: Well, there you have it. The United States are to start direct talks with the Taliban in a matter of days. Or so say US officials who don’t want their names revealed. Well here are their names: Peter, John and Candy, and they can complain as much as they want about their anonymity being revealed. But seriously, it has been let known that US officials are going to meet with the Taliban in Doha, in Qatar, where the Afghan insurgents have opened their ‘embassy’, to supposedly discuss the post-war arrangement in Afghanistan. But you don’t really need…

  • G8 Summit Decides To Privatise Ransom Payments To Terrorists

    Alexander
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:05 pm
    Ben Delicious reports from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland: Imagine the unthinkable: one of the world leaders, say Angela Merkel or, God forbid, David Cameron, is taken hostage by terrorists who then demand a substantial ransom for them. Do you think the German or the British government would haggle over its size or refuse to pay it? No, of course not. The money would be sent to the terrorists, in used notes, straight away and the VIP hostage would be released in good health, to resume their important duties. It’s the little people, you see, who are kept by terrorists for months and years,…

  • Black Sabbath Are Back At Number 1!

    Alexander
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:02 pm
    Freddie Matthews writes from London: It must be as much of a shock for Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath to top the UK album chart as it is for the rest of us. Just over a week ago, on June 10th, the English heavy metal pioneers from Birmingham, released their new album called 13. Not only is the album the band’s first studio record for 18 years, since Forbidden in 1995, but it’s also the first studio album with Osbourne on lead vocals since Never Say Die in 1978. Subsequently 13 marks its place in British music history as the first Black Sabbath album chart-topper for 43 years. That…

  • How Come Tony Blair Is Never Given A Tough Time By The Comedy Crowd?

    Alexander
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:17 am
    Adam Lovejoy writes from London: How about that Tony Blair, eh, telling his official spokesman to deny rumours that he was having it off with Rupert Murdoch’s wife, causing the couple to divorce? Is it funny or what? Especially as Blair is a known ‘stud’, having the nickname ‘five-times-a-night Tony’ after his wife Cherie spilled the bedroom secrets back in 2005, just before the general election that year, telling The Sun newspaper that when in the mood her hubby could do five times a night easily – and even more sometimes. He should have been called…

  • G8 Summit Kicks Off. With Some Insincerity On The Part Of President Obama

    Alexander
    17 Jun 2013 | 4:10 pm
    Ben Delicious reports from Belfast: If anyone had any doubts that G8 summits were mostly about posturing, public relations, political correctness and meaningless statements, then the speech delivered by US President Barack Obama to 1,600 young people in Belfast before joining the other seven world leaders and some hangers-on for a get-together has confirmed this. Mr Obama, for some bizarre reason, decided to talk about the peace process in Northern Ireland, about which he obviously has little idea. That is why he fell into the same trap as so many foreign dignitaries before him, thinking…
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    A Nation at the Crossroads: The Views of an American Citizen

  • Political Fanaticism

    18 Jun 2013 | 10:21 pm
    A group of people becomes so consumed with a belief system that they lose all form of reason and objectivity.  Ensuring the implementation of this belief system is paramount to such a magnitude that there are no bounds to what will be done.  Laws, morals, facts are all acceptable forms of collateral damage in the crusade.  Antagonism and intimidation are the chosen instruments of persuasion for any opposition, while division is the key to mitigating any threat from the masses.  Truth becomes a manufactured message of ideological tenants.  The leader of the movement is…

  • The Buck Doesn't Stop Here

    22 May 2013 | 8:41 pm
    I have struggled to come up with something to write for the past several weeks.  The issues that have surfaced recently are all things making repeat appearances.  The Obama administration is consistent if nothing else.  It was in this déjà vu that inspiration was found.  The fact that this president is currently confronted with multiple situations resulting from questionable conduct is no surprise.  His political grooming was the product of the notoriously corrupt Chicago political machine.  An upbringing producing an engrained mindset that the rules were meant…

  • The Greatest Casualty of Politics

    3 Apr 2013 | 10:02 pm
    Truth, some would have you believe, is an abstract concept, a gray area that is shaped by one’s point of view, philosophy, or ideology.  Those people are wrong.  Truth is an absolute; it is backed by fact making it impervious to manipulation.  Truth can be inconvenient and unforgiving, even painful and unfair.  It is also enlightening and liberating, the foundation for all things positive.  We have most definitely fallen down the rabbit hole.  While honesty was never a strong point for politicians, new lows are becoming commonplace.  No longer constrained…

  • Defiance Lost

    6 Mar 2013 | 9:28 pm
    We were a nation born of defiance, which makes it ever so ironic we now condemn ourselves to a fate of decay through complacency.  How unfortunate as few things are as uniquely American as the confident attitude we inherently exude.  While some may label this as arrogance, our current president included, it is something of much greater substance.  It is the audacious byproduct of a people that refused to settle.  A nation declared and designed to oppose the suppressive government apparatus that was the world’s status quo.  We dared to be different, proclaiming and…

  • The Ultimate Teflon President

    2 Feb 2013 | 2:42 pm
    How ironic that a man who constantly preaches equality is the benefactor of such blatant inequality when it comes to being held accountable.  We have had several presidents conferred the status of being “Teflon” in one manner or another, but none match the complete impunity bestowed on President Obama.   This man, with a suspiciously guarded past, rode a deftly manufactured wave of enthusiasm about his baseless messiah like potential all the way to the Oval Office.  A candidate with many more questions than answers was strangely accepted at his word, not subject to the…
 
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    US Daily Review

  • Week of June 18 – June 24

    sparkhurst
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:15 pm
    Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day. 6-19-13 Exclusive: Tories go public with EU referendum bill The Conservatives will table James Wharton’s Private Member’s Bill for an EU referendum tonight for publication tomorrow. Coffee House has exclusive details of the changes to this piece of legislation, and a clever new plan by the party to make the most of this backbench bill as possible. Statistically speaking, politicians place too much faith in figures Data is a useful tool, but over-reliance on it means major problems are too often ignored 6-18-13 School choice is not a…

  • Virtual Economy Fuels Child Porn Industry

    kprice
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:30 am
    By USDR. There is a new, unregulated, unbanked, largely anonymous, Internet-based financial system emerging in the world. Today, media giant Thomson Reuters together with the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children hosted a conference, ”The Virtual Economy: Potential, Perplexities and Promise” to discuss the potential of this new virtual economy and the dangers of a “Virtual Shadow Economy” that has also developed in parallel. Representatives of web services, privacy groups, government officials, law enforcement, financial industry leaders and…

  • Policy Group Challenges Paul Ryan to Amnesty Debate

    kprice
    18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 am
    By CAPS, Special for USDR. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) offered to “debate anybody” who says that immigration proposals in Congress constitute amnesty, and his offer has been accepted by the nonpartisan group,Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS), which supports lower levels of immigration. “Clearly, the current Senate bill includes an amnesty,” said Jo Wideman, executive director of CAPS. “In fact, it’s not amnesty-lite; it’s amnesty-plus.” “Under a normal amnesty, the wrongdoer does not keep the stolen merchandise or other gains…

  • Does Gang of Eight Disregard Immigration Enforcement?

    kprice
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:30 am
    By FAIR, Special for USDR. In the first important vote on amendments to the Gang of Eight immigration bill, S.744, the United States Senate quickly dismissed any pretense that they intend to deliver on promises of future immigration enforcement, declared the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). By a 57-43 vote, the Senate tabled an amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that would have required that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demonstrate effective control of U.S. borders for six months before illegal aliens could gain amnesty. “Today’s vote…

  • Broad Support for Supreme Court DNA Decision

    kprice
    18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 am
    By USDR. A wide spectrum of groups have come out to support the Supreme Court in its decision regarding DNA. Of the decision Family Research Council (FRC) Senior Fellow Dr. David Prentice said: “This is an important legal decision. Some people might think that it should be common sense that you own your own genes, the DNA found in each of our cells, but there have been some patents given on some of the normally-occurring genes within our cells. That the Patent Office approved patents on our genes is a profoundly disturbing idea, as is the idea that someone else can own parts of your…
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    essays*onUS

  • NSA-y It Ain't So!

    Stacie
    10 Jun 2013 | 2:09 pm
    One more for the Scandal post. While the exact details of the secret PRISM program are as yet unknown, the leaked disclosure of data collection seems to indicate that it is not used for widespread open-ended data collection (I feel like there needs to be a "yet" here.) Though tech companies initially denied cooperation with the government in handing over data, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo, and AOL have all complied with record collection. Twitter has declined to cooperate with the NSA in PRISM. In the cases of  Google and Facebook, it is speculated that data of the…

  • President Obama and His Second Term Scandals?

    Stacie
    14 May 2013 | 10:51 am
    I know it's only Tuesday, but are you all caught up on the most recent news stories that President Obama has been caught up in? To be honest, there's a lot to look at. There are serious allegations mixed in with some "see if it sticks"-type allegations, so let's see what's happening: AP Phone Records In May 2012, the Associated Press (AP) published a story that contained leaked information. In its investigation into finding out who leaked the information, the Department of Justice obtained the outgoing call records of over twenty AP journalists. The records, which spanned two months and which…

  • Updates - Week of 4/1/13

    Stacie
    5 Apr 2013 | 1:49 pm
    Well... Was that hiatus long enough? It was for me. There has been so much to talk about in the past month or so! I have been working on a few other writing projects, some of which had recent deadlines, but hopefully now I can resume a regular posting schedule. Let's get started with some updates: Oh hey, no big surprise here: few are happy with President Obama's budget, and it has not even been officially released yet. Democrats hate potential changes to Social Security and Medicare that would supposedly only be implemented along with revenue increases, which Republicans hate. Politico…

  • Stop this Problem: Marine Debris

    Stacie
    6 Mar 2013 | 3:14 pm
    Marine debris on a Hawaiian coast. Photo courtesy of NOAA The Problem: The stresses that humans place on the environment are increasingly visible on land, however, since the vast ocean is out of the sight of most citizens, the problems of the ocean are often out of their minds as well. The pristine Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are remote from human contact, yet they suffer as a result of human carelessness. Manmade marine debris is an additional facet to the preventable effects that humans have on the ocean. The implications of rectifying this environmental travesty are great, both for our…

  • UPDATED: Manufactured Crisis Time (again!)

    Stacie
    26 Feb 2013 | 11:07 pm
    And for our latest display of ineptitude...  The countdown to sequestration. What will its effects be, if the sequester does take place? This fantastic CBPP report explains the sequester and potential cuts very well.  Who here doesn't think that Congress is going to avoid the sequester on March 1, 2013?  Raise your hand. Now take that hand and slap yourself on your other wrist for not being concerned enough with the sequester and our economy's woes to contact your elected officials and let them know how you feel. These crises may be manufactured, but their implications are very…
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    Thinking Americanist

  • Memo to the Pro-Life Community: This is NOT how you defend your position!

    The Americanist
    18 Jun 2013 | 8:56 am
    Absolutely ignorant: As the House of Representatives gears up for Tuesday’s debate on HR 1797, a bill that would outlaw virtually all abortions 20 weeks post fertilization, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) argued in favor of banning abortions even earlier in pregnancy because, he said, male fetuses that age were already, shall we say, spanking the monkey. “Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful,” said Burgess, a former OB/GYN. “They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why…

  • Rod Dreher on being a single parent

    The Americanist
    16 Jun 2013 | 9:12 pm
    For a few days at least. Some seriously funny stuff. Click Here

  • LGBT Blogger Pam Spaulding quits blogging after 9 years

    The Americanist
    16 Jun 2013 | 4:53 pm
    Believe it not, but this one is a shock to me personally. Pam is one of the “old school”, Pre-facebook, Pre-twitter bloggers from when I got into blogging in 2006. She has been at it for a very long time. The Story: All good things must come to an end, even after numerous awards and accolades, it’s time to acknowledge that I cannot continue to run on fumes alone. The Blend could continue limping along, but my health and well-being come first; over the last few years burning the candle at both ends with a full-time offline job and PHB. It has taken a severe toll — most readers…

  • No, Sorry, Dick (head) Cheney, I do NOT trust you or your idiotic successor in the White House!

    The Americanist
    16 Jun 2013 | 9:29 am
    Ol’ Dick (head) Cheney says that we ought to just trust the Government. The Video: (Via Think Progress) Okay here is the little small problem with trusting Dick Cheney and his boss George W. Bush, they lied, as in like 935 times in a row, during their Presidency and Vice Presidency. Prove it, you say? Sure. Via The Center for Public Integrity, which is as follows: The Center for Public Integrity was founded in 1989 by Charles Lewis. We are one of the country’s oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations. Our mission: To enhance democracy by revealing…

  • Noted idiot Republican theocrat tries to relate to real working Americans

    The Americanist
    14 Jun 2013 | 2:26 pm
    Oh Please…. Via Politico: Standing for brain-dead nimrods everywhere in America, it’s captain dumbass! The former Pennsylvania senator recalled all the business owners who spoke at the Republican National Convention. “One after another, they talked about the business they had built. But not a single—not a single —factory worker went out there,” Santorum told a few hundred conservative activists at an “after-hours session” of the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. “Not a single janitor, waitress or person who worked in that company! We didn’t…
 
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    Conscience of a College Student

  • The Divide Between America & The Muslim World

    Kyle Graczyk
    12 Jun 2013 | 7:20 pm
             Since the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., relations between the United States, its citizens, and the various countries that compose the majority of the Muslim speaking world have been relentlessly on the forefront. It is true to say that almost all of the known terrorists on that day were acting under the auspicious of Al-Qaeda, a multinational and mobile terrorist group that acts out of various locations throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. It is also true to say that a majority of…

  • The Breakdown: America's Crumbling Infrastructure

    Kyle Graczyk
    2 Jun 2013 | 1:04 pm
            Some people go on lavish vacations during the summer, some visit longtime friends, and some do absolutely nothing. I'm spending the first part of my summer attempting to transferbut hey, I'm not complaining. Seriously. Not at all. Of course, expressing my love for politics and history, I'm trying to transfer to a school in Washington D.C (you got like 4 or 5 choices, make a wise guess now). Living in northern New Jersey, it's about a four hour car ride down the bustling (and most times pain in the you-know-what) interstate 95. Because this is America, I thought,…

  • Unfettered Capitalism & Globalization: The Bangladesh Building Collapse

    Kyle Graczyk
    11 May 2013 | 6:51 pm
            Nearly two weeks ago, an eight-story building that housed over one thousand garment workers collapsed in suburban Dhaka (the capital of Bangladesh). The death toll has steadily risen since the tragedy and now tallies over one-thousand, with over two thousand injured, a majority of them, women. In the past couple of days, the bleak situation has turned a bit sunnier, as rescue workers miraculously unearthed a survivor. Surviving over two weeks in a partially collapsed basement, a young Bangladeshi named Reshma was taken away on a stretcher,…

  • Supreme Court Considers Gene Patents

    Kyle Graczyk
    28 Apr 2013 | 8:22 pm
    Well, I lied. One more article that I wrote for the College Reporter. With school ending soon, I will be able to get back into the swing of things and write some blog entries. This article deals with the United States Supreme Court taking up a very controversial case that affects all of us in exactly the same way.            The United States Supreme Court expressed skepticism Monday whether or not a human gene can be patented (conferring a right or title) by a biochemical company, Myriad Genetics. The judges expressed concern at the varying complexity of both…

  • Amidst Scandal Pope Steps Down

    Kyle Graczyk
    6 Mar 2013 | 12:32 pm
    As is evident, I haven't had any opportunities since Winter Break to write blog entries. However, entries are on the way! In the meantime, below is an article that I wrote for the Franklin & Marshall College newspaper, the College Reporter. The article deals more with an international rather than strictly an American development. Nevertheless, Pope Benedict's resignation is still important in the scope of current events.             For the first time in over six hundred years, the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope, has voluntarily ceded power before…
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    Compete Pulse

  • May’s Top 50 Sites: Facebook Didn’t Win Back #2 From Yahoo!

    Carro Halpin
    18 Jun 2013 | 7:21 am
    Image from: Facebook-Yahoo / Search Engine Journal For the second consecutive month, Yahoo.com was the second most visited website according to Compete’s latest U.S. traffic data. Yahoo! had over one million more Unique Visitors (UVs) than Facebook.com, who was pushed down to the #3 spot last month. Google.com remained at #1. Microsoft knocked Microsoft out of the top 10. May was a strong month for all Microsoft properties: the retail site, Microsoft.com, experienced traffic growth for the fourth consecutive month, climbing from #11 to #9 with 12% more UVs month-over-month (MOM). This…

  • Sunday Series: Which Theme Parks Accelerated Past the Competition?

    Carro Halpin
    16 Jun 2013 | 5:40 am
    Image from: Roller Coaster / Shutterstock Monthly traffic to theme park websites increased 28.5% as May welcomed warmer weather and summer vacation planning. Unsurprisingly, theme parks receive more online visitors in the summer months. The season trend starts in April or May and peaks in July before dropping off in August. This year, the number of Unique Visitors (UVs) actually declined in April, probably due to the long winter that most of the United States experienced. The season is off to a slow start; 8.2 million Americans visited theme park websites in May, about 700,000 fewer visitors…

  • The Weekly Compete Pulse

    Carro Halpin
    15 Jun 2013 | 1:45 pm
    Here’s a round up of our favorite digital marketing stories from around the web this week: Retailers’ digital ad spending nears $10 billion this year. Retail spends more on digital advertising than any other industry; they already account for 22.3% of all digital ad spend. eMarketer forecasts retailers spending another $1 billion next year with the majority of spending going towards direct-response ads–driving traffic to a sale, often through search. Financial services, travel companies, and consumer packaged goods companies are all expected to increase spending–while ad…

  • Mobile Banking Today: Highlights from #MCS2013

    Tyson Goodridge
    12 Jun 2013 | 10:01 am
    As we continue to study the consumer path to purchase, changes in mobile commerce and banking help drive the behaviors and adoption of “the mobile purchase.” Consumers are more comfortable with mobile transactions, online banking, and custom mobile apps–and the banks are paying attention. Last week, American Banker and Bank Technology News hosted the 7th Annual Mobile Banking and Commerce Summit in Miami. We listened, and identified three themes from the forum with fresh new statistics to highlight the role of mobile in banking and commerce. All sources are from #MCS2013.

  • Battle of the Blogs: Tumblr Wins, but Can Advertisers Open Users’ Wallets?

    Carro Halpin
    11 Jun 2013 | 12:06 pm
    Image from: Tumblr / Wall Street Journal Yahoo! wants to get in front of 18-34 year olds—and soon it will for the price of $1.1 billion to acquire the popular blogging platform, Tumblr. Yahoo! is counting on this young crowd to increase its traffic, gain “cool” status, and sell digital advertisements. These Millennials are the most coveted demographic for advertisers, especially online as they are spending hours on blogs every week. Will this investment pay off for Yahoo? Let’s take a look at Tumblr’s performance against the competition. Tumblr continues to grow with a loyal…
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    Tea Party 911

  • Illinois GOP Central Committee picks “Combine” lobbyist as Chair (Part 1)

    Lee Cary
    17 Jun 2013 | 11:36 am
    On June 1, 2013, the Illinois State Republican Central Committee (IRCC) elected John “Jack” Dorgan as its Chair and showed how “The Combine” works. In Illinois, there’s only one political party. It’s The Combine – the collaborative combination of Democrat and Republican politicians and party officials who work together to harvest the taxpayers’ money. The Tea Party organizations in Illinois are up against The Combine. Understanding what that means requires understanding what The Combine is, and how it operates. The “Combine” About fifteen years ago, a descriptive label…

  • Illinois GOP Central Committee picks “Combine” lobbyist as Chair (Part 2)

    Lee Cary
    17 Jun 2013 | 11:33 am
    John Kass once wrote of a Chicago saying applicable to the party bosses of The Combine, whatever their party branding: “When they’re in, we’re in. And when they’re out, we’re in.” Cellini was the poster boy for the truth of that saying. On October 12, 2012, Cellini was sentenced to one year and one day in jail. In the photo he’s leaving the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago with his wife and daughter after being sentenced for his 2011 conviction – found guilty of trying to extort campaign contributions for Blagojevich from the Hollywood producer…

  • Illinois GOP Central Committee picks “Combine” lobbyist as Chair (Part 3)

    Lee Cary
    17 Jun 2013 | 11:31 am
    2.Dorgan served as a top aide to former Illinois House Speaker Lee Daniels. Republican politician Lee A. Daniels was Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1995 to 1997, and House Republican Leader from 1983 to 1995 and from 1997 to 2003. In December 2003, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced that former Illinois Governor George Ryan (R) was being indicted “FOR ALLEGED PUBLIC CORRUPTION DURING TERMS AS SECRETARY OF STATE AND GOVERNOR.” Ryan was subsequently convicted, sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, and became the third Illinois…

  • Rains County Fails to Protect Second Amendment Rights

    Editorial Staff
    15 Jun 2013 | 7:12 am
    Dear Editor, I attended Rains County Commissioners Court on the June 13th to witness the outcome of the ill-fated Resolution to Protect and Defend the Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms, initiated by the people, torpedoed by Judge Wolfe, Commissioners Mike Willis, Patsy Marshall and Mike Godwin on May 23rd. It was up for consideration again after having been amended. Gutted would be more like it. Angered by the Court’s rejection of the resolution as written, precious few showed up in support of the amended version. In the previous session, the people were not given the opportunity…

  • Cruz for Big Government, Really? Immigration Positions Revisited

    Editorial Staff
    11 Jun 2013 | 7:16 am
    By Ross Kecseg~ Recent policy critiques of Sen. Ted Cruz continue to come from both political sides, often times regarding different issues but for the same reason; he is viewed by Americans as the ‘prototype politician’. Even Democratic strategist and former Bill Clinton adviser James Carville referred to Cruz as “the most talented and fearless Republican politician I’ve seen in the last 30 years”. Recently, we have seen a wide-range of policy critiques of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) coming from both sides of the political aisle. These criticisms are often on different issues, depending…
 
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    The Big Picture - A New Science for Humanity

  • Not Lost but Searching: Why Millennials Matter

    Tom Kershaw
    14 Jun 2013 | 2:33 pm
    They call us the “lost generation.” I suppose I can see why, but I’ll have to disagree with the label.  Sure, we’ve got a bit of an existential streak but who could blame us? We’re a generational fulcrum, a pivot point, that split second when a pendulum stops before changing directions. We’re caught between the old traditions of our parents and a future that, while inevitably transformative, we have no way of understanding. It’s a situation that would have any generation raising tough questions.One thing is for certain: we’re talking. The questions we have are being…

  • Who is "Society?"

    Tom Kershaw
    7 Jun 2013 | 2:23 pm
    I’m almost done with school (in fact, by the time this is published, I will be done). I’m happy about it, of course, but a little worried that I’ll lose all the inspiration I’ve gained by interacting with academics and all the students willing and excited to learn.I previously mentioned a class where the curriculum basically involves talking about all of the most controversial topics of the day. It’s an understatement to say that it is fascinating to hear my classmate’s (and the professor’s) perspectives on these topics.However, the running theme seems to be impassioned…

  • The Good and the Better

    Tom Kershaw
    31 May 2013 | 1:39 pm
    “A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most.” – George Bernard Shaw The pendulum swings, the beast rears its head, the battle rages within us and outside of us.The struggle between good and evil is a notion as old as humankind itself—the stuff of mythology, children’s fables, fantasy, religious cosmology and, in some…

  • Dear Graduates: A Little Advice as You Enter the Workforce

    Tom Kershaw
    24 May 2013 | 4:06 pm
    It’s graduation season, kids. We all know what that means: time to go to work!That’s right, the party’s over, it’s responsibility time, the “real world” is knocking on your door, it’s time to get serious about life. I’d go on, but I only made it through one semester of guidance counselor-ese, myself.It’s become a bad college movie trope, the reminiscent, middle-aged father telling his child how college was the best time of his life, how it’s all downhill after graduation. But what this old cliché fails to point out is that the career on your horizon spans the bulk of the…

  • Seven Steps to a Better World

    Tom Kershaw
    17 May 2013 | 3:21 pm
    Why so serious?Got the weight of the world on your shoulders? It’s enough that you have bills, pressures at work and a desire to make sure the kids grow up as functional and well-rounded as possible. Who’s got time to worry about “making the world a better place” let alone finding some time to enjoy yourself?But you are a thoughtful person. In your quiet moments, you can’t help but concern yourself with the plights of humanity—the wars, the state of society, the bombings and shootings, the seemingly endless economic uncertainty—but what can you do? You’re just one person and…
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    The Arab World 360°

  • Libyan 'revolutionaries' are backing Syrian 'revolutionaries'

    Mohammad Tomazy
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:46 pm
    Comment:- Both Libyan and Syrian 'revolutions' are NATO-GCC backed.- Libya's gangs (previously called revolutiaries by NATO-GCC media and they are being called militias) inspire Syria's gangs.

  • US officials to meet Taliban in Qatar

    Mohammad Tomazy
    18 Jun 2013 | 1:32 pm
    Taliban has officially opened representation office in Doha, according to Aljazeera TV channel.On the other hand, "The United States on Tuesday welcomed the Taliban’s decision to open an office in Qatar and senior US officials said they hoped to meet with their Afghan foes within days."

  • On Hamas and Syria

    Mohammad Tomazy
    17 Jun 2013 | 1:17 pm
     Local EditorI have explained Hamas position from the Syrian crisis and consequent effect on Hamas-Hezbollah relation since 2011.Tonight, I watched an interview on Al-Jazeera Arabic. One of participants is member of Hamas, he was talking from Gaza and the other is pro-Hezbollah Lebanese writer, and he was talking from Beirut.Member of Hamas is Mustafa al-Sawwaf (he is also editor-in-chief of Hamas's mouthpiece, Al-Risalah Newspaper). He said: "Hezbollah is participating in Killing Sunni Muslims". This sentence summarizes Hamas's religious opinion about Syrian regime and Hezbollah. So…

  • مُظفّر النواب

    Mohammad Tomazy
    17 Jun 2013 | 12:23 pm

  • NATO-GCC revolution version 2 ( NB: Libya is version 1)

    Mohammad Tomazy
    16 Jun 2013 | 1:15 pm
    Local EditorAl-Qaeda linked fighters entered home to slaughter the family because they thought the family is Shiite, then the family begged the fighters to leave. They left after they knew that the family is Sunni.
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    Superbious.com - politically incorrect Super B.S.

  • Are We Too Connected?

    13 Jun 2013 | 8:55 pm
    Being in my late 20s, I feel like I am at least somewhat on the cutting edge of technology and social media. I use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, and all the websites that keep everyone aware of what their friends are doing, feeling, and eating.

  • RIOT in Turkey

    12 Jun 2013 | 4:08 am
    Angry is about the only way I can describe how I felt after I heard this on the news; a quote from Reccep Tayyip Ergodan, the current Prime Minister of Turkey.

  • Finally in Big news

    10 Jun 2013 | 7:26 pm
    Finally in big news, the countries of the world are finally realizing that they are being spied on by the American government via the NSA. Figured now would be a good time to set up a little bit of a "how long have you been spied on" timeline of sorts, just in case you're not sure how this all happened and came about.

  • Rant

    10 Jun 2013 | 7:25 pm
    If you're anything like me, you worry considerably about the state in which we live. We live in a world of near absolute chaos, with an incredibly small amount of incidences of beauty and purity. It's not like any of this is a coincidence either. Sadly enough a lot of it was our own doing, human nature is a reckless selfish thing under the right entanglement of circumstance.

  • Rage Against the Capital Punishment Machine

    19 May 2013 | 12:49 am
    You seem to be either for it, or against it; capital punishment, the great equalizer of individual cases against crimes of passion, has roused some of the most polarizing opinions on any subject. All of it is for good reason, too, because it's no laughing matter.