With the awesomeness surrounding the passage of healthcare reform, new DOT policy should not be overlooked. Increased commitment to and investment in bicycle facilities and walking networks can help meet goals for cleaner, healthier air; less congested roadways; and more livable, safe, cost-efficient communities. Walking and bicycling provide low-cost mobility options that place fewer demands on local roads and highways. DOT recognizes that safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities may look different depending on the context — appropriate facilities in a rural community may be different from a dense, urban area. However, regardless of regional, climate,...
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New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas Friedman, Gail Collins, Nicholas Kristoff, &c. Well, I’ve decided to devote a daily feature to these folks, by daily pointing out one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Professor Krugman\’s vitriolic column \”Going to Extreme:\” For today’s G.O.P. is, fully and finally, the party of Ronald Reagan — not Reagan...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Friday, 26 March 2010
Good morning, everybody. How about those games last night? Sorry about your brackets, though. Now, your morning constitutional: Russian bombers were intercepted in British airspace. Is Russia\’s military getting bolder? Protesters in Iraq are demanding a manual recount of votes in the recent election. The economics of an aging populace. The Obama administration announces plans to help homeowners. A caucus system in Utah that favors conservatives could imperil Sen. Bennett\’s reelection hopes. Former militiaman urges people to vandalize offices of members of Congress who voted for health care reform. Calls himself a \”Christian libertarian, but cashes government...
Continue reading...I thought he was supposed to be the technology president
Now, in my office, we do this with Word’s mark-up feature. Not that it works that well, and I generally find it easier to just mark-up by hand. But, in any case, where’s the red ink? Any editor worth their salt uses red. This has always been the history of our history purpose. But, to be fair, I agree with just about all these edits. “This has always been our history.” What the hell does that even mean? “This has always been the history of our purpose.” Ah, that’s better.
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas Friedman, Gail Collins, Nicholas Kristoff, &c. Well, I’ve decided to devote a daily feature to these folks, by daily pointing out one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Nicholas Kristol\’s column, \”Escaping from Poverty,\” a sobering reminder of where we are: Over the last 35 years, our economy has almost...
Continue reading...Attention music fans
Readers of this blog: I assume you have huge fans of this thing called “music.” Nearly everybody is, so, statistically, you are too. So, it is with great astonishment and pride that I make the following announcement. Every decade, if we the unwashed masses are lucky, a group of the preeminent musicians of the day gather for a kind of super music festival, the kind that is remembered and gets spoken of for generations. Festivals like Woodstock, Lollapalooza in the 90s, and Bonnaroo, which seems to have taken its place in the aughts. Now, our newly christened...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Thursday, 25 March 2010
Good morning folks. We got a lot of news to get through, so sit down and shut up. Here\’s your morning constitutional: Republicans overnight have forced the Senate to adopt changes to at least two provisions in the health care reform fix bill, citing parliamentary issues, which would require it to be sent back to the House for approval before passage. The two provisions both are related to higher education funding. Syracuse is adopting a \”grossing up\” policy, in which it covers the tax difference between benefits for married straights and partnered gays. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas Friedman, Gail Collins, Nicholas Kristoff, &c. Well, I’ve decided to devote a daily feature to these folks, by daily pointing out one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Thomas Friedman\’s utterly uninteresting column \”A Tea Party Without Nuts.\” He\’s wistful for centrism and smashing the two-party system. Or something. To...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Good morning, everybody. Jesse\’s hoping for a reconciliation with Sandra, and James \”The Anti-Christ\” Cameron wants to debate Glenn \”f—ing a–hole\” Beck. And here\’s your morning constitutional: The Senate begins a 20-hour debate over fixes to the the the health care reform bill today as Republicans try one last time to make arguments against the fixes. One often overlooked, but possibly very important, piece of the health care bill requires chain restaurants nationwide to post calorie counts for all menu items. Christian Science Monitor has an excellent series detailing the provisions of the health care reform bill....
Continue reading...Sarah Palin's late, great planet earth
The Awl yesterday had an enormously important piece by Maud Newton, “Sarah Palin’s ‘Planet Earth’ and the End Times,” in which she (Ms. Newton) uses her own experiences with the Pentecostal and Evangelical movements to decipher Sarah Palin’s recent moves, from running for vice president, resigning the governorship, to her coming documentary series, which is likely coming to the Discovery Channel. Now, perhaps Sarah’s become (or should have become, at least) irrelevant at this stage, but she likely isn’t. If nothing else, it’s a way to see other fundamentalist/Pentecostal public figures and their motivations. When Sarah Palin...
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