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’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &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 “Tommy Boy” Friedman, who in his column...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Happy Bastille day, everybody. Bristol and Levi are engaged (again). Now, your morning constitutional: President Obama has nominated Jacob Lew to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget. Lew had previously held the same position in the last few years of the Clinton administration, and most recently was deputy secretary of state. BP has placed a new cap on the broken oil well in the Gulf and has high hopes for its success. However, testing has been delayed. The NAACP passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning what it feels is rampant racism in...
Continue reading...Biased Counseling
I’ve talked before about my frustration at the skillful ability of the right-wing to harness language. This comes out all the time in regard to abortion, and sometimes, the issue is that the other side does a really good job of making something sound rational when it really isn’t. An example is the wave of so-called “informed consent” laws, which sound not only innocuous but also inarguable. Who could oppose making sure women have given their informed consent before undergoing an abortion? Not me, nor, I’m sure, any other pro-choicer, including anyone who provides abortions. And in...
Continue reading...Summer Reading
I’ve been intending for a while to start writing some book reviews for the blog, but hadn’t gotten to it yet. And now it’s summer, which is always the Season of Reading for me, because in my mind if not reality, summer is still vacation time, which obviously means curling up with a good book on the couch, on the beach, in the car, and so forth. If you’re casting about for something to read, here are a couple I’ve read recently and highly recommend: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. This book is superb, and I don’t say...
Continue reading...Justice Ginsburg on Roe and more
I would have loved to have heard Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in person when she spoke recently at the Aspen Ideas Festival, but I’ll have to content myself with reading excerpts from the conversation she had with Jeffrey Rosen. Justice Ginsburg, who was introduced by former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, described herself as a “flaming feminist” and talked eloquently about the economic realities of abortion rights, among other subjects. (Quotes courtesy of these two articles on the event) ~On her husband Marty, who recently passed away after 56 years of marriage: He “was the first boy I...
Continue reading..."Irrational Prejudice"
I’m on my way out of town right now, but a pretty huge development occurred yesterday that really needs mentioning before I go. In two decisions yesterday, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. HHS and Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro held section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. The Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed back in the ’90s in a cynical play against a weakened President Clinton when same-sex marriage was barely on the horizon, prohibits the federal government from recognizing either state-sanctioned or non-state-sanctioned same-sex marriages and...
Continue reading...Sharron Angle attacks Harry Reid for…saving jobs?
Sharron Angle may want to stop talking. In case you’re not sure who she is: Angle’s a tea party favorite running for Senate against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. She beat out prohibitive favorite Sue Lowden in the Republican primary, mostly due to Lowden saying some ridiculous things. However, she also tends to say ridiculous things and get in trouble for them. As a result, she doesn’t get out much. Earlier this week, she got riled up because the Reid campaign dug up her old website and, well, put it back online. I’m not an...
Continue reading...Ginni Thomas & Tea Parties
Ok, let’s start with a few facts about Virginia “Ginni” Thomas: 1) She is married to US SC Justice Clarence Thomas. 2) She founded and is president of a tea party-related “think tank and advocacy group called Liberty Central.” On the website for said organization, she posted an open letter that starts “Dear Liberty Central Patriots,” in which she assures readers that Believe me, we are not alone! I conducted market research that identified 57 million of us in this great nation who respect the principles of our founding, and that number is growing daily. Is that all? ...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Thursday, 8 July 2010
Good morning, folks. Richard Starkey, the former drummer of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, turned 70 yesterday. Now, your morning constitutional: The Cuban government has agreed to release 52 political prisoners who were swept up during a major crackdown on dissent in 2003. The prisoners will likely be accepted by Spain. CNN: The face of America’s homeless youth. A solar-powered aircraft has completed a 26-hour test flight. No matter how conservatives may feign outrage, NASA has always had a diplomatic mission. CNN has fired a reporter for expressing respect for a Lebanese cleric who inspired Hezbollah. If...
Continue reading...Juice
Hi internet friends, Man, jet lag sucks. So does not being in California. Being close to both ocean and mountains is just good for my soul, and conversely, arriving at BWI to 100 degree heat plus the usual swampy humidity is not. Anyway, I didn’t keep up so well with the news while I was gone, so rather than snarky commentary, I’ll just share this personal anecdote: Although I am 24, almost 25, I’m often told I look younger. Once, I was in the mall with my mom and we ran into an acquaintance of hers, and...
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