It is Easter weekend, which is about the busiest my calendar gets every year. I have hardly had time to breathe this week, let alone read this blog, never mind contribute. The craziness of my schedule has even prevented me from doing that which I love most: watch sports and drink. And that all ends Sunday afternoon. Every Easter, I throw a Resurrection Barbecue, where we throw some ham on the grill, dressed in our Sunday best, drinking beer and, more importantly, breaking out the greatest summer drink you’ve never had: The Charles River Highball. The Charles...
Continue reading...Just some quick numbers
So many folks have been saying all year that health insurance was not a high priority, and that the White House should have put off health care and worked on employment instead. Now, of course it’s more important to have a job than health insurance, but there is just one quick comparison I want to make: Over 46 Million people in the United States do not have health insurance. Over 16 Million people in the United States do not have a job. Just a little perspective.
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day – 2 April 2010
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 David Brooks: You’re sitting there in your West Hollywood bondage-themed strip club with party donors picking up the tab, and, of course,...
Continue reading...Drill, Barry, drill?
Well, it’s happened again. Started writing something, then came across something better written arguing the same thing I was going to argue. I was going to write about how Obama’s decision to drill is a pragmatic one that takes both sides of the argument into account but satisfies neither (much like many of his decisions and policies). But, heck with it. Today’s New York Times editorial, “Drill, but Not Everywhere,” says it pretty darned well: For years, the debate over offshore drilling for gas and oil has been a war of sound bites between the “drill now,...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day – 1 April 2010
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. Gail Collins on ol’ Mittens Romney: Here I was thinking of him as a failed politician with no discernible core values, who had once driven...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Thursday, 32 March 2010
Good morning, folks. Here’s your morning constitutional: In the U.K., the Labour Party has decided to use PM Gordon Brown’s reputation for anger and physical aggression to their advantage, rolling out advertisements which portray him as a hard man, willing to take the fight to David Cameron, unafraid of confrontation. Vice President Joe Biden loves him some kickball. Google changes its name. Days until Opening Day: 3.
Continue reading...Weapons of mass destruction
When reading about the arrests of the Hutaree militia group members who had planned an attack against law enforcement professionals, it was mentioned (in the headline and the body) that they were charged with attempting to use “weapons of mass destruction,” but the stories explained that they had planned on using Improvised Explosive Devices, which are generally conventional in nature. “Weapons of mass destruction” is a term that is generally used to describe nuclear, biological or chemical weaponry. So, how are these so-called “militiamen” being charged with such an offense? Well, Brian Palmer, writing for Slate, explains,...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day – 31 March 2010
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 just a sad one from Maureen Dowd: The church gave up its credibility for Lent. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are now becoming...
Continue reading..."Well now I feel the pain of racism"
I’d never heard of Doc Thompson until today. The only reference I can find of him in a very quick Google search is that he hosts some talk radio program out of Richmond, Virginia. However, apparently he was given the reins of Glenn Beck’s radio program yesterday and decided to make a name for himself. The type of name that will resonate with the Glenn-Beckers and Tea Partiers and nutters out there. Perhaps the type of name that will rescue him from Richmond and land him a gig on Fox News. That is, at the very least,...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Good morning, folks. Jesse James is going to rehab, there will be a Hangover sequel, and Matt Damon is going to guest star on 30 Rock. Now, your morning constitutional: The Obama administration will propose opening large swathes of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to natural gas and oil exploration and drilling. The price of oil has risen over the last year, mostly a result of investor activity. The New York Times, however, reports that oil prices are stable and are at a good place for the world economy. The Serbian Parliament passed a resolution condemning the...
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