Last March, I wrote about the show Avenue Q and how they had to change their lyrics in the song "For Now". One of the lyrics was "George Bush is only 'for now'", but of course, with the Obama relection, there was some question about what to do with that line. The Broadway show settled for "George Bush WAS only … Read More
Public Option: Back From The Dead
In case you haven't heard, the "public option" which many (including me) lamented as "dead" only a few weeks ago, appears to be quite alive. The Senate Finance Committee health care reform bill (the only one to come out of the Senate — there are several in the House), lacked the public option. Even after it came out of committee, … Read More
Facebook Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone, Preserves The Deceased
(1) This annoying live feed thing can be "fixed" with a little workaround. Simply click and drag your "status updates" on that lefthand column, and place it above the "news feeds". Facebook will now appear close to what it was before. (2) Facebook is now urging you to "reconnect" with your friends that you haven't interacted with in a while. Why? Why … Read More
Baby Einstein? Not So Much
Via Heather: Disney is offering a refund to buyers of its ubiquitous “Baby Einstein” videos, which did not, as promised, turn babies into wunderkinds. Apparently, all those puppets, bright colors, and songs were what we had feared all along—a mind-numbing way to occupy infants. This news has rocked the parenting world, which had embraced the videos as a miraculous child-rearing … Read More
The White House vs. Fox News
So many people are covering this — I have little to add. For those not paying attention, the Obama White House is openly condemning Fox News for its biased reporting. Fox News is crying foul. In the latest volley, Fox News is claiming that the White House doesn't know the difference between its opinion programming (Beck, Hannity, etc.) and actual … Read More
An Opening Paragraph We Didn’t Particularly Enjoy Reading
From the Boston Herald: RALEIGH, N.C. — Twenty murderers, rapists and robbers sentenced to life in North Carolina prisons in the 1970s will be released at the end of October as a result of recent court rulings. Why? Well, basically it comes down to this. These murderers, rapists, and robberts were sentenced to life in prison in the 1970s as … Read More
How Many Republicans Are Out There?
The answer may surprise you. There's a lot of meat to this Washington Post-ABC News poll. The Washington Post leads with the most relevant to today's political debate: health care. Specifically, people are warming up to the public option: On the issue that has been perhaps the most pronounced flash point in the national debate, 57 percent of all Americans now … Read More
“Once On This Island” Too Offensive For One Uptight Pastor
In my occasional forays into wingnuttia land, I often check the writings of Reverand Grant Swank, a columnist at Renew America and a pastor New Hope Church in Windham, Maine. His writings are unintentionally hysterical. Imagine my joy when I read his latest column "Eastern Nazarene College anti-Christian play presented", which is essentially a reprint of an email he sent … Read More
Autotune The News #9
This may be their best yet. Less rappy, more catchy. Includes coverage of the UN Summit, health care, and Obama's Peace Prize.
Falcon Heene
I have a rather bad feeling about this boy trapped in the balloon. I have a rather bad feeling he is not hiding, but rather, he fell. And we're going to get all kinds of people making snap judgments about how bad the parents were — before we have any clear evidence that they were negligent. To blunt those, let … Read More
Football Logic
Shorter every single rightwing website right now: Was civil rights pioneer Medgar Evers ever denied the right to purchase an NFL franchise? Hellz, no! So why can't Rush? Because of racism!!! Okay, not all are saying that. But you have some really over-the-top whines. This, by far, is the most WTF of them all: Earlier this evening, as most of … Read More
Reich: Hold On To Your Wallets
Clinton economic advisor Robert Reich isn't impressed with the Dow breaking 10,000: How did the Dow break 10,000 when the rest of the economy is in the toilet? 1. Corporate earnings are up — mainly because companies have been cutting costs. Payrolls comprise 70 percent of most companies' costs, which means companies have been slashing jobs. In the end, this … Read More