Category: Current Affairs
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Every now and then, I see something going on in American politics, and then pause to think "Haven't I seen a similar scenario, before , only a continent away and 10 years ago?" Then,regional politics in India: Jayalalitha: brought in to 'sex up' campaign of an elderly MGRRegional politician (was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu…
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1. Minnesota finally has its fair share of representation in the U.S. Senate, assuming we think a system that gives Montana and California the same number of senators is fair. But at least Minnesota's now caught up with important places like Montana, not to mention Idaho, Vermont, and of course, Alaska. But this does mean…
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From the Indychannel: Patrick Roth uses a fully electric car to take his daughter to school and run errands, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.The car may look like any ordinary Ford Escort, but a closer look reveals that it's anything but. Roth didn't buy the car that way. He built it himself Here's a step by…
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No, this is not a trip down the memory lane to West Side Story but an instance of another irate Republican putting his foot in the mouth regarding Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's pick for the US Supreme Court. Mike Huckabee, one of the GOP presidential contenders of 2008, railed that Maria Sotomayor, coming from the "far left" would turn the Supreme…
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A survey last month by the Pew Research Center on Social & Demographic trends found that only 47% percent of the respondents considered a microwave a necessity rather than a luxury, down 21 points from 2006. This is just one curious finding from a much broader survey relating to how the population is weathering the…
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Krugman is disturbed by this trend. Something about how Wall Street fat cats don't add value to society, and financial firms are public utilities now so this is inappropriate. Now, I'm not saying that he's wrong, but his focus on the economy right now is a bit peculiar — obviously he hasn't heard about the…
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Why become a pirate? Perhaps because other "honest" means of livelihood have been destroyed? Lawlessness is a menace whether perpetrated by pirates or "civilized" governments. So reveals Johann Hari in the Independent. (via 3 QD) Hari also reflects on the rebellious and brutal history of pirates, some of whom were mercenaries for legitimate European regimes. Who imagined that in 2009, the…
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It might not be a "real" holiday, but still. "This is the first legitimately nice thing to happen to [the] legal profession in 2009." Indeed. Especially when firms are leading the pack in innovation by finding new and improved (read: more efficient, more brutal) ways to take flamethrowers to associates.
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Just over a month ago George W. Bush, our most incompetent president in recent memory became a private citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Bush have moved to their new home in an upscale neighborhood of Dallas. The transition from being the most powerful man on earth to a Texas suburbanite must take some work. I was wondering what…
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What on earth was Bobby Jindal thinking? Even for Republicans, this is off the deep end. We shouldn't spend money monitoring volcano activity because if they explode with no warning hey man it's cool, potentially thousands of dead people and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property is no biggie. I know that advanced…
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I sure hope so — but the book I reviewed in this week's Observer suggests that the big problem in the Depression was that aggressive deficit spending didn't go far enough to overcome the fear and pessimism of bankers, workers, and employers. The book reminds me of one of Ralph Waldo Emerson's notes: "My estimate…
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The only glaring hiccup in Barack Obama's silky smooth campaign and transition to the presidency occurred on Inauguration Day when Chief Justice John Roberts stumbled during the administration of the presidential oath. The incongruity of the moment was noted by citizen observers and the media. Conspiracy theorists, as well as critics of President Obama raised questions about the legitimacy of his office, absent the…
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