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Monthly Archives: July 2011

America Held Hostage

© Keith Tucker Even business groups are asking the government to raise the debt ceiling.

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Being Homeless is Expensive

Want to save money — lots of money — on homeless people? Give them free housing! The United Way of Los Angeles studied four people who had been living on the streets, then they put them into free apartments and got them access to free support services. Interestingly, it cost the government less money than […]

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So much for trying to reduce the deficit

The House today overwhelmingly (336-87) passed a new defense spending bill, actually increasing military spending by $17 billion to $649 billion. Remember that we already spend more on our military than most of the rest of the world put together, and I sure as hell don’t feel like it is making us safer than those […]

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Cliffhanger

© Jim Morin The Republicans say that raising taxes is not allowed. Nancy Pelosi has declared that Democrats will not support cuts to Medicare or Social Security benefits. So who is going to blink first? Warren Buffett has one solution: “I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says […]

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What Happened to our Democracy?

Juan Cole has a thoughtful piece on his blog entitled “10 Ways Arab Democracies Can Avoid American Mistakes“. In it, he encourages the new democracies emerging in the Middle East to avoid making the same mistakes that are causing so much trouble in the US. What I find ironic is that his article is really […]

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Inhofe Reality Disconnect

I’ve often thought that our elected representatives are disconnected from reality, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Last October, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) was piloting his Cessna to Cameron County Airport in South Texas, when he decided to land on a closed runway. The closure was reported in NOTAM (Notices to Airmen) but […]

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It’s Unanimous

© Matt Wuerker So when will we learn to not get into any more wars? Libya I can almost understand, but we never should have taken on either Iraq or Afghanistan.

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Republican Candidate Rundown

[Reprinted from The Serum Magazine.] Candidate What’s gone right What’s gone wrong Would definitely win nomination if… Mitt Romney Still zero bad hair days, lifetime Despite Romney’s tough rhetoric, Obama has not yet conceded office to him …elections were hosted by AmIHotOrNot.com Rick Perry Everybody hates all the actual candidates He will eventually have to […]

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Backus Backs Single Payer?

Democratic Senator Max Backus is a hypocrite: Back when he presided over the Senate’s health care reform debate, Max Baucus, chairman of the all-powerful Senate Finance Committee, had said everything was on the table — except for single-payer universal health care. When doctors, nurses, and others rose in his hearing to insist that single payer […]

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Slippery Slope of Gay Love

© Matt Bors

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Late Night Political Humor

“A lot of people are taking time off for the holidays. For instance, Rod Blagojevich is going away for a while.” – David Letterman “Blagojevich could do 300 years — unless he’s pardoned by Oprah.” – David Letterman “Glenn Beck gave his last show. After Oprah and Beck, the only emotional woman on TV is […]

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Stillborn Justice

Around 38 US states have adopted “fetal homicide” laws that were intended to protect pregnant women and their unborn children from attacks from third parties (such as abusive partners). But these laws are increasingly being used to prosecute the women themselves. For example: A pregnant woman in Indiana became despondent after her boyfriend abandoned her […]

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How History Will View Us?

© Tom Tomorrow

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Gay and Carefree

After New York became the latest — and most populous — state to legalize gay marriage, there were jubilant celebrations with parades, parties, and general taking of the name “gay” seriously. But has anyone noticed that the reaction from conservatives? You could be excused if you haven’t. For example, David Frum (a former speechwriter for […]

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Racial Stereotype

We have all heard about scholarship programs for minority or underprivileged students, so why does this story from Texas make us feel uncomfortable? After all, technically whites are a minority in Texas. Transcript: Brendan Baird is studying to become a physician’s assistant; a $500 academic scholarship will help pay the way. He had to demonstrate […]

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