Parts of America are broken. Not the people, but the processes. It’s time to pull together and get the fixes in place, no matter how hard it hurts.
Hard and Complicated Aren’t Synonyms
The chart above is my second favourite chart (I showed FDL’ers my favourite chart last time I wrote here. Hopefully I’m not being too forward.) It’s a chart of per capita health expenditures over the last forty odd years and what I want you to look at is Canada and the US. You’ll see that [...]
Tags: Health Care Costs, Social Security
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Just a test. That’s all it was. A way to test response and reaction. It was also just plain, old-fashioned, stupid. Bloggers on both sides of the political aisle are appalled.
Tennessee teachers stage fake gunman attack
Given news accounts of this incident in Murfreesboro, Tenn., it sounds like an awful incident that terrorized some young kids. But part of me can’t help but wonder how much worse it could have been. Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was [...]
Edu-Terrorism
A question for parents: how would you feel if your child’s teacher terrorized your child? Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as [...]
Tags: Fake Attack, Gunmen, Tennessee
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You will be, after you try to follow what the Vice President is saying in his latest interview. There’s a real disconnect among some in the White House, it seems.
Cheney’s good cop/warmongering cop routine
As Dick Cheney’s Middle East tour got underway, he sat down with Fox News’ Bret Baier to talk about the region. Today, as his tour wraps up, Cheney discussed his overseas meetings with … Fox News’ Bret Baier. If I didn’t know better, I might think the Vice President is playing favorites among the media. [...]
Tags: Dick Cheney, Iraq, Iran, Fox News
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Yes, it’s the story that just won’t go away. Yes, it’s been talked about time and time again. But, do you really want it to fade from the headlines? I don’t think so. Especially not when there’s important new information, making it…
Today’s Must Read
Just how many of the fired U.S. attorneys were canned because they didn’t pursue claims of voter fraud fervently enough? The Washington Post counts ‘em up: we know that David Iglesias of New Mexico and John McKay of Washington had [...]
Tags: U.S. Attorneys, Iglesias, McKay, Attorney Purge
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How much should you know about a candidates financial situation. Not their campaign finances. Their personal finances. Time Magazine’s "real Clear Politics" kicks off a new blog with a great idea…
RealClearBlogs 5/14 Morning Edition
Featured in this morning’s edition of RealClearBlogs is a debate that took place over the weekend between Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters and Roger L. Simon on a topic that has yet to receive much [...]
Tags: Tax Returns, Candidate’s Finances
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I’m no fan of big government, but somebody has to do something to counter skyrocketing college costs. It’s obvious that more responsibility has been thrown back on the states and that means they throw more of it to the parents. But, the costs are staggering for all, scholarships difficult to come by for many, and the numbers just keep rising. Too late for the pocketbook of yours truly (unless you look ahead to possible grandchildren), John Edwards has a plan. At first glance, it’s innovative and would help a lot of students, if they’re willing to pitch in.
Edwards Unveils College Tuition Plan
John Edwards "proposed an $8 billion college scholarship program Friday that would pay first-year bills for nearly every college student in the nation," according to the AP. "The program covers bills for tuition, fees and books during the first year […[
Tags: College Costs, Tuition, John Edwards
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From inside Iraq. via the McClatchy Baghdad news bureau…
That look
Saturday is a looooooooooong day for my family alone at home. No schools to take up the morning and early afternoon hours, no electricity to take the edge off the heat No TV, no computer; and the heat renders studying [...]
Tags: Iraq, McClatchy
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When Air America went on the air, I had great hopes for an alternative voice to the hundreds and hundreds of right-leaning talk shows that populate the airwaves of America. I believe both have a right to share those airwaves in a market-driven manner. However, when only one side of an argument can be heard, there is little chance that listeners can help decide what they like to hear. You can’t ask for something you’ve never heard. So, Air America (it seemed) offered that "other voice" – a chance for more balance among opinionated personalities. And, for a time, I thought they might have a chance. Then, things began to sour. The numbers were bad (and not improving) and stations began to drop the fledgling network. What happened? Air America was poorly managed from day one. It faced financial problems and never got a competitive foothold in most markets, finding itself stuck on small stations with limited coverage, while the more-established Conservative talkers were ensconced in big stations with big signals. So, Air America went through a series of owners and a series of philosophies, all of them baffling. Until this. Now, I believe, they have a death wish. There is no other explanation as to why they thought this was a good idea. By the way, I’m deferring to Atrios for the analysis. Even the little AM station that carried Air America in this market (the one you could barely hear at the city limits) went back to sports several months ago, so I couldn’t listen.
Disaster
Lionel was awful. Not just awful in the ways I expected – I hate the "independent thinker" schtick which suggests everyone else isn’t – but truly awful radio period. Who the [...]
Tags: Air America, Lionel
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It always seems that visits to this little blog increase whenever we’re discussing the latest chapter in the Razorback "Soap Opera on the Hill". I don’t know why football coach Houston Nutt thought it would be a good idea to sit down for an interview about the latest flareup. But he did. Parts of it weren’t "purdy" – as they say. It’s all about competition, coaching, text messages and a TV anchor. via Arkansasblog
Nutt Pours the Whine
Be sure to check Brummett today. Turns out he got a private sit-down with Houston Nutt, the boss Hog, last week. Did the coach want to admit he’d ever made a mistake? I’ll save you the [...]
UPDATE, bad link to the story has been fixed. Don’t know how that got by me, but it did. Razorback fans, read on.
Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Houston Nutt
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A busy weekend has me trying to regain by normal balance this Monday. Two college graduation ceremonies in two days; two graduation dinners with family and friends in two days. 14 hours on the road. ‘Nuff said? But, it was all good. It was truly wonderful to share the experience with our daughter’s friends and their families, having not met the parents and siblings of many until now. It was bittersweet for us and emotional for them. We’re thrilled to see them move on to the next chpater in their livees, but it’s hard to suddenly realize the usual "See ya’ in a few weeks" goodbye became a "See ya’…I don’t know when…".
Once the ceremonies were done and the dinners had been eating, reality set in. The reality that the bonds that had grown over the last four years were about to be tested by time and distance; by new jobs and new relationships. I somehow believe the friendships that developed among the members of this small group will withstand the tests that lie ahead, perhaps better than many of the friendships from my college years. It’s not that we had a "falling out"; it’s just that we "fell apart", busied by changing jobs, families and the miles. It’s time to dig out some old email addresses, look up some phone numbers and renew some contacts.
If I can pull it off and re-establish some contacts, it’ll be thanks to the Class of 2007. thanks for painting me a very vivid picture of just "why" it’s important to do so.
Now, in case you’re up for some fun, head on over to OlbermannWatch and see how badly the fine readers of that blog are beating me up for my latest post…
PS. Oh, by the way, I’m fed up with gas prices. Completely fed up. Driving TO the events on Friday, it was $2.81 on one side of the highweay, $2.89 on the other. Arriving at our desination, ever station was $3.05. Coming home Sunday, we saw some stations as high as $3.15. Today, our daughter said what was $3.05 over the weekend had jumped to $3.15 today. I hope she has enough gas to make it home. And, I hope I can figure out how to afford to send her back up there at the end of the week. And still get my backside into work. It’s getting ugly out there, friends. An,d please, somebody tell me how futures’ prices continue to fall and, yet, retail prices go up. Yeah, I know there have been refinery problems and they’re switching from winter to summer blends, but the oil industry really should be able to handle this better, shouldn’t it?
Tags: Olbermann, Countdown, Gas Prices
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