In the wake of Apple’s record-setting quarter, a lot of pundits—well, a lot of people—have criticized the computer giant for manufacturing its products in China. The American company should be creating American jobs, the refrain goes. Many, if not all the people crying foul are libe… Read full post »

My wife related a story to me the other day. When she was living at home, her father had asked that she buy her own sanitary pads. Furious, she had told him they were no different than toilet paper -- she didn't have a choice in how much she bled, after… Read full post »

Reality TV is notoriously awful. Worse, it's nasty. Project Runway, for example, features some truly talented designers. But the way the show is spliced together, you'd think they were all out to tear each other to shreds. Maybe they are. The judges are worse -- Heidi Klum in particular revels in… Read full post »

We ride the stockmarket as if its ups and downs are in fact a cardiograph tracking our nation's health. The AP just released an article reporting that Ford's profits are up, despite analyst predictions. The article is upbeat in tone, and points out several times that Ford refused a bailout.… Read full post »

I don't know Roman Polanski, or all the details of his crime. I do know he committed a dangerous crime, and importantly, one that should not go unpunished. But I also understand why so many support the man, to the point of being angry at the country of Switzerland.

America,… Read full post »

Kanye West marred what would have otherwise been a perfectly delightful nightmare circus. I don't think the DVD set of Celebrity Rehab could make a person so uneasy. In the middle of this tornado of botched video editing and inconceivable production decisions was a young girl who undoubtedly wanted t… Read full post »

Today, Broadsheet posted a critique of a paper by Kristi  Scott, a scientist who suggests that plastic surgery allows us to "cheat our naturally predetermined appearances," thereby interfering with our ability to find a genetically desirable trait. Salon's Amanda Fortini does not speak highly of… Read full post »

My stepmom was upset -- no Latina mothers were attending the PTA meetings at her daughter's high school, and nobody seemed to care. My stepmom is white, but is what you would call a "funky" individual, i.e. she doesn't feel comfortable sitting in stuffy classrooms sifting through bureaucracy. She kne… Read full post »

My guess? Many Salon members donate to NPR. In fact, it's a safe bet that the two audiences are almost identical. I'm sure many of you are aware that Salon's Glenn Greenwald has taken NPR, specifically its ombudsman Alicia Shephard, to task over its refusal to describe "enhanced interrogation techniq… Read full post »

Due to a technicality, a bunch of kids are about to lose a month of summer: 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_re_us/us_odd_school_s_not_out

Though these kids only missed about an hour of school, and despite the fact that California can barely afford to keep any of its schools open, pe… Read full post »

I have written a blog post and several comments criticizing Dr. Parikh's blanket (and not seriously on Salon) criticsm of alternative medicine, and over-the-top attacks on Oprah (not to mention poorly reasoned attacks).

Though I don't agree with everything Deepak Chopra says and does, it's nice to h… Read full post »

In today's NY Times, Ross Douthat writes an even-handed article on regulating (or not regulating) late-term abortion. While Douthat does not feel abortion should be regulated, he goes to great lengths to point out that most abortions are elective, and most of those are repeat, meaning that many abort… Read full post »

Gail Collins, who's fast becoming the deepest Times columnist -- despite her intentionally fluffy style -- wrote a nifty op-ed explaining why consumer choice doesn't help when it comes to student loans (and moisturizer). For one, the government regulates loan terms (the meat of the product), meaning… Read full post »

Krugman laid it out succinctly last week: Raeganomics is to blame for the dergulation and subsequent collapse of the economy. In fact, pretty much every economist, at least on the Left, has said the same thing. But what none of them adequately explore is the human motivation to create such a… Read full post »

Spoiler Alert: I have only thus far watched the first season of Friday Night Lights, and this article does reveal some plot points from that season. 

The American relationship to marriage is like the American relationship to Sunday school (or whichever school you were dragged to by your earlobe… Read full post »

The bulk of conservation-speak comes across as "hippie-speak." I mean, who wants to wear burlap moccasins and drive a recycled cardboard boxcar? Granted, these visions are extreme, but even the most progressive mainstream economists, journalists, and politicians refuse to entertain the notion that th… Read full post »

We love having our hands slapped. The voices of reason and cynicism lull us, even when they're speaking nonsense.

Take George Will, currently employed by the WaPo and Newsweek. He recently wrote a column in which he states it's "silly" to think even .01 percent of Americans will ever… Read full post »

K, so the title's a pun; I'm not filled with that much vitriol, thanks in no small part to my positive outlook, which is, according to Dr. Parikh, unproven medicine that should by no means be advocated.

Salon.com, as it's name suggests, is a forum. Experts get to post articles… Read full post »

I also want Limbaugh to suffer kidney failure. The fact is, his views make the world less safe for people like Wanda Sykes, less safe for me, and less pleasent. He does this primarily by expressing his views, which is entirely legal, and I'd be the first to support his right… Read full post »

Right now, "healthcare" is typically understood as access to affordable or free pharmaceuticals, hospital care, and routine checkups. I want to suggest some ways of providing and benefits of universal healthcare that are not being seriously considered by our government, media, or doctors.

1. Universal
… Read full post »

I'm a huge fan of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and an avid reader of Salon, which I'd guess places me in a minority here. The sport of MMA barely registers on some of your radards, I assume, and us an ugly bright red spot for others. However, MMA appears to be… Read full post »

How many of you feel some guilt over not shopping enough? How many of you feel anxiety every time a large business shrinks or folds?

It's common to hear jounralists and economists state that things are improving (we are growing healthier) because consumer spending has increased. The logic here is… Read full post »

David Brooks wrote a column this morning discussing a recent PEW survey on where Americans want to lives. The survey concludes (in Brooks' mind) that despite a city like Amsterdam being reasonable in an affordable and environmentally friendly kind of way -- people bike, stores are nearby, etc. etc. -… Read full post »

I've written about the subject of public transportation before, so I'll make this post brief. John Judis posted an article today for the New Republic (here) calling on Obama for massive infrastructure spending roughly equivalent to what we would spend if involved in a world war.

Judis calls for incr… Read full post »

If there's one thing I don't trust my fellow citizen to do, it's drive.  There are more than 40,000 reported deaths in the US from car accidents every year, probably a lot more actual deaths, and millions more injuries. Just picture the Twin Towers speeding towards one another on the… Read full post »