When I was growing up and learning some history, I used to think that people in the past were, well, stupid.  Why didn't they realize that bleeding you made you worse, not better?  Why didn't they understand electricity?  Why didn't they figure out you could burn oil?  How… Read full post »

Image courtesy of Science and Technology Updates 

With the recent defeat of the "Personhood" amendment in Mississippi, along with the continued support that the "personhood" idea has in Republican party and, most depressingly, in the Republican Presidential candidates, I've been thi/… Read full post »

When I was in Middle School, one of my teachers explained the liberal vs. conservative dichotomy this way:  conservatives want to "conserve" things from the past, while liberals want to change things.  My feeling at the time was, gee, since the world changes all the time, don't you/… Read full post »

(I really don't think they're hugging . . .) 

I just wound up a typically-frustrating "conversation" on  Twitter with a self-describe "Unaffiliated conservative, opponent of big Government in general, Democrats in particular".  (I put "conversation" in quotes because, on Twitte… Read full post »

I'm a little startled by how far out of the mainstream my complete lack of sorrow at the passing of Christopher Hitchens puts me.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not glad he's dead.  I certainly did not wish him dead.  But given his--how shall I say this?--fairly caustic nature, I'm/… Read full post »

 

It has always driven me a bit whacky how few people can do pretty simple math, but Republicans are amazing at taking their ignorance and lack to a whole new level and then exporting the stupid conclusions based thereon to the world… Read full post »

 

 ^{Image courtesy of PMarkets}

I just called your IT department, and let me say this up front: I want a native American-English speaker.

I work with a lot of people who were born elsewhere, i.e. not the U.S.: China, Taiwan, Japan, India, the Phillipines, Russia, Ukraine, France… Read full post »

^{No, no, can't have any of that! Might lead to dancing!
(Photo courtesy of Amy Jo Goddard)}

I was listening to Rachel Maddow's 6/8/2011 show earlier today, and was interested by  National Organization for Women current President Terry O'Neill's take on the rash of new "personhood" bill… Read full post »

 

One of the toughest things to find, for me, is a reviewer (in movies, music, books, whatever) who either has tastes similar enough to mine, or whose reviews are thorough enough, to give me a decent idea as to whether I'd like something or not.  To find both in…

Read full post »

^{Pacific Garden Mall, Santa Cruz, CA, shortly after 10/17/89}

(Note: this post originally appeared--in slightly different form--as a response to the wonderful post by Ume Blossom.)

Let's get this out of the way right up top:  I really don't know beans about Japan.

I would like to. &n… Read full post »

I can't get this article/post/cri d'ceour out of my head.  It's made me sad, and angry, and frustrated, and angry, and confused, and really, really angry.  When I get angry, I write.  If I'm lucky, I don't rant; I only write.

So I'm writing.

Rahna Reiko Rizzuto is the… Read full post »

 

 

Yesterday digby put up a really good post taking Jon Stewart's The Daily Show to task for going down the road of false equivalence, equating the looniness on the right to something only remotely similar on the left:

See? He's a real liberal with real liberal ideas. Bu… Read full post »

 

 _{Image courtesy of the New York Times}

I don't like to write about sexual politics, honestly.  First of all, I'm a white guy, by default one of the most priviledged people in the country, if not the world.  Yes,  I've worked my behind off to do well, yes… Read full post »

The interesting thing to me about the O'Reilly/Obama interview is not the information--if any--it contained.  I have enough confidence in Obama's ability to obfuscate and O'Reilly's good sense to not be a total penile-encephaleptic in the presence of the President to know that there weren't goin… Read full post »

I'll get this out of the way right up front:  I know very little about modern Egypt.  I know that their "president", Hosni Mubarak, is really just a dictator with a thin veneer of democracy.  I know that the U.S. has been in bed with Egypt pretty much since they… Read full post »

^{This is blood libel, from the Middle Ages--the Jew is the evil-looking dude in the funky hat draining the blood from a crucified Christian child} 

Sarah Palin predictably defended herself from her critics by both going on the attack, and assuming the mantle of victimhood.  This is pr… Read full post »

Photo courtesy of AP 

I'm talking to you, Republican politicians and Republican voters.  Directly to you.  People are dead, and public officials are critically injured by a shooter, and you  bear some of the blame.

I don't give a rip that it pisses you off that I point thi… Read full post »

^{Photo courtesy AP} 

Associated Press, 11/21/2010:

The head of the Transportation Security Administration on Sunday acknowledged that new full-body scanners and thorough pat-downs can be invasive and uncomfortable, but he said that the need to stay a step ahead of terrorists rules out cha… Read full post »

^{Photo courtesy of The Washington Post} 

It has been reported in the Huffington Post--in great detail, so I tend to believe it--that large chunks and passages in Bush's new "memoir" were lifted from other sources, verbatim.  Which is, of course, profoundly disgusting.  /… Read full post »

 

^{Photo courtesy of AP}

Obama's "Debt Commission" co-chairs--a pair of grumpy old white guys with enough money between them that they will absolutely not have to worry about anything during their remaining years, certainly not having enough money for dialysis or wheelchairs or food or wha… Read full post »

I'm getting pretty weary of ignorant (not stupid; there's a big difference) people spouting off about the Constitution when everything they say when they're questioned on the details of said spouting makes it painfully clear they know nothing whatsoever about it.  Former Senate-hopeful Christine… Read full post »

_{Photo courtesy of The Chic Shop}

A lot of you Open Salon folks are familiar with the "flounce" concept:  a blogger here on OS, often one who has been having trouble lately (typically with folks in the comments sections), decides that he or she has had enough, and won't be blogging any… Read full post »