Health Care Summit Wrapup

Ken AshfordHealth Care1 Comment

The news much of the and blogosphere seems interested in scoring the summit, as if it were a "debate" (I've seen actual news outlets refer to it as a debate, which it wasn't).  I have no interest in that.  It wasn't about scoring political points.  To the extent that someone did, that's nice, but who cares? [UPDATE:  To its credit, … Read More

Punditry Of The Day

Ken AshfordGodstuffLeave a Comment

From Bryan Fischer at Renew America, weighing in on the Seaworld incident: If the counsel of the Judeo-Christian tradition had been followed, Tillikum would have been put out of everyone's misery back in 1991 and would not have had the opportunity to claim two more human lives. Says the ancient civil code of Israel, "When an ox gores a man … Read More

For LOST Fans

Ken AshfordBloggingLeave a Comment

You might enjoy this blog, entitled at the aptyl-named http://neverseenlost.wordpress.com. It's a blog about the last season of LOST from the perspective of someone who has never seen an episode of LOST prior to this season.  Here's her recap of this season's first episode (she mistakenly refers to Jack as "Jake"): These people are stuck on an island.  They tried detonating … Read More

The Heath Care Summit: The First Point Of Contention

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

Part of the problem with getting health care reform done, is that both sides are arguing from a different set of facts, rather than opposing policy.  This, of course, shouldn't be: facts are facts. Watch this disagreement between President Obama and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) on the issue of whether health care premiums would go up under the Senate Dems' … Read More

Avenue Q Poster Too Racy for Colorado Springs

Ken AshfordSex/Morality/Family Values, TheatreLeave a Comment

Puppet cleavage.  That's what we're talking about here: pink puppet cleavage. A billboard advertising company in Colorado Springs, Colorado has banned a particular poster for Avenue Q, favoring a more "conservative approach": You think it’s not easy being green. Try being a pink Muppet-like character in the touring off-Broadway show “Avenue Q.” Lamar Advertising recently rejected a bus shelter advertisement that would … Read More

The White House Health Care Summit

Ken AshfordHealth Care1 Comment

I'm not sure what the point of it is.  Ostensibly, the point is for the two parties to get together on national television for six hours and hammer out some concrete proposals for reforming health care in this country. Early reports indicate that the Republicans are coming to the table with "No. No. No. No. No. Let's scrap everything and start … Read More

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) Gets In Trouble For Telling The Truth

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

This rocked the House yesterday, and this video is No. 4 on Youtube: For those who don't have video, here's Firedoglake's description of the event: Anthony Weiner just made a fiery speech in the middle of the House debate on repealing the insurance industry’s anti-trust exemption. Angered by a motion to recommit, he lashed out, saying “the Republican Party is … Read More

What The Wingnuts Are Scared About Now

Ken AshfordPageantsLeave a Comment

This:   What is it?  It's the new logo for the United States Missile Defense Agency, a change from their old logo: And what is so scaaaaaary about the new logo?  Well, isn't it obvious?  The Drudge Report makes it obvious:   That's right.  The new logo is a combination of the Obama logo and the Islamic flag.  Blogger Frank Gaffney, … Read More

30 Things You Didn’t Know

Ken AshfordRandom Musings3 Comments

1. The phrase “rule of thumb” is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb. 2. The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle. 3. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass … Read More

Democratic Attempts To Reform Health Care Are Pretty Much Like Republican’s Plans From The Past

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

This chart, shameless lifted from Kaisir Health News, shows rather dramatically how conservativism of the Republicans have taken hold over the past 15 years. Seventeen years ago, Republican Senator John Chaffee (R-RI), a moderate (now deceased), proposed a health care bill.  In many ways, it is very similar to the Senate Bill passed last December (which in itself is very similar … Read More

Short Takes

Ken AshfordRandom Musings3 Comments

(1)  The Russian curling team is hot.    (2)  Hilary Duff knows how to respond to a marriage proposal (NSFW photos) (3)  I'm not sure I'm on board with this series of French anti-smoking ads (4)  What is it with beauty pageant winners from California?: Miss Beverly Hills Thinks God Wants Gays "Put to Death" (5)  "The Purple Rose of … Read More