Because some douchebag might come along and manipulate them for political gain, misprepresenting what actually happened in court. Like this ad from the RNC: As it turns out, the RNC's new ad is about as honest as the RNC's attacks on the health care law itself. A Republican Party web-based advertisement uses altered audio from U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments to attack … Read More
The Republican Distrust Of Science
A new study by Gordon Gauchat takes a look at public trust in science and finds that it's unchanged over the past few decades for most groups. The one exception is conservatives, whose trust in science has plummeted: But here's the remarkable thing from the study not seen in the graph above: the more educated a conservative is, the less he trusts … Read More
So What If The Mandate Fails
If the Supreme Court decides it doesn't like the individual mandate, what happens to the rest of Obamacare? The Supreme Court can go three ways: (1) If the mandate falls, the rest of the law stands. The outcome: The narrowest ruling the Supreme Court could issue would be one where the individual mandate falls by itself but leaves the rest of … Read More
Bloody Zimmerman
The story from Zimmerman was that Trayvon gave him a broken nose, then got on top of him and pounded the back of his head against the pavement. You would think Zimmerman, being taken into the police station that night in the footage below, would be a bit more bloody: ALSO this….
What’s Being Argued Today — A Summary for Layman
At the heart of health care reform lies the individual mandate, which makes it so that individuals must purchase health insurance or else face a fine assessed by the government. The question before the Court will be whether Congress has the power under the Commerce Clause to require that individuals purchase health insurance. The Commerce Clause states that “the Congress shall have … Read More
Latest On The Trayvon Martin Killing
George Zimmerman has told police that Trayvon Martin decked him with a punch then jumped on top of the neighborhood watch volunteer and slammed his head into the sidewalk several times, the Orlando Senitnel reports, quoting unidentified police sources. This will be used to lend some sort of vindication to Zimmerman by those on the right. Except for a couple of things. One, it … Read More
Supreme Court Starts Hearing Arguments in the “Obamacare” Case
Is the Affordable Care Act consitutional? The lower courts are divided, and today the Supreme Court beings three days of oral arguments on the matter. Somewhat oddly, the most controversial part of the legislation — the individual mandate which requires everyone to purchase health insurance (or pay a fine if they don't) — is only slotted for 90 minutes of … Read More
Obama’s Pitch Perfect Comment On Trayvon Martin
He couldn't (and shouldn't) get into the details of the incident (it's under investigation), but he had to something…
How’s Susan Komen Foundation Doing? — A Look Back
After their public relations debacle back in February, when Komen attempted to defund Planned Parenthood, things looked really bleak for the womens cancer foundation. But it eventually tried to amend its wrongdoing, the story fell off the front page, and the nation's attention went elsewhere. So has the Komen Foundation recovered? Hardly, according to the Washington Post: Fallout from the Planned … Read More
Etch-a-Sketch Pt. II
In the post below (yesterday), I suggested buying stock in Etch-a-Sketch. WELL….. the stock price for Ohio Art (makers of Etch-a-Sketch) has doubled — up 212% today. You didn't listen to me, did you? UPDATE: Triples!
Etch-a-Sketch
Should buy stock in them. I don't think "Etch-a-Sketch" as a political metaphor for Romney is going away soon. UPDATE: Wow! That was quick! The faux pas was only this morning, and already the DNC has an ad out. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, the faux pas by the Romney spokesman is contained in the ad):
Titanica
One hundredth anniversary approaches and National Geographic has a nice story and pictures of what the sunken vessel looks like today, including never-before-seen photo composites of the ship as a whole.. like this look at the bow: I particularly liked this shot of the Turkish bath (as it is today, and as it was then):
Why You Gotta Like The Guy
A deaf college student speaks to Obama in the only language he knows, American Sign Language (saying "I am very proud of you")… and without missing a beat, Obama signs back "Thank you"
Conspiracy Theorists Are Going To Love This
Two stories: First, this one about one of the Obama girls going on spring break with her class to Oaxaca Mexico. Initial press reports about it on the Internet were "scrubbed". An AFP report that President Barack Obama’s 13-year-old daughter, Malia, is spending spring break in Oaxaca, Mexico appears to have been completely scrubbed from the Internet news sites that … Read More
They Won’t Give Up
The War On Women continues at the state level, with various bills floating around designed to prevent women from having contraception, or having an abortion, or having protection from wife-beaters. It really is unprecedented. This one in particular caught my eye: A new bill moving through the Tennessee House of Representatives would require the state to publish the names of … Read More