March 2009

Weekend Time Waster: European Geography

March 14, 2009

Apparently, I have no idea where cities in Italy are located. This little flash app from Lufthansa is a fun little time waster. Here’s my score, definitely hampered as much by my inability to remember the difference between northern and southern Italy as my fear of flying. What’s your score? (One try only please; this [...]

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Some Thoughts on the Appropriations

March 13, 2009

You’ve just got to love Dennis Rehberg: U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, a Republican, voted against the omnibus bill in the House — he said in a release the legislation included too much spending  but said he supported the Montana infrastructure projects he helped include in the bill. That man is a thinker. And consistent. And [...]

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Attention, Lee Newspapers in Montana: This is What Real Reporting on the Meth Project Would Look Like

March 11, 2009

Just imagine what the current debate about funding for the Montana Meth Project would look like if a Montana newspaper had ever bothered to write a single story like this one, in the Idaho Statesman. It (imagine the concept!) covers both sides, presenting an even-handed look at the program. This is just good journalism, a [...]

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The New York Times Profiles the Real Victims of the Recession: Socialites

March 10, 2009

It’s finally time to recognize the real suffering of the recession: socialites who have to wear old dresses to social events and stay at home mothers who asked their husbands to cut back on jewelry purchases at Christmas. The horror! One can only hope that these voices will be recorded for posterity, the way we [...]

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Oh No! Obama Has Lost the Support of Right Wing Evangelical Groups!

March 10, 2009

I got a good chuckle out of today’s story in Politico which suggested President Obama was in trouble, because his recent decision to allow stem cell research “has led to a reassessment of Obama by some Christian conservative and other religious leaders, who now charge him with inflaming the very cultural divisions he once pledged [...]

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What’s So Bad About Being Risk Averse?

March 9, 2009

In an intriguing defense of his friend, the war criminal Jon Yoo, John Chapman argues that pursuing action against Yoo and the other lawyers who authorized illegal torture and violations of civil liberties would be dangerous because it would make future officials afraid to do the same thing: But John C. Eastman, the dean of [...]

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Republican Priorities: Huge Tax Cuts Over Voter-Approved Healthcare

March 8, 2009

As I noted earlier in the week, Republican Senate President Bob Story claims that expanding the state’s CHIP program would be too expensive, costing $35 million dollars. Putting aside Senator Story’s questionable accounting and willful decision to pretend that the CHIP program wouldn’t trigger millions in federal matching funds,one can only assume that Senator Story [...]

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Weekend Time Waster: Your Bookstore Bookshelf

March 7, 2009

I’ve always loved those little corners in small bookstores (or even the chains) where the books are prominently placed not because some corporate publisher paid the store a premium, but simply because someone loved the book. Maybe the book was placed as a treasured classic that the person returned to time and time again, or [...]

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