Weakening Dodd-Frank: Our view
"Wall Street got its swagger back not long after the bailout, which is no surprise. Its culture is built on greed and ego. What is more surprising is how quickly Congress again became Wall Street's errand boy."
4.25.2015
It's all about having the right address
So not totally stupid then, just almost
Governor signs bill to allow guns in all Tennessee parks
"The bill got tied up amid bickering between Republicans who control both the state House and Senate, and only passed once lawmakers agreed to remove the Capitol complex from the areas where permit holders could be armed."
4.24.2015
Hallelujah! A miracle!
Sex club seeks Nashville blessing by vowing to be a church | New York Post
"The United Fellowship Center’s plans are nearly identical to those of The Social Club but with some different labels. The dance floor has become the sanctuary. Two rooms labeled ‘dungeon’ are now ‘choir’ and ‘handbells.’ Forty-nine small, private rooms remain, but most of them have become prayer rooms."
We're planning to skip the movie
"Pundits will try to pretend that we’re having a serious policy debate, but, as far as issues go, 2016 is already set up to be the election of the living dead."
In the ongoing competition for Most Incredibly Bad Idea, this one deserves to be a finalist
U.S. Weighs Training Iraqis to Call in American Airstrikes in ISIS Fight - NYTimes.com
"WASHINGTON — A senior Obama administration official said Thursday that the United States was looking for ways to speed up United States bombing attacks on Islamic State militants, including a plan to train Iraqi troops to spot targets for American airstrikes."
4.23.2015
Just hoping nobody shows up with loaves and fishes
Feeding the Homeless - The Atlantic
"All over the United States, local governments are coercing individuals and organizations to stop helping their least-well-off neighbors. The National Coalition for the Homeless reported last year that at least 31 cities had restricted or banned food-sharing. The Washington Post offers examples: 'Late last year, police in Fort Lauderdale busted a 90-year-old World War II veteran named Arnold Abbott twice in one week for feeding the homeless. In Raleigh, N.C., a church group said the cops threatened to arrest them if they served food to the homeless. And in Daytona Beach, Fla., authorities unsuccessfully levied $2000 in fines against six people for feeding the homeless at a park.'"
Back to the 1940's
How Dick Tracy Invented the Apple Watch - The Daily Beast
"One hopes Cook is aware that the two-way wrist radio was itself inspired by the real-life ideas of a visionary who should be as well-known to us as Jobs or Gates."
As for us, we back the Bard
Ira Glass Says Shakespeare Sucks. He's Wrong. | The New Republic
“Does Shakespeare suck? Ira Glass, the host of the popular upper-middlebrow radio show ‘This American Life,’ apparently thinks so; he tweeted as much after suffering through a performance of King Lear in Central Park."
We're in…but, alas
Chocolate Chip Mint: Deep Fried Spam Masubi
"Please stand by for this rather breathless scoop: Portuguese sausage-flavored Spam has been developed by Hormel Foods Corp., and the company has chosen Hawaii to debut the new flavor. '
"'Hawaii is getting it first,' Jennifer Nolander, Spam Brand product manager, told TheBuzz. In fact, 'right now Hawaii is the only state that we're planning on selling it in,' she said."
Yeah, good point
For Some Teenagers, 16 Candles Mean It’s Time to Join Uber - NYTimes.com
"‘It’s like you’re being driven around by your parents, but you don’t have to hold a conversation with them,’ he said."
4.22.2015
4.21.2015
Can't they make it red or green or something?
Kraft Mac & Cheese just got duller. You can thank (or blame) ‘The Food Babe.’ - The Washington Post
" Nothing triggers nostalgia like the sight of a steaming plate of sticky pasta, as unnaturally orange as a nuclear dawn."
Babe, you smell too good
Modern life smells so good it’s killing the cheap perfume industry - The Washington Post
"The fast growth of specialized scents in fabric softeners, household cleaners and body sprays has helped make America, and the typical American, smell sweeter and cleaner than ever. Even storefronts and airlines are rigging up scent machines to bathe customers in the companies’ trademarked aromas."
Monday was an H
Whew. Good thing I noticed. The H is on the local trash pick-up calendar and no place else.
H stands for holiday, and it shifts all the other days in the week one place to the right. This particular H was Patriots’ Day (in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, Patriot’s day in Maine). Also, of course, it was Boston Marathon day. Yesterday.
Marketing: Will you buy this Bush?
Jeb Bush Has An Extraordinary Plan To Test The Limits Of Campaign Finance Law
"The concept, in development for months as the former Florida governor has raised tens of millions of dollars for his Right to Rise super PAC, would endow that organization not just with advertising on Bush's behalf, but with many of the duties typically conducted by a campaign."
First of all, we don't hate Superman…
Dawn of Justice Trailer: Batman Love vs. Superman Hate | The New Republic
"People hate Superman."
…and second, Batman can’t beat up Superman, that’s stupid.
Puzzling? Really?
Obama Kept Iran's Short Breakout Time a Secret - Bloomberg View
"Here is the puzzling thing: When Obama began his second term in 2013, he sang a different tune."
Who woulda thunk
David Koch Signals a Favorite: Scott Walker - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com
"Updated, 11:05 p.m. | Charles G. and David H. Koch, the influential and big-spending conservative donors, appear to have a favorite in the race for the Republican presidential nomination: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin."
A not enthusiastic review
The night the queen went out - Telegraph
"It is an enjoyable fantasy but, for this cinema-goer at least, it was not unmissable."
4.20.2015
Remembering the not-quite-good not-quite-old days
How Washington Derailed Amtrak - NationalJournal.com
"For a brief moment in 2009, however, that seemed to change. President Obama, who would promise to link 80 percent of the country to high-speed trains, used his stimulus legislation to award more than $8 billion to the cause, nearly $7 billion of which would go to California, Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio for what were billed as bullet-train proposals.…"
Those dirty guys
EPA Tells Kids to Avoid Baths and Asks them to Check Toilets for Leaks | Heartlander Magazine
"As part of its effort to help save the planet from the dangers of taking too many baths, the EPA’s WaterSense program is trying to convince kids they should avoid bathtubs in favor of showers, which it says is a far more efficient use of water.…"
"You can add this pathetic attempt by the EPA to brainwash kids into feeling guilty every single time they flush the toilet to the long list of ridiculous efforts the federal agency has made recently to control every aspect of Americans’ lives."
While you're out for your walk…
Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature | Collections | Library of Congress
"Listen to audio-recorded readings of former Consultants in Poetry Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Frost; Nobel Laureates Mario Vargas Llosa and Czeslaw Milosz, and renowned writers such as Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, and Kurt Vonnegut read from their work at the Library of Congress."
Chip in: Let's buy a dictionary for Rush
Praise and Skepticism as One Executive Sets Minimum Wage to $70,000 a Year - NYTimes.com
"Perhaps the most prominent attacker was Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing radio host, who labeled the move ‘pure, unadulterated socialism, which has never worked.’"
A little story about the Titanic, courtesy of NOAA
"The Amerika's radio antennae were not large enough to get messages to the ground relay station at Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada from her distance, and it was common practice for other larger ships to relay messages. As a result of this radio relay, the Titanic actually had the location of the icebergs that they struck one day later."
And, for extra credit, if you haven’t read Thunderstruck yet, now would be a good time.
It's not OK if the NSA reads your email, but it's perfectly fine if North Korea does
Lawfare › In Case You Needed Another Reason to Look Askance at WikiLeaks
"The organization today posted online what it describes as ‘an analysis and search system for The Sony Archives: 30,287 documents from Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and 173,132 emails, to and from more than 2,200 SPE email addresses.’ That’s right. North Korea hacks Sony and steals lots of innocent people’s communications, and WikiLeaks goes ahead and makes them searchable. That’ll protect civil liberties."
4.19.2015
How many pointless questions must we endure?
How much homework should a teenager do? Maybe less than we think. http://t.co/tK5WYiifAk
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 19, 2015
Imagine our delight
Walker tells Herald most successful states have ‘gone big and gone bold’ | Boston Herald
"NASHUA, N.H. — Gov. Scott Walker vowed to tackle issues such as national security if elected president with the same ferocity that he’s employed as a union-busting Wisconsin governor."
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