When Journalists Redeem Themselves

Just three days ago, I was asking myself why in the world Maureen Dowd and David Brooks are on the NYT payroll. They hadn't produced an article of worth (in my opinion, of course) for weeks and I was tired of even reading them.

Yet, these last two days, both of them redeemed themselves in my eyes with their two articles:

First, Brooks wrote about the realities facing conservative legislators today as well as their precarious position between ideological alternatives and feasible, beneficial ones for the middle class that run against traditional conservative ideology. Brooks seemed to favor the realistic approaches to mending the nation's woes.

Then, there was Dowd, who wrote about the blatant hypocrisy and racism shown by the pseudo-intellectual Newt Gingrich who recently agreed with Dinesh D'Souza's assessment of Obama's politics as a result of his father's neo-colonialist world view. According to Dowd—and here I agree with her—by equating Obama's policy and view of the world to that of his father, and by tainting the character of the latter, they also insult the former.

Gingrich's and D'Souza's logic is so perverted and twisted that only an uneducated audience or bigots will embrace. But then again, look at the crowd who's gotten the mainstream Republicans' panties in a bunch....

Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell's Personal Price

A blog entry on The New York Times highlights the personal consequences of a discharge from the military resulting from DADT.

Besides the money we spend in training these individuals, there is a personal price that they pay themselves and if you have never been able to read or listen to a personal account of this sort, I suggest you take a few minutes and do just that.

A Good Season for Xenophobia

With few things left to criticize and with much promise for appeal to ball-suckers (today's epithet for teabaggers), the GOP has turned its attention to the document it touts as 'perfect' and 'immutable,' but also as 'flawed' when it so pleases its members. Their calls to repeal or amend the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment are just a desperate effort to garner votes before elections take place. Frustrations with illegal immigrants are legitimate and certainly worth addressing, but man, do they know how to amplify and inflate facts only to portray illegal immigrants as our biggest threat or thorn in our eye.

The New York Times is on it.

The NYT is equally—and justifiably—critical of Sarkozy's latest series of xenophobic measures. They are the latest in his attempts to secure a few votes from the extreme right, or to distract public opinion from his failures as Monsieur le Président.

Talk About Activist Judges!

Conservatives will throw around the phrase 'activist judges' quite liberally anytime there is a judicial nomination to be made on the Federal level, or anytime there is a recognition of the constitutional or human rights of a disenfranchised or targeted minority.

Little do they know (or do they know very well...?) that conservative judges are the most staunchly activist of all. As this report from The New York Times shows, the Roberts Court has been the most conservative in the history of the judicial body and the trend to more conservative decisions shows no signs of weakening, despite a second addition by president Obama.

Perhaps liberals and progressives ought to adopt an equally charged language when referring to judges in the Supreme Court and elsewhere in Federal courts across the nation. After all, what is more activist than a judge who adopts an intractably conservative position and whose decisions can be predicted with almost 100% certainty, as in the case of Antonin Scalia or, the loonier loon, Clarence Thomas? No, Samuel Alito, you were not forgotten; you are sure to give both these justices a run for their money if they want to remain on the extreme right of the Supreme Court.

Trimming the Bush

The younger Bush is well on his way to becoming a hallowed figure in conservative circles, much like Reagan—the president who expanded government more than anybody since FDR and more than his three predecessors combined—is today. It is the purpose of the well-oiled (double entendre is quite intentional) to portray him as a true conservative who improved everything from taxes and the budget to international relations. Everyone with an ounce of functioning brain knows he did nothing of the sort. On the contrary, his tax cuts were detrimental to the economy itself and, of course, the budget; and the international relations can be summarized in one word: Iraq.

Paul Krugman's latest op-ed in The New York Times says this much better, but is worth reiterating how, time after time, Republicans and conservatives in general come back with a rewriting history or a re-polishing of figures in order to, then, shape the future of politics and return to power and keep doing just the same thing that required the polishing in the first place.

Dr. Javier Omar Garcia on the New York Times

Just spreading his fame. Check it out, all you food-oriented people.

There's a Tea Party... and Everyone is Mad

Frank Rich of The New York Times reiterating the true colors of what the Tea Party movement puts out there, as well as the true colors of those in the Republican Party who egg them on.

On Translation

David Bellos, a renowned French-to-English translator (with whom I have some beef for having translated Ismail Kadare's from their French translation), has written an editorial on the art of translation as it's being done by Google Translator. It basically says it's good, but not good enough and I happen to agree. You will never match the human brain, Google!

Machiavellian Machinations

Paul Krugman had an editorial in today's New York Times that, in a few words, summarized and articulated what I have always known about post-Reagan Republicans and their willingness to bring the country to the verge of total collapse. Not to mention their hypocrisy of speaking against government expansion and expanding it since Reagan.

Facebook as an Index of Happiness

The New York Times has an article discussing Facebook's recently released Gross National Happiness. Facebook compiled data over two years from people's Facebook statuses and based the analysis on the use of 'happy' and 'sad' words. Christmas reigns supreme, though the days that precede it seem to be the opposite. Other holidays coincide with peaks, too.

Here's a quick snapshot, though if you go on the image source page, you can play around with it and see it more clearly.

On Cap-and-Trade

Though a bit late, I have to share an op-ed by Paul Krugman from the 24 September edition of The New York Times. According to him, the next fight after healthcare will be climate change and the government's (that is, our collective) efforts to curb and possibly reverse it.

He warns that there will be those who will argue outright that global warming is a myth, but the most poignant of his points is that, despite what we will be told and led to believe, the cost of the cap-and-trade bill will be minimal.

New York Times On 50 + 1 majority

The New York Times had an editorial a couple of weeks ago highlighting the ins and outs of the so-called budget reconciliation method of voting in the Senate, as opposed to a filibuster-proof majority. The latter seems to be sought by every democrat who is for healthcare reform, even though the probability of sixty votes for a strong healthcare reform bill is out of reach. With this in mind, the former is the more viable option, albeit imperfect.

Bookishness

Schools across the country are revolutionizing the way students read for school. Instead of assigning them books, many school districts or individual teachers are choosing to give students a wide array of options or a complete carte blanche on their reading pick. It is showing some promise.

On related news, which I found through The Daily Dish, Google estimates that, at present, there are 168,178,719 books titles that have been published in the history of the world.

What's That Smell?

Tell me where you are and I'll tell you what it is. Or The New York Times will. The newspaper provides a smell map of Manhattan, noting the scents that characterize each area of the island, day or night. I can attest to some of them myself....

Moda Harvardiana

A Harvard-inspired preppy (and not so preppy) line of clothes is hitting the market under the 'Harvard Yard' label. Apparently, no logo, no 'Veritas,' no 'Harvard;' just crimson details.

The New York Times's accompanying slideshow can be found here.

Reality Check

A few weeks ago I posted an entry on the number of uninsured people in the United States. Here's a different article on the same subject, this time from The New York Times.

I continue to have the same position as before: not one life should be ignored.

Most people continue to think that they have a great insurance policy, and that any attempts to hold insurance companies more accountable before patients are attempts to ration healthcare. Without getting into the selfishness of those who can afford decent healthcare and who make no attempt to extend it to others, I must say that they are at the very least deluded if they think it will always be affordable and reliable.

The video below, launched by Americans United for Change, reminds us that so-called 'death panels' already exist in the United States with regard to healthcare. They are set up by the insurance companies who provide policies and services to individuals very selectively, so as to charge them the high premiums that supposedly keep competition alive and make great healthcare possible, but not actually 'waste' money on them by delivering medical services. (Source: Daily Kos)

Reconciling Creationism & Evolution?

This is what Robert Wright, author of The Evolution of God, attempts to do in an editorial in The New York Times.

His proposals for a middle ground, albeit sensible, are too cloy and reconciliatory. I continue to believe that evolution and creationism are mutually exclusive and that middle ground between the two of them is no ground at all. These attempts to give credence and authority to an unscientific theory like creationism cause the greatest harm to our nation's educational system, the trenches and the front line of this war that is still being waged, eighty-four years after the Scopes Trial.

Vivaldi viva ancora

Vivaldi apparently faced hard times during his lifetime, and his legacy had tougher times until early in the last century. Now, his creative prowess is more richly appreciated.

The Unequal States of America

Do not take this to mean that I am for redistribution of wealth, but news of the inequalities made possible by the Bush years in terms of wealth and income in the United States are a sobering reminder of the kind of taxation and regulation under Republicans that led to a deeper and darker chasm between economic classes in the U.S., and also to the recession we are still fighting.

The New York Times reports that the rich are finally beginning to feel the consequences of a recession. Not surprisingly, the lower-income brackets are usually the first to suffer, for lack of a cushioning mattress of money, if you will.

The Nation analyzes the numbers a little and informs us that during the expansion of the Bush years was only an expansion for the very, very wealthy, whereas the rest of us not only lingered, but lagged behind and actually lost money.

Healthcare Coverage in San Francisco

Apparently, San Francisco is the only city in the United States that requires health insurance in approximately the same way in which Massachusetts requires it for its residents.

This editorial in The New York Times shows how it works, how many have been covered, how employers are dealing with it, and also addresses issues of funding and job losses. All the above were common fears before San Francisco required this health insurance program, and continue to be fears and preoccupations on the national level as the nation discusses passing national healthcare.

The authors' conclusion:

The San Francisco experiment has demonstrated that requiring a shared-responsibility model — in which employers pay to help achieve universal coverage — has not led to the kind of job losses many fear. The public option has also passed the market test, while not crowding out private options. The positive changes in San Francisco provide a glimpse of what the future might look like if Washington passes substantial health reform this year.