tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43534780736695631972012-02-03T21:43:18.655-06:00Curmudgeonly observations mostly muttered under my breathMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847583343061656118noreply@blogger.comBlogger1271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-71325102369486749982012-02-03T19:48:00.000-06:002012-02-03T19:48:58.167-06:00

The scandal of the month appears to be the short-lived "non-political" decision by the Susan Komen Foundation to cut it's ties to Planned Parenthood, which has used Komen Foundation money to provide breast cancer screening and support to thousands of women.  The Foundation defended its decision because they have a "policy" that prohibits them from making grants to organizations "under

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-51444745818262410272012-01-14T10:54:00.000-06:002012-01-14T10:54:55.332-06:00

You know all that controversy about fracking to retrieve oil and natural gas from shale deposits?   It's a process where drillers pump chemicals, water, and sand into underground deposits to break up the rock and force gas to the surface to be collected. Fracking has come to suburbia.   This 12/27/11 Marketplace story explains that because many States have no laws either authorizing

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-75314002868590238022011-12-24T10:06:00.001-06:002011-12-24T10:07:39.832-06:00

I largely abandoned the world of Windows about 5 years ago when I bought a MacBook laptop computer after a nearly new Compaq laptop had it's fourth or fifth hardware failure. Hard drive, optical drive, and several other components managed to break on that not inexpensive Compaq in less than 2 years. We had similar problems with my wife's Dell desktop, and had to deal with Dell's reluctance to

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-5822097677988886672011-11-17T13:56:00.000-06:002011-11-17T13:56:25.700-06:00

As a lifelong "baby boomer," I've been accustomed to the notion of "forever young."   Generally, this relates to the idea that inside my body is a young person, personified by me as, say, a 21 year old.   Or maybe 19 year old.   Somewhere around there.   For decades, I've taken in the world around me filtered by my forever-21 eyes. Something awful has happened.   Recently, an acquaintance has

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-60850995065278756542011-10-20T16:52:00.001-05:002011-10-20T16:53:18.282-05:00

I am pretty skeptical about most corporate decisions and believe they are generally made in the company's interest, not customers.   So I am less than sympathetic to corporate interests when faced with a choice between them and people.  A lot of companies spend a lot of time and energy these days collecting "surveys" from customers, but it's never clear that anything is actually done with most of

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-86768932528785625462011-09-19T16:00:00.000-05:002011-09-19T16:00:02.609-05:00

Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson has identified yet another reason why Michele  Bachmann is just what we don't need in a national leader: more ignorance.  The latest dust-up is Bachmann's position opposing requiring (or encouraging?) adolescent girls to receive the effective human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.  The vaccine prevents acquiring HPV and, in turn, vastly reduces the future

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-24371204830473421272011-08-29T22:14:00.002-05:002011-08-29T23:41:12.887-05:00

So my grandson Josh started kindergarten last week.   My wife and I have been "baby-sitting" him two days a week since he was a few months old; the other 3 days he attended preschool near his parents' work.  I put "baby-sitting" in quotes because I truly question how much monitoring I've done in the past 5 1/2 years.  More likely, I was learning from him as he discovered the world and observed

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-6652677822644447382011-08-18T19:24:00.001-05:002011-08-18T19:28:15.853-05:00

There are a multitude of reasons to envy the State of Vermont, including it's scenery, downhill skiing, and independent tradition.   Lately, I've found another reason; the US Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders. A recent quote from Senator Sanders will demonstrate why I admire the guy and wish we had 30 more of him in the Senate. “I think it’s very clear that the function of the Republican

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-10945814943770555552011-07-28T22:33:00.002-05:002011-08-18T19:28:50.283-05:00

Over the years I've found politics in general to be fascinating and positive, but in recent years, I've come to the conclusion that something is very wrong with the political process in this country.   Our nation's current inability to adjust the debt ceiling, the latest of a long series of governmental paralyses, is truly frustrating and apparently never-ending. The people who are arguing ad

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-88486176017101585632011-07-22T12:35:00.002-05:002011-07-22T12:40:48.346-05:00

If you are of a "certain age," you probably remember what you were doing every, and I mean EVERY, Sunday night back in the 1950s and 1960s.   You were camped out with the rest of your family in front of your Crosley, Sylvania, or Zenith television watching the same show as everyone else you knew.   The Ed Sullivan Show.   It was the mother of all variety shows, a genre which doesn't exist on TV

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-89788721060982932872011-05-20T21:33:00.000-05:002011-05-20T21:33:41.000-05:00

So my grandson came over this morning a little later than normal.   Usually, he comes over before I'm even out of bed and my wife takes care of breakfast.   Today, it was just us two guys. So, Josh tells me all about the fantastic "double chocolate" doughnut his parents had gotten him this morning when they were dropping off Dad at work.  His mom had one also. Anyway, I'm getting my breakfast

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-21194078882518927032011-05-01T22:27:00.000-05:002011-05-01T22:27:35.408-05:00

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The older I get, the more often I feel that I'm in some sort of time warp, in which events of today seem to be reflections of events that occurred in my younger days.   In today's topic, the current events mirror some even older events, namely the anti-labor rhetoric and demonizing that led up to the "Haymarket Riot" in Chicago, back in 1886.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-22947238972504991522011-04-16T16:16:00.000-05:002011-04-16T16:16:28.613-05:00

A friend recently sent me an email with the pithy and wise rules for living, written by Regina Brett, who has written for a number of Ohio newspapers over the years.   The email says she "recently" turned 90, but in fact, that part of the email is wrong.   She turned 50 in 2006, and republished her list of 45 rules with an additional 5.  You can see them above, or right here!  Hope you enjoy it.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-12209912448150752072011-04-15T20:10:00.001-05:002011-04-15T20:11:05.474-05:00

I like this quote so much I put it on my list of favorite quotes (scroll down toward the bottom of the blog) as well as here:“Let’s say that she’s 90 percent [recovered]. Well, we’ve had congressmen in Arizona who didn’t even have a brain. So, it’s not like you have to be as talented as she is to be good at it.” Mike McNulty, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' last campaign manager on her viability to

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-73568829858765663292011-04-10T21:26:00.000-05:002011-04-10T21:26:39.445-05:00

The other day, I heard a sports report that made a comment that truly befuddled me.   I don't play golf, and the comment was about a round of the US Open that was going on this week-end.   My lack of experience in the game may be at least partly why the comment confused me. The report said something to the effect of so-and-so was holding a one stroke lead as the round began and that the other

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-44014066978026198832011-04-10T12:15:00.000-05:002011-04-10T12:15:08.730-05:00

Chicagoans don't normally actually get much of a Spring; we generally stumble out of Winter into Summer sometime between March and June.   This is one of those years in which we don't seem to be getting many days with sun and temperatures in the 50s or 60s.   We are lurching from cold and wet days directly to 70s and 80s... At any rate, today was both sunny and warm, so I was able to take my

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-21839064403262182342011-04-09T12:07:00.000-05:002011-04-09T12:07:21.099-05:00

As the average price of gasoline in the US edges over $4/gallon, Americans are beginning cast about for ways to deal with it.  One of those ways, is engaging in what some might call "gallows humor."   The following was sent to me by a friend as an email.  I don't know if the email will translate well to a blog post, but I found it to be pretty darn funny and wanted to share it.  The biggest

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-88648898319953848372011-03-20T11:49:00.000-05:002011-03-20T11:49:23.418-05:00

Have no fear, winter is soon to end.   Spring is just around the corner...  

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-3851798536579597322011-03-15T00:26:00.000-05:002011-03-15T00:26:27.061-05:00

Terry Newell, Founder, Leadership for a Responsible Society, recently made what he called a "simple proposal" to address two problems with the current public appetite with budget cutting.  The first problem:  Americans have very inaccurate understandings of what their government currently spends money on. For example, almost three-fourths of Americans in a 2010 Zogby Poll think we spend 6% or

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-14505736645878371412011-03-06T12:33:00.000-06:002011-03-06T12:33:29.161-06:00

The ability of a people to control their own destiny, generally includes the right to band together for mutual support and assistance.   Like forming a union to bargain for employment rights.  Or demanding a dictator leave the country.  The 'crisis du jour' among the Republicants this year seems to be blaming the current economic disaster on the middle class and public employee unions, rather

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-8843904104489023772011-03-03T21:32:00.001-06:002011-03-03T21:33:33.898-06:00

So it's been suggested to me that I should lighten up my blog posts a bit, despite the fact that they my blog was intended to be curmudgeonly from the outset.   However, I will try to lighten things up with....a joke. A CEO, a Tea Party member, and a union representative sit at a table. There is a plate with 12 cookies. The CEO takes 11, turns to the Tea Party member, and says, 'Look out! That

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-91599351573490228552011-02-10T12:39:00.001-06:002011-02-10T12:41:31.356-06:00

I am a big supporter of public education and always have been.   I've been an elected public school Board of Education member since 1988 and graduated from public elementary and secondary schools.   Most public schools are not nearly as ineffective as some politicians would have us believe, although there is certainly room for improvement.   I've long campaigned for better funding sources for

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-46944573272899510612011-01-28T18:12:00.000-06:002011-01-28T18:12:44.093-06:00

It's interesting that we can hardly find products to buy in this country that are made here, but the tear gas canisters found on the street in Cairo say "Made in USA." No wonder much of the world distrusts us, at best. Widely reported, see here.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-78418527666026992412011-01-15T17:49:00.000-06:002011-01-15T17:49:59.416-06:00

I understand that the fans play an important role at athletic events, like football and hockey games. I understand that the crowd noise can be an advantage to the home team. However, if I haven't shelled out $150 or more to see a game in person, and I'm watching it at home on TV, is it really necessary for the broadcaster to deliver all the crowd noise to my home? I think not. If I

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-91937999668142674092011-01-15T14:41:00.000-06:002011-01-15T14:41:46.221-06:00

In this recent (12/16/10) story on Marketplace, we learned that the Federal Reserve is proposing to cap fees that banks can charge retailers for purchases made with debit cards.  In the current system, retailers are charged 2% per transaction for purchases we make with debit cards, with no limit on the fee.   If you buy something for $1, the fee is about 2 cents.   If you buy something for

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-87620752348716304082011-01-15T14:04:00.001-06:002011-01-15T14:05:58.742-06:00

Time after time, Americans experience tragic shootings in which dozens of people are killed by gun violence.  Time after time, we have "memorial" services and "pray" for some intangible "peace."   Time after time, we are confronted with another shooting and we still do nothing to stop the madness.   Cartoonist RJ Matson captures the process:

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-76598358603526692032011-01-08T22:47:00.004-06:002011-01-08T22:53:41.502-06:00

The State that prides itself in having citizens routinely carrying loaded weapons around, experienced multiple murders today at a shopping center.  The target was Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, who was critically injured, while several others, including a 9 year old girl and a Federal judge, were killed.   The NY Times, as well as every other newspaper in the country, has a detailed report.  It

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-69178168901053304082011-01-06T12:28:00.001-06:002011-01-06T12:29:37.130-06:00

Reform of the US Senate's filibuster is back on the "to-do" list for the Senate (see my 10/5/10 post on this topic). While still holding a majority in that House of Congress, Democrats need to do something strong to reduce the Party of No's (PON) frequent use of this technique to stall debate and action in the Senate.  See my list of filibuster votes near the bottom of this page. Some

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-3891690243952516732010-12-23T13:54:00.000-06:002010-12-23T13:54:42.884-06:00

So, the House finally passed the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act by a vote of 206-60 on 12/22/10.   You might notice that there were only 266 House members voting.   You might notice that there were about 169 Representatives missing in action.  The majority of the missing Members apparently are Republicans who left town early (i.e., before the House adjourned) for the "Holiday."  According to

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-32516869165895673922010-12-21T11:15:00.000-06:002010-12-21T11:15:37.276-06:00

Self explanatory comic from Harrybliss.com.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-85009592296710875192010-12-12T22:47:00.001-06:002010-12-12T22:48:16.926-06:00

I just thought this Real Life Adventures comic was pretty funny today.   

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-73350619105620496222010-12-10T20:55:00.000-06:002010-12-10T20:55:19.193-06:00

Repeat photography is pretty straight-forward: multiple pictures taken from the same spot years apart.   The technique is useful to determine and document changes in climate and human impact on the environment.   Wired Magazine has a fascinating series of repeat photos taken by the US Geologic Survey that show restored archeological sites, rivers that have moved, and glaciers that have all but

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-41295266569329347632010-12-05T01:09:00.000-06:002010-12-05T01:09:52.341-06:00

I don't fly much anymore, mostly because it's become an unpleasant, over-crowded, and expensive exercise.   Lately if I travel far enough to consider flying, I've ended up driving.   The hullabaloo in recent weeks about the new TSA inspection procedures and use of new "x-ray" equipment has largely, IMO, been a tempest in a teapot.   And now at least one VERY experienced traveler also feels the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-73679770412176176222010-11-30T12:13:00.000-06:002010-11-30T12:13:39.945-06:00

Most every financial company wants me to switch to "e-delivery" these days.   Actually the campaign to wean me from paper statements has been going on for some time, but I've mostly ignored it.    When banks and such started making it possible to download statements, I began doing so, mostly because it's a lot easier to store and find PDF files than paper ones.   At least for me, I can locate a

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-3245545846979537422010-11-23T10:45:00.002-06:002011-01-06T12:06:48.489-06:00

It seems like as Americans become more and more estranged from their governments at all levels (municipal, State, Federal), an awful lot of them spend a lot of time petitioning for one thing or another.   I'm not talking about people going around knocking on doors to invite me to join them in their effort to get some level of government to either stop doing something or start doing something else

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-23181087525178962352010-11-16T17:38:00.000-06:002010-11-16T17:38:49.971-06:00

You may not know whether to laugh or cry when you watch and hear this video. Gotta love a computer voice saying things like "shit hit the fan."   This video covers a lot of territory about what the Federal Reserve is up to and why.  And who benefits most.   Clue: it's not you and me. Here's the video.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-34685668600237416002010-11-05T11:20:00.001-05:002011-04-16T16:17:52.960-05:00

The comic strip "Pickles," by Brian Crane, is one of my favorite ways to start the day.   Besides being a curmudgeon, Earl Pickles has a very close relationship with his grandson, who lives next door.   Earl wastes no opportunity to explain to Nelson how things work and how things should be.  These strips embody both Earl's and my own "philosophy" of life.  

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-90076918463637102592010-11-04T17:17:00.003-05:002010-11-05T00:47:12.949-05:00

I mentioned in my 10/24/10 post "Organization Chart" that I once had an organization chart of heaven.  Thanks to the fact that I had digitized it at one time, I'm posting it here.   If I'd had to find it in paper form, I'd still be looking for it a couple years from now..... I have no idea who the author is; I picked this up a couple decades ago during my work life.   The original is a full page

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-57351231278030707072010-11-02T11:53:00.000-05:002010-11-02T11:53:32.761-05:00

I recently came across an essay broadcast on the Bob Edwards week-end radio program.   It is part of his "This I Believe" series and it put my thoughts into words very nicely.   The essay is about why the author doesn't participate in demonstrations and marches - mostly because she doesn't feel her opinions are more valid than anyone else's opinions.   I've blogged about this a bit (10/17/10, 8/

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-22964893096935897772010-10-24T23:55:00.000-05:002010-10-24T23:55:27.350-05:00

This probably fits any large organization, employer, bank, or whatever.   Here you go Robin! I used to have an org. chart of heaven.   I'll have to locate it....  

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-85476297700506169732010-10-17T15:52:00.001-05:002010-11-22T14:15:47.918-06:00

In my August 24, 2010 post, I wrote about the increasing requests for political donations for candidates for office where I don't live.   It makes me uncomfortable to, in effect, tell people thousands of miles away that I know what's good for them better than they do. It recently occurred to me that one possible reason for the increasing requests could be corporate involvement in political

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-25103752241635176242010-10-15T11:05:00.000-05:002010-10-15T11:05:13.614-05:00

A friend sent this email recently and I thought it needed to be shared. Sure would hate to be involved in this one............ Brace yourself before looking at the attached image. A pilot at low level has no control over his aircraft. It narrowly misses a crowd gathered for the airshow and slams into four buildings. One can only imagine the horror of the occupants inside those buildings.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-60770472170941709492010-10-14T18:54:00.000-05:002010-10-14T18:54:10.727-05:00

I had an unsettling encounter this afternoon, which flashed me back to the bad old days of the 1960s and 1970s. I was in the parking lot of a local Target store to pick up a few things like milk and toilet paper.   I was retrieving some reusable shopping bags from the trunk of my car, when another shopper, presumably heading to his car to leave, spoke to me as he walked by.   His words, in

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-4074084418271711702010-10-05T11:36:00.004-05:002010-11-22T14:17:23.887-06:00

This is an issue whose time has definitely come.   Even if you believe that the filibuster could someday protect the Democrats as a minority party in the Senate, you really can't argue with the fact that the filibuster didn't prevent GOP Presidents from stacking the Supreme Court with conservatives who gave us Bush as President and the recent infamous "corporations are individuals" who get to

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-66844083682829468632010-10-02T15:32:00.002-05:002011-03-15T00:00:56.250-05:00

In a report from a think tank called Third Way, the group argues that taxpayers should get a receipt in order to clearly understand what they're paying for.  The sample receipt includes both income and Social Security/Medicare taxes and how much of your money goes where. Image from National Public Radio (npr.org) A recent article about the so-called "Tea Party" groups included a conclusion

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-39709557078492570682010-08-24T12:09:00.000-05:002010-08-24T12:09:49.127-05:00

In the past year or so, I have been flooded with both email and snail mail requests from a variety of groups, all wanting me to donate money to various political candidates.   This is not unusual, of course, since our political system seems to live and breath via fund-raising.   What makes these requests note-worthy is that they are for candidates who live hundreds, if not thousands, of miles

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-84664100806073744562010-08-18T21:14:00.001-05:002010-08-18T21:14:29.036-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about a column written by Charles Madigan in the Chicago Tribune, in which Madigan speculated on whether we will see a Republican controlled legislature after the November elections.   He wasn't so sure that the GOP was any more popular than the Democrats are and that predicting the outcome this early is largely a waste of effort. In his recent column from the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-91041169145011210082010-08-18T13:49:00.000-05:002010-08-18T13:49:03.208-05:00

I came across this political cartoon recently and thought it was pretty funny.   Mike Lester, the cartoonist, has summarized some thoughts we've had in recent years about increasingly strange given names we've come across....

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-20181221917771932562010-08-08T22:11:00.000-05:002010-08-08T22:11:37.637-05:00

This opinion piece by Charles Madigan in the Chicago Tribune cautions us to not assume that the November elections will be a disaster for the Democrats and a huge success for the Republicans.   He rightfully points out that the only voters who count are the ones who actually show up to vote, and it's not so clear who they might be in November.   I think his conclusion is on point: Because of all

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-57170374593778585112010-08-03T11:25:00.002-05:002010-08-03T11:28:25.545-05:00

Well, since my post on this topic in April, not much has changed.   Unemployment rates are still high, new job creation is elusive, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq grind on, and  political fringe elements in the U.S. are louder and shriller.  Based purely on anecdotal evidence, people hate their jobs more.   I think this "Moderately Confused" comic sums it all up.  This comic is always quite "

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-84652655959181959562010-07-30T17:41:00.000-05:002010-07-30T17:41:26.141-05:00

When one of my buddies announced plans to move to Arizona after retirement, the first thought that occurred to me was that I'd read a lot of articles about water shortages in the Southwest in general, and Arizona in particular.   He told me that "everyone" he'd spoken to in Arizona said water was not a problem, despite the fact that much of the population growth was in what had previously been

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-16695170463714928392010-07-30T11:44:00.000-05:002010-07-30T11:44:44.445-05:00

If you, or someone you know, is thinking of enrolling at a for-profit college, make sure you, or they, read/listen to this Marketplace.org story.  Can you say "misleading advertising?"   As usual, follow the money...  These schools are making huge profits at the expense of many students and, ultimately, the U.S. taxpayer (we foot the bill for those college loans these schools depend on).

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-20111799033957900742010-07-28T17:24:00.005-05:002010-12-21T22:16:25.084-06:00

Ever wonder why our Congress gets so little done?   One of the reasons is the misuse and overuse of the filibuster (more here) by Senate Republicans, The Party of No (PON). It seems that for the PON, there is no issue too small for a filibuster.  I think I may have to  start maintaining a list of filibusters that make the news, because every day it seems there's another legislative measure that

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-80053811688763498852010-07-25T11:47:00.000-05:002010-07-25T11:47:58.692-05:00

Open Letter to McDonald's Corporation: Based on personal experience, you have nothing to fear from Subway's foray into serving breakfast foods.  Their menu sounds decent enough, but the execution is, well, not very impressive.  The crew didn't seem to know how to assemble the breakfast and the components tasted like they had been sitting around for a couple hours.  Which they probably had been.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-27364926848456528372010-07-13T11:48:00.002-05:002010-07-13T23:24:53.075-05:00

During the national health care debate (and I hesitate calling what we had an actual debate, as opposed to shouting epithets at each other), one of the topics that briefly surfaced was end of life counseling.   There was a short-lived attempt to allocate Medicare funds to provide for comprehensive counseling on end of life issues, such as whether to continue treatments.  This devolved into the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-51803328629219906612010-07-12T12:36:00.004-05:002010-07-13T11:48:52.437-05:00

A strange thing happened to me a couple months ago while I was grocery shopping.   This was before the Federal health insurance bill was passed.  I was approached by a elderly man (elderly meaning older than me) who commented on my Iowa T-shirt.   The commenting wasn't the strange part.  The discussion that ensued was, at least to me, the strange part.  It started benignly, with "How are

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-24255530808212205392010-06-30T18:20:00.000-05:002010-06-30T18:20:36.086-05:00

I'm keeping a list of things to do when I become King, and I have another item to join the list (see my main page):   Ban battery powered kid size toy vehicles.  I'm not talking about little remote control toys, but the ones designed for a kid to sit in and drive ("battery powered ride on cars").   Such toys are certainly not advisable given the volume of news we're seeing on obesity in

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-32198740823207776742010-06-29T17:13:00.000-05:002010-06-29T17:13:57.314-05:00

It probably doesn't matter much which big city you live near.  The bulk of the news coming from "the city" sometimes seems to be mostly some sort of body count.   At the beginning of each week, the newspapers often (usually) have articles counting how many gunshot incidents occurred over the week-end, how many people were injured, and how many were killed.   In Chicago, all too often, the victims

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-81579081871106203532010-06-26T12:09:00.001-05:002010-06-26T12:11:29.315-05:00

 According to recent news articles, the attorney profession has been going through some very tough employment times in recent years.   According to a story on Marketplace.org, the horrid economy forced much of the class of 2009 to delay starting at a desired law firm or had to start at much lower salaries than expected.   Now that the class of 2010 is hitting the job market, the hiring situation

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-85030808322868587912010-06-23T18:24:00.000-05:002010-06-23T18:24:48.786-05:00

Mark this one down as goofy story of the month.   There is a web site called "ThinkGeek.com" which sells a variety of well, geeky stuff like Star Wars Blueprints and a cool "Pirates on Toast Jolly Roger Toast Stamp."  Recently, they received a "cease and desist" order from the National Pork Board because ThinkGeek had posted an April Fools advertisement for Canned Unicorn Meat.   Unfortunately

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-59662910378560147392010-06-13T12:53:00.000-05:002010-06-13T12:53:37.182-05:00

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was pretty funny. It'd be funnier if the actual situation wasn't such a horrendous disaster. I'd be happy to credit whoever created the image if I knew who it was.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-58308763525486375542010-06-09T11:22:00.003-05:002010-06-13T12:49:40.938-05:00

I recently commented on a story on Marketplace (NPR) about recent college graduates taking jobs on Wall Street.   My comments should be aired today on the NPR program.   The story is here.  My comment:This story reminds me of the folly of youth. What these graduates seem to be blissfully unaware of is how life unfolds and the grip a high paying job puts on people. They also seem to think that as

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-62726767688140480712010-06-04T10:04:00.001-05:002010-06-04T10:07:12.961-05:00

I'm keeping a list of things to do when I become King, and I have another item to join the list (see my main page):   Ban those 50 foot long retractable dog leashes that people use to allow their dogs to wander far off and across the bike/hike path while they yak on the phone, thereby blocking the entire walkway to bikers and pedestrians.   They then act startled that someone has to come to a

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-25976615298403984792010-05-22T12:40:00.001-05:002010-05-22T12:42:30.397-05:00

As the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico continues, with thousands of barrels of oil spewing largely unchecked into the ocean, I wonder why we never seem to hold anyone accountable for such disasters.   Almost two years after the economic meltdown, we've only recently even begun to investigate a single company (Goldman-Sacks) for criminal or civil misconduct leading to the worst economic collapse

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-68663295790011346522010-04-19T14:38:00.000-05:002010-04-19T14:38:28.125-05:00

Marketplace on National Public Radio had an intriguing and even uplifting story recently about an unusual partnership.   Two companies, one marketing kosher meats, and the other selling halal meats, work fairly closely together with common goals.   The Jewish and Muslim dietary laws governing how meat is slaughtered and processed are very similar, and these two companies both decided to take it

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-47057538513735023032010-04-09T11:06:00.002-05:002010-06-04T23:00:16.534-05:00

One of the signs of a lousy economy is that those who have jobs are willing to endure things they wouldn't have a few years ago in order to keep their jobs.   This is perhaps one of the reasons that productivity levels in the US have stengthened during this Recession.   Simply put, fewer workers are performing more work, which makes them more productive.   Less happy, more tired, more stressed,

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-2197795417876404852010-04-05T17:43:00.002-05:002011-03-15T00:27:34.567-05:00

I received a fairly clever email recently in which the unknown author (if you know who wrote it, I'll be happy to attribute it) deflates the Right-wing rhetoric which disparagingly refers to the recent health care reform as "socialized medicine."  The email is in the form of a pledge to avoid a lengthy list of other "socialist" services (the email is at the end of this post). In the US, the term

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-10142835173601149792010-04-04T12:18:00.000-05:002010-04-04T12:18:43.008-05:00

The weirdness in question is the behavior of the Texas School Board, which has been in the news lately regarding it's curriculum adoptions.   The Board has been controlled by a group of what many refer to as extremist evangelicals who have determined that all school textbooks in Texas must follow their agenda, which apparently is not primarily based on facts, but on their beliefs.   Case in point

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-75668519624945993952010-03-27T11:04:00.002-05:002010-03-27T11:11:57.868-05:00

The State of Illinois is currently imploding financially and the politicians of both major parties seem unwilling to actually deal with the problems.   They persist in pointing fingers at the "other" party and sticking their heads in the sand.   For decades, both Republicans and Democrats have trumpeted "no tax increase" and convinced the public that State government (including all that it

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-88538493686081831972010-03-21T16:58:00.000-05:002010-03-21T16:58:03.284-05:00

I'm a long time member and supporter of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), but I have to say I  disagree with the organization's position in a lawsuit involving anonymous speech at a newspaper web site in Illinois.   The case and EFF's position are covered here.  Essentially, the son of a local candidate engaged in a heated "discussion" with an anonymous poster, and the candidate felt that

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-39894547882433596762010-02-25T11:27:00.004-06:002010-02-25T11:31:07.844-06:00

We've heard a lot in recent years about how the American electorate is tired of the partisan bickering and polarized politics.   Americans want cooperation to resolve problems and an end to the current governmental paralysis, or so we've been told. Recently, Scott Brown was elected to the US Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts.  Brown is an avowed conservative and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-30887900504227908872010-02-24T17:29:00.001-06:002010-02-24T17:31:01.779-06:00

Well, as long as I'm talking petitions today, here's another one worthy of consideration: the insurance anti-trust exemption that the industry has enjoyed since 1945. This online petition is from Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont and urges the Senate to follow the House of Representatives action in bringing this out of control industry under anti-trust regulation.America's health insurance companies

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-68352774360856013162010-02-24T17:13:00.002-06:002010-02-24T17:16:06.608-06:00

Back on 08/31/2009, I posted about the decision of the Whirlpool Corporation to close an Indiana plant and move the operation to Mexico, with a loss of more than a thousand American jobs.   The closure date is now approaching and the AFL/CIO has a petition online to ask Whirlpool to reconsider: The Whirlpool Corp. plans to start closing its refrigerator plant in Evansville, Ind., on March 26. The

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-9718527058530420202010-02-22T10:40:00.000-06:002010-02-22T10:40:32.208-06:00

Remember that old toothpaste jingle?   "You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent?"  Well, you should wonder where the money went, when your government raided the Social Security Trust Fund (SSTF).  Hum it to the tune of "Liar Liar Pants On Fire."   This article outlines what happened to $1.37 TRILLION of SSTF money during the GW Bush Presidency.   Despite his

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-54280198058696957622010-02-21T22:54:00.002-06:002010-02-22T10:44:42.995-06:00

Well, another American company has decided to "reduce expenses" and is closing down a local call center in favor of outsourcing the operation.  Redbox is the outfit that maintains soda machine size vending machines all around the country, at which you can rent $1 videos.  The business model is killing Blockbuster and even attracting attention from Netflix.  While news reports aren't specific

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-45429198744827312732010-02-13T16:56:00.002-06:002010-02-13T17:00:39.710-06:00

One of the benefits of a democracy is that the citizens have the right to vote.  One of the problems in a democracy is that the citizens have the right to vote even if they have no clue what's going on.   For the entire history of our Republic, there have been countless elections in which very few voters bothered to vote.   Even during the formation of the nation, as school kids used to be

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-87479246844911249982010-02-01T00:25:00.000-06:002010-02-01T00:25:52.784-06:00

Ah, the continuing saga of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) inability to distinguish between al-Qaida operatives and 8 year old kids from New Jersey.  The NY Times article tells the story of Mikey Hicks, who has spent countless hours of his young life getting frisked at various airports, starting when he was about 2 years old.   Yes, two years old. Why are our security systems

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-39327086266009603222010-01-17T12:24:00.003-06:002010-01-17T12:35:48.635-06:00

There appears to be no end of the USA's inability to get security right. This incident would be funny, if it wasn't so lame. The FBI decided to produce one of those age-progression photos of Osama bin Laden since he's aged over the years he's been hiding out in the mountains. Unfortunately, the FBI seems to have used Photoshop Lite (and perhaps a trainee photo analyst?) and essentially used

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-81390453530773233942010-01-16T10:49:00.004-06:002010-01-16T11:09:02.850-06:00

Our government's repeated efforts to accumulate information about us results in us being less secure rather than more. This article ("The backfiring of the surveillance state") is from Salon.com, and author Glenn Greenwald gives two main reasons why this is true:(1) eliminating strict content limits on what can be surveilled (along with enforcement safeguards, such as judicial warrants) means

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-45277291283582926422010-01-07T13:23:00.008-06:002010-01-07T14:14:57.007-06:00

This article is about the difference between what we in the U.S. and the Israeli's call airport security. It's about actually addressing the problem (keeping bad people out of airports and off flights) instead of inconveniencing everyone except the bad people. You can find the Toronto Star article here. The word of the day is "Israelification."While North America's airports groan under the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-81375042738493984192010-01-02T11:35:00.006-06:002010-01-02T11:55:53.826-06:00

I couldn't decide what to title this post. It's about two news articles (although I'm not certain they warrant the label "news").In the first article, a woman was found passed out in a stolen van in S. Dakota recently, and her blood alcohol level (0.708) appears to have set a state record. In fact, it was so high, it was nearly double the fatal alcohol level for half the population. She was

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-14484686269141717982009-12-30T15:41:00.007-06:002010-01-20T14:48:05.112-06:00

(EDIT 1/20/2010-See below) This article ("Another Reason America Is At War") from the Chicago Sun-Times pretty much says it all. It's consistent with the notion that the only reason why the U.S. hasn't suffered a catastrophic terrorist attack since 2001 is because al Qaeda keeps sending incompetent mopes to attack us (i.e., Richard Reid and the latest chuckle-head). For some years after 9/11,

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-92223494843003711052009-12-26T16:31:00.008-06:002010-01-16T11:12:14.980-06:00

So another dim bulb supposedly sent by al Qaeda has tried to blow up an American jet preparing to land in Detroit. Predictably, Homeland Security has "tightened" security rules in the aftermath. So far, we don't know much beyond the flight started in Nigeria, flew to Amsterdam, and then to Detroit. How this mope managed to get explosive materials on the flight remains to be seen, but the new

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-19306622483695414092009-12-22T23:18:00.005-06:002009-12-24T15:16:31.806-06:00

Back in October, I wrote about Jon Stewart's lampooning of Republican Senators who had voted against a Defense Dept. bill to ban contractors from restricting employee rights to go to court over workplace discrimination, including workplace rape.Well, the legislation introduced by freshman Senator Al Franken was eventually passed and has now been signed into law by the President. You can read

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-49330466609377873392009-12-18T11:23:00.004-06:002009-12-18T11:42:11.259-06:00

Two newspaper articles this week highlight a growing problem: lots of people with opinions, but not necessarily much information. One is a local story and the other is a global one. And underlying this issue is the fact that a growing number of organizations, both mass media outlets (newspapers, television, and their web presences) and what I'll call non-media (everything else), feel compelled

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-29632883412108614922009-12-16T10:52:00.003-06:002009-12-16T10:55:51.043-06:00

Added some new links to climate change articles. One is from the BBC and consists of a slideshow on how residents are adapting to climate changes (flooding) in Vietnam. Another is an article from Discover Magazine investigating whether the core of the Antarctic icepack is melting.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-55057653232743345902009-12-08T11:10:00.004-06:002009-12-08T11:20:38.903-06:00

Who knew that there once was a fairly large Jewish population in Montana? In the 19th century, Helena had a synagogue that seated 500 people. This article is about the fact that today there are three Rabbis in Montana. The story deals with a problem with the Helena police department's Israeli trained police dog, named named Miky:Miky, pronounced Mikey, is in a Diaspora of his own. He was

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-15746253733411233442009-12-06T12:14:00.003-06:002009-12-06T12:23:51.909-06:00

My friend Pat sent me these and I thought they were both insightful and hilarious! Hope you enjoy. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.There is great need for a

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-11390912882186097192009-12-05T20:01:00.005-06:002009-12-16T10:52:24.351-06:00

I have run into an annoying number of people lately who still don't "believe" that global warming is happening, or that humans are largely responsible for it. I doubt that there's any way to convince them to read the research, since they've apparently already passed up that opportunity numerous times. The information is out there; for some reason, some people would rather dismiss it as some

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-41016440524595220572009-11-28T16:45:00.004-06:002009-11-28T17:37:55.627-06:00

It's entirely possible that the world is coming to an end. Not because of anything the Religious Right has foreseen, or Glenn Beck, or even Sarah Palin. No, the universe may be verging on imploding because Harriet Carter, the online version of the decades old catalog purveyor of gadgets and trinkets none of us ever knew we actually needed, is on Twitter.Harriet Carter has been selling stuff

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-37522910177385738522009-11-22T13:37:00.012-06:002009-12-18T11:43:01.904-06:00

I'm not sure what to make of the fact that there seems to be a vocal minority in the US that still doesn't believe than humans created the world's pollution levels and that the pollution has caused global temperatures to rise over the years and that this temperature rise is a threat to us. If you use the commentary section on newspaper web sites as an indicator, it would appear that there are an

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-46686761619473086382009-11-07T11:58:00.008-06:002009-12-06T12:23:35.138-06:00

This post may be about the goofiest story for the month: the wife of a Florida health care executive faked being kidnapped by a mechanic and tried to extort ransom money from her wealthy husband. The Associated Press account can be found here.I thought one of the strangest aspects of the story are the names of the principals. The wife's name is Quinn Gray, the husband's name is Reid Gray, and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-30640721481807693762009-11-07T11:22:00.005-06:002009-11-07T11:53:19.268-06:00

There's been a lot of coverage this past week over the recent vote in Maine repealing gay marriage in that State. I know that much, if not most, of the funding on both sides of the issue came from outside Maine, and that fact bothers me. I don't like the idea of "outside" money being used to sway "local" opinions on a referendum. I get lots of emails soliciting financial support for lobbying

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-60261446507797081652009-10-17T13:36:00.007-05:002009-10-17T22:29:07.725-05:00

Here's a thought: why can't we have not-for-profit health insurance companies? Why are we forever stuck with companies whose primary objective is to make a profit? And since they are for-profit entities (in the USA), should it really be any surprise that their executives make millions and millions of dollars each year? Why would a for-profit health insurance company behave any differently

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-5530817805869990402009-10-15T16:15:00.009-05:002009-12-22T23:29:09.880-06:00

I know why a lot of the younger generation get most of their news from Comedy Central; that's where Jon Stewart lives. I don't know why the "mainstream" media didn't find time or space to blast this story all over the country, but fortunately Jon Stewart did.Seems that Senator Al Franken introduced legislation that would ban the Pentagon from contracting with any company that forces women

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-52461700571402076422009-10-10T11:30:00.008-05:002009-12-26T17:09:29.950-06:00

Back in August I posted twice about gun control (once about gun nuts protesting President Obama in Arizona and a follow-up about Travel Guru Arthur Frommer recommending tourists avoid Arizona because of their lack of gun control). There was no actual violence mentioned in either post, just the potential.Unfortunately, this article is all about violence. It seems that Melanie Hain was a major

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-80781428998419084702009-10-09T23:20:00.007-05:002009-10-09T23:35:08.504-05:00

So President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 and it seems like an awful lot of people have their underwear in knots over it. I was as surprised as anyone else when I heard the announcement, but I don't understand much of the reaction as presented by the major media outlets. Everyone seems to have opinions that they have no problem sharing with the rest of us. It's not really

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-58894885916320893752009-09-30T18:03:00.009-05:002009-10-01T10:49:02.766-05:00

It's perfectly curmudgeonly for me to wish Rio well in the race to be "awarded" the 2016 Olympic Games. I live in Chicagoland, and Mayor Daley wants the Olympics so badly he can undoubtedly taste it. I have been indifferent about it, but I've come to the conclusion that we'd be better off if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selects Rio or Madrid or anywhere but Chicago. I just don't

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-12415590537397441852009-09-25T14:22:00.004-05:002009-09-25T14:59:07.805-05:00

This post is about a series of Daily Herald stories about the sportsmanship lesson that a couple of local high school football coaches delivered this week. The Elgin (IL) High School junior varsity team includes an autistic senior who doesn't get much time on the field. Lake Park coach Nana Agyeman .... talked to Elgin's head coach, Dave Bierman, about it. He learned the player, Winfred Cooper,

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353478073669563197.post-6682727168425834952009-09-24T22:06:00.006-05:002009-09-24T22:22:38.982-05:00

My wife is a huge fan of HGTV (Home and Garden TV). It's an addiction of some sort, I suspect. One of the few things we ever argue about is how often the TV is tuned to that cable network. In my opinion, it has a huge assortment of idiotic programs, many of which involve people doing ridiculous remodeling of their homes in the hope that they'll be able to sell them. There's another

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11966881042623200119noreply@blogger.com0