10/31/2010

Day off.

10/30/2010

1. Authorities in the UK and Duabai on Friday intercepted two packages containing explosive materials aboard US bound cargo planes.  The packages, sent from Yemen and addressed to synagogues in Chicago, were described as “viable,” or strong enough to take down the planes had they been detonated.  The explosive materials were placed inside ink cartridges and had cell-phone SIM cards attached, presumably acting as detonators.  The President addressed the matter on Friday and confirmed this was a credible threat and assured us that our fight against terrorism is both unwavering and vigilant.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11657486

The kin of the benighted media whore Sarah Palin and bloviating demagogue Rush Limpdick will shamelessly permeate this story of vigilance with misinformation.  They’ll stoke the fears abound in an already distressed American psyche.  They’ll play their petty politics to paint President Obama, and anyone who supports him in this upcoming election, as soft on terrorism.  This is the midnight surprise republicans were waiting for.  Don’t be duped.  Keep sane.

2.  Today Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert hold their much hyped “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.”  Colbert is a funny dude: he gave his latest Fear medal to Anderson Cooper’s tight black t-shirt.  “When Mr. Cooper shows up wearing it in your neighborhood, he says, it should compel ‘an irresistible urge to stock up on water, duct tape, toilet paper and ammunition.'”  Here’s a NY Times live blog.  http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/live-blog-rally-to-restore-sanity-andor-fear/?hp

10/29/2010

I’m busy today so I’ll keep this short.

1.  Longshot democratic candidate Kendrick Meek denies that former President Clinton urged him to drop out of the US Senate race.  Meek maintains that he will remain in the race and that his supporters should not throw their votes behind independent candidate Charlie Crist–which could stymie the election of the front running, and Tea Party wonder boy, Marco Rubio.  http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/28/1897366/meek-no-one-told-me-to-quit.html

2.  Papa Dukes recognized by United Way of Miami-Dade. http://www.plan.gs/Article.do?orgId=344&articleId=16428

10/28/2010

1.  I’d be remiss to not mention the disastrous tsunami that battered the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia.  If I were good at this whole blog thing I would have posted this story days ago when it occurred, but clearly I’m not.  Regardless, here’s the link to the BBC’s coverage.  Over 340 people are confirmed dead and hundreds more are still missing.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11642086

2.  Nick Kristof is back from reporting in Afghanistan and takes to the pot shops in California.  He supports proposition 19 to legalize marijuana in next week’s elections.  He argues that the state spends exorbitant amounts of money enforcing marijuana laws– money that would be better spent improving schools and neighborhoods.  In addition, this issue should strike a sympathetic chord with minorities, as marijuana laws inequitably impact blacks and Latinos.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/opinion/28kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

3.  This just to follow-up on a previous post.  The New York Times editorial page implores the Supreme Court to uphold the healthcare mandate when the issue inevitably comes before it.  The mandate is the linchpin for healthcare reform, as it allows insurance pools to grow large enough to draw down costs and make possible other provisions within the bill.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/opinion/28thurs3.html?ref=opinion

10/27/2010

1.  Here are the The Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel 2010 midterm election guides.  Review the candidates and the amendments, sit back and let it marinate, then fill out a sample ballot.  It’s fun and one of the very few civic duties we have as U.S. citizens.  Also, if you wait until November 2nd to vote, it’s a great excuse to take the morning off from work.  I, however, will be voting this weekend.

Decide on your own.

Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/voters-guide/index.html

Sun Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/elections/

 

10/26/2010

1.  The Financial Times‘ Clive Crook argues that healthcare reform may prove President Obama’s heaviest burden.  If republicans are victorious in next week’s elections they’ll surely see this as a sweeping repudiation of his policies– especially health reform.  Regardless of the practicality of repealing the law, republicans are hellbent on at least trying.  Echoing a similar argument by Justice Stephen Breyer in his new book, the court historically shows deference to far-reaching legislation.  This will be a defining case for the Roberts court.  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/49215288-df95-11df-bed9-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss

2.  The Atlantic posted a great primer on various relevant finance and the economic topics.   I’m posting this because in the upcoming weeks the Federal Reserve will announce new measures to deal with the reeling economy.   Enjoy, fellow nerds.  http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/10/a-laymans-guide-to-the-next-big-stimulus/65123/

3.   Tonight is the night Heat fans have been waiting for since early July when LeBron James announced he’d be “taking [his] talents to South Beach.”  Tonight’s opener in Boston is certainly the most hyped opening day basketball game in recent history.  The Heat signed Jerry Stackhouse, a veteran wingman and uncertain piece of the Heat puzzle, after 3-point shooter Mike Miller broke his thumb during practice earlier this week.  http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/10/23/jerry-stackhouse-joins-the-miami-heat/

4.  During a 2004  Senate debate against Barack Obama, republican opponent Alan Keyes claims the separation of church and state “is found nowhere in the constitution”.  I guess Christine O’Donnell is a kindred spirit.  I wonder if Alan Keyes received equal pillory from the media.  http://j.mp/dprCzk (See 46 min mark.)

10/25/2010

1.  Idiocy has reached its apogee one week from election day.  Christine O’Donell, Delaware’s self-professed strict constructionist, isn’t aware that the first amendment calls for a separation of church and state; Nevada’s Sharon Angle thinks “second amendment remedies” may be necessary if she’s defeated; and New York Gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan says “The Rent Is Too Damn High!”  Here are some poll numbers.  Is this really happening?  http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/senate

2.  Following up on yesterday’s post about the outbreak of cholera in Haiti, the country continues to pray for the best and prepare for the worst.  With more than 250 deaths and 3,100 reported cases, authorities are issuing public safety announcements stressing hygiene and are distributing soap and water purification tablets.  This acute bacterial infection causes violent diarrhea and vomiting, and can claim a victim in less than five hours.  After fifty years of near dormancy, cholera is staging an epic comeback.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/world/americas/25haiti.html?hp

3.  Talk about a fall from grace.  Allen Iverson, the six-foot point guard who in 2001 single handedly led a mediocre 76ers team to the NBA finals, signs with the Besiktas of the Turkish professional league.  http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/10/24/report-allen-iverson-has-agreed-to-sign-deal-to-play-in-turkey/

10/24/2010

1.  Many news outlets today are running front page stories about the possibility of an outbreak of Cholera in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and in the Artibonite region and Central Plateau.  This disease could be devastating to the one-million plus displaced survivors of January’s earthquake, who live in tents and have scant access to clean water and food. With roughly 200 deaths and over 2,600 reported cases, the resolute Haitian people are being offered no reprieve. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11614639

2.   Pop quiz: Do you hate taxes?  Do you hate Woodrow Wilson?  If you answered yes to these questions then you might be a modern-day Fox News republican.  Denounced by Glenn Beck and his adherents, Woodrow Wilson has been resurrected as a cipher for all that is evil in government and, more broadly, the world.  David Greenberg argues in this piece that though Wilson did indeed “…unquestionably [bolster] the powers of the presidency and the states in early 20th-century America,” he was a moderate and cerebral leader, and in tune with the country’s zeitgeist.  Clearly, every story needs a villain.  http://www.slate.com/id/2271202/pagenum/all/#p2

10/23/2010

1.  Despite heavy discouragement from the United States and other governments, Wikileaks, the whistle blowing organization headed by the elusive Julian Assange, released yet another trove of classified documents.  Among the revelations: excessive detainee and prisoner abuse by Iraqi police, civilian casualties by Iraqi and American troops, and Iran’s shadowy political and military aid to Iraq.  Here is analysis by the New York Times, one of four news outlets who received the leaked documents.  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/war-logs.html

2.  Here’s a plain english analysis of this past week’s Supreme Court arguments.  Lately I’ve been on a Supreme Court kick, for reasons I’m not even sure of, and I find this stuff pretty interesting.  The intellectual wherewithal it takes to argue Supreme Court cases, let alone be a Supreme Court Justice, amazes me.   The devil is always in the details.  http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/10/octobers-arguments-in-plain-english/

3. Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune addresses one of the Obama administration’s most taxing problems: the gap between public perception and reality.   http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-oped-1020-page-20101020,0,3101955.column

4.  The Texas Rangers wait to battle either the San Francisco Giants or Philadelphia Phillies in their first ever World Series appearance.  A proud Texas native, Jim Reeves, writes: “This wasn’t just about the new Nolan Ryan-Chuck Greenberg Rangers, a different kind of Rangers team than any we’ve ever seen before; this was also about all those Rangers teams from the past, the ones who sometimes teased us, tantalized us and almost always disappointed us.”  http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/columns/story?columnist=reeves_jim&id=5717024

 

10/22/2010

1.  I must tell you something.  My name is Tomas, and I’m a Dave Matthews fan.  Ah, it feels good to get that off my chest.  Dave’s music is like a hard drug:  the more you listen, the more copious amounts of it you need.  Good thing because he and the band tour endlessly (that is, until their 1 year sabbatical beginning in Jan 2011), and in December, Dave and longtime collaborator and guitar virtuoso Tim Reynolds will be performing a two night acoustic set in Seattle.  The rub? Ticket purchases are transfered into a credit that can be used at the website JustGive.org, and applied toward the charity of the purchaser’s choosing.  http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/10/21/dave-matthews-to-allow-fans-to-donate-tickets-proceeds-to-charity/?mod=rss_WSJBlog

2.  NPR commentator Juan Williams on Thursday was fired after making anti-Muslim American remarks on Fox News.  Some argue (primarily the left) that though Williams, of course, has first amendment rights, he should exhibit restraint over his comments…being a professional commentator and all.  NPR strives to maintain a certain political tone, they say, therefore his firing was deserved comeuppance.   Others (read: the right) think he was simply explaining the panic he feels when Muslims are on the same airplane as him, and that this sort of speech is perfectly justifiable.  Hmm.  Listen, I think the public is much too quick to dismiss politicians and public commentators for gaffes.  And networks and news outlets get caught up in their public image and fail to properly digest situations.  But in this by-the-second news cycle world, should misguided quick action trump thoughtful pragmatism?  Slate’s Christopher Beam explains that regardless if we think Williams’ firing was right or wrong, NPR was perfectly within their rights to do so.  http://www.slate.com/id/2271949/

3.  As previously mentioned, Britain’s fiscal austerity measures are a huge deal.  Paul Krugman takes his first jab at the UK’s actions in today’s New York Times op-ed section.  “As always, those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/opinion/22krugman.html?ref=opinion