The FCC is being inundated with mail regarding the Victoria’s Secret lingerie show earlier in the week. Read the story. What did people tune in expecting to see?
Author: marc
Marc is a software developer, writer, and part-time political know-it-all who currently resides in Texas in the good ol' U.S.A.
Court to Veterans: No Promised Medical Care
A federal appeals court agreed with the Defense Department that veterans promised they would get free lifetime health care if they stayed in the service 20 years do not have valid contracts because the assurances were not backed up by law. Read the AP story on Yahoo. What goes through the mind of the bureaucrats…
Islamic Conspiracy Showing Itself
Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiah, a radical Islamic group in Indonesia says the Bali bombing was an American conspiracy to justify and prove this argument that Indonesia was a terrorist cell. “Because of their hatred towards Islam they are pointing their accusation to me,” he says with self-pity.Read the BBC story. Iraqi…
New Zealand Toughens Immigration: Whither the US?
New Zealand will toughen immigration laws in an attempt to keep out “less productive” immigrants. Read the BBC article. The U.S. should do the same, at least on a temporary basis. Persons from countries known to support terrorist should be thoroughly vetted or denied entry. Countries we have solid relationships with, such as Canada, Mexico…
Should We Make Last Call Earlier?
There’s quite a debate in England regarding extending pub hours. Read a nay-sayer’s opinion piece. Perhaps we should consider shortening them here in the old U.S. of A. One can hear the drunken cries of “hic, I know when I’s had ’nuff” even across the digital divide. Want to cut down on drunk-driving? Keep your…
Prosecutor’s Change of Heart
Marc Shiner used to prosecute murderers; now he defends them. Read about what changed his life in the N.Y. Times. One imagines the difficulties in feeling responsible for incarcerating a 13-year-old for the rest of his life are tremendous. This must be particularly so if you believe the young man can be rehabilitated. Marc Shiner’s…
Big Thicket Threatened?
The Big Thicket National Preserve may be getting some new neighbors – housing developments. Read the story in the Houston Chronicle. Living in what’s rapidly becoming suburbia as I do, I see the development of lands in my area as a nuisance at best. It was inevitable, however, that my immediate area be spoiled by…
Legacy of 9/11: Big Brother
The Department of Homeland Security is coming. Will our privacy be destroyed under its heel? Student newspapers rarely have meaningful contents, but read Matt Chock’s essay in the Cornell Daily Sun on this subject. Consider also what the N.Y. Times has to say. Are you prepared to live under the microscope? Don’t think it can…
Miss Cleo Settles with FTC
Miss Cleo’s psychic hot line agreed Thursday to cancel $500 million in customer bills. Read the CNN.com story. There’s irony in this quote: “The amount involved eclipses the record $215 million that Citigroup Inc. agreed to repay customers in September to settle deceptive lending charges involving mortgages and credit insurance.” Perhaps Wall Street insiders and…
Safe Seats? Term Limits are the Answer
The L.A. Times reports that only five of the 153 races in the recent election were true contests. Read the story. Since politicians seem to have adopted gerrymandering as a means of preserving their jobs, there’s only one way to get them out of office: term limits. Incumbents hate term limits, which is nearly enough…