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Monthly Archives: September 2014

Deliver yourself from evil

When Google was founded it adopted a motto: “Don't be evil”. At least at Google, that motto has long since been set aside, and to the rest of us, it has merely become ironic. Now Apple has taken a slight swing at Google, and I thought I would highlight it a bit. Now, don't get […]

This passes for progress in today’s world

Well, here's some good news and bad news: The Department of Defense released proposed rules today targeting the practices of a broad range of high-cost lenders and prohibiting them from charging service members interest rates over 36 percent. The new rules would overhaul the Military Lending Act, which, when enacted in 2007, narrowly defined potentially […]

The future of education

We should never forget that a substantial number of the people who are getting rich in this land of ever increasing inequality are doing so by sucking hard at the government teat. Among the worst offenders is the relatively new for-profit education industry. There was a time when even the rich kept their hands off […]

Be afraid, be very afraid

Scott Brown, the New Hampshire carpetbagger, is attacking Jeanne Shaheen for failing to understand the existential threat posed by a relative handful of religious nut-jobs half a world away: >“Radical Islamic terrorists are threatening to cause the collapse of our country,” Mr. Brown says. “President Obama and Senator Shaheen seem confused about the nature of […]

Signs of Hope

Every once in a while something happens that makes you think all hope is not lost. These days, that qualifies as good news, so this counts as a good news post. Hundreds of Colorado high school students walked out of school Tuesday to protest a conservative history curriculum their town’s recently elected far-right school board is proposing: […]

Obvious Day

Today, a few observations on the obvious. First, watch this relatively short video.  [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCvf8E7V1g&w=560&h=315] At Buzzflash they’re reporting that the folks at TED have pulled this video off their site on the grounds that his remarks were “too politically controversial”. Now, the fact is that any reasonably informed person watching this video would be convinced, because there’s […]

Hope Springs Eternal

Over at Think Progress they want us to believe that the new Archbishop of Chicago is the harbinger of a new age for the Catholic Church in America. Don't believe it. Francis himself has brought, and will bring, no substantive change to the Catholic Church. He is simply better at PR than his Nazi loving […]

A mystery

So, it looks like John McCain may get his war, inasmuch as the Congress has voted to authorize U.S. aid to the rebels in Syria. The rebels are the “good guys”. For the moment. Anyway, this got me to thinking. It is an article of faith among Republicans that the government can’t do anything right. […]

California Dumps the Hedge Funds

I have to confess that my promised weekly “good news” posts have been infrequent of late. This is partly due to a slowdown in posting, but mostly due to a dearth of good news, what with the U.S. about to get itself embroiled in another unwinnable war and all. But, here is some good news: […]

Fixed Delusions

Without going into details, I have lately, in my role as an attorney, had a frustrating time trying to get a mental health agency to help a client deal with a tenant who is mentally ill, paranoid and delusional. We think she is at risk of harming herself, but they say that while she has […]