Category: Uncategorized

Congress, Politics, Uncategorized

The GOP Continues to Wage War on Women with H. R. 358

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

The GOP continues to wage its war on women’s rights. Last week, the House passed HR 358. HR 358, ironically named the “Protect Life Act,” could be the cause of women being left to die in hospital emergency rooms without treatment if the bill becomes a law—which is unlikely since President Obama has already released a statement in opposition to the bill.

Here’s a brief explanation of the bill from Human Rights Watch:

Bill Would Permit Hospitals to Let Women in Need of Care Die

(Washington, DC) – The United States House of Representatives approved a bill on October 13, 2011, that would put women’s lives at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, if it becomes law, would reverse longstanding federal policy requiring hospitals to provide life-saving care regardless of expense, Human Rights Watch said.

The Protect Life Act, HR 358, would amend the healthcare reform law to grant hospitals far-reaching powers to deny patients abortion care, without any exception for emergency situations. US law currently requires hospitals receiving federal funds to provide emergency care to anyone in need up to the point at which they can be stabilized or transferred, if the original hospital is incapable of providing the care they need.

“The misnamed Protect Life Act is about allowing women to die if they need an emergency abortion,” said Meghan Rhoad, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It is a vicious attack on women’s rights and on the most basic right to life.”

Continue reading “The GOP Continues to Wage War on Women with H. R. 358” →

Academia, Environment, Politics, Science, Uncategorized

The Mercatus Center: A Tentacle of the Deregulation-Loving Kochtopus Helping in the Effort to Deny Climate Change and Eviscerate the EPA

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

From Climate Science Watch (March 18, 2010): To the libertarians, the widely-shared scientific assessment that human-caused climate change will likely produce major harmful consequences — and the communication of this evidence to the public by the leading climate scientists — poses a particularly serious threat. An informed public concerned about the likelihood of harmful impacts of unchecked global climatic disruption is more likely to call for significant government action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In order to block proactive government policymaking and keep corporate interests unregulated, libertarian groups have focused a significant part of their efforts on climate change on distorting the science to confuse public opinion, denying the seriousness of the problem, and, most recently, impugning the integrity of the climate science community. The Koch brothers have stepped forward with deep pockets to bankroll such efforts.
Continue reading “The Mercatus Center: A Tentacle of the Deregulation-Loving Kochtopus Helping in the Effort to Deny Climate Change and Eviscerate the EPA” →

Uncategorized

Sundays and Sports with Julia Anna

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

So…I get this baby gift recently from one of my Grammy’s good friends. It’s a pink Red Sox hat. My mom—who happens to be a big fan of the Boston baseball team–loved it. She put it on me and made my grandma take a picture. Mom wanted me to wear it proudly every time she took me for a walk.

Little did my mom know when I got that gift that the Red Sox would collapse like a pup tent in a hurricane at the end of the regular baseball season. What a bunch of losers! From what I’ve overheard my parents talking about this week—the curse of the Bambino must have been reactivated! I wonder how long the curse will hang around this time???

Continue reading “Sundays and Sports with Julia Anna” →

Uncategorized

Banned Books Week: Just a Lot of Propaganda Says Jonah Goldberg

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Banned Books Weeks 2011 will be observed September 24-October 1.

 

Jonah Goldberg claims that Banned Books Week (BBW) is nothing but hype. In a column he penned for USA Today in early September, Goldberg wrote that BBW “is an exercise in propaganda.” He continued, “For starters, as a legal matter no book in America is banned, period, full stop (not counting, I suppose, some hard-core illegal child porn or some such out there). Any citizen can go to a bookstore or Amazon.com and buy any book legally in print — or out of print for that matter.”

Continue reading “Banned Books Week: Just a Lot of Propaganda Says Jonah Goldberg” →

Columns, International, Justice, Politics, Religion, Society, Uncategorized

The Christian Zionist Movement and Jewish Confusion

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

Most people who regularly visit this blog know that I am Jewish. While I am not what one would call a pious Jew, being a Deist in outlook, I have always been very proud of my ethnicity and of the religion, which plays a central part in it. From their infancy, my children were immersed in Judaism both through education and by our family regularly taking part in Jewish Rituals, including regular Synagogue attendance. Where I part personally from normative Judaism is that I view the Torah, The Five Books of Moses, as primarily allegory with some real history thrown in. To me it is a work of some wise and some not so wise men, not the writings of God. I believe and have seen demonstrated in many families though, that the Torah and its 613 Commandments can serve as blueprint for living a fulfilling life.

The issue becomes complicated when it comes to my feelings about Israel. To me the existence ofI srael is a necessity for Jews to have a future in this world and if it comes to it, a final haven to make our last stand. I am an American first, so I would not willingly emigrate away from the country of my birth, unless those who hate Jews come to power. Contrary to the opinion of many, Jews are far from being a homogeneous ethnicity/religion. One cannot for instance refer to being an Orthodox Jew with any precision of description since that movement is in itself splintered on many details of interpretation. This is true of the other main branches of Judaism: Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionism. Perhaps it is because there is no central Jewish religious authority speaking for all Jews, as much as organizations like ADL, AIPAC, et. al. would claim to, that the range of Jewish opinion is so wide on so many subjects.

This brings me to an article I read at the PublicEye.org titled: “The New Christian Zionism and the Jews”. Its’ thesis is that many Jewish supporters of Israel and the current Israeli government have allied themselves with Christian Fundamentalists whose “love” for Israel and Jews come from the wish to fulfill the prophecies of The Book of Revelations, where in fact Jews not willing to accept Jesus, will die in a horrid holocaust.  This trend has been one disturbing me for a long time. I have watched Jews and Israeli’s embrace Fundamentalist Christian support, in what to me is a shortsighted and irrational policy. This could be justified by saying that a country takes its allies where one can get them. Sometimes what seems an example of realpolitik is merely an instance of dangerously narrow opportunism, as I will elaborate.  Continue reading “The Christian Zionist Movement and Jewish Confusion” →

Uncategorized

And Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There: Illinois Justice Accused Of Receiving Massive Financial Support From State Farm Before Vote In Favor of Company

Illinois Associate Justice Lloyd Karmeier is under fire this week after a petition was filed with the court detailing what is alleged to be previously undisclosed support from State Farm Insurance Company before Karmeier voted in favor of its side in a dispute. Previously, State Farm told the court that it had given $350,000 to Karmeier. Now plaintiffs lawyers, including former Sen. Fred Thompson, allege that he actually received between $2.4 million and $4 million from State Farm sources.
Continue reading “And Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There: Illinois Justice Accused Of Receiving Massive Financial Support From State Farm Before Vote In Favor of Company” →

Uncategorized

Texas v. White

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

On November 9, 2011, Justice Antonin Scalia will preside over the reenactment of Texas v. White (1869). The event is part of the Frank C. Jones Reenactment Lecture hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society.

Each side get 20 minutes to present their case and then Justice Scalia will render his opinion. These reenactments are apparently enjoyed by the Justices who participate.

Continue reading “Texas v. White“ →

Congress, Media, Politics, Uncategorized

Pay to Say: Paul Ryan Charges His Constituents to Talk to Him

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

During the recent Congressional recess, House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) decided that he wasn’t going to hold any public face-to-face town meetings with the constituents in his district. Instead, according to Politico, he opted for town hall-style meetings that were strictly “pay-per-view.” And Ryan wasn’t the only member of Congress who chose to charge people for the privilege of speaking to them.

In a Politico article, Reid Epstein wrote:

By outsourcing the events to third parties that charge an entry fee to raise money, members of Congress can eliminate most of the riffraff while still — in some cases — allowing reporters and TV cameras for a positive local news story.

Evidently, Ryan didn’t want to be confronted at public forums with any protesters or with angry backlash or questions from voters upset with his positions on issues like taxes, Medicare, and Social Security—as he was last spring.

Continue reading “Pay to Say: Paul Ryan Charges His Constituents to Talk to Him” →

Uncategorized

ADA Ugly: Texas Professor Proposes Extending Federal Protection To Unattractive People

An opinion piece by University of Texas economics professor Daniel Hamermesh makes a novel argument that, because studies show that “ugly” people are paid less and receive lower benefits, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) should extend protection to them in the same way of workers protected from discrimination for conventional physical disabilities like blindness. This would lead to a new term “ADA Ugly” to replace “coyote ugly.” Yet, it might be a bit premature to cancel that botox and cosmetic surgery.
Continue reading “ADA Ugly: Texas Professor Proposes Extending Federal Protection To Unattractive People” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Environment, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

The Real Tea Party, Not Today’s Tea Party Fakes

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

Today I came across this fascinating exposition on a facet of American History often overlooked in our educational syllabus. The Boston Tea Party, from which today’s Tea Party takes its’ name, was actually a revolt against the dominance of the largest Multi-national Corporation of its’ time and its’ monopoly of the ubiquitous tea trade. The power of this entity came through its political dominance of the British Monarchy and with its’ compliance and enforcement of this Corporation’s needs. Contrast the actual positions of today’s “Tea Partier’s” with those whose names they usurp. I think you will find this a fascinating video and I will comment after the fold.

Continue reading “The Real Tea Party, Not Today’s Tea Party Fakes” →

Academia, Columns, Politics, Religion, Society, Uncategorized

The Best of All Possible Worlds?

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

I don’t know about you but I’ve had a bad month. I’m not talking about personal issues in my life because those are fine. I’m talking about the awful political and economic situations in this country, and I’m talking about the pain and misery felt by so many in the rest of our world. Each day it seems the news gets more depressing and I glean few hopeful signs from the news indicating that things will soon start to improve. As many here know, I am talking from the perspective of someone saved from the brink of death last year, so in a personal sense I have little complaint.

 Taking it away from the deeply personal though, I see a country and a world in apocalyptic turmoil. Not only are we overwhelmed with seeming insoluble problems, but also from my perspective, we are beset with a host of irrational political leaders and those who follow them blindly. Added to the cacophony of these politicians, of all sides may I say, we have religious leaders who have twisted their religion to fit their own emotional needs. We also have CEO’s who will put profit above all other considerations. Finally, we have a general population so absorbed in a cult of celebrity, that civic understanding and action are mere afterthoughts. Is there no hope? Continue reading “The Best of All Possible Worlds?” →

Uncategorized

Texans! Start Your Engines

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Well the exodus from Texas and its drought can proceed a little faster and Indianapolis may be a few miles closer now that the rural speed limit in the Lone Star state has been raised to 85 from the pokey 80. In a state where everything is bigger — and now faster — the good ladies and gentlemen of the legislature have seen fit to ignore the high price of gas and the need for highway safety for sake of  moving Texans around quicker.

Continue reading “Texans! Start Your Engines” →

Bizarre, Columns, Media, Military, Politics, Science, Society, Uncategorized

My Embarrassing Secret Belief

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

 In the years, I’ve spent commenting here at Professor Turley’s blog, I have presented myself as an honest person, sensible and with humane beliefs. Many regulars think of me as sort of a blog “elder statesman” and one who has a rational view of the world. There are of course others, fewer in number I assert, who think me a fool and a knave, which shows you can’t please everyone. Professor Turley himself has expressed fondness related to my tendency to be honest and open about myself personally.

 Yet through all of these years here, I have harbored a secret belief that I’ve avoided mentioning for fear that the esteem in which I’m held, will disappear in an avalanche of ridicule and disappointment. I have to admit that to a retired old guy on the wrong side of sixty years, my place here has provided comfort to my self-esteem and certainly the feeling that I can still find things in life to accomplish. To those who haven’t realized the obvious yet from my writings, I have my vanities and indeed my insecurities, so being a guest blogger has stroked those needy aspects of my ego. Since I’ve received much gratification from this, I have been loath to be completely honest about one of my more deeply held beliefs. I came across an article that impels me to break my silence and reveal this belief here and now. While in the eyes of some reading this blog, it might lower their opinion of me and expose me to ridicule, I must finally admit to you my dirty little secret.

Continue reading “My Embarrassing Secret Belief” →