The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    DF's picture

    Obama and State Secrets

    I've been sitting on this one for a bit now, but I feel it's time to break the silence.  For those that don't read him, Glenn Greenwald has been quite persistent in covering this story.  For my money, he's the best read on the topic.

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    Deadman's picture

    The dagbuzz for 3/2/09: (Abuse, Co-Dependency and Fear of Change)

    Today, I discuss codependent, abusive relationships, and our general resistance to change. Deadman understands the deal. He, too, just wants to relive the good old days and focus on things that will always stay the same, like the Middle East conflict.

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    Orlando's picture

    Penguins and Dragons and Reason, Oh My: A Visit to the Creation Museum

    Because of distance and three adorable and energetic kids, my best friend and I rarely have the luxury of spending time alone. But last Friday, we had the pleasure of spending an entire afternoon together. After lunch, we found ourselves at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and after wandering the galleries for about a half-hour, I asked an innocent question about other museums in the area. With a mischievous grin, my friend informed me that the Creation Museum was just a short drive over the state line into Kentucky.

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    DF's picture

    You Down With GOP?

    So, I'm assuming that plenty of people have seen this gem by now:

    Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

    DF's picture

    Stemming the Tide of Ethical Resistance to Stem Cell Technology

    From the Guardian:

    In a breakthrough that could have huge implications, British and Canadian scientists have found a way of reprogramming skin cells taken from adults, effectively winding the clock back on the cells until they were in an embryonic form.

    The work has been hailed as a major step forward by scientists and welcomed by pro-life organisations, who called on researchers to halt other experiments which use stem cells collected from embryos made at IVF clinics.

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    Deadman's picture

    The dagbuzz for 3/1/09: (Obama's War on the Wealthy)

    Been away all week on business, listening to my colleagues and the talking heads on CNBC bitch and moan about Obama's budget and economic policies. They believe he's declaring war on the wealthy and is going to destroy the economy with his increased tax hikes.

    Are you fucking kidding me?!?

    Oh yeah, I feel a rant coming on ...

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    DF's picture

    States Going to Pot or Pot Going to States or... Something

    I didn't really believe the headline when I read it, but here's the deal:

    U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is sending strong signals that President Obama - who as a candidate said states should be allowed to make their own rules on medical marijuana - will end raids on pot dispensaries in California.

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    DF's picture

    Fixing Finance

    So, I've gotten kind of impatient with waiting for Geithner or Bernanke or someone to explain exactly what they're going to do with the banking system.  I know that nationalization is way too scary to contemplate, despite the fact that the process the word actually refers to in this context has been ongoing with smaller banks and doesn't represent anything even remotely approaching permanent government ownership of these institutions, but what is the "public-private partnership" of which they speak?

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    Deadman's picture

    Brother, can you spare some wisdom?

    I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth. - Umberto Eco

    Where the fuck is my wisdom?

    Seriously, wisdom was supposed to part of the deal, the salve that soothes amidst aging's unceasing, unending parade of insults and torments. I am now well into my 36th year - my hair is thinning, my back is creaking, my sex drive is waning.

    Wisdom should be accumulating, dammit.

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    DF's picture

    Burning Question: The Coleman Factor

    The U.S. Presidential election of 2000 still evokes uncomfortable memories of election regularities, former Secretaries of State waxing legal and some stodgy butthole named Chad.  Even though the whole debacle had to be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which seemed to take for-eh-ver, the resolution was reached in a tidy 38 days.

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