Robert Costa writes for the National Review and thus has access to Republican party insiders. He confirms and expands on what I wrote about two days ago about the dilemma facing John Boehner, who is as conservative as most of his members but is powerless as a deal maker because the tools to bribe and punish people to follow his lead are simply not there anymore. So he has become largely a follower. [Read more…]
(This clip aired on September 26, 2013. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)
The Daily Show spends a considerable time on the new Iranian leader president Rouhani and the delicate diplomatic maneuvering taking place between him and president Obama. [Read more…]
A group of Muslim comedians are touring the US, hoping to use humor to combat the negative stereotypes that Muslims have here. They have made a documentary of their experiences. Here is the trailer. [Read more…]
Texas senator Ted Cruz has infuriated his Republican party leadership by boxing them in into a situation where they could not avoid looking as if they were surrendering on the Tea Party push to defund Obamacare. And sure enough, this afternoon, the Senate voted to restore funding for Obamacare in the continuing resolution bill and sent it back to the House of Representatives. [Read more…]
Of course, the particular pair of dichotomies in the figure below does not capture the full spectrum of beliefs. I, for example, do not believe in any gods because they are a totally unnecessary, evidence-free hypothesis. I am as certain of their non-existence as I am of the non-existence of Santa Claus. But where does that fit? [Read more…]
Kentucky is the home of the infamous Creation Museum, the famously ridiculous brainchild of Ken Ham that argues that the Earth is 6,000 years old and rejects any science that says otherwise. So one might be forgiven if one thinks of it as a religiously conservative state. But as I pointed out with my two earlier posts, the state Board of Education adopted a document outlining its new science standards that flatly goes counter to that image. [Read more…]
My children are now adults and live on their own and own smart phones. But we did not buy them cell phones when they were in high school. Why? For no deep reason other than a general family philosophy of not buying stuff unless you really have a need for it. [Read more…]
The Colbert Report
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(This clip aired on September 16, 2013. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)
Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel sent his crew out to interview people who attended the Fashion Week activities in New York. The crew threw out names of people who were NOT designers and asked the attendees what they thought of their creations. The people reacted as if they were familiar with the names and their designs and the show played those clips. [Read more…]