"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by Ugh Does the rest of the world point and laugh, scratch their head in puzzlement, or silently rage at the hypocrisy of it all when the U.S. government makes completely un-self aware statements like this? Washington quickly criticized the airstrikes [in Syria by Russia] — warning that they bring added risks to Syria — … Read more
by wj Might a government shutdown be a good thing? At least relatively speaking. In the comments about Speaker Boehner’s plan to step down next month, one consistent theme has been that at least this will allow him to avert a government shutdown this week. The reason being that he won’t have to worry about … Read more
There was a threatened conversation about this, so to kick it off, I give you Yogi, from Daily Kos by way of the count Yogi was born in 1925 and 1930 U.S. Census records show that Yogi’s father, Pietro, who arrived in the U.S. from northern Italy in 1909, still declared as an alien five … Read more
by wj “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” And now, alas, it is. 🙁
by Ugh As I'm sure you've heard, it appears that somewhere in the Volkswagen management structure a decision was made that it would be "good for the bottom line" to program its cars to cheat on the U.S. emissions test. It now appears that VW has done this in more than just in the U.S., … Read more
by russell As some folks may be aware, Massachusetts is battling rising levels of opioid abuse. Heroin, but also prescription meds like oxycontin. Something like 1,000 people died from opioid overdoses in MA last year. One of the harder hit towns is Gloucester, up there on the tip of Cape Ann. Gloucester traditionally has been … Read more
by russell by popular demand, this is your beatles open thread. i will kick if off by talking a little bit about the scorcese bio-pic about george harrison, which i watched not quite two years ago to kill the time while visiting my in-laws. harrison was, indeed, the dark horse of the beatles. ambitious, but … Read more
by Ugh I keep meaning to put up a post about public defenders in the U.S. criminal justice system but can't find the time. So, here's a link to Slate with a John Oliver bit on public defenders, and here's a recent Op-Ed in the WaPo by a public defender in New Orleans. A taste: … Read more
by wj Our discussions of politics tend (perhaps understandably) to be rather US-focused. So here’s something a little different. With the election of Jeremy Corbyn as party leader, Britain’s Labour Party seems to be emulating the US’ Republican Party in stepping away from the center. How much difference will it make in the results that … Read more
by liberal japonicus which is probably a sign of how cynical I've become. For background, this article, entitled Germany: Moral leader or misguided? seems balanced, I'm wondering what the view is from those in Germany and the rest of the commentariat. A couple of observations. I wonder if reunification and/or the integration of the Turkish gastarbeiter was, … Read more