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Newest Blog Entries:
NYT (6): National News
Romney wins in AZ and MI - is this the end for Santorum?; Olympia Snowe will retire; As VA passes softer ultrasound bill, other states take notice; SCOTUS debates whether corps can be sued for human rights violations; NYC to add wind power; Your iPhone photos may not be as private as you think.Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 29, 2012
NYT (9): National News
Dems welcome contraception debate; Kelly defends surveillance of Muslims, as NYPD expands its reach; Three NYPD officers plead guilty in gun-smuggling case; As gay marriage gains in U.S., NH may be first state to revoke law; New U.S. cars to have rear cameras for safety; Gordon Gekko does a PSA for the FBI; A beloved hawk is dead in NYC; The Oreo cookie turns 100.Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, February 28, 2012
NYT Op-Eds & Letters (10)
"The political debate over the administration’s rule on contraception coverage has tended to obscure a central fact: the benefit is clearly constitutional and the legal challenges are weak" (Guest Op-Ed); "The White House reaction to crises in Syria and Iran sheds light on that ill-defined concept that the administration refuses to call the Obama Doctrine" (Guest Op-Ed); "Framing a pre-abortion ultrasound as empowering information, or as a violation of a woman’s dignity" (Guest Op-Ed); "Something in the inbox recently reopened the debate over who is responsible for higher oil prices" (Friedman); "Do we need another 'Lysistrata' until Republicans stop campaigning against sex?" (Dowd); "Iran and Israel are oblivious to how much they are shaped by each other" (Guest Op-Ed); "The demonstrations against Mr. Putin signal many shifts in Russia’s political and civic life — including the return of political satire" (Guest Op-Ed); "Where is the line between a weak state and a failed state?" (Guest Op-Ed); "Juries and even judges don’t want to believe that somebody will confess to a crime he or she didn’t commit" (Guest Op-Ed); "Sunday Dialogue: Nuclear Energy, Pro and Con" (Letters)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 26, 2012
NYT (2): National News
Virginia GOP backs away from second controversial bill; Rising gas prices are hurting Obama's campaign.Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 24, 2012
NYT (5): National News
VA gov softens stance on abortion bill; Judge's ruling throws monkeywrench into fracking in NYS; Of mine spilloff and mutated trout; Obama offers online privacy rules; SCOTUS likely to reaffirm Stolen Valor Act.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 23, 2012
NYT (5): Int’l Affairs
U.N. says Syria is guilty of war crimes; Violent protests by Afghanis over burning of Korans continue unabated; No surprise, perhaps, as Chavez helps Assad; Why pregnant mainland Chinese women are flocking to Hong Kong to give birth; Are men doomed to extinction?Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 23, 2012
Smirking Chimp (1)
Will right-wingers' position on contraception cost them the election?Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 22, 2012
NYT (6): National News
GOP campaigns grow dependent on SuperPacs; How your online data is being used by political campaigns; Virginia to vote on forced pre-abortion ultrasound; Activist, not whistleblower, leaked Heartland climate docs; New health guidelines for school vending machines?; What really goes on "behind the scenes" with the food you eat.Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, February 21, 2012
NYT Op-Eds, Letters (7)
"As the age of austerity impacts foreign policy, America will do less good in the world — but also less harm" (Guest Op-Ed); "We improve our standard of living by increasing efficiency. But that quest can go too far. We need a little friction to slow it down" (Guest Op-Ed); "An intelligent independent candidate in the presidential race could force the two main guys to step up" (Friedman); "Conservatives and liberals agree about reducing the number of abortions, but argue about how to do that" (Douthat); "A great humanitarian crisis is unfolding along the border of Sudan and South Sudan. Unless outside countries enforce access into the Nuba Mountains, it will only get worse" (Kristof); "We too often forget that alcohol can be as destructive as any pill" (Bruni); "Sunday Dialogue: Uniting America Through National Service?" (Letters)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 19, 2012
Contraception’s Con Men
Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, February 18, 2012NYT (9): National News
Justice Dept. supports equal rights for gays in military; Drilling in Alaska gets one step closer as Obama admin okays spill plan; As Christie vetoes gay marriage in NJ, Maryland moves closer toward it; "Commercial" drones given okay; Unwed motherhood is the "new normal"; Is Cuomo radically overreaching?; Appeals court supports NYC ban on religious services in schools; Dismissals continue for Occupy demonstrators in Brooklyn Bridge incident.Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 18, 2012
Catholic hypocrisy at its worst – Birth Control – Salon.com
Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, February 17, 2012The bishops go off the deep end – Catholicism – Salon.com
Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, February 15, 2012NYT Op-Eds (3)
"Masculinity is wide enough and deep enough for all men. We should remember that when society, and male culture in particular, tries to render it narrow and shallow" (Blow); "I’m sure you heard about President Obama’s new rule on health care coverage of contraceptives. Was it a cave, a tweak or a compromise?" (Collins); "Building the oil pipeline is not going to lead to apocalypse" (Nocera)Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Cancerous Politics and Ideology of the Susan G. Komen Foundation | Common Dreams
Posted by Michael Butler, Sunday, February 5, 2012NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (10)
"Three major legal cases may influence the 2012 election, but the cases also illustrate how politics shape the Supreme Court" (Editorial); "Whether Barack Obama wins or loses in November, the Democratic Party’s attention will immediately turn to 2016" (Guest Op-Ed); "Whether you can obtain a job, credit or insurance can be based on your digital doppelgänger — and you may never know why you’ve been turned down" (Guest Op-Ed); "Anyone entertaining such dreams of the Internet as a refuge for the bohemian, the hedonistic and the idiosyncratic probably didn’t know the reasons behind the disappearance of the original flâneur" (Guest Op-Ed); "How do the laws and mores of different nations manage, if at all, the multinational companies that now govern our digital lives?" (Guest Op-Ed); "Romney’s Mormon faith is too central to his biography and identity to be swept to the side" (Bruni); "Web tools can turn the world upside down. Change.org has empowered ordinary people to close down homophobic 'clinics' in Ecuador, shine a light on sex trafficking, and force banks to drop fees" (Kristof); "Vladimir Putin has been unable to make the political, economic and educational changes needed to make Russia a modern European state. Will he step up?" (Friedman); "Can Callista transform Newt so that he can transform her into the First Third Lady?" (Dowd); "Half of the country wants to restrict or end abortion, but you wouldn’t know that from the coverage of the Planned Parenthood-Komen controversy" (Douthat)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 5, 2012
Susan G. Komen and the Planned Parenthood Jihad
Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, February 4, 2012NYT Op-Eds (2)
"Mitt Romney said that he was concerned about 'middle-income Americans.' He certainly has a funny way of showing it" (Blow); "With that big political dust-up about breast cancer this week, we’ve clearly hit the point where there’s nothing that can’t be divided into red state/blue state" (Collins)Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 4, 2012
Marcy Wheeler: I Always Hated Pink, Anyway
Wheeler ..Komen just pretended to reverse its decision defund Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening services (it promises only to consider Planned Parenthood applications in the future, not to fund them) .. But now that everyone has become aware of Komen’s sleaziness, it’s time to look at what they – and the cancer industry – do more generally. They fund efforts to diagnose and find a cure but they work against things like prevention. They also tend to push back against research that shows we’ve been over-diagnosing and over-treating breast cancer .. We ought to use this scandal to examine more closely where cancer money gets spent – on treatment, turning cancer patients into customers – and rarely on prevention. While I appreciate the gesture, pink ribbons to me have come to symbolize cancer patients as profit centers, both for consumer goods capitalizing on an association with the goodwill (and Komen), as well as for ungodly expensive drugs that don’t always provide better outcomes.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Saturday, February 4, 2012
NYT Op-Eds (3)
"Mitt Romney has said that his comments about not caring about the very poor were taken out of context. But the more context you give them, the worse it gets" (Krugman); "At a time when political leaders never admit fault and rarely accept responsibility, Komen did both, and that's worth celebrating" (Rosenthal); "The viral phenomenon of 'Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus' and the debate that it prompted have a fogy offering advice on how to beat the fogies" (Brooks)Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 3, 2012
NYT (3): National News
In wake of growing outrage, Komen Foundation reverses itself, restores funding to Planned Parenthood; Why is SEC still giving banks a pass?; Senate overwhelmingly passes ethics bill re insider trading.Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 3, 2012
NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (5)
"The Supreme Court of the United States should broadcast its hearings live. Adding video would enhance public understanding of the court" (Editorial); "Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a bill making Indiana another 'right to work' state" (Rosenthal); "This primary season, pro-choice Republican women don’t have good options" (Guest Op-Ed); "The Republican Party used to be known for its moderate pragmatists. Then the party forced moderates like Mitt Romney to feign extremism just to compete" (Kristof); "Did you hear? Mitt Romney said he doesn’t care about poor people. Really, he did. Let’s break this down" (Collins)Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 2, 2012
NYT (9): National News
SuperPac secrecy - the spawn of Citizens United; Indiana gov signs "right to work" bill; Washington to become 7th state to approve same-sex marriage; Keystone pipeline is central to GOP economic argument; Three states order insurers to have climate change responses; Despite directive, pot arrests are up again in NYC; "Pink ribbon" breast cancer org finds itself red-faced as it ends funding for Planned Parenthood; NRC rejects Indian Point fire safety plan; Company behind exchange students who filed lawsuit re working conditions is barred from further biz.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 2, 2012
NYT Op-Eds (3)
"Charles Murray’s 'Coming Apart' describes the most important cultural trends today and offers a better understanding of America’s increasingly two-caste society" (Brooks); "Thanks to a gap between discrimination laws and disability laws, it’s possible for a pregnant woman to be forced from her job" (Guest Op-Ed); "With use of drones, the world could get clear, instant evidence of atrocities in Syria" (Guest Op-Ed)Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The War on a Woman’s Right to Choose, 2012 Edition
Why can't they leave women alone?Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, January 27, 2012
