This website, not noted for its reliability, yet has an interesting item about the cost of vice president Joe Biden’s recent trip to London and Paris where it says that the cost for two nights came to $1 million. Why so high? Because he had an entourage that required 136 rooms in London and over 100 rooms in Paris and they were staying at expensive hotels to begin with. [Read more…]
As the US Supreme Court hears oral arguments on California’s Proposition 8 case, it is worth noting the huge shift in opinion in Ohio on same-sex marriage in less than a decade. Ohio is a pretty socially conservative state. In 2004, this state easily passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage with 62% in favor of the ballot initiative. [Read more…]
Next week the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases dealing with same sex marriage, California’s Proposition 8 case Hollingsworth v. Perry on Tuesday and the DOMA case Windsor v. United States on Wednesday. [Read more…]
Given the absurd levels of secrecy of the US government that has accelerated under the current administration, whistleblowers are one of the few ways we get to learn about government abuses. But they pay a severe price for doing so, having the government’s massive prosecutorial apparatus thrown at them, part of the government’s strategy to discourage others from following their lead. [Read more…]
Opponents of same sex marriage feel that their strongest secular argument is the negative effects such a family structure will have on the well being of children. [Read more…]
Following the Steubenville rape trial, we now have a report of high school football players in Connecticut accused of sexually assaulting two 13-year old girls. We won’t of course know whether they are guilty or not until the trial but once again we have the awful spectacle of people in the community attacking one of the victims. [Read more…]
I am sick of hearing people opposing a rise in the minimum wage because it would be an intolerable burden on business that would cause them to lay people off or prevent them hiring workers or that it would cause rampant inflation. Suring a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, senator Elizabeth Warren takes apart a restaurant owner David Rutigliano who tries to shiftily make this argument. [Read more…]
The Cyprus government has extended the bank closure until next Tuesday, suggesting that the bailout plan proposed by the president is running into really heavy weather. The European Central Bank has apparently given the government a deadline until Monday to accept the deal or go bankrupt, so you can expect the Cypriot parliament to come under great pressure during the next few days. [Read more…]
National and even international attention has focused on the rural town of Steubenville in southeast Ohio following the rape of a young woman by two high school football players. They were found guilty yesterday but since they were juveniles (aged 16 and 17) they received lighter sentences than if they had been tried as adults. [Read more…]
I feel obliged to note that today marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning, in the teeth of widespread worldwide opposition, of the unprovoked war of aggression by the US on Iraq, a war based on lies and sold to us by a dishonest government, cheered on by a supine Congress, and media propaganda. All those who were involved in that fraud should not only be ashamed of themselves but should have been exposed as liars and incompetents. But many of the principals refuse to acknowledge that they participated in an awful crime and have been allowed to get away scot free. [Read more…]