Oh how quickly we forget ...

File this in the catching up with stuff bin ...
I happened to be quickly skimming last week's edition of the Hippo while sipping coffee this morning and noticed the latest Granite Views column by Jody Reese knocking Republicans at the Statehouse for trying to return $85 million in No Child Left Behind money to the federal government.
Right out of the gate, Reese makes a big blunder.

Nader: Can Democrats Landslide Republicans?

By Ralph Nader

I often ask Congressional Democrats these days is: "If you agree that your Republican counterparts in Congress are the most craven, corporatist, fact-denying, falsifying, anti-99 percent, militaristic Republicans in the party's history, then why are you not landsliding them?" Their responses are largely in the form of knowing smiles and furrowed brows. 

Green Party's Stein wins big in Ohio

According to a press release I received on Monday, Green Party candidate Jill Stein won 90 percent of the delegates at the party's Ohio convention during weekend caucusing there. It was the first contest for the greens in 2012.
There has been a lot of heightened press awareness about the party now that former television actress and comedian Roseanne Barr is running for the nomination too.
The greens are on a bunch of state ballots at this point and the Stein campaign is actively fundraising in an attempt to secure federal matching funds. In order to do that, a candidate must agree to spending limits and receive at least $5,000 in at least 20 states.
So far, Republican Buddy Roemer is the only candidate who is receiving federal matching funds.

Santorum's trifecta ...

While everyone within the sound of my clicking computer keys is downplaying Rick Santorum's solid wins last night in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, they shouldn't be. Yes, these weren't big states like Florida or Texas. Yes, Missouri doesn't even pick delegates yet. Yes, the other two were tiny caucus contests. However, these were big wins for him in places where Mitt Romney did well in 2008 against John McCain. In other words, clearly, there is uncertainty out there for this field and for this party, which is intriguing too, considering all that the nation has gone through during the last three years, never mind 11 years.

Gingrich's "rambling"

I must be alone. While GOPers are complaining about Newt Gingrich dragging out the primary campaign, with only five states voting, watching his press conference last night after the Nevada Caucus was actually quite amusing. Am I alone in thinking he should continue? Why not?

Think the new jobs numbers are good? Think again

Check out this post: ["Contrary to Government Claims of 243,000 Jobs Created, Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs Were Actually LOST In January"]. Post this link far and wide. More than a million people fall off the cliff in a single month and we're rah-rahing that 235,000 jobs were created. Wow. 

Follow the Bills

In the Public Interest/By Ralph Nader 2/1/12

Looking at millions of individual bills that makeup the 2.7 trillion dollars of annual health care costs opens a gigantic window on the massive waste, redundancy, profiteering, fraud and sometimes criminal over-billing.

Dead people voting in South Carolina

Regardless of what anyone may think of Project Veritas' latest political stunt, Primary of the Living Dead, which purports to show just how easy it is for dead people to vote here in New Hampshire, since we require no form of ID before voting here, this "real investigation" by the AG of South Carolina should concern everyone: ["South Carolina's Attorney General detects voter fraud"].

Vanity Fairs, piling up ...

Four months worth of Vanity Fairs have been piling up in my house. I'm finally getting a chance to at least breeze through them. One thing is becoming clear though: Editor Graydon Carter and the team are a little obsessed about Rupert Murdoch and the phone hacking scandal. Just sayin' ...

Jobs of the Top 1% of households

Interesting graphic here from the NYT two Sundays ago: ["The Top 1 Percent: What Jobs Do They Have?"]. Now, it's important to note, that these are the top households, not individuals. So, when you see cops, teachers, and, ahem, journalists, on the list, they are probably living with more affluent individuals.
Although, at the same time, in order to be in the Top 1 percent, a household needs to have as much as $343,000, adjusted gross income, according to Bankrate.com: ["Top 1 Percent: How Much Do They Earn?"].
So, in real terms, police and teachers are only in the Top 10 to 15 percent of household wage earners in the country, depending on the number of years in, overtime, detail pay, deductions, and what their spouses earn, etc.

The Jirga Medal of Honor

 In the Public Interest By Ralph Nader 1/24/12

           

The U.S. war in Afghanistan is testing so much futuristic detect and destroy weaponry that it can be called the most advanced all-seeing invasion in military history. From blanket satellite surveillance to soldiers’ infra-red vision to the remotely guided photographing, killer drones to the latest fused ground-based imagery and electronic signal intercepts, the age of robotic land, sea, and air weaponry is at hand.

           

U.S. and NATO soldiers and contractors greatly outnumber the Taliban, whose sandals and weapons are from the past century. Still, with the most sophisticated arsenals ever deployed, why are U.S. generals saying that less than 30,000 Taliban fighters, for almost a decade, have fought the U.S. led forces to a draw?

Iran: The Neocons Are At It Again

 In the Public Interest by Ralph Nader 1/11/12

           

The same neocons who persuaded George W. Bush and crew to, in Ron Paul’s inimitable words, “lie their way into invading Iraq” in 2003, are beating the drums of war more loudly these days to attack Iran. It is remarkable how many of these war-mongers are former draft dodgers who wanted other Americans to fight the war in Vietnam.

           

With the exception of Ron Paul, who actually knows the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, the Republican presidential contenders have declared their belligerency toward Iranian officials who they accuse of moving toward nuclear weapons.

The Iranian regime disputes that charge, claiming they are developing the technology for nuclear power and nuclear medicine.

Is Best Buy going under?

Interesting column here from Forbes: ["Why Best Buy is Going out of Business...Gradually"].
It is (or was) bound to happen when you consider what is going on in the world, especially with music, books, soon movies, and other types of products that can be downloaded or purchased online. The big chain stores - that gobbled up all the business from the small stores - are going to go the way of the dinosaur at some point. What goes around comes around, as the saying goes.

A $4 million vaca? Really?

 It looks like it: ["With More Vacation Days and Separate Travel, Price of Obama’s Annual Hawaiian Holiday Rises"].
In fairness, the president, or any president actually, can vacation wherever they like. But this is getting a bit ridiculous. Jetting off here; traveling over there; playing golf there, etc. The next thing you'll read is the Democrats blaming Republicans for the high cost of the vacation because they stalled a bill which kept Obama from leaving with Michele or something trivial like that.

Why you should keep everything ...

 at least if you're a reporter, journalist, interviewer, or whatever. You never know when you might need the information again. Take this piece from the Washington Post by Bob Woodward: ["In his debut in Washington’s power struggles, Gingrich threw a bomb"].
There are only two pages of the article available online - you have to pay for the rest - but you get the idea.
It's interesting that Woodward, who is probably better known now for his books than any reporting he did in the old days, never published this interview. Maybe he was working on a Republican revolution book that he never finished; maybe he sensed something was in the water.