If The Republican Presidential Candidates Were Simpsons Characters
Posted on August 18, 2011 in Political Cartoons
Gorbachev Talks Gorbachev
Posted on August 17, 2011 in Articles
The Article: SPIEGEL Interview with Mikhail Gorbachev in Der Spiegel.
The Text: In a Spiegel interview, Mikhail Gorbachev, 80, discusses the last days of the Soviet Union, his failure to resolve problems with the Communist Party and the ensuing bloodshed he says still troubles him today. He also accuses Vladimir Putin of pulling the country “back into the past.”
SPIEGEL: Mikhail Sergeyevich, you turned 80 this spring. How do you feel?
Gorbachev: Oh, what a question. Do you have to ask me that? I’ve gone through three operations in the last five years. That was pretty tough on me, because they were all major operations: First on my carotid artery, then on my prostate and this year on my spine.
SPIEGEL: In Munich.
Gorbachev: Yes. It was a risky procedure. I’m grateful to the Germans.
SPIEGEL: But you look good. We saw you before the operation.
In My Ivory Tower
Posted on August 16, 2011 in Videos
You Can Dance by Chilly Gonzales off of Ivory Tower.
Cosseting The Rich Is Killing America
Posted on August 16, 2011 in Articles
The Text: Stop Coddling the Super-Rich by Warren Buffet in the New York Times.
The Article: Our leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.
These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
