Lately I'd begun to worry that the victory of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party would bring an end to the sort of right-wing rhetorical shamelessness we've come to depend on for amusement and diversion.
I feared--silly me--that the thought-buffoons of the right would either skulk back into the...
Rod Lurie | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
My film "Nothing but the Truth," a thriller about how far a journalist will go to protect a source, is going to open for one week in New York and Los Angeles on December 19th for what the inside-baseball people call a "qualifying run." It premiered back in September at...
Henryk A. Kowalczyk | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
In his recent column, Prof. Robert Reich is saying that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer; and that this is not good for the economy. I can agree.
As a remedy, Prof. Reich is recommending extended government spending. He does not say where the...
Tasha Mitchell | Posted December 1, 2008 | Living
As we commemorate the 20th annual World AIDS Day today, it's a sad reminder the global AIDS epidemic is still with us in 2008. Last year, an estimated 2 million people succumbed to AIDS/HIV worldwide, while 33 million people were living with the virus, according to a July 2008 report...
Arianna Huffington | Posted December 1, 2008 | Living
The headline in the LA Times said it all: "Charities Can't Keep Up with Deepening Poverty."
America is facing a vicious charity Catch-22: the harsher the downturn, the more people in need of help but the fewer stepping up with donations. "As resources vanish," wrote the Times, "the threads...
Ami Horowitz | Posted December 1, 2008 | Media
It is becoming increasingly the norm for Internet readers to rely on blogs as a primary source of information. With this new found competition that moves faster and relies less on journalistic objectivity, traditional media outlets have found themselves losing influence. In an effort to mimic the speed and impact...
Gordon Goldstein | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
As we all saw on the morning of December 1, President-elect Barack Obama has clearly assembled a compelling national security team. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton has the potential to be a highly effective and respected global diplomat. As secretary of defense, Robert Gates will provide excellent judgment...
Deborah Seligsohn | Posted December 1, 2008 | Green
It may be counter-intuitive, but a global economic slowdown could help the United States and China work together on climate change.
After years of very rapid growth, China's energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions now look to be slowing sharply. One major factor: China's energy efficiency and renewable energy...
Aaron Harber | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
The Battle Over Obama's Birth
Circulating the Internet for months have been the claims Barack Obama was not born in the United States, is not a natural born U.S. citizen, and, in fact, was born in Kenya. Of course, if Obama were not a U.S. citizen, he could not have...
Amira Al Hussaini | Posted December 1, 2008 | Living
Barack Obama's popularity in Egypt reaches a new high -- with the introduction of a narcotic to the market bearing the President-elect's name.
According to Egyptian blogger...
Michael Shaw | Posted December 1, 2008 | Media
a. If you looked up "pandering" in the dictionary.
b. Desperate days in the legacy hunt?
...Julie Menin | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
Much was made before the 2008 Presidential election of the potential impact of the African American or youth vote on the election. Pundits claimed that both voting blocks would "carry" the election for Barack Obama. But what about women voters? The truth is that they came out in full force...
Kate Beale | Posted December 1, 2008 | Entertainment
In the wake of the historic election of Barack Obama, Americans are preparing for and adjusting to the idea of black president in a distinctly American way.
IMDb's MOVIEmeter ratings, based on the consumer behavior of millions of IMDb users, reveal that directly following the election, viewers flocked...
Martha Stewart | Posted December 1, 2008 | Living
A little more than a year ago, my mother, Martha Kostyra, or Big Martha, as my family called her, passed away. She was 93 years old and lived a robust and active life almost until the end. She read The New York Times everyday and enjoyed cooking and traveling. And...
David Swanson | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
The debate among progressive activists and commentators in recent weeks has tended to range from the leave-Obama-alone-and-he'll-fix- everything position to the stage-a-protest- at-Obama's-house-for-the-next-month position, including numerous stances in between those extremes. What all these positions share is acceptance of the incredible shift of power from Congress to the White House...
Jeff Madrick | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
Here's the count. You decide.
Dwight Eisenhower: 2 recessions
Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford: 2 recessions
Ronald Reagan: 1 recession
George H.W. Bush: 1 recession
George W. Bush: 2 recessions
Here are the Democrats:
John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson: no recessions
Jimmy Carter: one recession,...
Gerald McEntee | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
President-elect Barack Obama holds an unprecedented meeting tomorrow with the nation's governors at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He has called the meeting to discuss the impact of the ailing economy on state budgets and to outline key steps that need to be taken to revive the nation's economy. This...
Phil Bronstein | Posted December 1, 2008 | Living
The story of the guy getting trampled at the New York Wal-Mart lasted about 48 hours in the news cycle.
There are a few "ongoing investigation" clean-up pieces, but the big media wave, like the crush of shoppers busting down the doors for bargains one store employee was anonymously...
Gavin Newsom | Posted December 1, 2008 | Politics
Today I am unveiling the first three webisodes of my web-only "Interactive State of the City" simultaneously on San Francisco's city website, sfgov.org, and on YouTube.
Instead of a traditional speech behind a podium, this year I am delivering my State of the City address directly...
Jodi R. R. Smith | Posted December 1, 2008 | Style
The economic news lately has not been good. And if you are like most Americans, the effects of the economy have been hitting closer and closer to home. Within the past week, a handful of people I know well have been laid off from their jobs. We have heard about...
Tina Fey graces the cover of the January issue of Vanity Fair, and in an...
President-elect Barack Obama announced Monday that Robert Gates would remain as...
Reuters has a Q&A with John Travolta to promote his animated film "Bolt." At the end, they ask him...
The Campaign Finance Institute (CFI)...
The following is Part I of Sean Penn's piece, Mountain of Snakes (Read Part II here) The
Governor Palin Neglects Alaska Duties for Partisan Stumping on Campaign Trail...
President Bush let it all out today during an interview with ABC News' Charlie...
NEW YORK — Rush Limbaugh has seldom been a fan of...
The seventies are back in a big way: shaggy hair, plaid prints and idealism have all...
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns...
Winona Ryder has been accused of losing £81,000 of...
It started with the fist bump seen 'round the world. Soon...
A revolutionary device that can harness...
Ellis Weiner | Posted December 1, 2008 |