If you are a news junkie and enjoy documentaries then add this one to your Netflix queue. PAGE ONE: Inside The New York Times is a highly entertaining and fascinating look at the inter-workings of The New York Times.  It’s made all the more poignant given the harrowing challenges that traditional print media face in an ever-changing landscape of information and news.  Read the rest of this entry »

According to a new Pew Research Center poll – Public’s Views of Political Terms - the political term ‘Progressive’ is viewed as positive by 67% of Americans. I didn’t know Flo from those Progressive Insurance ads had so much influence on our political landscape. Alright, I admit I don’t know what Flo’s political leanings are.  Read the rest of this entry »

Tax breaks to the 1% – who Republicans like to call job creators – is not the best way to create jobs. In fact, it’s not even clear one job would be created with this failed idea. If demand for products increases it is a near certainty that companies will create more jobs. On the other hand, more money in the form of a tax break will not lead a company to create more jobs if nobody can buy the increased products or services that those jobs would produce.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Fox News slogan of Fair & Balanced is simultaneously ridiculed on the left and revered on the right. We are supposed to believe that Fox News does not give any greater value to arguments left or right. Many of us on the left find it humorous given the obvious tilt on Fox News towards pundits that were once Republican politicians or served with Republican administrations and campaigns. However, the right-leaning bias of Fox News is actually not the point of this article. There are people who watch Fox News and believe it is an unbiased source of news and I’m unlikely to change their minds. In fact, they are unlikely to be reading this article in the first place.  Read the rest of this entry »

This time of year there is no shortage of lists recapping news events. Instead of a 2011 recap of President Obama’s accomplishments, I think it is more important to remember the most significant accomplishments of the first three years of his administration.With the Republican presidential primary season about to start in earnest with the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary in the first two weeks of the new year, we should reflect on the many great accomplishments of the Obama administration amid relentless Republican obstructionism.  Read the rest of this entry »

2011 is quickly winding down and soon it will be election year 2012. Before we celebrate New Years, let’s recall just a few of the many outrageous and out of touch right-wing moments of the past year.  Read the rest of this entry »

I have hinted in the past that I kind of like Ron Paul. I think the biggest reason is because he is not afraid to challenge the GOP establishment. His views on military action and civil liberties are closest to mine compared to any other Republican in office. But make no mistake, Ron Paul would be a terrible President. Some of his libertarian ideas are extremely radical. The article – Paulonomics: Ron Paul’s plans for taxes, spending and Social Security – on Yahoo! News reveals just how extreme these libertarian views are. Read the rest of this entry »

This story is a follow-up to The Left Call story from earlier today – The Left-Right False Equivalence Media Failure. Today PolitiFact – a site I usually trust for unbiased, untainted facts – gave me a reason to suspect they are part of the failure of the media that I called out in my story from earlier today. I believe PolitiFact naming ‘Republicans voted to end Medicare’ as Lie of the Year 2011 illustrates false equivalence and the media’s overreaction to charges of liberal bias.  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s lazy reporting to conclude that “both sides do it”. It’s a failure of analysis to conclude that both sides play the same games whether we are talking about left or right – Democrat or Republican – liberal or conservative. Are they really mirror images? Do both sides play the same tricks? Read the rest of this entry »

This article will borrow and put into my own words something I heard Thomas Friedman say on Charlie Rose this past week. For once I would like to experience shock by hearing truth instead of hearing nonsense from our political leaders and political candidates. Read the rest of this entry »