July 23, 2012
Bill Kristol says people don’t have “a right to semi-automatic, quasi-machine guns”
• • •
July 22, 2012
Mitt Romney Tax Return Scrutiny Calls Attention To Progressive Taxation
It’s quite possible the real reason Mitt Romney does not want to release more years of tax returns is that he knows it will only serve to put a sharper focus on progressive taxation in the United States. In fact he and his wife Ann have all but said that. They haven’t spelled out the specifics but they have said they won’t release more returns because it will result in more criticism.
• • •
July 21, 2012
Movie theater shooting: Why can’t we have tougher gun control laws?
No matter what the National Rifle Association (NRA) and it’s supporters say, it is not off limits to talk about tougher gun control laws. It’s not disrespectful to the victims to have an adult conversation about restricting the sales of assault weapons and extended clips, things that are not needed to protect yourself or your family.
• • •
July 21, 2012
Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting: America is NOT shocked
Every time one of these mass-shooting, mass-murder events happens in the United States we see headlines like “Americans in shock,” and descriptive words like horror and terror, but do you see a problem here? Did you notice that I started this article by saying “every time,” which indicates this is not a rare event. The fact is, while overall crime statistics are at 20 (even 30) year lows in many categories (including murder) we still have mass-shooting events occurring with regular frequency. Each one of us has essentially come to expect that these mass-shooting events are going to happen regularly. So is there anything shocking about it?
• • •
July 21, 2012
Mitt Romney’s ‘you didn’t build that’ moment
President Obama accurately explained in a recent speech (used out of context by the right for political gain) that the people who start businesses rely on the infrastructure that “We the People” have built. In a civil and democratic society, we collectively build the roads, bridges, schools and employ the teachers that make it possible for anyone with a dream to pursue it and start a business. Remove politics from the equation and you won’t find many who would disagree with this, but there are many who forget it when they say government is the problem, not the solution. This is not a zero sum game. The success of business, the economy and capitalism itself can be achieved through hard work in both the public and private sectors.
• • •
July 20, 2012
Eagle Scout writes letter to Boy Scouts of America, returns badge in protest of gay discrimination
After a 2-year review the Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed its ban on gays saying, “this policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts.” In response, an Eagle Scout pens a letter of disapproval and encloses his Eagle Scout Badge. Below is the transcript along with a photo of the letter and badge.
• • •
July 20, 2012
iPhone, Android contract costs on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile…and the people who choose to pay
I need to rant just bit on the obscene costs to own and operate a smartphone and before I start I’d like to say I’m not endorsing any specific company or product. This is simply one consumer who happens to think the cost of smartphones is ridiculous, whether it be an iPhone, Android or Windows Phone (should I even mention Blackberry?). If you want the latest and greatest smartphone typically you must pay at least $100 upfront, but sometimes $200 or higher for the phone and then lock yourself into a 2-year contract that will wind up costing you near $2000. Who does this? Apparently a lot of people. So far I refuse to take part in this ripoff. Yes, smartphones are great devices. They allow us to keep up with friends, find out the latest news, and search for anything – anywhere, but how is it that collectively as a society we’ve accepted the ever-increasing cost? Do most people believe that spending $70-$80-$90 (on the low side) a month for a smartphone is a good deal?
• • •
July 20, 2012
Insomniac Edition: Animotion – Obsession (1984)
• • •
July 20, 2012
The future of TV might be in your pocket
Ever since getting a smartphone (Motorola Triumph later replaced by a work-provided iPhone 4) I’ve regularly used it while watching TV. Most of the time I use my smartphone for things completely independent of what I’m watching on TV, but more recently I’ve started to combine the two tasks, especially when it comes to material for this website. Now that I’ve started blogging from my iPhone, I use it, along with various news apps as well as news programs on MSNBC and Current TV, to bring you my take on the latest political stories. Much of the transcribed text from political pundits that you’ve read on The Left Call over the past few weeks was created on the iPhone.
• • •
July 19, 2012
Should the venerable ‘Save button’ in Microsoft Word take a hike?
Farhad Manjoo writes on Slate, “Delete the Save Button. Computers are smart enough to preserve everything I type without me hitting a stupid disk icon.” In the article Manjoo makes a case for why he thinks the ‘Save button’ on applications like Microsoft Word should no longer exist. He believes computers have gotten fast enough and sophisticated enough to do away with a “feature” that we’ve all lived with for a very long time, and I agree.
• • •