U.S. Crime Rates 1960-2010: The Facts Might Surprise You (100,591)

Original article appears below foreword. FOREWORD In the aftermath of recent violent mass-shooting events in the United States along with increased traffic to this particular article, I feel compelled to preface it by saying that this article's...
What Does It Mean To Be A Liberal? (33,066)

We are witnessing a consolidation of the political left (liberal) and political right (conservative) into distinct parties in America, and I believe this has brought about confusion in political self-identity. People tend to stick with the political...
July 1, 2012: The Day ISPs Start Spying On Customers (21,462)

Correction: This story originally cited July 12, 2012 as the date ISPs start spying on customers as this was the date widely reported at the time of publishing. There are still conflicting reports but it appears the correct date is July 1, 2012....
Two Months With CrashPlan (15,060)

It has been about two months since I started using CrashPlan to backup all of my data to the cloud. A few weeks ago I wrote the article - CrashPlan and Why The Cloud Makes Sense - to highlight my initial experiences as well as provide an...
Conservatives Offer Us Putin's 'Shortest Speech Ever' (7,092)

Below is text of a supposed speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It continues to make its way around conservative circles on social media: Please don't shoot the messenger, I'm just passing this on as an interesting read. I suggest that every...
Fact of the Day: The Social Security Wage Cap For 2013 Is $113,700 (6,864)

What is the Social Security "wage cap"? It's the maximum income level taxed at the 6.2% rate for Social Security benefits. All income above the cap ($113,700 in 2013) is free and clear of Social Security (payroll) taxes. Yes, you read that correctly....
Fact of the Day: Republicans On Winning Side Of Popular Vote Once In 24 Years (6,434)

The last time a Republican running for president won the popular vote was eight years ago. In 2004, George W. Bush won the popular vote by a margin of 2.46%. This past Tuesday, President Obama won the popular vote by a very similar margin of 2.5%...
Technology: The CrashPlan Backup Service Entered The Stopped State (5,810)

I recently had a problem with the CrashPlan backup service. If you are not familiar with CrashPlan, it's an online backup service like Mozy and Carbonite. Read CrashPlan and Why The Cloud Makes Sense to learn more about the service. The...
Fact of the Day: The Social Security Wage Cap For 2014 Is $117,000 (5,748)

In a "Fact of the Day" article last November, I wrote that, "eliminating the wage cap while keeping the benefits cap produces a Social Security surplus." But you don't have to take my word for it as this is a fact backed up by the Congressional...
The Republican Lie That 'Obama Is A Job Killer' In One Chart (4,075)

Follow-up - February 3, 2012: Strong January 2012 Jobs Report Belies Republican Narrative The GOP talking point that 'Obama is a job killer" is debunked in just one chart. President Obama took office in January 2009 when the 'great recession'...
Tea Party RINOs, as Defined by Will McAvoy of The Newsroom (3,306)

If you aren't watching The Newsroom then you should be. It's a new Aaron Sorkin show on HBO that combines a great cast with a unique method of weaving real-life events, politicians, and public figures into the world of ACN (Atlantis Cable News), a...
There Is No Equivalence, Republican Rhetoric Is In A Class Of Its Own (2,196)

Republicans will likely roll their eyes when you point out that there is no equivalence when it comes to left/right rhetoric. Both sides engage in hyperbole and insults but Republicans get away with a special kind of rhetoric that is in a class of...
5 Issues That Reveal Mitt Romney Is Bad For America (2,087)

Mitt Romney has some bad ideas and some worse ideas for America. Here are 5 broad issues where Mitt Romney has it all wrong. 1 - TAXES What Romney Would Do: Romney's tax plan calls for a permanent, across-the-board 20% reduction to all...
Drug Testing Welfare Recipients? - When Stereotypes Infiltrate Social Policy (1,865)

A cutesy looking e-card being passed around on Facebook asks: Shouldn't you have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check since I have to pass one to earn it for you? Short form answer: No Long form answer: This question is wrong...
Jon Stewart: Sesame Street is "Trying to brainwash and indoctrinate Americans" (1,847)

Oh sure, Sesame Street looks perfectly harmless, but boiling under the surface is a Marxist plot to indoctrinate American children. And now that Mitt Romney has taken out Big Bird, a new revolutionist has risen. His name is Che...
Real Time with Bill Maher: Highlights from Episode 257, August 31, 2012 (1,710)

Highlights from Real Time with Bill Maher – Episode 257, August 31, 2012 Guests Jason Alexander - Actor Soledad O'Brien - CNN Anchor Dinesh D'Souza - "Obama 2016" Writer and Director Ron Christie - Conservative pundit, author of...
The Smirk: Mitt Romney Press Conference On Libyan Consulate Deaths (1,672)

Forget all the lies and distortions for one moment. Forget about Mitt Romney's "shoot before he aims" statement -- to use a quote from President Obama. Forget about the fact that Mitt Romney doubled down on his factually challenged critique of the...
6 Ronald Reagan Facts Contradict Modern Republican Purity Test (1,665)

The modern Republican party has an unhealthy love-affair with President Ronald Reagan. Each of the GOP candidates has compared their conservatism to that of our 40th president. But with the modern GOP moving further and further to the right in...
Reality Has A Well-Known Liberal Bias, And So Do Our Values (1,633)

now with 99% more liberal bias - tagline of The Left Call "reality has a well-known liberal bias" - Stephen Colbert The above quote is from Stephen Colbert's performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner. The full context is,...
Liberal: What Does It Mean? - The Rise And Fall Of Modern Social Liberalism (1,590)

In May of 2011, I asked the question "What does it mean to be a liberal?" The question and the blog post that followed were written months before the launch of what is now called The Left Call. Apparently I was not alone in asking the question as...

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