In the News

Guns don't kill people?
SBP Editor
Saturday, April 4, 2009
I wonder if there's a problem with guns in this country?  This undoctored sampling of goings on from around the country popped up on my screen today...
AIG Bonus Folly
SBP Editor
Thursday, March 19, 2009

The furor over AIG's bailout payment seems to me like missing the forrest for all the trees.  $150 million is a drop in the bucket, and while executive pay might be a good question for society to address in general, it's hardly the pressing problem facing AIG right now.  Where was the outrage this bonus season when Wall Street paid one of the highest total bonus pools in its history?

Hamas Vs Fatah
SBP Editor
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The path to Palestinian peace and prosperity is so abundantly clear... Palestinians have land, they have access to the ocean, and they have a natural trading partner through their shared border with the region's most stable, democratic, and prosperous country, Israel. Israel currently has only one objective, which is to make the daily shelling from Gaza stop. The moment it stops, peace will resume, as Israel has no inherent interest in bombing Gaza, nor does it do so in any sort of "retaliation" -- it simply does so in an effort to stop the daily murder attempts based there.
Charity Doesn't Work
SBP Editor
Thursday, January 8, 2009
I don't like Obama's idea to give $3000 credits for every employee a business doesn't lay off -- what a short-sighted and horrible idea! If a business doesn't need you anymore, then it's best for everyone that you go and do something more useful. No one benefits from bloated inefficient employees who are only there for charity.
Biden the New Bush?
SBP Editor
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Oh jeez, just as we're finally ridding ourselves of our mentally challenged leader Bush, whose hazy thought patterns are embarrassingly on display whenever he speaks, now Joe Biden seems to be stepping up to fill the void. Today on CNN I heard Joe Biden, speaking about the stimulus package from prepared remarks, say this:

"The greater threat to our economy lies in doing too little, rather than in not doing enough."
Al Jazeera's Banned Words Contest
SBP Editor
Friday, November 28, 2008

This Thanksgiving what I am most thankful for is my freedom to live in a country with free speech and religious tolerance.

In practice of course Americans do not have entirely free speech either, but it is a helluva lot better than the situation almost anywhere else. That fact alone makes me never want to leave this place.

Presidential Election Guide
SBP Editor
Friday, October 17, 2008
Just in case it isn't abundantly clear by now, and in case your vote can be swayed by your blogger, here's how to vote in the presidential election:

Barack Obama/Joe Biden
John McCain/Sarah Palin Oh hell no!
Visit Iceland Now
SBP Editor
Thursday, October 16, 2008
A small appeal for my native Iceland... if you've ever thought of visiting but were turned off by the price, now's the time to go!
The White House, An EOP Employer
SBP Editor
Monday, September 8, 2008
After 8 years under possibly the worst and certainly the dumbest president of all time, I think there's some national contrition going on, and it looks like we're now guaranteed to have either a female vice president or an African American president. As if to say, OK, now that we plumbed the depths of depravity under the worst scumbag we could possibly find who was still a white male, now we'll finally give you other guys n gals a try.
But He Knows How to Delegate
SBP Editor
Monday, July 21, 2008
Remember that one? In 2000 there was a management-mania going around after 8 years of dot com magic where people thought every problem could abstracted away with the right management. In supporting his presidential bid, people said that Bush's Harvard MBA would let him delegate tasks and run the country like a CEO. Bush might not be smart, they said, but he knows how to surround himself with smart people and take their advice.
My Memory of Tim Russert
SBP Editor
Monday, June 16, 2008
I sat next to Tim at lunch one day a few months ago, down in the dungeons of Rockefeller center where Manhattan's corporate workforce plays musical chairs in the food court, scrambling for chairs and a table to eat at. Tim was right next to me, lunching with a colleague who was patiently waiting for him to finish talking on his cellphone.
Hymen-obsessed Hypocrites
SBP Editor
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
I don't know if stories like this are designed just to provoke rage, but if that's the intent, it's certainly succeeded with me.
Gas Tax Suicide
SBP Editor
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Isn't the entire Republican thesis based the effect that lower taxes have to stimulate spending? I mean, isn't that the entire republican fiscal platform, the whole reason why at a time of ballooning budget deficits , meaning the government can't pay its bills, their prescription is to give it a smaller pocketbook by slashing its incoming tax revenues?
An Iraqi Mystery
SBP Editor
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
One enduring mystery of Iraq for me is that throughout all this fighting and mayhem, we actually all share the same goal at the end of the day, which is to bring our troops home, the sooner the better. The US public wants it. The US military wants it. The Iraqi insurgents want it. Al-Qaeda wants it. The Iraqi people want it. So what's there to fight over? We all agree!
Iraq
SBP Editor
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Some random thoughts on Iraq that are sure to stir the coals a bit:

To those who say we invaded a sovereign nation, I say the existing government was in no way legitimate, it was installed by force (murder, actually), so we have merely wrested control from an unelected strongman and attempted to set up a more pluralistic government. Hussain's government was not by any stretch "of or for the people", so I don't see what's wrong in knocking him out in the same manner in which he himself knocked out his predecessor and declared himself dictator for life.
Spitzer and Text Message Pricing
SBP Editor
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
But first I can't resist talking about Elliot Spitzer...

So it seems that the US Attorney General personally approved the investigation of Spitzer. Given what we now know about the partisan way in which the Attorney General's office operates under Bush's direction, I can't help but wonder if Spitzer might have gotten a free pass on the investigation had he been a Republican? Why is no one asking this question?
The Merry Exit Dance
SBP Editor
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
God, it's embarrassing watching Hillary blithely dance and wave as if nothing has happened, as if the carpet hasn't been pulled from under her, in complete denial of reality. It reminds me of Sadaam's final days in power with carefully orchestrated crowds and carefree demeanor while the world around him was falling apart. It's like the musicians who, on being told the titanic is sinking, launch into a stirring waltz.
Electoral Oddity
SBP Editor
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Did you know this? If no candidate for president receives more than half the electoral votes (for example if there's a strong 3rd candidate, like when Ross Perot was polling at 30% for a while), then do you know what happens? Then the House of Representatives chooses our next president!
Benazir Bhutto
SBP Editor
Friday, December 28, 2007
As far as I can tell, life is random and pointless; there doesn't seem to be anyone up there directing things to some larger end. But as long as there are unknowns in the world, I can't be sure. So a reasonable short term goal for humanity might be to figure out the unknowns, like how the earth came to be, what's at the edge of the universe, whether there's anywhere else we can live if the earth ever gets too inhospitable.
Strangeblueplanet: Most Widely Read Blog on Earth
SBP Editor
Sunday, December 9, 2007
I just figured out something... I was watching a show on CBS when an announcement came on: "CBS. America's most watched network." It's a variation on a basic claim that all the networks make... "ABC. More Americans get their news from ABC than from any other source." "The tonight show on NBC. #1 in late night."

What has always puzzled me is why anyone would care what other Americans are watching. Either I like the show or I don't, but knowing that other Americans like or dislike it doesn't seem like a very persuasive pitch to change my TV viewing habits.
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