Framing the Dialogue

Posts Tagged ‘news briefs’

News Briefs – Volume XXVI

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1: The progressives are all in a tizzy over something that Scholastic Books published that was favorable to the coal industry. An editorial in the New York Times outlined the “transgressions” committed by the book company,

“The lessons talked about the benefits of coal and the pervasiveness of power plants fueled by it — while omitting any mention of minor things like toxic waste, mountain-top removal and greenhouse gases.”

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News Briefs – Volume XXV

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1: Never content to accept a win, special interest groups (perhaps the bane of our society) have already begun to dissect America’s victory when a team of soldiers killed Osama. The Onondaga Indian tribe released a statement criticizing the use of the code name “Geronimo” for bin Laden,

“Think of the outcry if they had used any other ethnic group’s hero. Geronimo bravely and heroically defended his homeland and his people, eventually surrendering and living out the rest of his days peacefully, if in captivity…Geronimo is arguably the most recognized Native American name in the world and this comparison only serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes about our people…Why would that be honorable to us? All they know is just cowboys and Indians, the stuff they saw on TV.”

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News Briefs – Volume XXIV

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1: In the town where ground troops first met in battle during the Civil War (Manassas, VA or Bull Run for you northerners) another battle is looming. Obama’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) held a press conference yesterday proudly announcing that 160 “foreign nationals” (illegal aliens) were arrested. All was not joyful in the story however as local politicians reminded that ICE has a slushy record regarding detaining illegals even when they have criminal records.

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News Briefs – Volume XXIII

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1:  The Detroit branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Only Colored People (“NAACP”) is having its annual fund raiser and is planning to honor Kid Rock with thier Great Expectations Award.  There is hardly a famous performer who seems to do as much for his home town as Kid Rock so the honor is warranted, however, some NAACP supporters are planning to boycott the event because of Rock.  Rock sometimes uses the confederate battle flag during his performance because he feels like it represents southern rock.  It is funny how some are very sensitive to someone wearing a flag whose original use was for battle during the Civil War, but have no trouble seeing our American flag burned.  The race business makes a lot of people a lot of money so they cannot ever let go of race and frequently see racism where none exists.

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News Briefs – Volume XXII

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1: What are the REAL chances of meaningful tort reform in the United States when one of the men responsible for that task files a lawsuit. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is suing the company that runs the cafeteria at the Longworth House Office Building. The suit claims that his veggie sandwich “contained dangerous substances, namely an olive pit, that a consumer would not reasonably expect to find in the final product served.” So when you get something with olives it is not reasonable to possibly find a pit once in a while? Since when is an olive pit a “dangerous substance?” Kucinich is only asking for $150,000 to cover his “permanent dental and oral injuries requiring multiple surgical and dental procedures,” and he also wants compensation for his pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment. I can imagine the heartfelt testimony as Kucinich describes his crippling fear of olives and not even being able to stand the sight of Popeye’s girlfriend.  Perhaps it would have been more fitting if the dangerous substance had been a nut.

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News Briefs – Volume XXI

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1:  Let’s call this one “Corn For Clunkers.”  Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency(:EPA”)  is looking out for you or so they claim, but they are not as in tune with what’s good for your car.  EPA has approved the sale of an ethanol/gasoline mix containing up to 15% of the corn-based ethanol.  The only problem is that this mix would be very harmful to engines manufactured before 2007 (that’s two out of three vehicles in our household).  Will someone explain what law gives the EPA the authority to approve/push consumer products?  A group of auto manufacturers and engine makers has filed suit against EPA. 

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News Briefs – Volume XIX It’s All About Healthcare Baby

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories and this edition is all about Obamacare…

Brief 1:  Many seasoned citizens were shocked at AARP’s support of the Obamacare legislation which contained a significant cuts to doctor’s fees and cuts in allowable payments to hospitals.  The fear, of course, is that many provider would simply stop accepting Medicare patienst, a majority of which are the aforementioned senior citizens.  One had to wonder who the AARP, a membership organization, was actually lobbying for?  Just recently the AARP had announced that their employees will see a rise in their health care costs in a statement from an AARP spokesperson;

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News Briefs – Volume XVIII

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1:  I have been somewhat angry at the folks who run the WikiLeaks website as they have repeatedly released classified military documents of the United States.  I am all for daylight, but it seems that these folks care very little for the troops that may be affected (and by affected I mean killed) because of the information contained in the data dumps.  A recent story suggests that the WikiLeaks people are contemplating a similar dump of documents from the Russian government.  The Time Magazine writer coyly suggests that the “Russian reaction will not be as reserved as America’s.”  Duh!  It will be interesting to see if the WikiLeakers have the stones to take on Russia.  They might just end up on the wrong end of a ricin-tipped umbrella. 

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News Briefs Volume XVII

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1:  Finally some decent news for those of us men on the higher end of the weight scale.  We cannot really wear tight Lycra bike shorts, Speedo swim briefs (no one except for competitive swimmers should anyway), or vertical stripes, but it seems that heavier men actually have heavier paychecks than their skinnier counterparts.  Of course the thinner guys get more women since they don’t care about how much a man makes.  The news is not so good for women whose paychecks are inversely proportional to their weight.

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News Briefs – Volume XVI

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

Brief 1:  Pennsylvania’s legislature is earning their money as they consider a ground-breaking piece of legislation.  The legislation, described by Rep. Scott Perry, will allow citizens to defend themselves “anywhere you have a lawful right to be…It’s important we are allowed to avail ourselves of our constitutional right to protect ourselves.  Right now, the scales are tipped to criminals or perpetrators, and I want to see the scales tipped back to law-abiding citizens.”  If they can pass the legislation you you would be able to defend yourself without having to flee first.  If this is a “constitutional right” then why do we need a bill to allow it?  Perhaps the saddest thing is not so much that we need this legislation, but that our legislature cannot seem to pass it and that Gov. Rendell seems hesitant to sign it into law.  Maybe there is a critical vote on Pennsylvania’s state cookie.

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