May 21, 2013 | Conservativism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans, Science and Technology
Published: mic (May 21, 2013) Update: Since this article was written, Senator Coburn announced that he would be insistent that any aid to the Oklahoma tornado victims must be offset by additional spending cuts elsewhere — predictably putting partisan politics ahead of helping his constituents. Read more here. It's always immensely satisfying to read an article that makes its point simply by...
May 18, 2013 | Conservativism, Conspiracy Theories, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), Extremism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (May 18, 2013), The Morning Call (May 20, 2013) From a strictly political standpoint, the past month has been pretty good for Sen. Ted Cruz. First the Tea Party darling further endeared himself to grassroots rightists by claiming that he had privately told the Republican senators who supported the gun-buyer background check bill to "not be a bunch of squishes." Now he is in the...
May 1, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Internet Culture, mic, Science and Technology
Published: mic (May 1, 2013) If you thought NBC's inept mishandling of the Tonight Show franchise was the mother of all network debacles, take a look at this recent story about ABC from the Los Angeles Times: On Thursday, production company Prospect Park Networks filed a $25-million breach of contract lawsuit against the Walt Disney Co-owned broadcast network. The suit, filed in Los Angeles...
Apr 20, 2013 | Media Issues, mic, Terrorism
Published: mic (April 20, 2013) Now that the world knows that the Boston Marathon bombers were Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, let's take a moment to reflect on who was NOT responsible. It wasn't that Saudi Arabian guy who was blamed on the first day. It wasn't the tall skinny guy in the blue shirt whose picture was plastered all over the New York Post, nor was it his friend. Most important of...
Apr 15, 2013 | Animals and Animal Rights, Conservativism, mic, Pennsylvania, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (April 15, 2013) Here are eight words that I doubt have ever come from the pen of a liberal columnist: "Where is Rick Santorum when we need him?" This thought comes to mind as soon as one looks at PA HB683, a new bill introduced in Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania that would outlaw whistleblowing on factory farm cruelty. Sponsored by Representative Gary Haluska (D-Cambria) as...
Apr 15, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Media Issues, mic, Scandals
Published: mic (April 15, 2013) Let me get three things off my chest before I start this article: 1. I have absolutely no opinion whatsoever on Justin Bieber. 2. I find it a tad creepy that so many people above the age of sixteen actually DO have an opinion on Justin Bieber. 3. I think society needs to find better ways of using its time than tormenting celebrities over their personal foibles....
Apr 15, 2013 | Conservativism, Extremism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans, Terrorism
Published: The Morning Call (April 15, 2013), mic (April 16, 2013) Editor's note: This article was written before the Boston Marathon bombings, and is not intended to be a response to that incident. All commentary in this article is on pre-Boston incidents alone and is not intended to indicate anything concerning the ongoing Boston Marathon investigation. How much longer is America willing to...
Mar 31, 2013 | Class Issues, Conspiracy Theories, Immigration, Internet Culture, mic, Race and Racism, Religion and Religious Issues
Published: mic (March 31, 2013) The Internet is aroar right now. Why? Because even though it's Easter, Google decided to honor Cesar Chavez instead of Jesus Christ in its banner today. A quote from Henry Cabot Lodge comes to mind: "The facility of saying something is counterbalanced by the difficulty of saying anything worth hearing." Unfortunately, we live in an era in which the trivial...
Mar 30, 2013 | Criminal Justice/Prison-Industrial Complex, Gender and Sexism, Gun Control, mic
Published: mic (March 30, 2013) One might hope that a law which keeps guns out of the hands of perpetrators of domestic violence would receive bipartisan support. One would think. As reported by the Huffington Post, "a Colorado bill that prohibits convicted domestic violence offenders from possessing firearms passed in the House Judiciary Committee on a 7-4 party line vote, with all Democrats...
Mar 25, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Education, History, mic
Published: mic (March 25, 2013) Although it's being rumored that NBC is planning on replacing Tonight Show host Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon, Leno is still outranking his late night competitors at present. That said, I can't help but wonder who those people are, since it amazes me that no one has picked up on this hilarious (and sobering) incident. On the February 26 episode, Leno did his weekly...