(Not So) Funny Things are Happening … at the Courthouse
You probably heard the news on Tuesday. First up: the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a District Court ruling which had upheld subsidies for insureds purchasing health insurance on the federal exchange. Bad news for the Affordable Care Act. Then, about an hour later, came the opinion from the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, upholding a District Court ruling which had also upheld federal exchange subsidies.
So, we have an Administration victory in the Fourth Circuit (3-0), and a loss in the D.C. Circuit (2-1). A mess, for sure, but not one that cannot be understood.
What’s the fight about?… Continue reading
The Wednesday Curator – 7/23/14
Back I am, with apologies to anyone who came up empty earlier on Tuesday. I had a piece up to make the subscriber deadline, but it was not ready. Sorry!
But for children at the border, war in Gaza/Israel, and an airplane blown out of the sky in Ukraine, we’d be hearing about … well, Benghazi, of course, but also about the highway trust fund debacle and possible solutions. Reinventing the American Highway: The Promise (and Pitfalls) of Learning to Love Tolls, written by Henry Grabar and published at Salon on July 20, provides an overview of one solution… Continue reading
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Skip It!
One stinker of a movie! Really, really, really awful!!!
I saw Dinesh D’Souza’s America: Imagine the World without Her on Sunday afternoon. I went with very low expectations. They were not met.
Mr. D’Souza’s film starts off oddly, with a recreated Revolutionary War battle scene involving George Washington. General Washington gets shot and dies, allowing for the conceit that the world won’t have America. (No way to win without General Washington. Really?)
We see the erasure of Mt. Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and maybe one other monument. The narration, during the removal of the Iwo… Continue reading
Extra: Speeling Bee Details
I’ll be a contestant at the 3rd annual Stand Up for Education Celebrity Spelling Bee on Friday, August 8. The bee starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Temple of Music and Art. Ticket info is here. Proceeds help Tucson Unified School District students through the Education Enrichment Foundation, and is sponsored by The Sakin Foundation.
By the by, I am a 3x participant, and have the runner-up trophy from year one. (Never mind about last year!) We—contestants and the audience—all have a good time in a very relaxed setting, and no cause is better than public education!
A Mom, a Kid, a Park, Cops, Court, Etc.
Blogger success depends on picking the right battles. Write “What is a Will” or “Powers of Attorney.” Sure, although very few people read your posts. Food is always safe … so long as you’re not too assertive about whose pizza is best. Even inequality and Hobby Lobby seem to be mostly non-controversial. (We’ll see how my review of the Dinesh D’Souza movie goes; watching it today at 2:10; stay tuned.)
I’ve been cautious about commenting on Debra Harrell. She’s the South Carolina mom who works at McDonalds—yes, Ed Gillespie, former RNC Chair and candidate for the U.S. Senate from Virginia,… Continue reading
It’a a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
These have been a really, really awful few weeks! Yes?
We have a war in Ukraine we really don’t acknowledge, and a bizarre missile attack on a commercial airliner which reminds us that, in fact, Ukraine is at war. (My theory? The separatists intended to blow up a plane, because they could, never intending to hit a commercial airliner. No reason for them to have messed with this plane. Bad move!!!)
We have yet another war between Israel and the Palestinians. There have been so many we don’t identify them as we did in the past. No 1948, no 1967,… Continue reading
Dinesh D’Souza and Sunday Afternoon at the Movies
Not long ago an old friend who lives out East told me I’m a little narrow in my political universe. He called me “close-minded,” and said I’d see the error of my ways if I got a more “fair and balanced” perspective on the world. I hollered about Fox News for a while, for I know “code” when I hear it, even when it’s bunk. He ranted back at me, demanding that I go see America: Imagine the World without Her, Dinesh D’Souza’s new film. He even offered to send me the money for a ticket, but I passed… Continue reading
Airbnb and Trust
I saw David Brooks’ June 30 column, The Evolution of Trust, several days after the New York Times published it. Hmmm, I wondered, trust evolves? And in which direction?
The first lined grabbed me. “I’m one of those people who thought Airbnb would never work.” As it happens, we’re Airbnb-ers, Ms. J, the daughter, and I. Months ago, after a hotel booking problem, Ms. J found herself needing a bed for two nights in San Francisco, on a not-so-small-but-this-is-SF budget. Enter Airbnb. Ms. J stayed in a deluxe Soma loft, with the owner, for two nights. Great stay. Pleasant… Continue reading
The Wednesday Curator – 7/16/14
They just keep on coming, G-d bless them! One Wednesday after another.
I have driven Prius automobiles since 2004, and no non-Prius has been domiciled in our garage since 2006. Ms. J and I are committed to clean, fuel efficient transportation. So I read with interest John Voelker’s article, Hyundai v. Tesla: Exec Claims U.S. Funds Superchargers, Electric-Car Maker Angrily Rebuts, posted at Green Car reports on July 15. When manufacturers are fighting about who got more bennies from which government, we’re getting closer to the tipping point, when combustion engine behemoths look like the funny old cars many… Continue reading
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