“Do What We Say or the Women Will Die”

That may sound like some kind of villainous threat in a Wild West melodrama, but it is exactly what the Rick Perry administration in Texas is saying today.

The Western emphasis on the individual at the expense of the group — an emphasis that capitalism seems to heighten — has its good points and bad points. One of the bad points, a massive, Rand-stoked indifference to the plights of others, has dominated our politics and culture for most of the past half-century.

Austin Lounge Lizards — Gingrich the Newt.

Which Catholic Church did Newt Gingrich join?

I remember all too well the food served in public schools back in the day. In high school, the main course offerings were, um, basic: “Lasagna” (perfect square, little piece of bread to go with it), Salisbury “steak”, Filet-o-”fish”, and yes, a perfectly rectangular piece of pizza. I also recall actual vegetables, like green beans and salad (nondescript iceberg lettuce with cherry tomatoes).

In light of the Gawker story on blogger payola, I thought I would share my own story and response.

I’m thinking of Braniff tonight because one of the people who brought it down, Scot Spencer, is currently, erm, unavailable for questioning by the authorities (i.e., he skipped town), a status that is probably related to his latest brush with fame, the Berdoo Boondoggle (aka the “Airport to Nowhere”).

Eric Cantor is trending on Twitter right now, and it’s for a comment he made about the tornado that killed at least 116 people in Joplin, Missouri. Cantor, merely following established conservative ideology, made the statement that no emergency relief for Joplin would pass the House without corresponding cuts elsewhere.

Rarely do you see such a strong statement from the Ethics Committee against one of their own, let alone a referral to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is stepping up their efforts to disqualify three recall petitions against Democratic state Senators. They submitted a formal challenge to the petitions today, arguing that while their recall efforts have been volunteer-led and above-board, the Republican campaigns featured fraud perpetrated by out-of-state sources.