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09 Nov 2011 14:21

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Politics: Bill Clinton: why not three terms for a president?

  • Wonder where he got that idea? To be clear, Clinton is not proposing this as some sort of self-interested scheme to sweep back into the White House — he emphasized that it shouldn’t count for anybody who’s already served, and with a recurring history of heart issues and the Clinton Global Initiative to run, it seems unlikely a third Presidential effort would be in the best interests of his health or professional life. That said, his argument is simple and seems reasonable enough: that citizens should have the right to elect a president to a third term, but only after he’s taken a term off. (Photo by Mortiz Hager, courtesy of World Economic Forum) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2011 13:54

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Politics: OWS members start trek to Washington DC

  • 240 mile march by Occupy Wall Street, from NYC to DC source
  • » Hitting the road: A group of OWS protesters have embarked on this lengthy walk, expecting to arrive in Washington DC on November 23rd, the congressional committee deadline on whether to keep the Bush-era tax cuts extensions President Obama agreed to last year. The Occupy movement, obviously, would like to see these cuts expire; while this would raise the tax burden of middle-income Americans to a remote extent, it would also cause a very large influx of revenue from the class most buoyed by the Bush tax policy — that vaunted 1%. The march consists of a mere dozen or so protesters right now, but they expect (we suspect rightly) to gain large numbers as they work their way towards the capitol.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2011 13:53

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Politics: Ohio referendum brings good, bad news for President Obama

  • good “Issue 2,” on which a yes vote meant approval of the Ohio state GOP’s stripping of public employees’ collective bargaining rights, was resounding defeated with 63% voting no. Gov. John Kasich’s chastened reply: “The people have spoken clearly.”
  • bad Ohioans also passed an amendment to their state constitution, saying they can’t be forced to buy health insurance. So while a union-backed Obama looks stronger now in Ohio, the health care mandate seems to irk voters in the critical swing-state. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Nov 2011 15:11

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World: SIlvio Berlusconi to resign as Italian Prime Minister

  • The end of an era: Silvio Berlusconi was, if nothing else, a remarkably durable politician. He served as Prime Minister three different times, briefly in the 90s and twice over the last decade, despite both political and sexual scandals (you may recall his broken promise to sell his media assets if elected, his alleged tryst with underage prostitute ‘Ruby The Heart Stealer,’ and his very specific, foul assessment of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, fr example). However, following what Reuters reports as a “humiliating” legislative defeat over proposed reforms to meet the fiscal demands of the euro zone debt crisis, Berlusconi will soon be on the way out. Honestly, we never thought this guy’s political life would end with a parliamentary defeat. It somehow seems not salacious or bizarre enough, given the rest of the man’s career. (Photo by Alessio85) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Nov 2011 14:29

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Politics: DC appeals court rules in favor of health care law

  • Affordable Care act ruled constitutional: Not that it hasn’t been ruled unconstitutional before, and not that this is the last you’ll hear of the issue. That said, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Affordable Care Act yesterday, a move considered a surprise given the court’s conservative tilt. Said Judge Laurence SIlberman: “That a direct requirement for most Americans to purchase any product or service seems an intrusive exercise of legislative power surely explains why Congress has not used this authority before — but that seems to us a political judgment rather than a recognition of constitutional limitations.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Nov 2011 15:33

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Culture: Universal Studios chief is definitely a straight-talker

  • We make a lot of @%#$ movies, and every one of them breaks my heart… Wolfman and Babe 2 are two of the &@!#tiest movies we put out.
  • Universal Studios president Ron Meyer • Providing a somewhat scattological assessment of some of his studio’s films over the years. He wasn’t just picking on Benicio del Toro’s wolflike manner, or Babe’s traipse through the big city, either — he hung Cowboys and Aliens and Land of the Lost out to dry as well. We only wish he’d speak with this sort of candor before the opening weekend box office results roll in, saving us all the trouble. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Nov 2011 15:22

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World: Syrian government already in defiance of Arab League deal

  • 30 Syrians killed in separate attacks just after the Arab League deal source
  • » It didn’t take long: Syrian citizens skeptical of the deal struck between the Arab League and the Assad government seem to have been proven right. The deal stipulated that Syrian security forces would withdraw from cities, a free domestic and international media presence would be allowed, and the government would free its political prisoners. And yet, just one day later, security forces (not having withdrawn from the city of Homs, obviously) have killed 11 people. Another 19 died in a tank shelling in the activist-heavy Bab Amro district. Maybe it wasn’t right to expect much to come of the Arab League deal, given the abysmal human rights record of Bashar al-Assad’s government, but this is horribly discouraging.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Nov 2011 14:28

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Politics: Occupy Oakland to discuss chaos from last night’s protests

  • It’s not us, it’s a bunch of guys who wear black masks. It’s messing with our movement. They leech off our numbers — they only show up when there’s a rally.
  • Oakland Occupier Michael Porter • Talking about the chaotic elements of last night’s protests, which culminated in the early morning break-in of a vacant building, eliciting teargas and flash grenades from the OPD. Porter’s comment on this is interesting — there have been reports of graffiti sprayed throughout the city bearing conflicting messages, such as “kill cops” versus “non-violence works better.” The protest’s General Assembly is expected to address this today. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Nov 2011 14:09

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Politics: Mark Block won’t answer on campaign finance allegations

  • We’ve retained independent counsel to look at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story and report back to us… Amy, why don’t we talk about the campaign going forward?
  • Herman Cain’s chief-of-staff, Mark Block • Refusing to give a detailed answer on the much less examined scandal afflicting the Cain campaign right now. As we mentioned earlier, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that early in Herman Cain’s presidential run, his campaign accepted about $40,000 worth of illegal donations from a charity, Prosperity USA, which was run by Mark Block himself. This is, so far as we’ve seen, the first instance of Block or any representative of the Cain campaign being asked directly about this, and it doesn’t seem like he was very keen on the question. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Nov 2011 20:45

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Politics: Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants Obama’s birth microfiche

  • To help the president of the United States, let’s go to the microfiche. All you have to do if you’re the president is go to the Department of Health, or whatever, and release the microfiche.
  • Maricopa, AZ’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio • Taking birtherism to a dizzying, inane new height. We especially like how he couches it – “to help” President Obama. Arpaio has also formed what he referred to as a “posse” to investigate the President’s entirely well understood birth, and at a Tea Party Rally last month he said “…there could be a shock there somewhere that my guys came up with. I can’t talk too much about it. It’s in the process.” Just like Donald Trump’s investigators in Hawaii, huh? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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