U.S. Presidential candidate Rick Perry made a bizarre and un-Presidential speech which lasted 25 minutes in New Hampshire on October 28. Is this how the United States President should present himself? (The clip I used shows the moments that are most unusual; it includes Rachel's Oct. 31 introduction to her show, and then moves into the Perry footage, which is…
Marriage
Really? Gay people cannot marry but we have to protect the sacred institution of man-and-woman marriage so that people including Kim Kardashian (filed for divorce today after 72 days of marriage to Chris Humphries) and Britney Spears can treat it like they have? Honestly? See this roundup article for other very short marriages that do a great job of presenting…
Perry’s Jobs Plan
According to an article by Susan Adams in Forbes, Texas governor and United States presidential candidate Rick Perry's jobs recently revealed plan to create jobs is in fact a nearly word-for-word restatement of the American Petroleum Institute's wish list. Although the plan does not explain how such actions would lead to job creation, the plan projects creating 1.2 million jobs…
Rick Perry and His Desire to End All Regulation
My. On August 15, GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Perry called for an end to all regulations because regulations are "job-killing." Regulations are job-killing? Really? Has he thought about the implications for his anarchy-inducing idea? See details here.
Warren Buffett on Tax Reform
In the Aug. 14 New York Times, Warren Buffett makes the argument against "coddling the rich." He writes, "OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched." Read the rest of his insightful op-ed here:…
Michele Bachmann and One of Her Tax Reform Ideas
In a Forbes article, Howard Gleckman provides an analysis of what would happen to taxpayers and taxes if one of Michele Bachmann's ideas for tax reform were implemented. This is especially interesting if one remembers how energetically many Tea Partiers rail against the way that the people who earn the lowest incomes frequently do not pay much, or any, income tax. "In a revealing…
2012 Proposed Budget Changes to Medicare and Repeal of Health Insurance Reform
I've been thinking about the recommendation to privatize Medicare, recently announced by Paul Ryan as part of the Republican Party's 2012 federal budget proposal. Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin was chosen as chairman of the House Budget Committee after the Republican victories in the 2010 midterm elections. The proposed 2012 budget would reduce the amount currently budgeted for Medicare and change Medicare…
Gov. Snyder’s Budget and Tax Proposal
In February Michigan Governor Snyder, in his budget, proposed to raise much needed revenue through increases (called “adjustments”) in personal income taxes amounting to $1.7 billion dollars. This “adjustment” to personal income taxes (tax increase) is necessary, says the Governor, because Michigan is in a financial crisis and faces a significant budget deficit, and we must make “shared sacrifices,” which…
A New Sin?
Major News and Bible-Revision Flash: Recently, Reverend/Pastor/Church Leader Joel Osteen determined that homosexuality is a sin. For coverage of this pronouncement, go to this link related to the recent interview with Piers Morgan, during which he announced his major decision. You can also simply type "Osteen sin homosexuality" into the search engine of your choice and come up with many links on the topic, from large national…
Loving Ruth Reichl
I love Ruth Reichl. There, I said it. If you don’t know Ruth, she was the editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, one of the best food magazines in the print world, until it was shut down by its publisher, the Conde Nast, in October of 2009. Under her guidance, Gourmet went from being a food/lifestyle/travel magazine to being one of the best examples…