By Linda Anselmi on Jul 28, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
One of my favorite sayings by humorist Will Rogers is so simple and profound that most people shrug it off. But it is the literal, if uncomfortable truth. A man can make a million and he is on every page in the morning. But it never tells you who gave up that million he got. You can’t [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Jul 25, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
* Bumped Up * The invitation said eight o’clock, but the doors don’t open until well after ten. Music and laughter is in full swing. It wafts out to us as we wait in the rain. We enter the ballroom, cold and wet, but with our heads held high. Our designated seats are in a corner far [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Jul 18, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
Is there a Dem revolt in the air? Or another tea party in the making? I found this article Dump Obama: a Primary Focus (see excerpts below) at FDL (FireDogLake.com). Besides the obvious point that they are slow learners regarding dem party corruption and who Obama really is. And it is nice to know they have [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Jul 15, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Linda for volunteering to prepare this interesting discussion for your reading. Regular readers know that the writers under Larry Johnson’s No Quarter banner are a diverse group, from a variety of backgrounds, who came together in passionate support of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential election — and NEVER joined [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Jul 8, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
The Pledge of Allegiance has been the official national pledge of the United States of America since June 22, 1942. Yet, it is rarely heard by the average American outside of sporting events these days. And worse still, it has now reached such a level of controversy that even city councils are objecting to its use. As someone [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Apr 1, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
It is always a special joy as a reader to find writings and authors who paint a big picture with the mundane and remind us all of our underlying humanity. Such is the stuff, along with a little time, from which classic fiction is made. Think of Adventures of Huck Finn, Babbitt, To Kill A Mockingbird… Non-fiction, [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Mar 20, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
It is hard not to become fixated on the news coverage and speculation over what will happen next with the nuclear reactors in Japan. But there are other small but equally compelling dramas and acts of survival that are quietly unfolding in the wake of the Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. A dog leads reporters to [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Mar 16, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
With all the life altering news throughout the world, here is some news to ponder that you might have missed. Lost: Neil M. Barofsky, Special Inspector General of TARP from government pay roll. Soon. As the chief investigator of the government’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program during the last two years, Neil Barofsky established a white-collar [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Mar 11, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
Bumped Up & Updated * Open Thread On Friday March 11th, Japan was hit by and earthquake that measured 8.9 by the US Geological Survey. It hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) at a depth of about 24km and generated a 23-30 foot Tsunami that hit the coast of Japan, traveled 6 miles inland, and created [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Mar 7, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
(A bit of a rant to follow John H. Huey’s insightful “Live Free or Die” piece on aviation security.) “Keep us safe” was the cry. “What ever it takes” was the demand. And we all stood in line, passive and trusting, without our shoes, as we followed the 3-1-1 rule with our liquids, had our [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Feb 15, 2011 in Current Affairs, Health Care, Humor, Satire | View Comments
* Bumped Up * My eyes honed in like laser beams at the Breaking News. President Obama’s advisor, and MIT economist, Jonathan Gruber was (via AP): “…turning to comic books to help make the pitch for the administration’s embattled health care law.” [snip]…”[with] a defensible text that is fact-based.” Wow! A comic book telling truths about healthcare. Incredible! Brilliant!! [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Feb 4, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
When rape by definition requires the act to be ”without consent” and “against one’s will”, it is more than a little disconcerting to discover that our government, in this day and age, wants to discriminate against victims by the degree of violation. In the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” (HR 3), ”forcible rape” is the standard, [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Feb 2, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
Editor’s UPDATE: Turn on CNN and listen to Anderson Cooper. He and crew are barricaded in their rooms and have had to turn the lights off. There is gunfire — very loud. He reports that the military allowed pro-Mubarak protestors to come into the protest areas despite their clearly having weapons, whereas in past days, [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Jan 19, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
The further the departure from direct and constant control by the citizens, the less has the government of the ingredient of republicanism… –Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson wrote those words in a letter, dated May 28, 1816, to writer, Virginia delegate, and U.S. Senator, John Taylor. They were in response to receiving and reading Taylor’s book Enquiry [...]
By Linda Anselmi on Jan 1, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments
Rudolph floated forward. Big, beautiful, and buoyant, his red nose a beacon leading the way as part of the local Christmas parade. Still, he needed helping hands to anchor him and navigate a path along the city street. Sure he was a bit awkward to deal with, but with a little foresight and planning, Rudolph [...]