One momentous day, the Forest Congress assembled to debate the burning issue of the hour: a bill had been offered declaring every acorn a tree, and, thus, all criminal penalties should accrue to anyone disturbing an acorn just as they would to anyone cutting down a tree. Continue reading
Eager to halt President Obama’s recent boost in the polls, Republicans have quick to blame the president and his policies for the steady rise in gas prices seen nationwide. But now those on the left have begun to sharpen their counter-attack, which is that it personal and corporate profit motive, pure and simple, which is to blame for the bigger bite consumers have been feeling at the pump. Those in the GOP have long worked to tie Obama to higher fuel prices, as far back as Sarah Palin’s “Drill, baby, drill!” slogan. More recently, the Republican National Committee transformed a fun clip of the president singing a blues classic during a White House concert into a gas-price online attack ad. … Continue reading
Yesterday, Evangelist Franklin Graham apologized to President Obama for questioning his Christian faith. Graham had said in a recent MSNBC interview that he “did not know whether Obama is a Christian” and he suggested that “Islamic law considers him to be a Muslim.” Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, said he now “accepts Obama’s declarations that he is a Christian.” “I regret any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama,” he said in a statement. “I apologize to him and to any I have offended for not better articulating my reason for not supporting him in this election — for his faith has nothing to do with my consideration … Continue reading
Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe has announced her retirement. A moderate Republican, who has often voted with Democrats in the Senate cited the extreme partisanship of recent years as her reasoning. In a statement Snowe said, “Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.” Notice of her retirement could be a “major setback for the GOP’s efforts to regain a majority in the Senate.” With Maine being a blue state, Snowe was considered as a … Continue reading
How long before nobody’s left, in that Niemöllerian sense? Continue reading
“Good heavens,” murmured Lewiston, looking vaguely from side to side. “That—that ruins me. I can’t carry my grain any longer—what with storage charges and—and—Bridges, I don’t see just how I’m going to make out. Sixty-two cents a bushel! Why, man, what with this and with that it’s cost me nearly a dollar a bushel to raise that wheat, and now Truslow—” He turned away abruptly with a quick gesture of infinite discouragement…. Continue reading
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Aren’t there NINE muses? Continue reading
President Obama thrilled audiences this week when he joined in to sing a few lines of the classic, “Sweet Home Chicago,” during a blues concert at the White House. Among those watching, but decidedly less thrilled, were national Republicans, who quickly transformed Obama’s turn with the mic into an online attack ad blaming Obama for the steep rise in gas prices nationally. The Republican National Committee (RNC) released the spot to coincide with Obama’s Thursday speech in Miami to discuss his energy policy, in which he repeated his call for an “all-of-the-above strategy for energy,” in which the United States develops both more clean, renewable energy as well as increased domestic production of petroleum. “You know there are no quick … Continue reading
