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Archive for March, 2009

Creationism: It’s Not Just For Christians Anymore

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 18th, 2009. Filed under Evolution vs. ID, Islam, Religion, Science

Islamic fundamentalists also don’t have much patience for science:
ISTANBUL — As scientists around the world celebrate the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s seminal work on evolution, Adnan Oktar, a college dropout turned theorist of Islamic creationism, is working on the fifth volume of a 14-part masterwork that he says will bury Darwinism once and for [...]

Stephen Colbert Goes Galt

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 18th, 2009. Filed under Ayn Rand, Books, Humor

Last week, Stephen Colbert put his spin on the whole “Going Galt” meme:
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The Colbert ReportMon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word – Rand Illusion

Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor
Mark SanfordNASA Name Contest

Even though I like Rand’s ideas alot, I think Colbert hits the nail on the head. In the [...]

Peter Schiff: The Meltdown Should Not Have Been A Surprise

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under Credit Crisis, Economics, Politics

Peter Schiff gave the Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture at the Austrian Scholars Conference this past weekend and his speech is well worth listening to:

U.S. Protectionism Leads To Mexican Retaliation

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Economics, Foreign Affairs, Mexico, Politics

Or, to put it more simply, we’ve got a little trade war brewing south of the border, down Mexico way:
MEXICO CITY — Mexico said Monday it will increase tariffs on about 90 U.S. products in retaliation for last week’s decision to end a pilot program that allowed some Mexican trucks to transport goods in the [...]

The New Facebook Facelift Sort Of Sucks

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under Facebook, Internet, Technology

Chris Willman over at HuffPo pretty much sums up how I feel about the “new” Facebook homepage:
How “Twitteriffic” is the new Facebook redesign? Imagine that Apple panicked over the press the Google G1 phone was getting last fall and abruptly decided to remake the iPhone in the image of its upstart competitor–dropping the most desirable [...]

Jeff Frederick Fights Back

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under Virginia, Virginia Politics

RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick responded today to the detailed charges against him in the latest round of battle that is doing little more than harm Virginia Republicans:
RICHMOND, March 17 — In fighting to keep his job as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick sent a memo to supporters today that [...]

Obama’s Approval Ratings Remain High

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Politics

The latest Gallup Poll seems to indicate that President Obama continues to enjoy an approval rating better than either of his two predecessors:
PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama’s job approval rating, at 61% in the latest three-day average of Gallup Poll Daily tracking, is slightly above where George W. Bush’s and in particular Bill Clinton’s [...]

Barack Obama On Taxing Health Benefits: No Profile In Courage

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Politics

It seems that the Obama Administration wants to have it both ways when it comes to the sensitive issue of taxing employer-provided health benefits:
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the president could support taxing some employee health benefits, as several influential lawmakers and many economists favor, to help pay for overhauling [...]

Angry About The AIG Bonuses ? Blame Washington

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, Credit Crisis, Economics, Politics

As the Obama Administration tries to manage the blowblack from the revelations about the bonuses paid to AIG employees last week, it’s becoming exceedingly clear that this is a controversy created largely thanks to the incompetence and grand-standing at all levels of levels of government.
First of all, there’s the fact that Tim “Turbo Tax” Geithner [...]

St. Patrick’s Day At The White House Chicago Style

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 17th, 2009. Filed under In The News

There’s a long standing tradition in Chicago of dying the Chicago River green for St. Patrick’s Day, and it looks like that tradition has made it’s way to the White House:
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and at first lady Michelle Obama’s suggestion, the fountain at the White House is spraying green-colored water today. White [...]

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