January 25, 2010
On the Media On the Filibuster
More stealing from James Fallows’ blog — he sat down with Bob Garfield of the great NPR show “On the Media” to discuss the failure of the media to clarify the lunacy of the filibuster. (If I hear one more media outlet report that the Senate Democrats lost their majority when a Republican won the Massachusetts’ Senate seat, I will bang my head against the wall. They lost only their 60-seat supermajority and still hold an 18-seat majority; 19 if you count Joe Lieberman. In the absurd system we have, that’s apparently not enough to get stuff done. Sigh.)
January 24, 2010
Great Journalism Gets Noticed
I blogged about NPR’s eye-opening piece about the bail-bond system the other day; apparently, others noticed as well. James Fallows of the Atlantic had a similar reaction to the story and points to a few other articles in the realm of “impressive journalism.”
Listen to part 2 of the NPR story below or read it here.
Conan’s Last “Tonight Show”
It’s amazing to go from here to here, but that’s life. It was a gracious exit, but hopefully we won’t be waiting long for Coco’s next adventure. Watch the final episode below.
January 22, 2010
Science Friday: Jellyfish Viewing
New techniques for studying these slimy animals.
Below and here.
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Paying Public Debts to Private Companies
People make mistakes. They get into trouble. And then they become a cog in a political-financial machine. Should a half-million people sit in jail because they can’t afford to pay a bondsman, who does almost nothing to earn his fee? Should taxpayers be subsidizing these crooks? Should nonviolent petty criminals have their lives ruined because they can’t afford 50 bucks to get out of jail? NPR, in a three-part series, takes a very hard look at the bail bond racket and it’s eye opening.