Like most of you, I suspect, I vividly remember the full-time television news coverage in the immediate aftermath of the horrific and monstrous terrorist attacks on the United States fifteen years ago today. The networks did a reasonably good job … Continue reading
In a free market businesses are free to set prices, customers are free to buy or not, and competitors are free to compete by offering an alternative product at a better prices. But sometimes customers don’t really have a choice … Continue reading
A couple of months ago John Green posted another good short video about Syrian refugees that’s worth four minutes of your time. Syrians in general aren’t all that different from middle class families in Europe or the United States. The … Continue reading
For six years now Republicans have promised to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. But while the House of Representatives has passed literally dozens of bills to repeal it (none of which actually got anywhere), they still haven’t been … Continue reading
A few weeks ago I was in a doctor’s waiting room and heard a sincere but seriously misinformed person spouting nonsense about the Affordable Care Act. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think it was my place to do. … Continue reading
As you probably know, Gene Wilder died yesterday at the age of 83 from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. A number of good obituaries were published today, but some of them understate his contribution to Young Frankenstein. The screenplay is … Continue reading
John Oliver talks about politicians who use popular songs for self-promotion not merely without permission but often apparently without a lot of thought. Donald Trump has hilariously used “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (at the end of the … Continue reading
You might suppose that North Carolina’s political culture would lean pretty far to the right. The state was part of the Confederacy, its schools remained segregated for about a decade after Brown v Board of Education, as of course did … Continue reading
Here’s an amusing little video to encourage all American citizens to register to vote by showing five things that are harder to do, from playing the classic kids’ game “Operation” to naming from memory the major characters on Game of … Continue reading
There’s a lot to be said for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare): It has reduced the number of Americans without health insurance to a record low. (And it would be even lower had a number of states not screwed themselves … Continue reading