The presidential pardon has got to be one of the strangest traditions in Washington. How exactly is justice served when an outgoing president hands out clean slates to a dozen or so convicted criminals, just because he’s a few weeks away from retirement? Why should a president have the power to bypass the […]
Entries Tagged as 'government'
bush pardons a bomber, a fraudster, a bootlegger and more
December 2nd, 2008 · No Comments
Tags: americas · government · law and order · news · politics · usa
congratulations america, from the rest of us
November 5th, 2008 · 3 Comments
Not that it’s any of my business, since I’m not American, but on behalf of the rest of the world, congratulations on choosing the best person for the job. We — and 52% of America — could be wrong about him, and we’ll have four years to find out, but in terms at least […]
Tags: americas · darn tootin' · election · government · holy crap · neato · news · obama · opinion · politics · usa
financial crisis quote of the day
September 23rd, 2008 · 3 Comments
A comment on America’s financial woes, as reported in the latest edition of Harper’s Weekly:
“The private market has screwed itself up,” said Representative Barney Frank (D., Mass.), “and they need the government to come help them unscrew it.”
A close second, also from Harper’s Weekly:
“My first instinct,” said President George W. Bush, “was to let the […]
Tags: americas · darn tootin' · finance · funny · government · irony · money
“drill baby drill” vs. “new energy for america”
September 5th, 2008 · 3 Comments
Not to be a jerk or anything, but it kind of seems like a stupid question: should we find new ways to feed and maintain our addiction to oil, or decrease our reliance on the fossil fuels that are empoverishing our people and altering our fragile climate?
These folks think they have the answer:
I work in […]
Tags: americas · darn tootin' · dumb · election · energy · environment · government · mccain · movies/tv/video · news · obama · opinion · politics · sustainability · usa
calls to strip russia of 2014 olympics
August 26th, 2008 · No Comments
You likely know that just before the Beijing Olympics, Russia invaded the neighbouring Republic of Georgia. The move earned widespread international condemnation, and the resulting war of words with the West has been making headlines for weeks.
You may not know that last July the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2014 Winter […]
Tags: europe · government · news · olympics · politics · russia · sport · usa · war
indian state reserves one government post for hiv-positive employees
August 13th, 2008 · No Comments
The state-run AIDS Control Society in the southern Indian state of Kerala will reserve one government job for HIV/AIDS-positive applicants — the first time I’ve ever heard of a quota for people with a particular illness. The employee will help build government sensitivity to the disease and improve communication with its sufferers, and aims […]
