For the most part, I enjoy watching Frontline. This particular Frontline tells the story of the Newtown, Connecticut shootings. Unfortunately, half of this episode spends a lot of time trying to re-create who Adam Lanza really was. I find that most re-creations are superficial and are not helpful. The second part deals with the debate over gun violence and gun control. This I find more fascinating. One reporter stated that this is the most divisive topic in the United States. There is no middle ground. He compared it to the abortion debate. I agree 100%.
I’m not sure why former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has decided that it’s time for him to step back into the spotlight. He still believes that he lost the presidential race because ObamaCare was too attractive to minority and low-income voters. One of these days, he will read some polls that were not generated by his own campaign and figure out that he was simply unpopular.
One of the promises of the Internet was that it was going to be able to bring high-quality education to everyone. New research suggests that people who are already at the back of the class, as far as learning goes, do poorly with online learning scenarios. (more…)
Frankly, I find it depressing that were still talking about a woman’s right to choose in the year 2012. If you don’t want an abortion, then don’t get one. But that was somewhat clichéd. As a matter fact, everything has been said on the abortion debate over the last 40 years. There’s nothing new. The only thing that is new is the ferocity with which the Republicans continue to attack a woman’s right. In Mississippi, the personhood bill, which was previously defeated, has been reintroduced. In Virginia, the House has decided that a woman needs to have a transvaginal ultrasound and has to look at the pictures before she can have an abortion. A vote on this bill has been delayed secondary to protests but I guarantee you it’s going to happen soon. Rick Santorum, in my opinion a joke of a political candidate, has risen to prominence in part because of his staunch position on abortion, women’s rights and social issues. (Did you know that fighting pornography was his top priority, not jobs for the middle class or healthcare or any of a hundred other issues. It was the first thing listed on his issues page on his web site before it was changed yesterday.) I’m afraid that with this latest trend, somebody’s going to start arguing that all Blacks need to get back into the ship and go back to Africa. I can see it coming.
The following two charts should cause Republicans to wonder about their chances in November. Now, before the conservatives read my blog go nuts, I know that lots of things can happen between now and the election. Many of these things are completely out of the control of the White House. If Europe implodes, our economy will tank. If gas prices go through the roof which is quite possible are economy will slow to a crawl. Any downturn in the economy can spell disaster for Obama. Yet, Wall Street seems to be flourishing under Democratic president much like it did under President Clinton.
Redistricting has placed Michele Bachmann into a blue district. She is thinking about running for Congress from another district. (I truly hate the partisan politics of redistricting. Districts should be redrawn by computers and not bipartisan politicians, from either side.)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn (remember him from the IMF) can not stay out of the news. He’s been held in conjunction with a prostitution ring.
The Red Cross has been asking for a cease-fire in Syria. I wish them luck. When Syrian troops continued to fire on civilians in front of Arab League observers, I knew the civilian population was in trouble. Russia and China are going to have to apply some significant pressure in order to get Syria to back off.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Abigail Fisher. Ms. Fisher, a White American, says that she was discriminated against because of her race. This is a reverse discrimination case. This will be interesting.
Google is everywhere. Like Microsoft 20 years ago, Google is the new big kid on the block. They’ve invested in everything including Google automobile. The car will basically drive itself. I can think of nothing better for seniors and young teenagers.
From NYT: The car is a project of Google, which has been working in secret but in plain view on vehicles that can drive themselves, using artificial-intelligence software that can sense anything near the car and mimic the decisions made by a human driver.
With someone behind the wheel to take control if something goes awry and a technician in the passenger seat to monitor the navigation system, seven test cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention and more than 140,000 miles with only occasional human control. One even drove itself down Lombard Street in San Francisco, one of the steepest and curviest streets in the nation. The only accident, engineers said, was when one Google car was rear-ended while stopped at a traffic light.
Please note that the guy taking this video is trying to DRIVE!!
