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Shelly Silver Has to Go

Pay close attention to the deafening silence coming out of Albany legislators right now. It tells you everything you need to know about the reality of politics. It shows how power trumps the rights of victims. And it demonstrates the appalling lack of courage in electoral politics today. It’s been over a week since we […]

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The Liberal’s Alarm Bells

There were a lot of great lines at the Republican National Convention this week. Clint Eastwood‘s “We have to let him [Obama] go” was one of them. Condoleezza Rice‘s “There is no country — no, not even a rising China — that can do more harm to us than we can do to ourselves,” was up there, too. But the […]

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What’s that In the Air in Tampa? It’s Optimism.

There’s something in the air in Tampa, and it’s not rain. You can feel it in the hotel elevators and while on line for coffee at Starbuck’s. At first I confused it with good manners — I’m not staying with theNew York delegation but with effusively nice Midwesterners instead. But that’s not it either. What I’m feeling […]

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Neil Armstrong, RIP

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Abortion, The Verboten Topic

No Republican I know wants to be talking about abortion right now. But Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin has made that impossible. So let’s talk about it for a moment. But can we do it in a calm and rational way? Probably not. Because any frank discussion of the staggering quantity of abortions in the United States, or of its new forms, […]

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Video: Instant Celebrity

A friend of mine and I almost did this in the early 1980’s — we even printed business cards for the endeavor — but thought better of it upon reflection and canned the idea.  All I can say from this hilarious video is “Wow! It actually works.” Very funny stuff.  video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

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What Notre Dame’s New Uniforms Say

Notre Dame stirs passion in college football fans — you either love ’em or hate ’em. But the team’s new helmet and uniform should, for once, bring us all together in revulsion and alarm. It’s tough to describe the new team duds, which will be worn just once this season. But suffice it to say […]

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Boston Market Unsalted

Boston Market announced today that is pulling salt shakers from the tables of its 476 locations. Instead, it will have a solitary shaker near where napkins and cutlery are kept.  I’ve been super critical of New York City’s nanny-state policies, but in this case, good for Boston Market — if that’s what it wants to […]

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As Cities Go Broke

Jammin’ Jimmy Vielkind of the Albany Times Union has a very good piece out today on the possibility of struggling New York cities going bankrupt,  as is happening in other parts of the country.  As an alternative, financial control boards are being proposed.  Why?  Because it gets local electeds off the hook in making tough decisions.  […]

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Don’t Go Wobbly, GOP

Gene Wilder delivers a memorable line in the 1971 classic “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” that captures the state of American politics at this very moment in time. Portly Augustus Gloop becomes lodged in the main chocolate artery of Wonka’s plant. A seemingly irresistible force of liquid chocolate builds in the pipe behind him. Something has to […]

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