September 10, 2014

Luckovich toon: Mea culpa

September 10, 2014

Did you really need this video Commissioner Goodell,

September 10, 2014

Keith Olbermann tweet on the Commissioner of the NFL

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September 9, 2014

Gay People Made A Straight Man Cry With Their Response To The Question 'Is Being Gay A Choice?'

By George Takei

I have always maintained that the fight for LGBT equality can only be won with the help of our straight allies, and this is a noble and fine example. This vlogger (who is straight) changed the life of one young gay man whose own parents not only rejected him when he came out, but subjected him to horrific verbal and physical abuse before tossing him out of his home. The incident brought the vlogger to tears, and his heroic and heartfelt response brought me to them in turn.

Hearts and minds are changed one person at a time. But this shows that one person with his heart in the right place really can make a big difference.

http://www.upworthy.com/gay-people-made-a-straight-man-cry-with-their-response-to-the-question-is-being-gay-a-choice

September 9, 2014

California Governor Brown promises to sign mandatory sick leave bill

SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) – California Governor Jerry Brown said on Tuesday he would sign a bill requiring businesses to offer paid sick leave to employees, the latest of several moves by Democratic lawmakers to aid low-income workers in the most populous U.S. state.

The bill would require employers to provide at least three days of annual paid sick leave to workers, who would accrue the time off at a rate of one hour per 30 hours worked. Last fall, Brown signed a bill raising the minimum wage in the state to $10 per hour by 2016.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/09/california-governor-brown-promises-to-sign-mandatory-sick-leave-bill/

September 9, 2014

NBA Player Captures Police Officer’s Generosity Toward Homeless Man

Just seen an Indy police officer pull over. Go into his trunk n give a homeless guy a pair of shiny boots. #COPS”

The officer pulled a pair of boots out of his cruiser and handed them to a homeless man holding a sign at the side of the road, Hibbert told BuzzFeed News.

The homeless man shook his head in disbelief and appeared to thank the officer, Hibbert said.

“He just walked back into his car and drove away,” Hibbert said.

The officer couldn’t have known the NBA center was just a few cars away and would share the encounter to his 180,000 Instagram followers. The Pacers have also reached out to the police department to try to identify the officer; Hibbert said he’d like to give him a few tickets to show his appreciation.

At a time when the excessive force of some officers has caught headlines, Hibbert said he wanted to bring attention to the acts of good that aren’t as visible.

“Not all police officers are what you hear about in Ferguson,” he said. “This type of stuff you don’t hear about too often.”

http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/nba-player-captures-police-officers-generosity-toward-homele

September 9, 2014

HappyBirthday, StarTrek! Today in 1966, the first episode of TOS aired.

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/08/chat-on-39/

September 9, 2014

Because, well, we can never see it enough!!!!

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/08/chat-on-39/

September 9, 2014

Paul Krugman: Obamacare Life Spiral

Imagine taking a time machine back to 2010 and telling Republicans in Congress, who were arguing that the CBO was wildly underestimating Obamacare’s cost, that the law would be cheaper than predicted and, at least in the states that accepted its Medicaid dollars, cover more people than the Congressional Budget Office thought. After the laughing and mocking and the calling of security, let’s say you offered this prediction in the form a of a bet. What odds do you think Obamacare’s critics would have offered? 2:1? 5:1? 10:1? But you don’t have to go back to 2010. Look at John Cochrane in late 2013, taking it for granted that Obamacare would implode in a death spiral within a few months. Look at The Hill just four months ago, telling us that double-digit premium hikes were coming.

One question we might ask here is, why is the news so good? The answer, I’d suggest — although I hope the real experts will weigh in — is that we’re actually seeing the opposite of a death spiral; call it a life spiral. For one thing, the huge surge in enrollments late in the day meant that the risk pool this year is better than insurers expected, and they now expect 2015 to be better still. Also, importantly, big enrollments mean that more insurers are entering the market, increasing competition. And, of course, the better the deal the more people will sign up: success feeds success.

More here: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/obamacare-life-spiral/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body&_r=2

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September 9, 2014

Toon: I'm feeling great!

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