Conservative politicians and commentators are celebrating the decision by a federal judge in Virginia striking down the recently enacted health insurance legislation. This means that in the next few days we will hear repeatedly from conservatives how a federal court has agreed with the law's critics that it constitutes an unwarranted federal takeover of health care in this country. The one thing we will not hear from the ruling's supporters is the charge of "judicial activism." This is because conservatives only complain about judges striking down laws enacted by democratically elected representatives when those rulings are inconsistent with right-wing ideology.
It is possible to take issue with a judicial opinion interpreting the Constitution in two different ways. The first is to disagree with the legal reasoning adopted by the court. The main question in the cases challenging the health legislation is whether the Constitution authorizes congressional regulation of individuals who choose not to purchase health insurance. Although I believe that the Constitution does grant Congress the power to do so, I recognize that reasonable people disagree on the correct answer to that legal question.
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Leave it to Ralph Nader to do a Tea Party like slur of President Obama the few times a reporter comes calling. During the presidential campaign a peeved and unnerved Nader didn't stop at criticizing Obama for what he considered a bought and paid for Beltway insider. He asked rhetorically "Is it because he wants to talk white?" Nader got singed for playing the race card (along with a lot of applause from some who should have known better). Now Nader's back and he topped that by calling Obama "a con man" in an interview with The Hill.
He couldn't stop at that slur and had to add "I have no use for him." There are a couple of reasons Nader's still around and still gets an occasional nod in the press. The obvious one is that he can always be depended to take a swipe at Obama when there's a touchy issue at the head of the nation's political table that puts Obama on the spot. The tax cut deal Obama brokered with the GOP that sent liberal Democrats and progressives into orbit was the wedge to squeeze Nader into the press to rap Obama.
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Beverly Hills is sleepy and sunny on an early Saturday morning as I make my way to the Physique 57 studio for a class. The area, notorious for its shopping and restaurants, is virtually empty with exception to a few early risers ducking into the Rite Aid pharmacy or Jack and Jill's for breakfast. There's so much street parking its as if you're in another part of the globe. I hop out and hurry into the tiny brick building that hosts the studio. The latest hot trend in fitness, Physique 57 classes combine strengthening exercises with stretching. Without a doubt, the classes are popular. The room is packed as more than a dozen sleepy-eyed women file in -- mind you this is at 10am.
What hooked me, however, weren't the classes but the DVDs Physique also offers. As a serial entrepreneur with a two-year old startup, I'm not always able to get to the gym, am on travel, etc. I keep the DVD that tones your booty in my laptop's player for this very reason. In 30 minutes, no matter where I am, I can sneak a work out in.
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Conservative politicians and commentators are celebrating the decision by a federal judge in Virginia striking down the recently enacted health insurance legislation. This means that in the next few days we will hear repeatedly from conservatives how a federal court has agreed with the law's critics that it constitutes an unwarranted federal takeover of health care in this country. The one thing we will not hear from the ruling's supporters is the charge of "judicial activism." This is because conservatives only complain about judges striking down laws enacted by democratically elected representatives when those rulings are inconsistent with right-wing ideology.
It is possible to take issue with a judicial opinion interpreting the Constitution in two different ways. The first is to disagree with the legal reasoning adopted by the court. The main question in the cases challenging the health legislation is whether the Constitution authorizes congressional regulation of individuals who choose not to purchase health insurance. Although I believe that the Constitution does grant Congress the power to do so, I recognize that reasonable people disagree on the correct answer to that legal question.
More...
Leave it to Ralph Nader to do a Tea Party like slur of President Obama the few times a reporter comes calling. During the presidential campaign a peeved and unnerved Nader didn't stop at criticizing Obama for what he considered a bought and paid for Beltway insider. He asked rhetorically "Is it because he wants to talk white?" Nader got singed for playing the race card (along with a lot of applause from some who should have known better). Now Nader's back and he topped that by calling Obama "a con man" in an interview with The Hill.
He couldn't stop at that slur and had to add "I have no use for him." There are a couple of reasons Nader's still around and still gets an occasional nod in the press. The obvious one is that he can always be depended to take a swipe at Obama when there's a touchy issue at the head of the nation's political table that puts Obama on the spot. The tax cut deal Obama brokered with the GOP that sent liberal Democrats and progressives into orbit was the wedge to squeeze Nader into the press to rap Obama.
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What happens when a great nation -- and this is a great nation -- elects a ruler who is not up to the task of being president?
The answer is to be found in George W. Bush's memoirs, Decision Points -- a hastily written, jokey self-portrait that reveals far more than the former president perhaps intended. Shallow, ignorant, self-deluding and possessed of a fatal inferiority complex, he comes across as a friendly buffoon: which is desperately sad, at least for those of us who believe in America's role as "the indispensible nation" in a troubled time. Mr. Bush would have done well to read American Caesars before publishing his own book, in order to see clearly his place in the pantheon of leaders of the western world. In doing so he would, belatedly, recognize the real, not feigned stature of his predecessors in office since the United States took on the role of guardian of democracy in World War II. Certainly, reading American Caesars, he would not, I think, have dared put himself forward as a worthy successor, given his fatally blinkered world-view, and all too generous view of himself.
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There is a disease that is infiltrating our society. It's permeating our imaginations and infiltrating our ideas from every direction via movies, news stories, even video games~ it's the vision of our future. You know what the vision looks like: People have destroyed the planet, we are completely dependent on technology, and we are longing for the natural world (which we destroyed, btw). Ok~ that's fine~ who doesn't love a little science fiction? But where are the stories that counter this possibility? Where are the images, movies, books, and video games made about what a thriving future looks like once we have figured out how to live in a world where we reclaimed our relationship with the natural world, reclaimed our relationship to energy, and reclaimed our relationship to consumerism?
Some might say that we are living on earth during one of the most incredible moments in history, that we are living in a time with the consciousness that we can create (manifest if you use that lexicon), our realities, and that we are inherently responsible for our own happiness. So mix that with the never-ending stories about dooms day, and Houston, we have a problem.
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The cover girl for last week's Time magazine is not pretty, by conventional standards. She's a bit jowly, for one thing, and whiskers sprout from her cheeks and chin. The deep brown eyes that gaze into the camera are frankly a bit off-kilter, and she cops some attitude: "Way to go, Einstein" floats in a thought bubble over her droopy ear. But hey, she's a dog -- a pug, judging from her smushed-in nose.
Anyone who lives with animals or has observed them at any length will tell you that they can seem pretty darn smart. 
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Revelations of the incompetence and deceit that have marked our Afghan adventure appeared just as the foreign affairs cognoscenti were bandying about the latest big question: Can General David Petraeus repeat his Iraqi miracle? The formulation exposes a double delusion about the legend of the "surge" and what realistically can be expected from "Son of Surge," and the state of mind that so desperately fosters delusion.
Failure and despair are the breeding ground for miracle-workers, prophets and the myths that their legendary feats spawn. Success and hope mute our craving for heroes and heroics. The myth of the miraculous Iraqi acts magically performed by David Petraeus stems from the country's desperate need to be reassured of its prowess in the face of its serial failures in the Greater Middle East. From Iraq through Palestine, Somalia, Lebanon, Iran to Afghanistan II and Pakistan, our ill-advised interventions have left a trail of surreal dreams, lost causes, foiled schemes and havoc. Nowhere have we come close to meeting our objectives. We instead have sown doubts about the probity of American strategic judgment and sullied our historical reputation as an agent for good that observes standards of ethical international behavior.
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In an ecologically stressed world, we cannot entrust our future to an economy based primarily on people buying a lot of resource-intensive goods that they really don't need, often can't afford, and--if they reflected at any length--actually don't want. Our country must change the face of commerce by shifting away from reliance on the sale of consumer items built for abbreviated durability and one-time disposal. The U.S. economy must depend more heavily on the marketing of technological innovation. Expansion and maintenance of municipal and transportation infrastructures and alternative energy systems should be major new sources of jobs. Other avenues of employment that should assume a larger role are the agricultural sector and labor-intensive service/entertainment industries, ranging from education and health to arts and recreational pursuits. Our factories should concentrate more on the manufacture, repair, recycling, and reuse of essential products, especially big-ticket items.
As much as possible, all goods should be produced with recycled materials that when exhausted or outmoded could be recycled once again, perhaps for some lesser use. Raw materials utilized in manufacturing should, when feasible, be of the renewable kind, and extracted at a rate that allows adequate time for regeneration.
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WASHINGTON -- Jon Huntsman may be stepping into the shoes of Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee, becoming a top-tier candidate skeptical of current U.S. foreign policy and calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
"In terms of foreign policy, we have a generational opportunity, George, to reset our position in the world," Huntsman said in an interview with George Stephanopoulos that aired Friday on "Good Morning America." "And it must be done based upon our deployments in all corners of the world, wherever we find ourselves, how affordable those deployments are, whether it's a good use of our young men and women. Whether it's in our core national security and interest. We're fighting an enemy that is far different than any we have got before. It's a nontraditional kind of war, and I think we need to step back, recalibrate how we go about protecting our borders and protecting our people, and resetting our position in the world."
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We saw a different Lakers team in Game 2. It is almost as though LA had to keep things interesting by squandering a game so they could revitalize themselves by playing with their backs against the wall. New Orleans was 28-13 at home this season, so going down 2-0 and heading out on the road was not an option. But, as we’ve seen in past playoffs, the Lakers came to play when they absolutely needed to, forcing the Hornets into 16 turnovers and a woeful 39 percent shooting, in Game 2. Compare that to Game 1, when NO shot 52 percent and committed just 3 TOs.
Right now Andrew Bynum is the second best center in the league behind Dwight Howard. He’s that good. He and Pau Gasol -- even more than Kobe -- are the keys to this team. Every offensive possession should be run through them because the balance of the Phil Jackson’s triangle offense is maintained. They are both gifted frontline scorers, but, perhaps more importantly, both are willing and talented passers. Because of their size and vision, both are adept at dishing from the high post or the block, a crucial element to properly executing the triangle offense.
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Because many young players have a love affair with scoring, they can develop poor defensive habits early on. Often, those habits become uncorrectable. Gone are the days of true team enforcers like the Pistons “Bad Boys†contingent or the Bill Russell Celtic heydays. There are, however, still a few superb defenders around today -â€" guys that have an indelible impact on the game, even when they're not scoring. That's the beauty of playing “D.†Even when the shot isn’t falling and rhythm is lost, the defense is always there. Nobody in the league today better exhibits this than Dwight Howard, my pick for Defensive Player of the Year -- his third in a row.
1). Dwight Howard (Orlando) â€" Howard has become one of the most dominant defensive centers in the history of basketball. The ultimate interior enforcer, Howard creates problems for the offense by using his quick feet, leaping ability, length and -- perhaps the most underrated element of any great shot blocker -- timing. Howard is a freak athlete, but what separates him from other shot blockers is his ability to read when shots are going up and know exactly when to time his jump.
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The Nowling residence was built in 1962 amongst an avocado grove in La Habra Heights. The home was built by architect James De Long, who studied under Gehry as a Taliesin fellow. The open floor plan, in the style of famed architect Frank Gehry, flows from room to room out to the pool and gardens. Now on the market for $1.6 million, the 2,882 square foot home features built-in cabinetry and furniture, panoramic views, and three bedrooms and bathrooms (the master suite comprises the entire first floor).
The original listing has scans of a 1967 LA Times Magazine issue that featured the home with an article entitled "An Air Of Old-Fashioned Grace," despite the fact that it was published just five years after the home was built. Perhaps even then, the wood paneling, built-ins, and other design features completely captured a time and aesthetic so thoroughly that even a few years distance was enough to date it. Now in 2011, the perfectly preserved home and much of the original furniture can completely transport visitors to a past era.
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The first day of spring is Monday. From my little corner of the world on the East Coast, it has been the longest winter on record. Just hearing the birds chirp again was startling, and the sight of grass was a shock to the eyes. Not only has the winter been unending, but the relentless pound of natural disasters, economic woes and endless bad news leaves a deep longing for the promise of spring at every level. The seeds of change are sprouting everywhere we look.
Historically, March 21 is known as the vernal equinox -- an equal balance of light and dark. It is a nice time to get quiet, go out in nature, plant seeds and embrace the new changes to come. It is also a full moon- neither waxing or waning, but suspended brightness. Spring is a time of quickening, and our energy, plans and mood all elevate with the lengthening of the sunny days. Instead of just letting the equinox pass by, how about using it to conduct an internal once-over? What changes need to be made in your life? In order to make them happen, do you need a little inner spring cleaning?
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It is so easy to think that there is no one there anymore when the person in front of you does not talk, or when she makes unintelligible sounds, or says things that don't seem to make sense, or doesn't remember what happened from one minute to the next. This is a normal reaction, but one that commonly leads to a whole set of unintentionally harmful behaviors towards the person: talking as if the person was not there, or addressing her as one would a child, or not giving her the opportunity to make decisions she is still capable of, or assuming that our interactions with her don't matter.
The person whose essential needs for dignity, connection and autonomy are not being met is left with a host of raw emotions (anger, grief, shame, depression) that she is unable to express adequately because of her cognitive limitations. Out of desperation, the person shuts down or acts out, becoming aggressive, pacing, wandering, calling out and crying. We drove the person to madness, and now we blame her for it. This is insane. What is called for is a better understanding of what it's like to live with Alzheimer's.
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A white, powdered face, devilish eyes hidden within painted, black-silver swan wings, dark red lips, a crown of twisted metal -- the poster face for Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010) certainly does seduce us, even more than it scares us.
Black Swan follows Nina Sayer (Natalie Portman), a professional ballerina, and her desire to become the principal dancer in Thomas Leroy's (Vincent Cassel) new production of Swan Lake. To play the role of the Swan Queen, Nina must learn to play both the white swan and the black swan. A figure of utmost innocence dressed in white and pinkish hues, Nina has little trouble adopting the persona of the white swan, but she must endure the overt sexualization of her body by Thomas and dredge up an inner darkness in order to become the black swan. Along the way, we meet her obsessive mother, Erica Sayers (Barbara Hershey), Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder), a newly discarded prima ballerina, and Lily (Mila Kunis), a new member of the ballet company who possesses the essence of what Nina believes to be the black swan and who threatens to usurp Nina's role as the Swan Queen.
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On numerous levels, the United States continues to fall farther behind China in public diplomacy. This is yet another indication that, for all its protestations about its commitment to reach out to foreign publics, the U.S. government is unwilling to commit the resources needed to do so effectively.
Within the U.S. Congress, the most thoughtful and persistent champion of public diplomacy is Senator Richard Lugar, ranking Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In a report released February 15, Senator Lugar noted that "in the same way that our trade with China is out of balance, it is clear to even the casual observer that when it comes to interacting directly with the other nation's public we are in another lop-sided contest."
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I recently proposed a modest Green Agenda for the Obama Administration and the next Congress. While much of the agenda is positive and forward moving, a key element of the agenda is defensive: protecting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against the mindless onslaught of the radical right wing. I admit I am not an unbiased observer of EPA. I first worked EPA in 1977, when I helped staff a task force on public participation in EPA's water programs. After graduate school, I worked for EPA in 1980 and 1981, developing the community relations program for Superfund, and in the 1990's I worked as a consultant to Ron Brand, the visionary founder of EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks.
I've been in and around EPA for most of my career and it is an agency filled with talented and dedicated scientists, lawyers, administrators and other experts. Its organizational culture is not without flaws, but for four decades it has taken the lead in reducing our economy's impact on our natural environment. It has managed the trick of allowing our economy to grow while reducing many key pollutants.
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Earlier this week, HBO aired the critically acclaimed documentary Miracle (2001), which took us back through all the elements leading up to Team USA's "Miracle On Ice" Gold medal performance in hockey at Lake Placid in 1980. The story lines for that team and those events still transcend time.
As we know, "Miracle on Ice" told the story of the dogged, underdog, youthful Americans battling the evil Soviet Empire, and how their hard work and success captured a nation and helped turn the tide of negativity in the United States at the time. It was a great example of the power of sport, and was a great time for American sport on an international stage, especially with the games on U.S. soil. In so many ways, the ebb and flow of life has changed time and again since those days in Lake Placid. The dominance of the Soviet Union has come and gone along with so many changes in our everyday lives, both positive and negative. Our focus is on adversaries of a much more stealth nature today, ones that are probably more dangerous and deadly than whatever was faced during the Cold War.
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President Obama is a gentleman, deliberative, conciliatory, and diplomatic, believes to the nth degree in bipartisanship, has never stooped to down and dirty name calling, bashing, and trashing his political opponents and even outright avowed political enemies. There is no record that the Obama White House encouraged counter rallies, marches, demonstrations, complete with grotesque personally insulting, derogatory caricatures of his opponents on signs and placards, or waved flags and symbols that mocked and taunted his opponents.
He certainly has never uttered a word that sworn enemies and loathers of his policies and him did not have the right to their views, or worse that they were alien, foreign, and dangerous to American values and ideals. He's acted courtly, presidential, and stood above the hate fray aimed at him at every moment of his administration. His acts toward his avowed political enemies have been the diametric opposite of what they have slugged him with. Yet, Obama is coming perilously close to going one step further, a step that poses mortal political danger to him if he takes it. And that is to embolden his sworn enemies to escalate their campaign of lies, distortions, vilification, and hate against him.
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