Every neighborhood has one - that one kid who took a left turn at Albuquerque (emotionally), and causes trouble for everyone. In global terms, that kid is North Korea. A thorn in the side of national diplomacy when Kim Jun Il was in charge, that thorn is causing a festering sore now that his son has assumed the throne. He's that kid that throws firecrackers at the neighborhood pets until he accidentally blows his own fingers off.
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74 comments (Latest Comment: 04/09/2013 02:57:50 by Will in Chicago)

I'm going to skim my sources, but I think I've got nothing this morning. At least nothing developed enough for the spotlight today.
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9 comments (Latest Comment: 04/07/2013 14:59:02 by Raine)

Due to poor planning and happenstance, I won't be able to post a real blog until later. For now, here's an open thread.
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85 comments (Latest Comment: 04/05/2013 04:22:03 by Will in Chicago)

Good Morning.

Today is our 4,195th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,184
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,081

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 438, 886, 325, 000 .00

Let's talk about health today. Even before the ACA, I was blessed with a state that had vast coverage. Things you have to fight for in other places, I took for granted here in this Commonwealth. Fortunately, until last year the only truly "expensive" or "unusual" treatment we had was our fertility troubles in the late '90s. But it's different for returning veterans. If they can't get a job in the civilian sector (and many still can't), then there is no job-provided commercial insurance. This leaves our veterans relying on an already overburdened VA system for routine healthcare, as well as the more severe war-related injuries.
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62 comments (Latest Comment: 04/02/2013 21:12:56 by Mondobubba)

Some people in this country have the savvy and courage to come up with great ideas that are easy to pass into law. And often we wonder, "what did we do before this law"? The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is obviously one of them but there are others.

For example, lets say you're in a fine dining establishment with your husband and you need to use the restroom, don't you often find yourself worrying about the possibility that a transgender person might be inside? Does the fear keep you hovering at the restroom door trying to avert a panic attack? I know this happens to me every day.I could walk in and be greeted by a person who looks and sounds in every respect like a woman, but must pee standing up. The thought of it makes me nauseous.
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11 comments (Latest Comment: 04/01/2013 12:26:50 by Raine)