At this point in the campaign season, we’ve all heard the term “Citizens United” at least a bajillion or so times. “Citizens United led to superPACs … ” this and “Thanks to Citizens United … ” that. Such a pleasant little name for a truly insidious concept—that corporations have the same rights to free speech as you and me, even if said speech is expressed in millions of dollars of political advertising.
Citizens Should Unite Against Citizens United
If you don’t think corporations are people, now’s the time to complain.
President Obama Was One of 27 People Who Lied to Me This Week
The other lying liars include Rick Santorum, my accountant and Charlie Manuel.
Want to own a small business? It’s not as romantic as you may think. Very few entrepreneurs go on to become the CEOs of publicly held companies. Sure, there are many upsides: the independence, the freedom, the joy of innovation, the girls, the parties, the cheering crowds. But for most of us, running a business means long hours of hard work in industrial parks near the airport. We deal with a lot of headaches. And boy, do we hear a lot of lies! Don’t believe me? Here’s just a partial list of 27 people who lied to me this past week alone.
At my office, there's a table in the kitchen that I've been avoiding like the plague. Casually sitting next to the microwave, there they are: the delicious, expensive banes of my winter existence. It takes all my willpower to stop myself from ripping open a box of Thin Mints and devouring an entire sleeve in one go, cookie crumbs coating my face and the floor.
Rick Santorum’s “Christian” Values Aren’t Very Christian
Not unless you consider Confucius and Aesop and Plato Christian, anyway.
I don’t mean to keep going after Rick Santorum, but Lord, he makes it easy. Over the weekend, he stepped in a great big pile of doo by claiming that President Obama practices “some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology.” In essence, he was telling the President: “I know Jesus, and you’re no Christian.” Per usual, he then backpedaled frantically, insisting that he’s never doubted Barack Obama’s faith and telling his followers, “I’ve repeatedly said that I believe the President’s Christian.” What a huge relief it must be to Obama, Rick, that he’s got your imprimatur!
Why It’s Time to Abolish Black History Month
February’s not the only time to learn American history and world history.
Black History Month (BHM) should be abolished and should never be officially honored or even informally acknowledged. It’s nothing more than some reverse racism entitlement nonsense that gives credit to a whiny race of shiftless people who have always received much more than they have ever given to America and the colonies. Moreover, BHM is unfair to white ethnics whose ancestors came here through Ellis Island and were subjected to harsh discrimination. But instead of complaining, they simply fought through it, pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps, and in just a few generations became educated, successful, and even prosperous members of society, living the American Dream. They didn’t need no damn English, Irish, Italian, German, Polish, or other history month. So let’s abolish BHM right here and right now.
Did Chris Christie Lower Jersey Flags for Whitney Houston to Suck Up to Black People?
A past-her-prime pop singer doesn’t rank among the state’s true fallen heroes.
With the sparse media coverage of Whitney Houston’s death and funeral, it’s not surprising that her years of military service have gone largely unnoticed, as were her activities as an undercover cop in New Jersey (was she really killed after a sting went bad?). After all, she must have done these dangerous things to warrant all New Jersey state flags being flown at half-mast in her honor, as ordered by Governor Chris Christie.
Because the opposite simply defies common sense. If Houston was not a police officer gunned down in the line of duty, nor a military hero killed in a war zone, that means that the hugely significant act of lowering the flags in deference to her was because she was … a singer?
New York Fashion Week Recap: The Coveted, the Hilarious, the Scary
We can’t wait to see someone wearing the sewn-in nipples shirt on Walnut Street.
There were great things to come out of the fall 2012 collections at New York Fashion Week. There were the pieces like this, the ones that, when they came down the runway on the bodies of poker-faced models, seemed to almost glow in their otherworldly fabulousness.
And then there were sweaters with sewn-in nipples. (Go on, take a moment. Look at this as a palate cleanser. Oh, wait, sorry! We meant this. Pretty, right? Let’s move on.)
The Republicans Are Hiding a Presidential Candidate in the Attic
Why is the GOP scared of Buddy Roemer?
After tens of millions of dollars spent and nine primaries and caucuses, the Republicans are no closer to settling on a candidate than when this race started almost a year ago. The campaign trail is littered with the high hopes of names big and not so big—Palin, Trump, Pawlenty, Cain, Christie, Huntsman, Perry. Some decided not to run, some were run out. Now there are five viable candidates.
What's that? You only count four? What if I told you that there is a fifth viable candidate who the Republican party and the networks are hiding from you? He is a former governor, a former congressman, and a bank CEO who did not take any bailout money. So he has executive, legislative and business experience. He has qualified for federal matching funds, so the government has anointed him a viable candidate. Why aren't we allowed to hear from him?
5 Ways to Save America’s Education System
Uniforms, pay-for-performance and other ideas could pave the way to school success.
Of all the factors that go into sustaining a vibrant culture, a thriving economy and a conscientious electorate perhaps none is more important than having a solid education system. One look at the state of ours leaves little mystery as to why America is wanting in all three of those areas.
Attempts to spend our way out of the problem have been unsuccessful. The U.S. shells out more on education than any country besides Switzerland—an average of nearly $150,000 per student over the course of a 13-year school career, more than double what we spent 40 years ago. But we have little to show for it.
YouTube Sensation Kate Upton Shakes Up the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Kate Upton Dougied her way into the pages of the year’s most-anticipated magazine.
Why is Kate Upton creating so much noise? Look around. So many once-bedrock institutions up for grabs—newspapers, the Republican Party, our school system … and now the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, too? The S.I. swimsuit issue, though not of the same import as journalism or public education, was an institution we—or at least adolescent American boys— could count on, at least until Upton up and shook her bad self on the Internet.
Hey, Can You Stop at CVS and Pick Up My Suicide Pills?
So-called "Death With Dignity" measures are murder, plain and simple.
While in Boston this past weekend, I became aware of a ballot initiative that will be presented in November concerning bill H3884. This bill, known as the “Death With Dignity" bill, concerns the legalization of physician-prescribed suicide. The concept of physician-prescribed suicide differs greatly from assisted suicide and, frankly, scares the hell out of me. The idea of suicide as medical treatment goes beyond slippery slope; the hill is downright slushy. The current direction of health care in this country includes an alarming shift in the definition of health care itself evidenced by this concept of death by scrip pad.
Will Deepening the Delaware River Bring Big Money or Poison the Water?
Your guess is as good as mine (or that of any government official).
In 2002, the Phillies finished with a record of 80-81 and 21-and-a-half games behind the first place Atlanta Braves. Their renaissance was still five years away. They were not a team to be counted on. Except for one guy. In one situation. That was lefty specialist Dan Plesac. And the situation? That was when Mo Vaughn, the Mets slugger, came to the plate. Whenever this situation came up, as it did often that summer, Phillies Manager Larry Bowa would bring in Plesac to face Vaughn and only Vaughn. And almost every single time Plesac would get him out. Mostly by strikeout too. Bowa had his facts. Plesac’s stats showed that he owned Vaughn. And he proved it every time they faced each other.
Wouldn’t it be great if small-business owners had these kinds of facts whenever we needed to make a critical investment decision? Wouldn’t it be great if every decision came down to a mathematical exercise, a simple calculation of return on investment without any other factors needing to be considered?
Hell has officially frozen over, since a new Pew poll shows Rick Santorum edging out Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination. Those of us who know the man best—those he represented in Congress for 16 years—are befuddled by this. Remember, we were happy to send him packing in 2007 by the largest margin ever for an incumbent Republican senator. The last guy to become president hot on the heels of a defeat in his home state was Richard Nixon. I’m just sayin’.
Urban Outfitters Has a Diversity Problem
Just buy the clothes, ladies. Don’t worry your pretty little heads about the business.
In the heat of Facebook's IPO, investors are worrying over the company's lack of gender diversity. Forbes' Nathaniel Parish Flannery wrote yesterday:
Although Facebook has received a lot of positive attention for its inclusion of a woman, Sheryl Sandberg, as its Chief Operating Officer, the company has not appointed a single female candidate to its board, a characteristic that makes it a lot like other major U.S. companies that have zero women on their boards such as like [sic] Urban Outfitters.
If Roland Martin wears one of his signature ascots for Valentine’s Day, don’t be surprised if some mischief-maker notifies #teamwhipdatass.
Call me a sentimental Caucasian lesbian, but I’ve got a real soft spot for an African-American dude in a magenta silk ascot whose personal interests include men’s underwear and pro football players’ wardrobes. Did I mention he is not a homosexual? And that his wife, Jacquie Hood Martin, is chief spiritual officer of her own ministry?
Until last week, Roland Martin was a regular contributor on CNN. Two homophobic tweets during the Super Bowl earned him the wrath of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which led, three days later, to an indefinite suspension.
