Robert Glen Fogarty

While it’s doubtless there are more factors that contribute to social ills than the findings of this particular study, it’s interesting, nonetheless. Even if its premise may be motivated by the author’s politics (in academia, as any other field, isn’t that always the case?), this is the Political Geeks channel! Whether you consider this to [...]

Here’s something that’s happening, not under some intolerant theocracy abroad, but right here in the good ol’ free US of A. Chicago Sun Times columnist, movie critic, and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls co-conspirator Roger Ebert writes:
Associated Press - IMAX theaters in several Southern cities have decided not to show a film on [...]

A martyr for state-free marriage
John Coleman of Reason writes:
Around 270 A.D. - according to one tradition, at least - St. Valentine, a Roman cleric, was imprisoned for his opposition to Emperor Claudius’ decree that young men (his potential crop of soldiers) could no longer marry. Valentine performed their ceremonies anyway and was thrown in [...]

From Free Press:
You’ve probably heard by now: Right-wing political commentator Armstrong Williams admitted receiving $240,000 from the Department of Education to promote the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act on national television - including dozens of Sinclair stations - without disclosing that he was on the government’s payroll.
Laws have been broken. Williams issued [...]

Staci Peters writes:
The fact that I detest reality TV is no secret. Survivor, Trading Spouses, Top Model, Extreme Makeover, Fear Factor, The Apprentice, blah, blah, blah. I don’t care for them at all… in fact, I believe they’re quite trite and completely useless.
They don’t interest me in the least. I wouldn’t use a second of [...]

Think America’s on the path of fiscal responsibility? Really? Brett Arends of The Boston Herald writes:
Stephen Roach, the chief economist at investment banking giant Morgan Stanley, has a public reputation for being bearish.
But you should hear what he’s saying in private.
Roach met select groups of fund managers downtown last week, including a group [...]

Here’s an interesting way for city governments to make money (aside from taxing the beejeezus out of its citizenry). Chicago’s taken the lead, and maybe other cities will follow suit? From CNN:
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) - City officials hope there are people willing to pay plenty of money to own a vintage Playboy Bunny costume, toss [...]

Are you tired of listening to politicians and media tell you what is moral and what is not? Is wanting health care for all immoral? Is believing in the value of community and helping others immoral?
Speak out about YOUR values [at MyMoralValues.com].
America needs to have this conversation. Fill in the form to the right [...]

In the wake of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s recent passing, the BBC reports:
The main Palestinian political faction, Fatah, is set to pick Mahmoud Abbas as its candidate to succeed Yasser Arafat in January’s presidential poll.
“We decided… to have… [Mr Abbas] as the candidate for president of the Palestinian Authority,” Social Affairs Minister Intissar al-Wazir [...]

CJ at TechnoBiblio writes:
All sorts of dubious “firsts” being thrown about in the press if Salinas, CA closes their libraries - but what struck me was this quote from the article “Beleaguered Salinas plans to close its libraries” (as usual my emphasis to show where I did a spit take):
“Carla Lane, browsing the stacks with [...]

For three decades, whales and dolphins have been protected from being accidentally caught by commercial fishermen, thanks to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Today, though, influential members of Congress Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.) and Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) are moving to add a loophole to that law that would allow thousands more dolphins, whales, and [...]

Step one in the fundraising efforts of presidential candidates David Cobb (Green) and Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) for a ballot recount in Ohio was successful! Here’s what they have to say on the steps ahead (from votecobb.org):
Our first goal was to make sure the recount could go ahead. We didn’t want to raise more money until [...]

Lance Turner blogs after enduring today’s rainy Clinton Presidential Library dedication ceremony:
Okay - so we crapped out about halfway through the Clinton Presidential Library dedication ceremony. Our liveblogging hopes dashed by the intensifying rain, we packed up our waterlogged iBook and stood near the press barrier, craning our necks to see Dubya, the X-Presidents [...]

At the Common Dreams News Center, Thom Hartmann writes:
The hot story in the Blogosphere is that the “erroneous” exit polls that showed Kerry carrying Florida and Ohio (among other states) weren’t erroneous at all - it was the numbers produced by paperless voting machines that were wrong, and Kerry actually won. As more and more [...]

Disillusioned by the results of the recent U.S. election? If you’re an American who’s been saying, “if so-and-so gets elected, I’m moving to Canada,” this might just be your chance! If you’re a Canadian who’s willing to give refuge to said disillusioned political refugees, here’s your chance!
MarryAnAmerican.ca says:

Ladies and gentlemen,
drop your borders! Now that George [...]

This isn’t completely unexpected, and one wonders on how grand a scale it took place during the election. Via Yahoo! News:
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - More than 4,500 votes have been lost in one North Carolina county because officials believed a computer that stored ballots electronically could hold more data than it did. Scattered other problems may [...]

If you’re an American Gnomie and you’re reading this, you’re registered to vote, right? Good. Now that that’s settled, do you know where to go on November 2nd to make your selections? Here’s a site that’ll help you determine exactly where you need to go.
As they say at mypollingsite.com:
There are 3,040 counties in the United [...]

Campaign promises at election crunch time are always interesting to monitor. As divided as the United States is over the current presidential candidates, it’s important to remember that, sometimes, neither side has an easy answer to the problems our society faces. Take, for example, our dependence on non-renewable sources of energy…
From Factcheck.org:
Both John Kerry and [...]

Florida has been plagued with bad luck lately, eh? Continuing with what seems to be an election year tradition for the Sunshine State, it looks like the bumpy ride continues…
From The St. Petersburg Times:
TALLAHASSEE - It’s not enough for new Florida voters to swear an oath that they are U.S. citizens, Secretary of State Glenda [...]

Oh, no. Not again!
Via Associated Press:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Up to 58,000 absentee ballots may never have reached the Broward County voters who requested them more than two weeks ago, election officials said, and state police are investigating.
Hundreds of people have called the county elections office to complain that they never got their [...]