tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:37:50 +0000http://paiges-page.net/PaigeBlogger1466125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-619966015019426439Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:32:00 +00002008-01-23T20:37:50.506-05:00The House Democratic Caucus has put together a table of key indicators of America’s strength financially and economically, as well as how America is viewed by the rest of the world. Some examples: Gas cost $1.39 when Bush took office versus $3.07 todayPrivate sector jobs grew at a rate of 1.76 million jobs per year over the 8 years before Bush took office; under Bush, it has grown at a rate of http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/country-bush-inherited-versus-country.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-8324890358278673974Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:31:00 +00002008-01-23T11:38:52.861-05:00I have never shopped at Whole Foods, because there are none in my area, however I have always heard good things about them. In fact, they have been a relatively influential firm in the world of grocery stores, according to this article. Whole Foods has announced that they will eliminate the use of plastic bags, because they are environmentally unsound. The logo on their website says “Bring Your http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/whole-foods-to-eliminate-plastic-bags.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-1898409912595099484Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:34:00 +00002008-01-19T18:37:22.789-05:00 Here is a pair of pictures I took, one handheld and one using the $1 Image Stabilizer. Pretty dramatic improvement! No need to lug a tripod around!http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/1-image-stabilizer-for-any-camera.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-8112558030985232853Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:32:00 +00002008-01-20T10:34:36.116-05:00I won’t be considering voting for Barack Obama any further in the Democratic primary. He has raised far too many red flags, sounding like a conservative, for me to consider him any more. It started when he began talking about the social security crisis (there is no crisis, Senator) and it just kept on going and going and going, like the Energizer Bunny powering a tape recording of Rethuglican http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/bye-bye-barack-i-support-john-edwards.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-8402891790624348300Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:31:00 +00002008-01-17T15:34:27.546-05:00Blue Texan at Firedoglake: Consumer prices rose in 2007 at the fastest pace in 17 years as motorists paid a lot more for gasoline and grocery shoppers paid higher food bills.Both energy and food prices jumped by the largest amount since 1990.Prices were also up sharply for health care, housing and education.Workers’ wages failed to keep up with the higher inflation. Average weekly earnings, afterhttp://paiges-page.net/2008/01/heres-what-gop-policies-have-done-to.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-503390007343010398Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:37:00 +00002008-01-16T14:41:07.463-05:00I wrote about why the so-called “Fair Tax” proposed by several Conservative presidential candidates is actually unfair. But wait — it’s even more unfair than that! If the so-called “Fair Tax” is enacted, your savings are worth 30% less than before the “Fair Tax”. (via Eschaton)http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/unfair-tax-is-actually-doubly-unfair.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-3484503695489590723Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:50:00 +00002008-01-15T12:55:47.686-05:00A proposal floated by some conservative candidates called “Fair Tax” turns out to be anything but fair. Analysis shows that if you’re quite poor, you will pay less tax than before. But if you are like most people, earning between $30K/yr and $200K/yr, you will pay more than under current tax law. And surprise, since conservatives are promoting this plan, who would have ever predicted that the http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/unfair-tax.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-2393622428884720174Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:44:00 +00002008-01-13T11:44:42.396-05:00What are you doing here? — man asks wife at brothel:WARSAW (Reuters) — A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees. Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.“I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming,” the http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/didnt-see-that-coming.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-705689316205185431Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:05:00 +00002008-01-13T09:10:13.372-05:00health careIan Welsh discusses an issue that I have broached before: what kind of society do we want to have with regards to health care, and what are the moral implications of our choice. Health care is a moral issue and a pragmatic one. Those who support the current system support a profoundly immoral system which is causing people to die and suffer needlessly and costs more than the completely obvious http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/ian-welsh-discusses-issue-that-i-have.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-7439445067396434509Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:41:00 +00002008-01-13T09:12:21.672-05:00health careEzra Klein distills a recent study: The researchers examined amenable mortality — “deaths from certain causes that should not occur in the presence of timely and effective health care” — in a variety of OECD countries. In English, it assessed how effective health systems are at reaching the sick. The conditions under examination are lethal if not treated, but the afflicted can be saved, and even http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/just-how-bad-is-usa-health-care-system.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-8921926010440199231Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:11:00 +00002008-01-13T09:13:28.310-05:00social safety neteuropeeconomyFrom Paul Krugman: What European countries definitely haven’t done is dismantle their strong social safety nets. Universal health care is a given. So are a variety of programs that support families in trouble, helping protect Europeans from the extreme poverty all too common in this country. All of this costs money — even though European countries spend far less on health care than we do — and http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/more-on-social-safety-net.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-2912351718924685177Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:32:00 +00002008-01-13T09:14:28.935-05:00social safety nethealth careI haven’t been blogging because just before Thanksgiving, I suffered a herniated disk in my lower back. This is a very painful malady and naturally, I haven’t felt like blogging. However, last week I had surgery and things now, seven days later, I feel so much better I can’t even believe it. While I was suffering and incapacitated, I had a lot of time to think about my situation and how other http://paiges-page.net/2008/01/back-surgery-and-health-care-in-america.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-4186138286837294543Sat, 10 Nov 2007 22:39:00 +00002008-01-13T09:27:58.531-05:00rudy giulianiSpeaking at Pat Robertson’s Regent University recently, Rudy Giuliani tells us that he is the only candidate in the race who is an expert on terrorism, and that he has studied terrorism for 30 years. But recently obtained documents show that when Giuliani testified before the 9/11 Commission, he said that he knew little about Al Qaeda until after the 9/11 attacks. He could not recall a meeting http://paiges-page.net/2007/11/another-giuliani-lie.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-7894665347644830410Sat, 03 Nov 2007 23:05:00 +00002007-11-04T10:02:23.698-05:00One of the pleasures of watching high school and college athletics is that you don’t usually run into prima donna athletes. You know, those pro athletes, that are all about money, that are all about attitude and whose outrageous actions are always being discussed on sports TV and radio. High school and college athletes are filled with many wonderful stories, people who seem like genuinely nice http://paiges-page.net/2007/11/definitely-not-another-prima-donna.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-2832863195220325290Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:09:00 +00002007-11-01T18:11:09.359-04:00A reader writes to Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times, explaining what she would like George W. Bush to do after he leaves office. Alice Collins of Oak Lawn, IL, says: Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, in the wind and snow of winter and the heat and humidity of summer, let him tend to the graves of the almost 4,000 men and women who have given their lives in the debacle of Iraq. Theyhttp://paiges-page.net/2007/11/humble-way-for-bush-to-make-amends.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-2691111260399514779Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:15:00 +00002007-11-04T10:03:21.666-05:00Normally, the commentators on ESPN and elsewhere seem to have a diverse set of opinions. You can find them on each side of any issue. So it was exasperating to me to find no one (e.g. Tony Kornheiser and Dan LeBatard of Pardon The Interruption) criticizing NBA Commissioner David Stern for letting his referees gamble in casinos. They said it was a good idea for Stern to relax the rules and be lesshttp://paiges-page.net/2007/10/someone-understands-why-david-stern-is.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-6640651812358680022Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:13:00 +00002007-10-25T20:14:28.136-04:00Steve Sasson, recently inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame, describes how he and his team invented the first digital camera.http://paiges-page.net/2007/10/how-digital-photography-was-invented.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-5670554455690182371Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:25:00 +00002007-10-25T18:44:49.590-04:00America tortures, illegally spies on its citizens, illegally and unnecessarily invades Iraq wasting trillions of dollars and resulting in countless deaths and injuries, and refuses to provide health care for its children. Democrats, elected to end all of these horrors, take impeachment off the table, cave to almost all Republican demands (even though the public seems to support the Democrats http://paiges-page.net/2007/10/i-cant-read-news-anymore.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-1722584861202728173Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:30:00 +00002007-10-13T10:35:23.220-04:00John McCain wants to give families a $5,000 tax credit for health insurance. That’s great, but health insurance for a family for an entire year is well over $10,000. Recently, one family found the cost was $14,400 per year, and that presumes that they won’t be disqualified from coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Conservatives just don’t get it. The system is broken and failing, and http://paiges-page.net/2007/10/mccains-non-plan-for-health-insurance.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-7911037420438552727Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:06:00 +00002007-10-13T10:59:20.575-04:00From Catholics United: “Building a true culture of life requires public policies that promote the welfare of the most vulnerable,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United. “At the heart of the Christian faith is a deep and abiding concern for the need of others. Pro-life Christians who serve in Congress should honor this commitment by supporting health care for poor children.”http://paiges-page.net/2007/10/christians-support-schip.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-1934006078891323435Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:46:00 +00002007-10-08T19:08:13.357-04:00The other day, I had the opportunity to watch the incredibly popular television show, Hannah Montana. I hadn’t seen this show before, and the episode that I watched may be my last. I know you will be shocked, just as you were shocked when I said I didn’t like Ben Stiller, but I didn’t like Hannah Montana. I thought it was poorly written, poorly acted and the singing by Miley Cyrus (who plays http://paiges-page.net/2007/10/hannah-montana.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-5802448070416073388Sat, 06 Oct 2007 19:09:00 +00002007-10-06T15:43:07.741-04:00Some links from around the blogosphere: The Washington Post talks about the economy doing well in Europe, despite what some conservative pundits might tell you. Paul Krugman also defends Europe. Demosthenes adds: The only advantage for America “principally consists of increased compensation to the already fantastically wealthy and slightly greater pay for those with no time to enjoy it.” (via) http://paiges-page.net/2007/10/linx.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-8912662227720456136Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:38:00 +00002007-09-30T11:01:19.983-04:00You know the Biblical story. Joshua leads the Israelite army to destroy the city of Jericho. The walls came tumbling down, and as the inhabitants tried to escape, stones fall from the sky and the Sun stood still in the sky so Joshua could pursue his enemies. The book Ancient Mysteries by Peter James and Nick Thorpe has a possible scientific explanation of what happened that day. It is one of http://paiges-page.net/2007/09/scientific-explanation-of-joshua-1011.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-7553372502006048309Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:25:00 +00002007-09-29T10:57:58.205-04:00BushIraqRethuglicansAP reports: “A small group of Republicans facing election fights next year have rallied around war legislation they think could unite the GOP: a call for an end to U.S. combat in Iraq, but not until President Bush is out of office.” A few months ago, we were told by many Republicans to “wait until September” before we judged whether or not the surge is working. We need to evaluate the evidence, http://paiges-page.net/2007/09/terrible-idea.htmlPaigetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593390.post-8043766508762241979Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:05:00 +00002007-09-29T10:42:29.045-04:00I have long lamented the fact that the United States has some of the best athletes in the world, but recently we seem unable to win world championships in team sports. The list of recent losses is long and horrifying. Today, the United States women’s soccer team took the filed against Brazil in the semi-finals of the World Cup. USA was ranked 1st in the world, Brazil was ranked 8th. United http://paiges-page.net/2007/09/lament-goes-on.htmlPaige