Month: August 2013
Jesse Jackson Was Late to His Son’s Sentencing Hearing
I don’t know how I missed so many signs.
— Rev. Jesse Jackson, quoted by the Chicago Tribune, arriving at his son’s sentencing hearing.
Number of U.S. Citizens Renouncing Citizenship to Escape Taxes Hits a Record
1,130
The number of U.S. taxpayers who renounced citizenship or permanent-resident status in the second quarter to avoid new tax laws, the Wall Street Journal reports. That is far above the previous high of 679, set in the first quarter, and more than were reported in all of 2012.
Empty Town Halls
In 2012 the Republican party took quite a beating,
And ever since from their ranks voters are retreating.
While they used to go off half-cocked,
These days they’re so shell-shocked,
That GOP lawmakers won’t even hold a town hall meeting.
Twitter Is the Best Predictor of Congressional Races
404 of 406
Number of House races correctly predicted by Twitter in the 2010 midterm elections, according to National Journal: “The key measure, researchers from Indiana University found, was a candidate’s ‘tweet share,’ the percentage of total tweets about a race that mention them. The more often a candidate is mentioned on Twitter relative to their opponent, the study reported, the greater their chance for victory.”
Almost 40 Percent of Internet Traffic is Fake
36%
Of all traffic on the web is nonhuman, though that includes certain bots — such as those from Google — that do not inflate ad impressions, according to ComScore. The percentage has increased sharply from 2011, when it was just 6%.
Stephen Fry Calls for IOC to Move Winter Olympics from Russia
Stephen Fry published an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron and the International Olympic Committee, calling for the IOC and world pressure to move the winter games from Russia and its increasingly hostile environment toward the LGBT community. Here’s an excerpt:
I am gay. I am a Jew. My mother lost over a dozen of her family to Hitler’s anti-Semitism. Every time in Russia (and it is constantly) a gay teenager is forced into suicide, a lesbian “correctively” raped, gay men and women beaten to death by neo-Nazi thugs while the Russian police stand idly by, the world is diminished and I for one, weep anew at seeing history repeat itself.
In response to Fry’s erudite, well-reasoned and heartfelt letter, Cameron responded with two posts on Twitter:
Thank you for your note @stephenfry. I share your deep concern about the abuse of gay people in Russia.
However, I believe we can better challenge prejudice as we attend, rather than boycotting the Winter Olympics. DC.
The IOC has remained characteristically mum on the topic.
Reid Hopes GOP Obstructionism Isn’t Race-Based
It’s been obvious that they’re doing everything they can to make him fail. And I hope, I hope — and I say this seriously — I hope that’s based on substance and not the fact that he’s African-American.
— Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted the The Hill, on GOP obstruction of President Obama’s agenda.
Majority Favors ID Checks for Voters
74%
Of all Americans support the idea that people should have to show photo identification to vote, a new Washington Post poll finds. Also, 81% are concerned about possible fraud and 73% are concerned about voter suppression in a presidential election. Asked to trade off the two, slightly more Americans are concerned with fraud than with voter suppression, although stark partisan and racial differences emerge.
MO Minstrel Show
Poor Barack Obama, his popularity numbers are down,
And coming up he’s got a budget and health care showdown.
But to add insult to injury
At the state fair in Missouri,
They portrayed our first black president as a rodeo clown.
