Blog Posts for Jayne Lyn Stahl

Costco Republicans?

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:41:19 -0800

After this week's big losses for Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, one can't help but speculate about the impact the far right, bible belt conservatives will have on the landscape that is the Republican Party over the next eight years. Some see civil war already in the works with faux moderates being tackled by the nouveau neo-conservative movement.

The John Birch Society, which has been ...

Black Ops. and the Massacre at Fort Hood

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:34:55 -0800

There are lots of places to start looking if we want clues as to what happened today at an Army base at Fort Hood, Texas. One obvious place to start is Virginia Tech. We know that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, who perpetrated the largest shooting at a military base in U.S. history today, graduated attended the college.

There are striking similarities between the modus operandi in both cases: ...

Text and Drive?

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:01:20 -0800

Text and drive? If you live in England, and someone dies because you rear end them while texting, you will face jail time. In 2008, Great Briatin issued a directive which clearly states that "prolonged texting" may be prosecuted as inflicting "death by dangerous driving."

Consider the wrenching, horrific case of a young Oxford woman, Victoria McBryde, an aspiring fashion designer who ...

Don't want to be the Grinch who Stole Christmas, but...

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:42:30 -0700

Look, I'm as thrilled as everyone that the House reached agreement on a health care reform plan that will ensure medical coverage for 96% of Americans. This is a milestone, and a landmark piece of legislation which will make it through voting process next week. But, here's my concern. In the proposal, there are numerous references to employers, as well as what happens to those who lose their ...

Tales fom the Cryptic

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:59:48 -0700

Okay, now that you've had your evening glass of wine, and that hot bath, you're maybe ready for a bedtime story, so what comes to mind is the time I saw Andy Warhol walking down Madison Avenue (Mad, for short).

Yes, that's right, it was, I'm guessing, somewhere around 1980, and I was somewhere around Madison and 33rd, in mid-afternoon, half-in, half-out of reverie---pushing my way through the ...

Here Comes That 3rd Party...

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:08:46 -0700

Hoping for a 3rd party to come along, and do away with the two party paradigm whcih has quickly become Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dee Light? Well, stay tuned because something is happening in a New York congressional race which portend that change is en route, maybe not the change you had in mind, though.

While she may have left politics in Alaska, over the past few days, Sarah Palin proved that ...

The Power Behind the Drone

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:35:56 -0700

Dick Cheney, a former vice president, today accused Barack Obama, a sitting president, of "dithering around" and not moving quickly enough when it comes to deciding whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan. But, why does Dick Cheney care? What is his interest in the current administration's decision, one way or another?

His investment in Halliburton, a company that provides technical ...

Tea Baggers and Birchers?

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:23:30 -0700

By now, word has gotten out that FreedomWorks, the right wing organization chaired by Dick Armey, that advocates for lower taxes, and smaller government, is the same group behind tea baggers who opposed Obama's stimulus plan. Protests against the $787 billion congressional bailouts have been widely linked to Rep. Armey, and the Washington, D.C. nonprofit. But, it doesn't stop there.If you take a ...

U.N. Secretary General Owes Peter Galbraith an Apology

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:17:01 -0700

On September 30th, Peter Galbraith, the highest ranking American, and deputy to U.N. ambassador, Kai Eide, was fired for disclosing Eide's efforts to understate voter fraud in the recent Afghan election. It was not the Norwegian diplomat, Eide, but U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who dismissed Galbraith.

Now, nearly two weeks later, Eide acknowledges "widespread fraud" in the election, and ...

Interview with Al Qaeda

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:31:09 -0700

It was a warm afternoon last autumn when we finally arranged to meet at a five star hotel on the west side of Los Angeles. The infamous Santa Ana winds were blowing dry heat in the hotel lobby with such ferocity that the flag perched outside was shaking like an arthritic mermaid. Shortly past 1 p.m., a slender, rather ebullient man appears in the revolving doorway. His head is partially covered ...