With numbers like these as shown in this WaPo poll (2/3 opposing senate fillibuster changes, a healthy majority of people oppose the social security changes, and the presidential job approval rating is, overall, under 50%) one wonders why the nation keeps electing Republicans to strong majorities to both Houses of Congress and the White House if this is how the nation feels about that party’s governance. Oh wait. One thing to note is that on national security and terrorism, the polls still show that the President has well over 50% approval, which he will doubtless continue to have until such...

The Chinese Commerce Minister, according to this piece representing our visit to Beijing’s People’s Daily, warns that, though currently strong, Chinese-Japanese economic relations may eventually suffer as a result of lukewarm (or worse) political relations. The Japanese seem hell-bent on denying their own role in World War II era atrocities, particularly things like the Rape of Nanking and the forced enslavement, rape and murder of thousands of women in China and environs. Japanese have issued new school textbooks that amount to a whitewash of WWII atrocities and Japan’s premier frequently visits the Yasukuni Shrine that, frankly, honors war criminals. If...

For those wondering, your talking dog’s additional postings have been somewhat hampered by some physical problems (yes, Mr. Marathon Man) which landed him in an emergency room Friday afternoon, with a probable muscle spasm which at least felt all too close to a heart attack, and of course, with various machinations associated with Mrs. TD and I hosting the family Passover Seder. For those wondering, the “citizen journalist” thing is not a one-off. Stay tuned. And now, a day late and a ruble short, we give you this round-up of goodies from our comrades at Pravda, a source not afraid...

You get a damned bad day to post your damned rare-for-us-sparsely-read-blogs interview with “unlawful combatant” and dirty bomb suspect Jose Padilla’s attorney, Donna Newman.

Your talking dog made the most of it, engaging in his preferred sport, that which suits his patient (read “stubborn”) character and personality, but alas, not his body-type, which is forever insisting on weighing at least 15 or 20 pounds above what those awful charts insist he should weigh… A spate of unseasonably warm weather coinciding with scheduled marathon runs entered its third straight, with an unseasonably high in the mid 70’s at the ninth running of the New Jersey Marathon down the shore (pronounced shawww), the 8th such “26” for me. Hence, a delightful and breezy first half led...

We’ll start our slightly overdue visit to Pravda (belayed by exigeses on the Communist Manifesto no less!) with this Steve Darnell piece sure to re-open wounds associated with the Schiavo case. And then we get the yan to Mr. Darnell’s yin in the form of David Hoffman’s unbelievably ambitious essay “I am a loser”, which I insist that you read now… here– click on this. Read it. All I can say is, I hear you, Brother David. I hear you. Check out this story on Kyrgystan— not on the political upheaval there, but on a literal landslide which may cause...

A future of work-houses and prisons… a future where Americans who lose their jobs, or get sick (or have a relative get sick), or get divorced, or any of the usual hard luck stories associated with financial troubles, will now have to go through several more hoops and pay back some or all of their credit card bills, ’cause the President is about to sign bankruptcy reform legislation. What’s interesting is not that virtually every single Republican member of Congress voted for this clear whoring for large banks and credit card companies, but half of Democrats joined in the banking...

The House of Representatives continued its streak of brilliant legislation, following up on the unpopular, unconstitutional, and best of all, ineffective Terri Schiavo private legislation, by addressing the most burning and important issue in the nation: whether those standing to inherit over $5,000,000 should ever pay any taxes again. That’s right: the People’s House passed a bill to make estate tax repeal a permanent feature of the American landscape. Of course, this being America and all, chances are, even though at this point less than 1% of the population even stands to be in a position anywhere near being involved...

Apparently, this is not advice to Americans visiting the Third World, as advice to marathon runners to limit fluid intake to avoid possible hyponatremia (abnormally low blod sodium)… advice announced seeing as next Monday is the Boston Marathon. Interesting to me, for a variety of reasons. For one, I handled a legal case involving a patient who, unfortunately, during a gynecological procedure, was infused liters and liters of fluid, and died from… hyponatremia. A most unpleasant condition– it leads directly to brain damage, and quite possibly, death. For another, I’ve finished seven marathons (with an eighth one scheduled for this...

President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard “Dick” Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld were paid the ultimate scientific homage by a group of retired Cornell University entomologists: they get to have slime-mold beetle species named after them. (Hat tip to Mrs. TD.) Two of the three named species, Agathidium cheneyi Miller and Wheeler and Agathidium rumsfeldi Miller and Wheeler, are found predominantly in Mexico, while the third, Agathidium bushi Miller and Wheeler, is, appropriately enough, found in such Red States as Ohio and North Carolina. The beetles feed on slime mold (some kind of fungi type… stuff), and...