- Valentine’s Day Blunder (2/6/2005) - Mike Bloomberg's missing a real opportunity. On Friday, a New York State judge ruled that the state constitution, which places a much heavier emphasis on equal protection and civil rights than the United States Constitution, should be read as to allow same-sex marriage. Licenses for such same sex marriages could have been issued as early as tomorrow, if Mayor Bloomberg hadn't announced that the city intends to appeal the decision to the state's Court of… …
- Recipe: Crab-stuffed Mushrooms (2/6/2005) - I had a taste of this dish at a restaurant in Washington's Dupont Circle. I've ordered it at a few other restaurants, but found the quality to vary wildly (One diner in the West Village, which shall remain nameless, served up a hash of white button mushrooms and imitation crabmeat). I decided to take a crack at the dish myself. I thought it was promising enough to memorialize the recipe here for future experimentation. Ingredients:… …
- The Milton Friedman Memorial Bridge, Sponsored by Exxon (2/5/2005) - The roads are for sale. So are the bridges, and, for the right price, the ground underneath us. New York Gov. George Pataki is seriously proposing selling or leasing the Tappan Zee Bridge and the New York State Thruway for a one-time infusion of cash into the state budget. The buyers, of course, would be able to charge tolls for the life of the lease, or longer. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, whose Chairman, Peter S.… …
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- “Run for the shadows in these golden years…” (2/4/2005) - Now begins perhaps the biggest fight long-planned by the "Republican Revolution." With his re-election and substantial majorities in both houses of Congress, not to mention a majority of states' governors, Bush has more clout and more power than any Republican has had since Theodore Roosevelt. Social Security pisses off free market Republicans because it is one social welfare policy of the government that remains massively popular, despite 25 years "big, bad government" rhetoric. Of course,… …
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- Hey, Where’s Tommy? (2/3/2005) - I saw Tommy Stinson at the Mercury Lounge last Saturday. A legend at 15, Tommy was the bass player for the late, lamented Replacements. He had a couple of promising bands in the 1990's done in by corporate indifference. He wound up, of all places, as a well compensated side-man in the new Guns-n-Roses. Contrary to reports, he hasn't left. Being in Axl Roses's new Guns is a lot like being in the National Guard… …
- Thinking Positively About Iraq’s Election (2/2/2005) - Just before the Iraqi election, the People's Weekly World published a refreshingly even handed editorial that suggested that there are "no simple answers for the U.S. left" when it comes to our response. Now that the election is over, many on the left will criticise the new transitional national assembly as a puppet government of U.S. interests, lacking a clear mandate. But, to the surprise of many of us, a majority of eligible voters turned… …
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