Tis The Season: The Story Behind ‘I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day’
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: One of America's favorite Christmas songs had its origins in an earlier war, the American Civil War. The Story Behind "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day" (adapted from longer version): Advertisement One of America's best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas season, when … Read more
Tis The Season: I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: My father's favorite Christmas song was "I'll be home for Christmas," sung by Bing Crosby. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, island hopping across the Pacific Theater. For my father, and millions of men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, "I'll be home … Read more
This is only a test
by David Safier This is a test to see if I can post a poll on BfA and if it will restrict each user to only one vote, in a runup to the big Monday contest. Can you do me a favor? A few of you have taken this poll. It's supposed to stop you … Read more
Has everyone forgotten a cynical Social Security tax hike in 1983?
by David Safier Lots of people are complaining that the 2% rollback in the Social Security tax could spell the death knell for the program, or at least help those who want to cut it back. Maybe so, maybe no. But it seems people have forgotten the Social Security payroll tax is the most regressive … Read more
It’s past time to wonder if there is something seriously wrong with John McCain
by David Safier I'm no John McCain fan for reasons too numerous to mention. And everything I've seen tells me he's grown worse with age. All of his temperamental tics have become more pronounced, and his temper flareups seem to be more frequent. But this latest incident makes me wonder if the man is still … Read more
Redistricting update: Latest salvo targets judicial independence
by Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings It looks like Kirk Adams, Russell Pearce, and Jan Brewer are opening up another front in their war against the judicial branch's independence. From the Arizona Business Gazette, written by Howard Fischer – The dust-up over the process of nominating candidates for the Independent Redistricting Commission is giving … Read more
Update: Fix The Senate Now – Democrats Unanimous in Support For Reform
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: After Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell the other day chortled with evil laughter that for Democrats, “There’s much for them to be angst-ridden about. If they think it’s bad now, wait till next year,” Bwahahahaha!, McConnell plans to make Dems sweat – POLITICO.com, Senate Democrats have finally wised up to the gross abuse of … Read more
