Mellencamp Sings About "Our Country" In "Jena"

Who Has The Cutest Kitties?

America versus Canada, which side are you on?

Some Good Things About Higher Gas Prices

Many Americans complain about high gas prices these days, I certainly did when I owned a car (thank you NYC!) and the way the numbers have jumped in the last few years, it is hard not to. We all know how to gripe about the situation, so why not try to put a silver lining on it? When it comes to markets, higher prices can lead to new solutions when it comes to energy.

Plenty of car makers offer hybrids and even a few electric cars so consumers can cut back on gasoline. With a little push from the government, we can reduce our reliance on foreign and domestic oil and help the environment at the same time.

Another interesting side effect for me living in NYC with no car is the amount of exercise I do everyday. Getting around the city with my feet has me walking over twenty miles a week, whereas when I lived in L.A. with my car, I drove 200 miles or more and walked a mile at most. In fact, there is even a report now that correlates gas prices with weight loss. Charles Courtemanche found out that for every one dollar jump in prices at the pump, obesity in the U.S. is cut 15 percent over a five year period.

So when you are grumbling at the increasing price of gas when you fill up that SUV, keep in mind that if you walk, bike or jog your way to the next destination you could have fattened your wallet and slimmed that gut.

The Myth Of Conservative America

For many years now, it isn't hard to hear a cacophony from the political pundits that America has become more conservative. "Blah, blah, blah, Reagan, Bush, blah, blah, blah" is constantly blasted on radio and TV political talk shows (not an exact quote). But is that really true, is America leaning more to the right? The 2006 elections tore a large hole in that theory, but after twenty years of conservative think tanks and media gaining speed, they don't want to quit the operation now. So the talk of conservative America continues. So why don't we put another gaping wound in their delusions of grandeur.

Cue Media Matters please:

Conventional wisdom says that the American public is fundamentally conservative - hostile to government, in favor of unregulated markets, at peace with inequality, wanting a foreign policy based on the projection of military power, and traditional in its social values.

But as this report demonstrates, that picture is fundamentally false. Media perceptions and past Republican electoral successes notwithstanding, Americans are progressive across a wide range of controversial issues, and they're growing more progressive all the time.

• The role of government - Americans support an active government that tackles problems, provides services, and aids those in need.
• The economy - Americans support increasing the minimum wage and strong unions, and believe the wealthy and corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes.
• Social issues - Americans support legal abortion and embryonic stem cell research; opinions on equal rights for women and gay Americans have grown dramatically more progressive in recent years.
• Security - Americans support a progressive approach to national security, emphasizing strong alliances and diplomacy over the indiscriminate use of military force. On domestic security issues, progressive approaches to crime and gun control enjoy wide support.
• The environment - By enormous margins, Americans favor strong environmental protections, a core progressive belief.
• Energy - Americans support energy conservation and the development of alternative fuels.
• Health care - Americans clearly favor universal coverage and are more than comfortable with government solutions to the health care problem.

Read the whole report, it is a true testament to what Americans are thinking and what they believe the role of government is in our democratic nation. The founding fathers did not dream of drowning our government in a bathtub and neither do we now in 2007.

Simon And Garfunkel Do America

From way back when Ed Koch was mayor of New York, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel played to an untold number of New Yorkers in Central Park