Liberal Talk Radio

Big Pharma kills terrorists: The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift. Four blue pills. [...]

Tough times at Philly bars: At the Triada lounge in Old City where four bartenders and an owner were arrested Friday for serving without a license, police noted that the bar menu listed $200 for a bottle of Absolut and $450 for a bottle of Grey Goose. But in the back room, investigators said, they [...]

Before the existential threat of Islamic fanaticism took up most of my ire, I was most pissed about ATM fees. Guess what’s back: Citigroup is not the only bank grappling with tremendous losses. Many financial institutions are hiking customer fees at record levels. It may be quick and easy, but that ATM convenience is going [...]

This is completely absurd. I’ve thought for a while now that America today resembles nothing so much as Rome in the 3rd or 4th centry, when they all turned into hedonists just before they were sacked by the Visigoths. Now read this and judge for yourself: The report says that eight officials in the royalty [...]

The Veterans Administration is an amazing health care system. They do a lot with a little. One reason: an elegant IT system using inexpensive open-source software. It’s too bad, then, that the Department of Defens is determined to shove an expensive, unworkable IT system from Northrop Grumman down their throats. God forbid one small aspect [...]

That’s a long time to be living in a motel: What worsens matters are the semantic games played by the motel’s owners, who’ve declined interviews and even ran away from a reporter. Reading between the lines, they have suggested that their tenants are not entitled to renters’ rights — such as protection from quick eviction [...]

The Spitzer legacy just gets better and better: Employees of a California law firm whose donations were spurned on ethical grounds and then re-solicited by the campaign of Eliot Spitzer are fuming over what they say is the former governor’s hypocrisy and his campaign’s vague answers about whether and when they might get their money [...]

I didn’t see this one coming. Maybe the New Yorkers who hang out here feel differently? Update: Looks like it wasn’t just the New Yorkers who were expecting something like this. Check out Matski’s post below for a more informed take on this story.

Senator Patty Murray, chair of the Transportation Appropriations subommittee, and bringer of bacon: [Murray's $106 billion transportation and housing appropriations bill] includes $177 million for Washington state, the second-highest amount in projects added by lawmakers. Only New York would get more in so-called earmarks. In all, the bill includes more than 500 earmarks, totaling about [...]

Lots of fun stuff in this piece on a new condom ad that’s “controversial” because it dares to say that condoms might prevent pregnancy. The ad has been banned in most markets except… Seattle! I loved this defense from Comcast: Comcast, the cable provider for both Pittsburgh and Seattle, would not allow Trojan to purchase [...]