The Hollywood Liberal

Cheney still in hospital but ‘doing well,’ daughter says
Former vice president Richard B. Cheney remains hospitalized after undergoing heart surgery in early July, Cheney’s daughter said Sunday.


Hospital – Health – Dick Cheney – Virginia – United States

FBI’s push to clarify electronic authority raises privacy concerns
Invasion of privacy in the Internet age. Expanding the reach of law enforcement to snoop on e-mail traffic or on Web surfing. Those are among the criticisms being aimed at the FBI as it tries to update a key surveillance law.



Federal Bureau of Investigation – United States – Electronic Communications Privacy Act – USA PATRIOT Act – Internet service provider

Beer group opens the tap on the Hill
On April 15, a bill backed by the National Beer Wholesalers Association was introduced in the House aimed at limiting direct sales of beer, wine and other alcohol, which the trade group views as a mortal threat to its industry.



Beer – Food – Recreation – Drink – Hill

Rep. Ryan pushes budget reform, and his party winces
Viewing him as a rising star in the party, Republicans in Congress often talk up Rep. Paul Ryan as a potential governor, senator or House leader. The lanky, youthful-looking congressman from Wisconsin has begged off, citing his young children and limited desire to spend all his time raising campaign…


Politics – United States – Conservatives – Parties – Philippines

Two Defining Economic Battles
Irwin Stelzer, The Weekly Standard
There are two battles going on that will influence how the economy performs for the rest of this year. The first is a battle for attention between the general economic news and the profits performance of America’s leading companies. The second is a battle between austerity advocates and the more-stimulus-please-sir, crowd. In a sense, this latter war is between Europe and Britain, on the one side, and America on the other.Start with the first battle. The news about the economy has diminished hope that the economic recovery will be rapid and robust. A…

Central Asia’s Great (Double) Game
Thomas Friedman, New York Times
The trove of WikiLeaks about the faltering U.S. war effort in Afghanistan has provoked many reactions, but for me it contains one clear message. It's actually an old piece of advice your parents may have given you before you went off to college: "If you are in a poker game and you don't know who the sucker is, it's probably you." Thomas L. Friedman In the case of the Great Game of Central Asia, that's us. Best I can tell from the WikiLeaks documents and other sources, we are paying Pakistan's Army and intelligence…

Defining Prosperity Down
Paul Krugman, New York Times
I'm starting to have a sick feeling about prospects for American workers "” but not, or not entirely, for the reasons you might think. Paul Krugman Yes, growth is slowing, and the odds are that unemployment will rise, not fall, in the months ahead. That's bad. But what's worse is the growing evidence that our governing elite just doesn't care "” that a once-unthinkable level of economic distress is in the process of becoming the new normal. And I worry that those in power, rather than taking responsibility…