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The Roberts Court vs Unions

The Supreme Court’s ruling this week in Knox v. Service Employees International Union is one of the most brazen of the Roberts court. It shows how defiantly the five justices act in advancing the aggressive conservatism of their majority on the court. The court’s moderate liberals were rightly dismayed by the majority’s willingness to breach court rules in pursuit of its agenda. In this labor union case, there is no getting around that the legal approach is indistinguishable from politics. The court’s five conservatives ruled that in 2005, Local 1000 of the Service Employees International Union should have sent a notice to all nonmembers it represented when it imposed a temporary 25 percent increase in union dues for public-sector employees in California to fight two anti-union ballot measures. The court said the union infringed on the free speech rights of the nonmembers by not giving them the chance to prevent the use of their dues to support expressions of political views unrelated to collective bargaining. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed with this narrow judgment only. This produced a 7-to-2 ruling on that specific question. But Justice Samuel Alito Jr., writing an opinion representing the conservative five only, went far beyond this principle, which has been settled law since 1986. More here- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/opinion/the-anti-union-roberts-court.html

Author rattles Jewish leaders

Author rattles Jewish leaders

JERUSALEM (AP) — Peter Beinart considers himself a supporter of Israel. He attends synagogue and sends his children to a private Jewish school in New York City. But when it comes to Israel, the pundit and former journalist has emerged as an unconventional bad boy of sorts, rattling the American Jewish community with charges that its leadership’s blind support for Israel is helping the Jewish state self-destruct through misguided policies.

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Swelter

Economic Lies of The GOP...

Benjamin Button

Ya know, I watched this movie again the other day. I find it to be a very sad film. There are times when I think about life, aging, relationships, ect and find it to be sad in general and this movie hits those notes. Enough of that for now.

Batman: The Court of The Owls Vol. 1

Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Haven't been reading the Batman titles for a few years, but I had read about DCs restart of the comics and had read some early reviews of the new Batman book. I have got to say, I am impressed and looking forward to read how all this plays out in the next volume. Snyder isn't afraid to play loose with Batman's backstory in order to create an excellent story of his own.
He's really breathing new life into the character and the supporting cast. Can't wait for volume 2!

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Miehina the Kyoto Geisha

Hurry!!

Wednesday. Already?!? I need more time, dang it!

Black Wings of Cthulhu

Black Wings of Cthulhu: Tales of Lovecraftian Horror by S.T. Joshi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well, I do enjoy some horror from time to time. I was really looking forward to this collection of short Cthulhu stories as I am a big fan of Delta Green and the Cthulhu mythos. Sad to say, I was left a bit disappointed by the quality of the stories. I'd have to say that the fourth and sixth stories in the collection (Copping Squid and Passing Spirits) were personal faves while the third (Engravings) was down right awful, imho. Very much a mixed bag of uneven quality.
Honestly, it could just be the short story format, as I found myself enjoying most of the longer stories (well, Engravings was just plain BAD and I would have been happier had it been MUCH shorter). Worth a look if you're into the Mythos.

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The Unwritten Vol. 1

The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity by Mike Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On, first I have to say I read Vol 1-3 basically right in a row. Vol. 1 is pretty much all set up, just starting the story and it seemed a tad slow at times. I wasn't sure I was going to like the book as the main character isn't very likable. He's a little winey and reminded me of Thomas Covenant (from that horrible series of books...) just a bit. However, it interested me enough to keep reading as I liked the concept of the book and the artist is very good.
There is quite a bit to think about in this book. Lots of characters and you're not always sure what motivations they have. It's not my favorite series, but it has enough mystery and well written dialogue that I'm looking forward to reading more.

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Thoughts on Laptops. Cost/ Benefit and Throwing Numbers Around

Hummm...been doing some looking around on the web for how long PC and Mac laptops last before they die (or at least require major repairs). So, let's say that Macs will last a year longer than any PC out there. Let's say that's 6 years (average). PCs- 5 years (average). Now, the requirements are- MUST have a 17" screen, at least a dual core processor, 4 gig of Ram, 500 gig Hard Drive and DVD burner. Currently, a Macbook Pro from MacMall with a 17" screen, Quad core I7 processor, 4 gig Ram, 750 gig Hard Drive, DVD Burner- 1900.00 Hewlett Packard- From the HP website- 17" screen, Quad Core I7 processor, 6 gig Ram, 750 gig Hard Drive, DVD Burner- 904.00 Now, this is to be used for business and an I7 processor really is over kill. However, the option for a lower processor is not available with the MacBook, nor is a smaller hard drive. If I put those stats up for the PC machine you'd have (I3 processor, 500 gig Hard Drive)- $515.00 But for sake of comparison, let's use the higher total. While we're at it, let's add in the cost, over 6 years, of anti virus. First year at $20, every year there after $30- $170 $1074.00 (Macs don't need anti virus. Haha, yeah, right). ok, so, My Mac will last 2190 days. That would be 87 cents per day. My PC will last 1825 days. That would be 59 cents per day....hummm... that would save me $511 over the life time of my PC. Add that to the $996.00 I saved NOT buying the Mac= $1507 Ok, well...what if my new Win 7 laptop only lasts 4 years and the Mac still goes for 6? That's 1460 days or 62 cents per day. That's still 25 cents per day I saved over the life of the PC- total- $365.00 Total saving- $1265 From a pure $ stand point, it just doesn't add up. In no way is a Mac as good a value as a PC when you compare them stat to stat, dollar to dollar. Now, having said that, Macs do have their good points, it's just that the good points is in the software, NOT the hardware. I like the Mac OS and would use it tomorrow, IF I could build my own machine to use it or buy it at a competitive price. As it stands, Windows is the machine for me.

5 Broken Cameras

I look forward to seeing this film.

The Walking Dead Vol. 16

The Walking Dead, Vol 16: A Larger World by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The series keeps going. I've enjoyed the series so far and plan on reading more as they are published, however I have noticed that the pace of the books have slowed a great deal. Lots of dialogue, little action and not alot going on. Which was a complaint about the TV series last season. Having said that, Vol. 16 does seem to set up the next book for some interesting encounters. I'm not ready to give up on the series yet, but this volume did seem like alot of filler.

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Live Webcasts: Introductory Buddhist Teachings | The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Live Webcasts: Introductory Buddhist Teachings | The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Live webcast. Starts...MIDNIGHT! Dang time zones!!