Archive for the ‘General’ Category
(Server down over weekend. Next update TBA.)
My apologies to our regular readers that came looking for this weeks latest Op/Ed. The web-host serving “Mugsy’s Rap Sheet” was down all weekend and was not restored until Monday morning. Please check back again soon for (or become a free member to receive automatic notification by email of) our next update. – Mugsy
February 10, 2014
Posted in: General
Why the Chris Christie Bridge Scandal Matters
Whether NJ Governor Chris Christie actually ordered the closure of three out of the four outgoing lanes of the busiest bridge in the world is almost besides the point now. I’ll assume you already know the story rather than rehash it here. Last Thursday, Christie held a two hour Mea Culpa where he basically told everyone how […]
January 13, 2014
Posted in: Crime, Election, General, Politics, Scandals
Mugsy’s Annual Predictions for 2014: No more predictions for Syria (kinda)
I never put any stock in “13” being an “unlucky number”, but after the year I just had, one can’t help but wonder. My predictions for 2013 were a bit rushed. I cranked them out at the last minute as I spent my days preoccupied trying to save the life of my beloved cat “Lefty”. One year […]
December 30, 2013
Posted in: Economy, Election, General, Guns & Violence, Healthcare, Jobs, Middle East, Partisanship, Politics, Predictions, Religion, Seems Obvious to Me, Taxes, voting, War
The Lesson of Christmas this Year is to Always Look at Things Differently.
Back when I was in college, I was having lunch with a group of friends, one of which was a girl from Switzerland (one of the great things about college is it’s one of the few times in your life when you’ll frequently come in contact with people from other countries). The topic? What we miss […]
December 23, 2013
Posted in: Economy, General, Partisanship, Religion
Pinging the Bullshit Meter: Gingrich Says Poorest Big Cities All Have Dem Mayors
[flv:http://www.mugsysrapsheet.com/4blog/video/thisweek-gingrich-poorest_cities_run_by_dems-131215.flv http://www.mugsysrapsheet.com/4blog/video/thisweek-gingrich-poorest_cities_run_by_dems-131215.jpg 256 144] “Sorry Newt, that’s a Bullshit statistic.” That was my immediate reaction to Newt Gingrich’s claim that, “Every major city which is a center of poverty is run by Democrats. Every major city!” He said it as a rebuke to Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s suggestion that the GOP was responsible for the inability […]
December 16, 2013
Posted in: Economy, General, Jobs, Money, myth busting, Politics, Seems Obvious to Me
Good Economic News Despite Shutdown? Thank low gas prices
It’s a point I’ve been making for years: Gas Prices have THE MOST direct impact on the economy than any other factor. When gas prices go up, consumers have less money to spend elsewhere. In addition, the costs of production go up, as does the price of shipping those goods to market. So not only […]
December 9, 2013
Posted in: Economy, Energy Independence, General, Jobs
Iran Deal Underscores Need to Abandon Nuclear Energy as a Power Source
Nearly two years ago, I wrote about how the GOP presidential candidates were saber-rattling over “Iran’s nuclear program”, completely devoid of any self awareness as they simultaneously complained about rising gas prices without connecting the two events… not now, not in the eight years it was happening under President Bush (side note: gas prices have been […]
November 25, 2013
Posted in: Energy Independence, Environment, fake scandals, General, Middle East
Where Would We Be Today Had JFK Not Been Assassinated? (UPDATED)
There’s an old parlor-game in which a person is asked: “If you had a time machine, would you go back and kill Hitler even if it meant changing history so you were never born?” (One stipulation is that you don’t worry about the obvious paradox of how you kill Hitler if you were never born.) It’s […]
November 18, 2013
Posted in: General, rewriting history, Seems Obvious to Me
Strike Nine. No lawyer will take Mom’s case because of Texas tort law. Help.
Over the past few months, I’ve kept you apprised of the situation regarding my mother, first ending up in a Houston hospital after receiving chemo over my objections, reporting on how Obamacare has already helped her, and my update this past week on how the Shutdown created still more problems for her. Well, as the saying […]
October 28, 2013
Posted in: Crime, General, Healthcare, Money, Politics, Rants, Right-Wing Insanity
Republicans Sabotaged Obamacare Rollout, then point to problems as proof the ACA is a failure.
Everywhere I turned yesterday on the Sunday talk shows, some Right Winger was pointing to the botched rollout of the Federal “Health Care Exchange” website as evidence “Obamacare” was a failure. As both a former website developer AND small-business owner, I take great umbrage to the idea that if the website is a “failure” that the company is also a failure […]
October 21, 2013
Posted in: Economy, fake scandals, General, Healthcare, myth busting, Partisanship, Politics, Right-Wing Insanity
What the Debt Ceiling Fight is REALLY About: Impeachment
By the time you read this, you’ll already know whether or not the GOP has once again Shutdown the Federal Government for the first time since they last did it 17 years ago. But let me make a last minute prediction that in the wee hours of the morning, both sides will agree to a one-month extension, at […]
October 1, 2013
Posted in: Economy, fake scandals, General, Healthcare, Money, Partisanship, Politics, Predictions, rewriting history, Right-Wing Insanity, Unconstitutional
Today’s GOP Putting King’s Dream Back to Sleep
Fifty years ago this Wednesday, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his rousing “I Have a Dream” speech (text) to a crowd of 250,000 (give or take 50K) mostly (but not exclusively) black supporters. King spoke of “Negros” not being seen as equals “in the eyes of the law”. He spoke of economic injustice that restricts “basic mobility […]
August 26, 2013
Posted in: General, Partisanship, Politics, Racism, voting