The Brooklyn Bridge opened for business 126 years ago this month.
Source: PBS.org
Month: May 2009
Sonia Sotomayor, Context Provided
Since President Obama’s announcement that he would nominate federal appellate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, much attention has been given to her 2005 remark that the "court of appeals is where policy is made." The conservative Judicial Confirmation Network and others on the right are spotlighting the clip of Sotomayor speaking at Duke Law School.
But what is Sotomayor really saying? It’s true that she immediately interrupted herself, saying jokingly to the panelist next to her,
Burned Bibles?
Q: Did the Obama administration burn soldiers’ Bibles?
A: The military destroyed Bibles printed in Afghan languages to prevent distribution to local Muslims. But it happened during the Bush administration.
May 25, 2009
Many cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in the U.S., but Waterloo, N.Y., was declared the official birthplace by President Lyndon Johnson and Congress in 1966. A ceremony to honor local veterans of the Civil War was held there on May 5, 1866.
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs
May 24, 2009
The youngest driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 was 22-year-old Troy Ruttman in 1952. The oldest was Al Unser, who was nearly 48 when he won in 1987.
Source: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
May 23, 2009
Every day, 144,000 vehicles cross the Brooklyn Bridge.
Source: PBS.org
Oklahoma’s Conservativism
Q: Is Oklahoma as defiantly conservative as a chain e-mail says?
A: The state is one of the most Republican in the nation, but the message exaggerates Oklahoma’s laws on religion, immigration and guns.
Selective Edits on Interrogation?
On May 21, President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney both gave speeches on national security, specifically focusing on Guantanamo Bay, detainees and interrogation techniques. We combed through the transcripts of both and found a few items worth mentioning from Cheney’s speech.
In defending so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, Cheney quoted Obama’s director of national intelligence, Adm. Dennis C. Blair, as saying that "high value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country."
May 22, 2009
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born today in 1859.
Source: The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Half the Story on Health Care
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon has introduced his "Healthy Americans Act" before, aiming to bring about universal health coverage. This year he’s trying again, facing not only legislative hurdles in gaining support for the plan but a critical — and misleading — ad campaign by a coalition of labor unions.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the National Education Association are airing a radio ad in Wyden’s state,