tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-141707042024-10-11T16:20:48.575-07:00The Progressive ZoneA little conservative, a little liberal, a lot of pragmatismThe Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-75754364528903695062015-07-26T19:30:00.003-07:002015-07-26T19:30:55.127-07:00The Progressive Zone has movedIt looks like I haven't been blogging in a while. In fact, I've been blogging quite a bit lately. I implemented WordPress on my own domain, and I like its blogging features much better than Blogger's. So I decided to move my blog there. Please visit The Progressive Zone at its new location to see what I'm blogging about now.The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-33510865363822519572014-07-10T20:12:00.000-07:002014-07-13T15:47:12.017-07:00Breaking bad on the borderA large contingent of American protestors has gathered at the Murrieta station of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Their intent is to prevent CBP from bussing illegal immigrants into the station. Their effect is to disrupt CBP from processing the illegal immigrants for deportation. Why would the protestors do something that has the effect of being an obstacle to what they’d like to The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-68656490842792937232014-04-27T11:58:00.002-07:002014-04-27T12:22:21.605-07:00Hashtag reality checkBusinesses who think that Twitter is the solution to their marketing challenges need a reality check. Putting a hashtag on a figure of speech will not automatically make it trend. Before spending millions of dollars on an advertising campaign to create social buzz, marketers should think about what they want to accomplish. If the marketer's brand isn't enhanced, then what's the point.
Case in The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-33312650289109857742014-02-02T14:35:00.003-08:002014-02-02T14:52:46.323-08:00The Architect of DivisionAlthough it was penned over a year ago, I read The Architect of Destruction today. I discovered that P. Maureen Scott is an impressive armchair psychoanalyst. The five-syllable words recounting her amazing vision into the deepest recesses of president Barack Obama's mind make a convincing case that "Obama has promoted the degeneration of peace, civility, and quality of cooperation between us. The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-24086830979586085922014-01-12T20:46:00.001-08:002014-02-02T14:36:09.362-08:00Reports of Global Warming’s DeathIt’s been a cold winter so far! First, a research vessel gets stranded in the Antarctic and the ice breaker attempting to rescue the Akademik Shokalskiy gets stuck in the sea ice too. Then the USA gets hit by a polar vortex that freezes practically half of all Americans. It’s no surprise that climate change deniers are mocking the concept of Global Warming. After all, how could the planet be The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-20510896186305079052014-01-03T21:54:00.002-08:002014-02-02T14:36:32.714-08:00The mountain erodes back into a molehillFor over a year, Republicans have been desperately trying to conflate the attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi with a deliberate attempt by the Obama administration to cover-up the "fact" that al Qaeda was the perpetrator. There is a general consensus on both the Left and the Right that incompetence and ineptitude played a role in exacerbating the calamity that occurred on The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-19470488021851756182012-12-21T20:21:00.002-08:002014-02-02T14:36:59.598-08:00Pay-to-playI read that Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos without payment or notification. Instagram made the wise move and backed down from the new policy but it wasn't the policy that caught my attention in the first place. I was amused by the irked Twitter user who quipped that "Instagram is now the new iStockPhoto, except they won't have to pay you anything to use your images."
I The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-57983235827608407532012-11-30T23:16:00.001-08:002014-02-02T14:37:22.491-08:00Negotiating 101The GOP has been claiming for a long time that President Barack Obama refuses to make a proposal for dealing with the "fiscal cliff" -- at least not one with specifics. Calling their bluff, the president sent Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner to visit congressional leaders and make a proposal. It calls for $1.6-trillion in tax increases, $350-billion in cuts in health programs, $The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-85193061009895382442012-10-02T15:30:00.002-07:002014-12-25T18:23:39.324-08:00Are you better off?Tomorrow I expect to hear Mitt Romney asking the question, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" In anticipation of that question, allow me to prepare the electorate to answer. The answer is an unequivocal "yes."
Doesn't Romney remember the state the American economy was in when President Barack Obama took office? The financial sector was on the verge of a total collapse, theThe Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-17879203630664452422012-07-17T13:57:00.001-07:002014-02-02T14:38:04.955-08:00Romney is not a felonIt’s time for all of Mitt Romney’s supporters to stop criticizing President Barack Obama for calling Romney a felon. Neither Obama nor his campaign team have ever called Romney a felon. In fact, I doubt Obama even privately thinks that Romney is a felon.
The issue stems from Romney filing forms with the SEC on behalf of Bain Capital that state Romney was the CEO, president, and managing The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-28369204098413432242012-06-30T17:20:00.000-07:002012-07-01T17:58:20.336-07:00National Geographic and the social mediaNational Geographic (NatGeo) has been active in social media for a few years. In May of 2009, its facebook Page already had slightly fewer than half a million “Fans” (as Likes were referred to at the time), its tweet stream had 7,780 Followers, and its YouTube Channel had over 150,000 subscribers. In the three years that have transpired since then, its numbers have increased exponentially. The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-77248151019701675162012-05-13T18:08:00.002-07:002012-05-13T18:10:38.906-07:00The haircutThe Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-13846441730200832912012-04-03T22:47:00.004-07:002012-04-03T22:47:50.907-07:00"Progressive" is not synonymous with "Liberal"Visitors to The Zone often think I'm a Liberal but I have to correct them. A Progressive does not lean to the Left. But he doesn't lean to the Right either. A Progressive leans forward.The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-36207790872971184612012-03-11T16:57:00.001-07:002012-03-11T17:04:37.323-07:00Noise stage rightI've been hearing a lot of rhetoric that is incendiary and over-the-top in this election season, especially from political figures -- people who make a case for why we should elect them to represent us and run our governments. The more I hear, the louder it seems to be from the GOP. I'm not saying that Democrats never use incendiary rhetoric that's over-the-top. I'm just saying that it seems The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-19720299808115630672012-02-27T23:06:00.001-08:002012-02-27T23:09:58.829-08:00Santorum's churchOn This Week yesterday, Rick Santorum said "I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute." With complete conviction, he went on to say "the idea that the church can have no influence, no involvement, in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our" nation. I challenge Santorum to show America where these The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-47718110135323532912012-02-13T23:18:00.000-08:002012-02-16T08:13:53.038-08:00Endangered speciesNormally I'm a proponent of scientific advancement but, when I read about a new breeding program aimed at keeping moderate Republicans from going extinct, I was skeptical. It'll probably work out okay in captivity but they'll never be widespread in the wild. The far-right subgenus will eat the moderates alive. And with their aversion to contraception, they'll crowd the moderates out of the The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-21214901634414124682012-02-13T22:42:00.000-08:002012-02-13T23:04:20.121-08:00Not how to create jobsI was watching a guest on the Nightly Business Report tonight speak about employment not increasing in America the last couple years. He went on to say that the way to increase employment is to make it easy for job creators to get credit and to reduce regulation. You would think that being a business show, the guest would not be so wrong.
Let's break this claim down to see how wrong it is, The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-48087664933171144672012-02-11T16:24:00.000-08:002012-02-11T16:24:30.391-08:00The Conservative monikerI've been watching the GOP presidential hopefuls falling all over themselves to be more "conservative" than the next, as if being "the" Conservative is a badge of honor. The irony is that, much as those GOP hopefuls use the term "liberal" derisively, the term "conservative" has a negative connotation to me. It has nothing to do with conservative values -- I share conservative values on a numberThe Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-69967779937042178292012-02-03T18:51:00.000-08:002012-02-03T18:53:49.846-08:00Newt-land: the mirror image of realityNewt Gingrich was on the stump today and I saw an excerpt of his speech. He was echoing the same claims he has been making for months now. He was essentially telling the crowd that President Barack Obama has:
raised taxes
increased regulation
is anti-American energy
wages class warfareOf course, the crowd probably believed every one of these claims, even though they are all blatant lies.
In The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-33080272647504069282011-11-28T23:39:00.001-08:002011-11-28T23:45:41.795-08:00Occupational hazardToday was the deadline the city of Los Angeles gave for the Occupy L.A. protesters to clear out their encampment at City Hall. Well take a look around: they're still there. By now, the turf is worn out and tents are still pitched everywhere. Any taxpayers wanting to quietly relax at this public property they pay for are out of luck. They'll need to share it with hundreds of other people -- The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-3693601046878968532011-08-13T16:31:00.000-07:002011-08-13T16:38:20.422-07:00Taxes and job creationRaising taxes on wealthy Americans doesn't stifle job creation. In fact, it could even enhance it -- if wealthy Americans aren't greedy.
I agree that raising taxes on businesses would stifle job creation. But all the talk we hear lately is about raising taxes on personal income. If the taxes raised are those of a wealthy business owner, it is only the salary that the business pays the owner The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-52937732671592267952011-07-05T22:06:00.000-07:002011-07-05T22:41:47.493-07:00Doomsday!The federal government is rapidly approaching the limit of the amount of debt congress permits it to have. Meanwhile, politicians and the media alike are blustering about a debt ceiling doomsday scenario. They base this assertion on the premise that hitting the debt ceiling means that the federal government goes into default.I believe this is a non sequitur. What I don't understand is why The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-9525686437281838122011-04-17T13:33:00.000-07:002011-04-17T13:39:35.651-07:00The Party familyThe GOP is normally so disciplined -- a big reason for its success. It makes me wonder whether I'm pleased or scared that it's been co-opted by the Tea Party.The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-91866024859010807872011-04-10T22:21:00.000-07:002011-04-10T22:35:57.032-07:00Congress needs to eat humble pie......because neither the Democrats nor the GOP are taking much of a bite out of the deficit.Click the image above to view full-size.The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14170704.post-53637803945197800392010-11-21T19:09:00.000-08:002011-07-03T16:23:48.992-07:00An inconvenient truthThe railing Right would have us believe that the election earlier this month was a repudiation of the Obama administration's policy. Common wisdom is that it's all about jobs with voters. Since unemployment is higher than ever under the current administration, the conservative echo chamber would say, the electorate decided to evict President Obama's Democrat cohort from congress. As The Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388386207043606897noreply@blogger.com0