Star City Blog

Snow Job on Jobs - NYTimes.com

Mitt Romney talks a lot about jobs. But does he have a plan to create any?

You can defend President Obama’s jobs record — recovery from a severe financial crisis is always difficult, and especially so when the opposition party does its best to block every policy initiative you propose. And things have definitely improved over the past year. Still, unemployment remains high after all these years, and a candidate with a real plan to make things better could make a strong case for his election.

But Mr. Romney, it turns out, doesn’t have a plan; he’s just faking it. In saying that, I don’t mean that I disagree with his economic philosophy; I do, but that’s a separate point. I mean, instead, that Mr. Romney’s campaign is telling lies: claiming that its numbers add up when they don’t, claiming that independent studies support its position when those studies do no such thing.

Before I get there, however, let me take a minute to talk about Mr. Romney’s claim that he knows how to fix the economy because he’s been a successful businessman. That would be a dubious claim even if he were honestly representing his business career, because the skills needed to run a business and those needed to manage economic policy are very different. In any case, however, his portrait of his own experience is so misleading that it takes your breath away.

Continue reading on NYTIMES.COM...

Cartoon: Healthcare Reform Explained

Science Odyssey: If Climate Talks Fail, What Does the Future Hold?

By Clay Farris Naff

International climate talks are being held Durban, South Africa, to try to hammer out a new global accord on climate change to replace the soon-to-expire Kyoto Treaty of 1997. On today's program, we ask two climate scientists about what their models foretell in the event we continue on our present course.

In Part 1, Dr. Gerald Meehl, senior climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) talks about how computer models of climate have improved since the 2007 IPCC report, and what they show for the future.

In Part 2, Dr. Andreas Schmittner, associate professor of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, talks about research he and colleagues have just published in the online journal Science. It shows that our worst fears of temperature rise in this century are unlikely to come to pass. But, says Dr. Schmittner, that does not mean we can do nothing and get by. It only means that hope lives on.

Climate Talks, Part 1
Climate Talks, Part 2

Clay Farris Naff is (claynaff.com) is a science author and blogger whose weekly radio program, Science Odyssey, airs Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 9 a.m. CST on KZUM, Lincoln's community radio station. You can hear it over the air at 89.3 FM or on the web live at kzum.org. Clay's science and religion blog on the Huffington Post can be seen here.

MOVIE REVIEW: “Carlos” is Bond with Real Guns

By Justin Senkbile

We're first introduced to Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, aka Carlos the Jackal, as he whizzes by cab around Beirut in 1973. As the opening chords of The Feelies' “Loveless Love” build on the soundtrack, Carlos calmly warns the driver, in the local tongue, “Don't drive in circles. I know Beirut.”

It's like a line out of a James Bond picture, delivered by a character as well-groomed and arrogantly intelligent as 007 himself. The difference, of course, is that this man in the cab is representing a figure from recent history who happens to be a hard-boiled terrorist. And this film, “Carlos,” is no campy spy picture, but an epic political thriller from Olivier Assayas ("Summer Hours," "Irma Vep").

“Carlos” was made for French television, takes place in a bunch of Middle Eastern countries and features an enormously talented Venezuelan actor, Édgar Ramírez, in the leading role. Also, it's nearly five-and-a-half hours long, divided into three episodes. But don't let that scare you – this is just about as exciting as the movies get.

Workers' Rights March to Be Held Sunday at the Capitol

By Dene Oglesby

 The organizers of this year’s Working Class Solidarity March know that the endearing nickname, the United States of Amnesia, is more than just a clever quip; forgotten history it is the unfortunate reality of many Americans.

Still widely celebrated around the world, May 1 is the original International Labor Day, dating back to 1856. The Haymarket Massacre on May 4, 1886 in Chicago was the culmination of a three-day general strike. Violence sparked in the crowd, surrounded by police officers, leading to the arrest of seven local anarchist leaders and effectively stopping the movement for workers’ rights in its tracks. When the international community caught wind of the event, workers from around the world marched in solidarity for their American counterparts.

Thanks to the efforts of these anarchists and working class people, the working day was shortened from 10 to 16 hours to 8 hours, and Sundays were reclaimed as a day of rest. Though the May 4th anarchist rally was a peaceful protest, four of the arrested leaders hung while another took his own life in prison. A source of contentious debate even over than a century later, no one knows for sure if it was the Chicago police or the anarchists who threw the first punch. What is certain is that this event was significant to the narrative of worker’s rights yet has largely gone unnoticed in American history classes.

Science Odyssey: TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline: Boon or Threat?

By Clay Farris Naff

A proposal now pending would allow the Canadian company to build a petroleum pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. TransCanada says it would reduce America's dependence on oil from hostile or unstable countries, add to the tax base, and generate income for the people of states it would cross. Opponents in Nebraska argue that it would threaten the Sandhills environment and the waters below and forestall a move to renewable energy.

On this program, we hear three advocacy viewpoints and then encourage listeners to exercise their critical thinking skills to sort out the issues for themselves.

 

XL Pipeline, Part 1

XL Pipeline, Part 2

Clay Farris Naff is (claynaff.com) is a science author and blogger whose weekly radio program, Science Odyssey, airs Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 9 a.m. CST on KZUM, Lincoln's community radio station. You can hear it over the air at 89.3 FM or on the web live at kzum.org. Clay's science and religion blog on the Huffington Post can be seen here.

Science Odyssey: The Future of Nuclear Power in America

By Clay Farris Naff

In the wake of the ongoing disaster at Japan's nuclear power station at Fukushima, questions about the future of nuclear power are more urgent than ever. On this KZUM spring pledge drive special, we hear first from Dr. Dale Klein, former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, on why we need to develop nuclear fuel recycling capacity.

In Part 2, we hear from Bruce Biewald, president of Synapse Energy Economics, a consulting firm that has developed a plan to wean America from its dependence on coal and nuclear energy to mainly renewables by 2050.

Nuclear future, Part 1

Nuclear future, Part 2

 Clay Farris Naff is (claynaff.com) is a science author and blogger whose weekly radio program, Science Odyssey, airs Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 9 a.m. CST on KZUM, Lincoln's community radio station. You can hear it over the air at 89.3 FM or on the web live at kzum.org. Clay's science and religion blog on the Huffington Post can be seen here.

MOVIE REVIEW: Local Immigration Documentary "When We Stop Counting" Focuses Too Much on the Positive

By Jess Feltz

“I wanted a better life for my child."

This is a phrase that resonates with anyone, regardless of race, creed or political affiliation. It is a concept that is responsible for hundreds of years of growth in the United States.

It's also the focal idea behind “When We Stop Counting,” a Nebraska documentary directed and produced by Brent Meier and Elisabeth Reinkordt, showing Tuesday night at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets, at 7 p.m. The screening is free and open to the public. The film will also show Thursday night, Oct. 27, at Doane College at 7 p.m.

"When We Stop Counting" documents a school year in the life of six Hispanic high school students in Crete, most of whom are first-generation immigrants. Through interviews and video shot by the students themselves, the film attempts to convey the struggle of these teens in a town with a suddenly booming immigrant population.

Public comment at Lincoln City Council meeting in favor of proposed 2 a.m. closing time

By John Wenz

The debate over a proposed 2 a.m. closing time for Lincoln's bars and liquor sales will soon culminate in a City Council vote Aug. 30th.

If approved, the city would be following suit of Omaha and about 30 other Nebraska communities, all who were granted the authority by the Legislature earlier this year to decide whether to move closing time to 2 or keep it at 1 a.m.

Supporters outweighed detractors in the hearing, with venue and bar owners showing up to give testimony on the benefits of moving the time — and the potential costs if it stays the same.

“This issue is about more than revenues," Scott Hatfield, owner of Duffy’s Tavern at 1412 O St., told the council members. "This is about vitality and vibrancy in our city."

As an owner of a bar/venue, Hatfield said he’s had a harder time booking shows, as bands have been turning to Omaha's later closing times.

And of cities with populations of more than  200,000, he said Lincoln is the only one with a closing time before 2 a.m.

“Maintaining vibrancy involves more than bringing roller skating events and wrestling matches to town,” he said.

PODCAST: Blog Talk Live: Interview with Eric S. Petersen, Editor of Light & Liberty

By Dennis Kornbluh

Tune in to the very last live episode of Blog Talk Live, tonight at 6pm Central on KZUM. Our guest this evening will be Eric S. Petersen, an attorney whose avocation is "The vision and achievements of Thomas Jefferson". His devotion to Jefferson has yielded a book entitled "Light and Liberty: Reflections on The Pursuit of Happiness", which is published by Random House.  

This collection of thirty four original essays, all of which were penned by Jefferson himself, are a distillation of great writings that reveal the depth of wisdom of one of America's greatest political minds.  On the show we'll discuss many of Jeffersons ideas and ideal.  As always, we will welcome calls from listeners.

PODCAST:

Light and Liberty, Part 1

Light and Liberty, Part 2

Blog Talk Live airs every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. Central on KZUM 89.3 FM, KZUM-HD, and on the web at kzum.org.