A man from southern Israel divorced his wife this week because she had brought 550 cats into their home. The husband, apparently not a cat lover, told the Rabbinical Court in Beersheba that he was unable to sleep in his bedroom because the surface of the marital bed was constantly covered with cats who refused to lie on the floor. The man, in his divorce request, complained that the cats also blocked his access to the bathroom and did not allow him to prepare meals in the kitchen, the Hebrew daily Maariv reported Wednesday. When he sat to eat, cats jumped onto the table and stole his food. The couple attempted reconciliation at the behest of the rabbinical court. The wife, however, was unable to ... Continue reading →
An anonymous group that distributed fliers in Janesville over the weekend targeting teachers who signed the recall petition has not attempted a similar action in other communities, according to the organization that assisted with its open records request. The flier lists the names, titles and salaries of the 325 highest-paid Janesville teachers and urges readers to go to iverifytherecall.com to find out if they signed the recall petition. It also includes a form for parents to fill out and request that their child be assigned to a "non-radical teacher" next year. Orville Seymer, an open records specialist with the conservative Milwaukee-based organization Citizens for Responsible Government, said the group responsible for the flier has asked to remain anonymous "for obvious reasons." Citizens for Responsible Government ... Continue reading →
This campaign season reflects that result. Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, is offering a 20 percent tax cut for everyone. Given the mood of the conservatives in the United States today, that may not surprise you. But even President Barack Obama, who is routinely described as a socialist by his opponents, is peddling a plan under which 99 percent of Americans would pay less than they did under the last Democrat in the White House, Bill Clinton. This bipartisan agreement that the overwhelming majority of Americans should pay lower taxes than they did in the 1990s is remarkable for many reasons. For one thing, we are constantly hearing — and it is true — that U.S. politics is more polarized than ever. But unless you ... Continue reading →
Poll time!I love this moment in the political season because the polls pour in and invariably something tucked in among the questions catches my eye but doesn’t grab the headlines.I have selected two that get us away from the presidential race, both of which highlight just how much trouble the Republican brand continues to find itself in despite the party’s many legislative and statehouse victories in 2010. Public sentiment is slowly drifting away from the Republicans in a way that must be giving the party’s long-range strategists sleepless nights.The first question comes from the NBC News/Wall Street Journal Survey released on Tuesday (it’s question number 27). It read:When it comes to (READ ITEM), which party do you feel is most attuned and sensitive to issues ... Continue reading →
Sick of the fights over contraception and Planned Parenthood? Get ready for a new front in what Democrats call the GOP’s “war on women.” Five female Democratic senators pressed for legislation Wednesday aimed at closing the wage gap between men and women. The Paycheck Fairness Act would bring up to date the Equal Pay Act, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson nearly 50 years ago. Democrats cited statistics showing that women today are still paid 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, or $10,784 less a year on average. That’s the equivalent of 183 tanks of gas or 92 bags of groceries. “Women still make less for doing the same job with the same education as men do. The pay gap ... Continue reading →
