hipolitix.com » The Hipoli”Fix”

Is Kagan liberal enough? Strong enough?

mark — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:36:45 +0000

Or will she help block California’s Proposition 8, refuse to expand minority rights, or encourage some other as-yet-unknown conservative proposal? (hello, Arizona!)

They’re putting an awful lot of pressure on her also; asking her to lead a group with all different ideals and values, from all different walks of life. Is anyone else afraid she’ll crack under the weight of these demands?

Let’s hope that Elena Kagan turns out to stick to her guns, whatever they may be.

Bad ass new sniper rifle – contract up for grabs

mark — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:30:28 +0000

Think you can make a sniper rifle better than Remington? If you can make it shoot farther, more quietly, and more accurately, the US Army is taking bids for a new manufacturer for the bad-ass new sniper rifle they’ve designed.

Check out a diagram of the new sniper rifle.

The Spirit of Hip Hop – in Burma

mark — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:19:55 +0000

It warms my heart to see and hear that Hip Hop is making a difference in – of all places – Burma! The message is the same: strength to the downtrodden, a wake up call to the masses.

You’ve come a long way, Earth!

mark — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:37:47 +0000

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I found a lovely article detailing the eco-movement back in the day, and where we’re at now. Sounds like we’ve done a lot of work, but we still have a heaping helping of labor in order to get this planet ship-shape.

The new Benjamins vs. The Supernote

mark — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:06:06 +0000

North Koreans making virtually untraceable counterfeit American money with crazy futuristic technology? Sounds like an action movie to me, but it’s reality! Check out the incredible features on the new US $100 bill.

Arizona’s new illegal immigration bill passes House and Senate

mark — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:47:14 +0000

Arizona’s new bill on illegal immigration intends to give “police another tool” to determine whether people – whether detained in conjunction with a crime or just walking down the street – are in the US legally or not.

Reading the arguments for and against the legislation, it’s really hard to take a hard stance on bills like this – at least for me, as someone who’s lived in areas greatly affected by illegal immigrants.

What ever happened to making a huge wall at the border? What about exploring new technology to keep illegal aliens out – if that’s what we want?

Information like this and this sounds so bad – but it can’t be the whole story – can it?

Civil Rights Cold Cases

mark — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:37:25 +0000

Over 50 years after he was brutally murdered, Isadore Banks has been given his last rest. A Civil Rights Cold Case, the Banks murder is being reexamined by the FBI in the hopes that the Marion, AR community leader’s killer may come to justice.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Banks. Thank you for your service during WWI and your leadership within the community.

You may be able to help: The FBI released a list of cases which it is trying to locate surviving family members of these racially-motivated crimes in order to provide updates and results on the cases. They may also need to gather information on cases that are still open. Please help provide justice for these uncounted victims.

Obama to allow offshore drilling based on “scientific data”

mark — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:41:54 +0000

Although his other environmental plans are languishing in Congress, Obama’s attempting to walk a fine line between completely prohibiting drilling off US shores and an oil free-for-all. He says that drilling and leases will be based on scientific findings – although I don’t care much for the drilling, I love the ideas of basing drilling rights on objective and irrefutable data, and becoming less dependent on foreign oil.

Listen to Obama’s speech on offshore drilling permissions.

Educational student lending is in our hands

mark — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:12:10 +0000

How awesome is this?! With a government-run student lending process, I see no downsides. Score one for the U.S. Government.

In Layman’s Terms: 5 things to know about healthcare reform

mark — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:18:19 +0000

For those of us who are having a leeeetle trouble taking all this healthcare mumbo jumbo in.

If this is all you read about what the new healthcare reform bill will do, you just might not embarrass yourself when someone brings the topic up.