Today marks the opening of the 2013-2014 US Supreme Court session. Over the coming weeks I will be writing about some of the major cases to come before the Justices this term but today I thought I'd offer a brief primer on how the Court works as well as offer a quick list of some upcoming cases. The Supreme Court annual session opens on 1st Monday in October and … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Opens Today
Why Did a Woman Die in the DC Car Crash?
A 34-year-old woman suffering from post-partum depression was killed in Washington last week, leaving behind a child, bottles of medication and a human mystery. If I were still editing a magazine, I would have a reporter spend the next few weeks finding out all about Miriam Carey, what brought her to that televised car chase and what her life and death can tell us about … [Read more...] about Why Did a Woman Die in the DC Car Crash?
Can Obama Make Emergency Executive Order to Bypass Congress?
I wonder. If the President can bypass Congress's vote, and instead, ok the budget as an emergency measure germane to the health, welfare, safety and security of US citizens, ok the debt ceiling as an emergency measure germane to the health, welfare, safety and security of US citizens, ok the health care carry through as an emergency measure germane to the health, welfare, … [Read more...] about Can Obama Make Emergency Executive Order to Bypass Congress?
Let’s Not Kid Ourselves: GOP Extremists Have Engineered A Bloodless Coup
Having twice failed to defeat Barack Obama and having repeatedly failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the president's signature achievement and the most sweeping social reform since LBJ's Great Society initiatives in the 1960s, the extreme right wing of the Republican Party has engineered a bloodless coup in which a comparatively small handful of hateful zealots have shut … [Read more...] about Let’s Not Kid Ourselves: GOP Extremists Have Engineered A Bloodless Coup
About That Rebranding Thing…
TPM shows how hard the California Republicans are working on it. … [Read more...] about About That Rebranding Thing…
Campaign Funds With No Limits?
Am I imagining it or is that basically what George Will is supporting? … [Read more...] about Campaign Funds With No Limits?
To Understand the Shutdown You Have to Grasp the Mindset of the GOP Base (Guest Voice)
To Understand the Shutdown You Have to Grasp the Mindset of the GOP Base (via Moyers & Company) It’s widely understood that the government has been shut down by a relatively small number of Republican lawmakers who represent deeply red districts. They’re insulated from public opinion at large. They don’t fear a general election loss to a… … [Read more...] about To Understand the Shutdown You Have to Grasp the Mindset of the GOP Base (Guest Voice)
GOP Suicide Mission Continues as Sen. Ted Cruz Seeks to Tie Obamacare to Debt Ceiling
Sen. Ted Cruz is on a mission to hold another loaded gun to the heads of Americans. Realizing that the government shutdown he engineered to defund Obamacare is imploding, he now wants to tie it to the debt ceiling, The Hill reports. Um, House Speaker John Boehner also wussed out again, deferring to the wingnuts in his party and threatening to default. He maintains that unless … [Read more...] about GOP Suicide Mission Continues as Sen. Ted Cruz Seeks to Tie Obamacare to Debt Ceiling
The New Confederacy Rears its ‘Head’
The New Confederacy? Gee. It is tedious and counterproductive to make some silly bray like, "I told you so," or "try to catch up," at this point. I have been telling you for, literally, years about the resurgent confederacy, the Neoconfederate roots of the Tea Party, the Libertarian/Rebel connections, the roots of home schooling in the "Lost Cause" etc. etc. etc. So, let … [Read more...] about The New Confederacy Rears its ‘Head’
Republicans dig in heels as poll shows they can lose House in 2014
Republican conservatives are digging in their heels and becoming even more inflexible as they attempt to blame President Barack Obama and the Democrats for the conservative House-engineered government shutdown, and insist that there will be a default unless Obama negotiates on their terms -- at the same time that a series of polls now show they could lose the House in … [Read more...] about Republicans dig in heels as poll shows they can lose House in 2014
Rushing Print’s Demise
Rushing Print's Demise by Peter Funt The biggest threat to newspapers today might be newspapers themselves — or, to be more precise, the companies that own them. This week Gannett's USA Today doubled its cover price from one dollar to two. Can you think of any other struggling business that would raise prices 100 percent? The U.S. Postal Service, similarly … [Read more...] about Rushing Print’s Demise
Is world peace almost here?
The headlines don't show it, but the world is actually more peaceful than it was a year ago. An infographic from Superscholar declares "World Peace is almost here" -- and offers some interesting statistics. Take a look: Source: SuperScholar.org … [Read more...] about Is world peace almost here?
Liberty tied up (Cartoon)
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Liberty tied up (Cartoon)
Conservatives planned budget crisis in advance
Some were shocked when it later emerged that Republicans had been planning to try and stymie recently-elected President Barack Obama before he even placed his fanny on his seat in the Oval Office. Now we see The Sequel: the budget crisis now in play was in effect choreographed by conservatives. It just didn't organically happen: Shortly after President Obama started his … [Read more...] about Conservatives planned budget crisis in advance
U.S. Forces Capture Al Qaeda Leader in Libya
Yet another Al Qaeda leader is off the streets: In two operations in Africa nearly 3,000 miles apart, U.S. military forces went after two high-value targets over the weekend. One operation took place early Saturday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, when U.S. forces captured Abu Anas al Libi, an al Qaeda leader wanted for his role in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. … [Read more...] about U.S. Forces Capture Al Qaeda Leader in Libya
A Medal for Michele Bachmann
Years ago, a drug-addicted employee used a passkey while I was away and stole stuff from my apartment, including a Purple Heart. That feeling of violation comes back as Michele Bachmann and her Tea Party comrades, after shutting down government, strike poses and remove barricades for veterans at Washington’s war memorials. “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel,” … [Read more...] about A Medal for Michele Bachmann
US Navy SEALs raid Somali militants
US Navy SEALs raid Somali militants: report (via AFP) US Navy SEALs staged a raid Saturday on a senior Shebab militant leader in southern Somalia though it was unclear whether he was killed, The New York Times reported Saturday. The Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab had earlier claimed it was British and Turkish… … [Read more...] about US Navy SEALs raid Somali militants
Why Women Can’t “Have It All”
At 50, a woman who is a college president, former powerhouse on Wall Street, wife and mother has written a new book, "Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection," to complain that members of her gender are “really shackled by expectations, rather than liberated.” Duh. As an editor of women’s magazines during the 1960s who employed both Gloria Steinem and Betty … [Read more...] about Why Women Can’t “Have It All”
Hillary Clinton decries “scorched earth” politics
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton truly nails it -- and her comments show why she will likely be an attractive candidate for centrists, moderates and independents if she runs for President: "Today, too many in our politics choose scorched earth over common ground. Many of our public debates are happening in what I like to call an evidence-free zone, where ideology … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton decries “scorched earth” politics
Republican ‘Clowns’ Turn America into a ‘Laughing Stock’ (Rzeczpospolita, Poland)
One might say that if the Republicans have lost Poland, they have lost the world. One of the few countries with officials who showed overt support for Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign, this is the second op-ed this week written by Polish columnists lambasting House Republicans for closing down the federal government. For Rzeczpospolita, columnist Bartosz Weglarczyk writes … [Read more...] about Republican ‘Clowns’ Turn America into a ‘Laughing Stock’ (Rzeczpospolita, Poland)