WASHINGTON -- Seeing our government and our creditworthiness held hostage to the demands of a right-wing minority is infuriating. It's also heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking because the only thing keeping our country from being its growing, innovative and successful self is genuinely and unnecessarily stupid politics. The United States emerged from a horrific … [Read more...] about The heartbreak of extremism
Quote of the Day: The real Republican divide
Our political Quote of the Day comes from "Morning Joe's" Joe Scarborough who, in an opinion piece in Politico, writes about "The real Republican divide." And he nails it: Forget the GOP divide between tea party members and establishment Republicans. If you want to see where the fault line runs in the Party of Lincoln look at the difference between Washington Republicans … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: The real Republican divide
That offensive Washington Redskins name (Guest Cartoonist)
That offensive Washington Redskins name by Mike Peters OF RELATED INTEREST: --Redskins Owner Says He Won’t Change Team Name --Are Washington ‘Redskins’ doomed? NFL’s resistance to change showing cracks. --Tribe seeks to force NFL Redskins name change --Check out some possible new designs for the possibly renamed Washington Redskins Mike Peters is recognized as … [Read more...] about That offensive Washington Redskins name (Guest Cartoonist)
Are the Republicans giving up?
Obamacare is off the docket. Republican supporters are backing off. Looks like the tea party is going down in flames -- at least this time. The New York Times has a report from the battlefront. House Republicans, facing the ninth day of a government shutdown, appeared increasingly isolated on Wednesday from even their strongest backers, with business groups demanding … [Read more...] about Are the Republicans giving up?
Federal Reserve Bailout of US Treasury to Avoid Default – Another Option to Ponder
Cullen Roche of Pragmatic Capitalism wrote earlier today on the subject of a possible solution to avoid a Federal Default. Here’s the gist of it: Scenario 1. (most likely): The market declines 2-3% further and credit markets start to show more signs of stress which causes the millionaires in Congress to look at their self imposed decline in net worth and come to their … [Read more...] about Federal Reserve Bailout of US Treasury to Avoid Default – Another Option to Ponder
Can Tex-Mex and Buffalo wings make it big in Africa?
Can Tex-Mex and Buffalo wings make it big in Africa? (via GlobalPost) Enlarge Dierdre Elliott of Gogo's Meat and Biltong Deli in Cape Town holds a piece of lean beef biltong, a spicy dried meat much loved in South Africa. A few major US chains hope to make burritos and Buffalo wings just as popular. (RODGER BOSCH/AFP/… … [Read more...] about Can Tex-Mex and Buffalo wings make it big in Africa?
Rebrand This – All Time Record Low Approval For Republicans (UPDATED)
This is from Gallup, in a poll conducted October 3-6. It’s stark enough to just quote without editorial comment. [T]he Republican Party is now viewed favorably by 28% of Americans, down from 38% in September. This is the lowest favorable rating measured for either party since Gallup began asking this question in 1992. … The Democratic Party also has a public image … [Read more...] about Rebrand This – All Time Record Low Approval For Republicans (UPDATED)
Rep. Paul Ryan Faces Backlash For Failing to Mention Obamacare in WSJ Op-Ed
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the poster-child of the Republican Party during the 2012 presidential election campaign, has been strangely quiet during the Tea Party-engineered government shutdown over defunding Obamacare. That's until he wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal detailing how to break the stalemate. Conservatives pounced because he didn't mention 'Obamacare.' Um, get … [Read more...] about Rep. Paul Ryan Faces Backlash For Failing to Mention Obamacare in WSJ Op-Ed
Three Elections That Really Changed America
My granddaughter has a high-school assignment: Was 1968 a critical election year that changed America? She will answer in her usually independent way but, as a delegate to that Democratic convention who was tear-gassed in Chicago, I can weigh in with an opinion. In my lifetime, I would argue, there were three pivotal moments: FDR in 1932, Nixon that year and George W. Bush … [Read more...] about Three Elections That Really Changed America
Fukushima and Risk Analysis
It has been reported that six workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been doused with highly radioactive water. While that may be unfortunate it is reason for all of us to be concerned. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said repeated mishaps could be a sign of the harsh work environment. "Careless mistakes are often linked … [Read more...] about Fukushima and Risk Analysis
Conservative Republican columnist John Podhoretz writes of “The Suicide of the Right”
No one can accuse The New York Post's John Podhortez of being a "RINO" or a liberal tool. But, hey, the day is still young. He has written a blunt column in The Post titled "The Suicide of the Right" about the obsession with some on the right to get rid of Obama care, the government shut down and the lingering default threat. Some excerpts: Every piece of evidence we have … [Read more...] about Conservative Republican columnist John Podhoretz writes of “The Suicide of the Right”
U.S. Republicans Wage War on Profligate Hungry Children (News, Switzerland)
What's behind Republican policies on food stamps that appear too cruel for most people to contemplate? For Switzerland's News, columnist Patrik Etschmayer writes that what drives the American right's complaints about people living off the state is a fear that the mainly White, Protestant, heterosexual, male dominated world is endangered, and a desire to punish those who appear … [Read more...] about U.S. Republicans Wage War on Profligate Hungry Children (News, Switzerland)
New AP Poll: Republicans blamed for shutdown as one in four GOPers support Tea Party
A new Associated Press-GfK survey finds Republicans are being largely blamed for the shut down and contains a tidbit that underscores the ongoing problem for the GOP as talk about a "rebranding" totally vanishes: one out of four Republicans support the Tea Party. A few highlights: Americans are holding Republicans primarily responsible for the partial government shutdown … [Read more...] about New AP Poll: Republicans blamed for shutdown as one in four GOPers support Tea Party
Hostage America’s Stockholm Syndrome Signs
In 1973, employees held hostage for six days in a Swedish bank vault refused police help and emerged to defend their captors. Such bonding between captives and their takers became known as the Stockholm Syndrome, and there as signs that Americans are succumbing to it now. A new CNN poll shows 63 percent angry at Republicans for the government shutdown, but 57 percent are … [Read more...] about Hostage America’s Stockholm Syndrome Signs
Alfred E. Neuman Would Be Proud
Many have noted the strange push on the part of some Republicans to pretend that refusing to raise the debt ceiling is some kind of consequence free action, including David Weigel. I noted in an earlier post, Forbes Magazine has a couple of writers encouraging this belief. Republican House members have said things like this: “We’ve got more than enough cash flow, more … [Read more...] about Alfred E. Neuman Would Be Proud
A War We Must Not Forget
As Americans are focused on the impact of the government shutdown and anxious about the consequences of yet another upcoming political debacle on the debt limit, we hardly noticed that four more Americans were killed in Afghanistan over the weekend, including an Army nurse -- she was only 25 -- in “the coalition’s worst loss of life in a single episode since June.” As we … [Read more...] about A War We Must Not Forget
Who’s to blame for the shutdown?
"DEAR COLUMNIST: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say the government shutdown will last a long time, America will default on its debt and our economy and the world economy will nosedive. They say conservative Republicans are bullying the American political system and economy in way that doesn't fit with how democracy is defined in my history books. My father says … [Read more...] about Who’s to blame for the shutdown?
Are Washington ‘Redskins’ doomed? NFL’s resistance to change showing cracks.
Are Washington 'Redskins' doomed? NFL's resistance to change showing cracks. (via The Christian Science Monitor) Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder arrives for the NFL fall meeting in Washington Tuesday.(Carolyn Kaster/AP) Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is appearing increasingly isolated in his vow never to change his team's controversial nickname… … [Read more...] about Are Washington ‘Redskins’ doomed? NFL’s resistance to change showing cracks.
Only one side is responsible (Guest Voice)
Only one side is responsible by Peter Johnson One really has to marvel at the ability of Republicans to influence public thinking by relying heavily on focus groups and poll testing to determine which will be the most effective. They really have caused far too many Americans to believe their bizarre spins concerning some pretty plain political fare needing only simple … [Read more...] about Only one side is responsible (Guest Voice)
Is all bleak in the House engineered government shut down and debt default threat?
Is all bleak in the Republican Tea Party-dominated Republican House's government shut down -- and the real threat that Republicans will hurl the United States into a debt default? Andrew Sullivan is not optimistic at all: The Republicans, alas, have two advantages that stem from their radicalism (yes, in a classic piece of total projection, they are the real Alinskyites … [Read more...] about Is all bleak in the House engineered government shut down and debt default threat?