The prospect of Hillary Clinton becoming the Democratic candidate has many liberals increasingly worried considering how out of step Clinton is with liberal views on foreign policy, social issues, government ethics, and the economy. If it comes to it, I believe most liberals will hold their nose and vote for Clinton as opposed to risking another Gore v. Bush campaign in which … [Read more...] about Martin O’Malley So Far The Only Liberal In Democratic Race For 2016
Who Gets Credit?
The Republicans have been howling since Obama was elected that his policies would prevent the economy from improving. They also railed against the Federal Reserve’s strategies, saying they would surely cause considerable inflation and do nothing to help the economy recover. Austerity was needed, the Republicans advised. America needed to cut its budget deficits and pay down the … [Read more...] about Who Gets Credit?
Indiana: Discrimination Hiding Behind Religious Faith
Indiana: Discrimination Hiding Behind Religious Faith By Jason Stanford Where is Leslie Knope when we need her? Indiana's "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," which purports to protect Christians from being forced to apply the Golden Rule to gays and lesbians at work, resists sober interpretation. The only way to understand it is as government-sponsored fan fiction for … [Read more...] about Indiana: Discrimination Hiding Behind Religious Faith
Poll on Iran: Majority now side with Obama
Is this (maybe) a breakthrough in American attitudes towards using the military to settle diplomatic disputes? By a nearly 2 to 1 margin, Americans support the notion of striking a deal with Iran that restricts the nation’s nuclear program in exchange for loosening sanctions, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. ...WaPo It goes without saying that the support for a … [Read more...] about Poll on Iran: Majority now side with Obama
Cartoon: Parting the Red Sea
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 Cartoon: Parting the Red Sea
Don’t make a bad situation worse
WASHINGTON -- As gung-ho "experts" press President Obama to do this, that or the other in the Middle East, keep a simple rule in mind: Whatever the avid interventionists suggest probably won't work -- and surely will have unintended consequences. Obama's overall policy toward the region has been modest, cautious, incremental and situational. His boldest move has been to … [Read more...] about Don’t make a bad situation worse
With Iran deadline looming, progress difficult to assess in years of nuclear talks
With Iran deadline looming, progress difficult to assess in years of nuclear talks LAUSANNE, Switzerland — One day before the latest in a long line of deadlines in the negotiations over an Iranian nuclear deal, what passed for positive news was that while one of the primary negotiators announced he was leaving, he also said he was willing to return Tuesday, deadline day. The … [Read more...] about With Iran deadline looming, progress difficult to assess in years of nuclear talks
An Historical Cycle Ends
CNN Money, that most astute of websites, tracked down recent blog retiree and superstar Andrew Sullivan, who gave an interview, probably, prefacing the publication of his book, which will keep him in the media crosshairs: … [Read more...] about An Historical Cycle Ends
Obama’s new war by default
Even as President Barack Obama struggles to get Iran to renounce, or at least substantially delay, acquisition of nuclear weapons, Tehran’s archenemy Saudi Arabia is nudging him into a war by default in Yemen, where tribal politics are far more convoluted than in Iraq and Syria. Although the Saudis have presented their aerial bombing of Yemen as valiant support for US … [Read more...] about Obama’s new war by default
Tammy Duckworth Running for the U.S. Senate
[icopyright one button toolbar] In 2012 she ran for the Illinois’ 8th congressional district U.S. Congress seat against a man who -- although he never served a day in the military -- had the cojones to disparage her heroic, combat service claiming that she -- Tammy Duckworth -- was not a “true hero." Her opponent, then-Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), had the audacity to say -- … [Read more...] about Tammy Duckworth Running for the U.S. Senate
SciFi Weekend: The X-Files To Return; Huge Twist on 12 Monkeys; Werewolf Don Draper 2043; Another Unforgettable Scene on The Americans; Jason Katims and Craig T. Nelson Returning To Television
Fox has officially decided to go ahead with a six episode revival of The X-Files. Here is what we know from various web reports, including an interview with Chris Carter at XFilesNews.com. Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny will be back and Carter is looking into the availability of others, including William B. Davis and Mitch Pileggi. Chris Carter mentions that there will be … [Read more...] about SciFi Weekend: The X-Files To Return; Huge Twist on 12 Monkeys; Werewolf Don Draper 2043; Another Unforgettable Scene on The Americans; Jason Katims and Craig T. Nelson Returning To Television
Harry Reid vs. the Smooth Deal
WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is an acquired taste. It may surprise people outside of his Democratic caucus that many of his colleagues will miss him. But they will. Charismatic he is not. He sometimes stumbles in his choice of words, and utterly fails a series of other Beltway tests. For example, our era claims to revere authenticity but prefers … [Read more...] about Harry Reid vs. the Smooth Deal
The Paranoid Style in American Politics
Here are highlights from Richard Hofstadter's classic 1964 essay from Harper's. Which of today's political figures fits? American politics has often been an arena for angry minds. In recent years we have seen angry minds at work mainly among extreme right-wingers, who have now demonstrated in the Goldwater conservative movement how much political leverage can be got out of the … [Read more...] about The Paranoid Style in American Politics
Arizona Sen. Allen: Mandatory Church Would Be Good For America
Arizonans should put on their Sunday best and head to church -- at least if Arizona Sen. Sylvia Allen has her way. Church attendance should be mandatory, the senator said during a debate about permitting concealed guns in public buildings. "I believe what's happening to our country is that there's a moral erosion of the soul… … [Read more...] about Arizona Sen. Allen: Mandatory Church Would Be Good For America
Clinton Out-Nixons Nixon And Erases The Email
[icopyright one button toolbar] The conventional wisdom is that Richard Nixon would have survived Watergate if he had erased the tapes. Democrats were outraged by the eighteen and a half minutes which were "accidentally" erased by Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods. In a late Friday news dump we learned that Hillary Milhouse Clinton, who once accused the Bush administration … [Read more...] about Clinton Out-Nixons Nixon And Erases The Email
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s Anti-Gay Discrimination Political Branding and Quagmire
[icopyright one button toolbar] Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) is enmeshed in a political quagmire and spreading national firestorm over a state law proponents say is merely to protect "religious freedom," but that critics -- which include a growing number of prominent Americans and big corporations -- says looks more like an outright anti-gay discrimination law. Calls for … [Read more...] about Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s Anti-Gay Discrimination Political Branding and Quagmire
A New Era of Televangelists
A New Era of Televangelists By Tina Dupuy This week, the junior senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, kicked off the 2016 Republican primary season at a university founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell. Liberty University's students were mandated to attend Cruz's announcement speech, so Senator Cruz enjoyed a packed house of attentive students accustomed to being preached at. … [Read more...] about A New Era of Televangelists
Positives in Saudi/Yemen Military Actions
[icopyright one button toolbar] Josh Marshall offers a thoughtful take on independent military action recently taken by Saudi Arabia and others in the Middle East on Talking Points Memo. We now see this Saudi-led military operation in Yemen which is being joined by Egypt and possibly other Arab states. Earlier, we saw the Jordanian attacks against ISIS after the immolation of … [Read more...] about Positives in Saudi/Yemen Military Actions
For God’s Sake, Open The Door’
'For God's Sake, Open The Door' Transcripts of the black box recordings from the doomed Germanwings flight 9525 have revealed Captain Sondenheimer shouting "Open the goddamn door!" as he tries to break into the locked cockpit. According to the transcripts, published in German newspaper Bild, the recordings begin normally, with Captain Sondenheimer apologizing to passengers for … [Read more...] about For God’s Sake, Open The Door’
Yemen: Saudi actions are destabilizing for the global UN-based order
[icopyright one button toolbar] The Saudi intervention in Yemen as the lead military power in a Gulf coalition opens a Pandora’s Box that could be the first fatal step in unravelling the United Nations security system set up after World War II. The UN system prohibits military intervention in any foreign country without Security Council authorization and the UN’s … [Read more...] about Yemen: Saudi actions are destabilizing for the global UN-based order