A portion of the Defense Of Marriage Act has been ruled unconstitutional by the Boston based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the portion of the law which bars legally married same sex couples from obtaining the same benefits as their male/female counterparts was not permissable. Judge Michael Boudin, a George H W Bush appointee wrote "Many Americans … [Read more...] about Appeals Court Strikes Down Parts Of DOMA
Celebrity Apprentice —Losing Presidential Candidates Edition
I have to admit it. I miss the gang of presidential wannabes that made the long-running Republican nominating process such a...such a...distinctive exercise. I've been watching presidential aspirants come and go for more than 40 years, and can say in all honesty that I've never seen a field of this...of this...caliber presenting itself to take the reins of the U.S. government … [Read more...] about Celebrity Apprentice —Losing Presidential Candidates Edition
Will Citizens United Sound the Death Knell For American Democracy
It may come off as hype even talking about the end of democracy in America, but one has to wonder about that as the repercussions of the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court become more evident. America’s democracy has survived many hits in the past, but it’s possible this one could be a knock-out blow. And once down on the mat, democracy may not be able to get up … [Read more...] about Will Citizens United Sound the Death Knell For American Democracy
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: June Polls Aren’t Always Reliable In Forecasting Final Outcome
The University of Virginia's political maven Larry Sabato, in his latest edition of the must-read Crystal Ball, notes that June polling is not always reliable. In a column titled "Presidential Polling in June: Flip a Coin Instead," he writes: With all of the polls, models and history at their disposal, political analysts should be able to figure out who is going to win a … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: June Polls Aren’t Always Reliable In Forecasting Final Outcome
Donald Trump, Birtherism, Fox News, and GOP $1 Billion Means Obama in Battle of His Career
WASHINGTON - Wolf Blitzer versus Donald Trump on Tuesday, coupled with Mitt Romney releasing his own birth certificate, which ended up dredging up his father's birth in Mexico, proved being upstaged by crazy doesn't bother team Romney. Fox News Channel showed their own brand of wacky or at least woefully unfair and unbalanced showmanship, by releasing the video above on "Fox … [Read more...] about Donald Trump, Birtherism, Fox News, and GOP $1 Billion Means Obama in Battle of His Career
Romney Picking Up Steam: NBC/Marist Poll Shows Romney Ties Obama in Key Three Battleground States
Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney is picking up steam. And fast. That's the gist of two new polls that show Romney gaining support among women and getting higher likeability numbers, and also now virtual tying President Barack Obama in three key battleground states, Iowa Colorado and Nevada. The reason for the shift in the battleground states? It … [Read more...] about Romney Picking Up Steam: NBC/Marist Poll Shows Romney Ties Obama in Key Three Battleground States
Welcome Home To The GOP, Artur Davis
As many of you know, one of my "things" is bringing more minorities into the GOP. Believing in the free market system, Democracy, and freedom, and being against the over reaching government, government intrusion in our lives, and being against being over taxed and over regulated is for EVERYONE, regardless of color or religion. I also believe that minority communities are … [Read more...] about Welcome Home To The GOP, Artur Davis
The Obamas vs. a Junk Food Society
The First Lady is out plugging a new book “American Grown” to promote growing and eating vegetables, a personal bookend to her husband’s campaign to get voters on a healthier political diet. As Mitt Romney comes under fire for dissing Planned Parenthood, Michelle Obama is on a campaign that also strikes close to home and, below the surface, has its own aspects of division by … [Read more...] about The Obamas vs. a Junk Food Society
Snake Oil and Snake Bit
whoops! This post is doubly topical, since the "Mitt the Mormon" meme has inevitably entered the public arena, and this was written long before Romney became the GOP nominee (moving, last night, from "presumptive" to "presumptuous"). Thus, no "anti-Mormon" bias can be read into it, since there's nothing about Mitt's religion in this. But, more importantly: Julia Duin … [Read more...] about Snake Oil and Snake Bit
Trump’s Pie Hole
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Trump’s Pie Hole
The Stakes in the Walker Recall
WASHINGTON -- Recalls and impeachments are a remedy of last resort. Most of the time, voters who don't like an incumbent choose to live with the offending politician until the next election, on the sensible theory that fixed terms of office and regular elections are adequate checks on abuses of power and extreme policies. The question facing Wisconsin's citizens is … [Read more...] about The Stakes in the Walker Recall
GM Succeeds in Pitting European Workers Against One Another (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)
Some see it as the normal gears of capitalism at work, and others call it U.S. style union-busting invasion and a race to the bottom. Whatever you call it, columnist Thomas Fromm of Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung writes that in GM's world, 'it is every man for himself.' For the Sueddeutsche Zeitung Thomas Frommstarts off this way: All Opel’s management could do was … [Read more...] about GM Succeeds in Pitting European Workers Against One Another (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)
Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Virtual Political Ad Against Obama Further Damages (or Reaffirms?) Fox News’ Image
I've always defended Fox News (including in a recent post and in comments) as a network that has many solid news and technical pros working for it who cannot and should not be lumped in with the overall corporate "niche" and its talk radio style, predictable on the air talent. And this doesn't make my argument (which I still will make) any easier: "Fox and Friends" aired … [Read more...] about Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Virtual Political Ad Against Obama Further Damages (or Reaffirms?) Fox News’ Image
Romney – Bush Redux
A few days ago I did a post on Romney's foreign policy. If it looks familiar it should - his foreign policy advisors are mostly retreads from the Bush/Cheney administration. Today there are a couple of new posts from people to the right of me on Romney's militaristic foreign policy. From Daniel Larison we have: Romney’s Campaign Dislikes the Neoconservative … [Read more...] about Romney – Bush Redux
God Bless America. God Save the Queen.
By happy coincidence, I am in the country of my birth, England, during the Diamond Jubilee weekend of Queen Elizabeth II. I will enjoy a little tinge of British pride when I see the flags a-flying and the Queen a-waving -- a feeling not entirely dissimilar from that American pride I get when I pick up my Constitution or watch our nation's best and greatest speak with … [Read more...] about God Bless America. God Save the Queen.
Doc Watson, 1923-2012
Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson was born on March 23, 1923 in the hills of North Carolina. Stony Fork and Deep Gap to be more specific, if you know where those places are. Blinded by an infection before he was one year old, Watson earned the money for his first guitar by chopping wood with his brother and selling it to a tannery. It wasn’t his first musical instrument. That had … [Read more...] about Doc Watson, 1923-2012
Former Congressman Artur Davis Switches Parties
Former Alabama Congressman and unsuccessful 2010 candidate for Governor Artur Davis has announced that he is switching parties and may run for Congress from Virginia, where he now resides. Davis was a rising star in the Democratic party and a leader in the Blue Dog coalition. He lost the 2010 primary after being attacked as too conservative. Although I generally find a … [Read more...] about Former Congressman Artur Davis Switches Parties
Jon Stewart Responds to Fox News’ Roger Aisles Claim that He Once Admitted He Was a Socialist
Fox News maven Roger Aisles recently said that Comedy Central's Jon Stewart had told him in a bar that he was a Socialist. Jon Stewart returned from vacation with this answer for Aisles: The Daily ShowGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook … [Read more...] about Jon Stewart Responds to Fox News’ Roger Aisles Claim that He Once Admitted He Was a Socialist
Republicans Plan $1 Billion Push to Win White House and Congress
The Politico reports that Republican Super PACs plan to spend $1 billion during campaign 2012 to take back the White House and the Congress, an effort which will include a specially focused operation by the Koch brothers, and if the GOPers reach their goals they'll outspend the Democrats two to one: Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network … [Read more...] about Republicans Plan $1 Billion Push to Win White House and Congress
America’s ‘Unamerican’ Ethnic Neurosis (El Diario Exterior, Spain)
Why is it that people in the United States, the land where 'all men are created equal,' the land where 'constitutional patriotism' was born, have been pulling their hair out over an issue that appears nowhere in the Constitution or the Federalist Papers? For Spain's Diario Exterior, columnist Carlos Alberto Montaner examines one of the most vexing issues in the U.S. today, and … [Read more...] about America’s ‘Unamerican’ Ethnic Neurosis (El Diario Exterior, Spain)