Test for Moderation's Survival? Philadelphia's Tim Holden Battles for Re-Election by Scott Crass Historically, north central Pennsylvania may be the last place in America where parochialism has trumped everything else. Situated just far enough from metro Philly to have forged it's own identity, the region has the ambience of urban molding into cultural conservatism, and … [Read more...] about Test for Moderation’s Survival? Philadelphia’s Tim Holden Battles for Re-Election (Guest Voice)
Zombie Bears and the Future of America
I really enjoyed this optimistic piece about the future of America by Barry Ritholtz. And it taught me a new term for people who've irritated me for decades: the "Zombie Bears," i.e. the people who always see doom right around the corner. There are serious long-term problems we face as a society, and much that's going to have to be examined and re-examined by this generation … [Read more...] about Zombie Bears and the Future of America
Generation Gone to Hell and Back
“This is not who we are,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says after seeing pictures of U.S. soldiers defiling enemy bodies in Afghanistan. True, but isn’t it what young Americans are in danger of becoming after a dirty, murky, endless war with nothing to show for it when they come home but coarsened sensitivity to human life and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder? As … [Read more...] about Generation Gone to Hell and Back
Bipartisanship’s Last Flight
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The Right Wing Bully Machine
WASHINGTON -- Not all overheated political rhetoric is alike. Delusional right-wing crazy talk -- the kind of ranting we've heard recently from washed-up rock star Ted Nugent and tea party-backed Rep. Allen West -- is a special kind of poison that cannot be safely ignored. Let me be clear: I'm saying that the extreme language we hear from the far right is qualitatively … [Read more...] about The Right Wing Bully Machine
RIP Dick Clark
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Victoria’s Secret Service
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Things They Are A Changing For the Dems
You'd think the Republicans wouldn't have a chance. But they do. More than a chance. As the Times puts it, any hopes the Democratic party has of taking the House back are "dim." ... Congressional redistricting, a decennial process that generally allows the party in power in each state to draw new lines, has not created a ton of opportunities for new seats for … [Read more...] about Things They Are A Changing For the Dems
Gingrich Redux Reduced
Atlantic.com has an interesting article about Newt Gingrich.
According to Molly Ball, Newt Gingrich is a “man reduced.”
He attracts more attention for having been bitten by a zoo penguin than for policy proposals.
He barely rates mention at political functions and has not been taken seriously by the political world for some weeks now.
Much of his empire of think … [Read more...] about Gingrich Redux Reduced
Some Election Factoids
An interesting look at some facts about elections, things to consider the next time somebody uses the word "never" in connection with the election this year. … [Read more...] about Some Election Factoids
Americas Summit Cements ‘North American Isolation’ (Opera Mundi, Brazil)
The Latin American reaction to the Sixth Summit of the Americas continues to roll in, and for those of us from the United States, it is not an encouraging one. How much diminished is U.S. influence in Latin America? Has Washington properly processed this dramatic geopolitical change? This analysis from Brazil's Opera Mundi paints the picture of a Washington that has so far … [Read more...] about Americas Summit Cements ‘North American Isolation’ (Opera Mundi, Brazil)
IS Oklahoma actually OK?
Dixie Cups, now owned by the Koch Brothers "Think about the people as if they were storm troopers in Star Wars. They may be individually innocent, but they are guilty because they work for the Evil Empire." — [48] Today is a profound anniversary, but not much celebrated because it seems an inconvenient truth: before we all learned to hate "Moooslems," "Ayrabs" and … [Read more...] about IS Oklahoma actually OK?
Blaming Washington: Why the Americas Summit was a Bust (El Pais, Spain)
By attacking the United States, were Latin American leaders at the Sixth Summit of the Americas seeking to divert attention from issues that they would have found personally embarrassing? For Spain's El Pais, columnist Moises Naim describes not only the diversion being practiced by many of the region's heads of state, but how much less influence they have compared to those who … [Read more...] about Blaming Washington: Why the Americas Summit was a Bust (El Pais, Spain)
April 17, 2012: A Day that Will Live in Infamy for Cookie Lovers
Sitting at a picnic table with four couples during a campaign stop outside Pittsburgh, Mitt Romney munched at some cookies donated by a local bakery and -- presumably in an attempt at humor -- said to one of the women at the table: I’m not sure about these cookies. They don’t look like you made them…Did you make those cookies? You didn’t, did you? No. No. They came from … [Read more...] about April 17, 2012: A Day that Will Live in Infamy for Cookie Lovers
No 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction: Why Not?
Although conspicuous by its absence, I did not specifically mention in my “2012 Pulitzer Prize Winners” that the Pulitzer Prize board did not award a Pulitzer Prize in fiction -- the first time in 35 years. (There was no Pulitzer prize awarded for editorial writing either) I am sure that most of our readers noticed it and it is also likely that some were quite upset about … [Read more...] about No 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction: Why Not?
Two More Signs of the Dumbing Down of American Politics: Obama’s Dogmeat and Romney’s Cookies
Oh, Mommy, I know this campaign has not formally begun but can't it be over already? Please, Mommy, make them stop! Political junkies are salivating, cable hosts are visitbly chomping at the bit ("We can have great TV! More than ever we can get both sides to line up and yell at each other. This is going to be an ugly campaign. Great stuff!!!"), but to many other Americans … [Read more...] about Two More Signs of the Dumbing Down of American Politics: Obama’s Dogmeat and Romney’s Cookies
Note To Democrats In 2012: Pick The Right People To Demonize
If Obama loses the presidency this fall, it will probably be because he ran against the wrong opponent. He ran against Mitt Romney. Democrats used to know who and how to demonize Republicans in order to win elections. When FDR ran for reelection in 1936, he didn't run against his official Republican opponent that year, Kansas Governor Alf Landon. He ran against Herbert … [Read more...] about Note To Democrats In 2012: Pick The Right People To Demonize
America’s Oldest Teenager
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Turning Back the Clock Politics
The gridlock in Washington and the difficulty Congress has in passing significant legislation does not require intricate analysis and pontificating by pundits over its cause. Conservative initiatives that would have Americans live in the past are the main divide between conservatives and liberals or moderates. It’s the reason conservatives want to expel moderates from the … [Read more...] about Turning Back the Clock Politics
Michelle Obama’s Quote
WASHINGTON - Resurrecting the feeling of 2008 will be near to impossible, but First Lady Michelle Obama proved good to her word, campaigning for her husband in a way she once rejected. But the job of first lady is now something she wears effortlessly, which can be seen most fully in her campaign for military families, which she talked about on Monday on NPR. On Tuesday, she … [Read more...] about Michelle Obama’s Quote