This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Bye Bye Bachmann
Progress and Issues in the Saudi Kingdom with Women’s Unmentionables
We are all familiar with the separation of the sexes in Saudi Arabia and in other Islamic countries and with the many laws restricting and limiting the rights and activities of women. While many of the Sharia laws are ostensibly to protect women from the prying eyes and other inappropriate gestures or advances by men, curiously women shopping for panties, bras, negligees, … [Read more...] about Progress and Issues in the Saudi Kingdom with Women’s Unmentionables
Iowa Reveals GOP’s Anti-Israel Slant
Cross-Posted to the Debate Link For the past few years, Republicans have incessantly attempted to argue that Barack Obama -- one of the most authentically Zionist politicians America has ever seen -- is "anti-Israel". It was always a laughable claim. But it's more so given the three Republican candidates who finished in an essential dead-heat for first place amongst Iowa … [Read more...] about Iowa Reveals GOP’s Anti-Israel Slant
The Iowa Caucuses- A Made For TV Reality Show
What purpose do the Republican Iowa caucuses really serve? They are an unofficial primary in a state with an overwhelmingly white population unlike the national demographic, with the Republican caucuses even more lily-white than the state as a whole. And since 1980, only two of the Republican winners eventually became the Republican nominee for president, Dole in 1996 and Bush … [Read more...] about The Iowa Caucuses- A Made For TV Reality Show
E. J. Dionne Jr.: Santorum and Huntsman and the Future of Conservativism
EDITOR's NOTE: DUE TO A TECHNICAL GLITCH THIS WENT OUT UNDER THE WRONG BYLINE. WE REGRET THE ERROR MERRIMACK, N.H. -- I love watching Republicans engage in class warfare. They condemn it as a sin when Democrats come within 100 miles of even mentioning the sharp and growing class inequalities in the United States. But when conservatives play the class card, they see doing so … [Read more...] about E. J. Dionne Jr.: Santorum and Huntsman and the Future of Conservativism
A Personal Census Poem
In nineteen hundred four and sixty, When staying stoned seemed real nifty, I thought age made one dull and nerdy, And trusted no one over thirty. The years have passed, my views have changed, My valuations rearranged, I now judge young folks shallow, drifty, And trust no one who ain't reached fifty. Soon from this author: This God-Awful Political Season (In Verse) … [Read more...] about A Personal Census Poem
Last Warning for the GOP
Glasgow, Scotland -- As I stayed up until 6am this morning, feeling like the only person in Scotland following the events of the Iowa Republican primary thanks to numerous dodgy streams of MSNBC and CNN, as well as Twitter, one thing jumped out at me... Iowa was it for the Republican Party. If the message hasn’t got through to republicans after these caucuses, it never will. … [Read more...] about Last Warning for the GOP
Fathers and Sons
In the wake of Mitt Romney's eight vote win in Iowa, Maureen Dowd offers a column on the volatile relationship between fathers and sons: "American politics," she writes,"bristles with Oedipal drama:" Sons struggling to live up to fathers. Sons striving to outdo fathers. Sons scheming to avenge fathers. Sons burning to one-up fathers. Sons yearning to impress fathers … [Read more...] about Fathers and Sons
Romney’s ceiling is John McCain
In every presidential cycle, there has been a middle of the pack candidate that has emerged as the antithesis of the favorite of the party establishment. In December of 1991, Bill Clinton was not even mentioned as a leading candidate. In 2008, Barack Obama leapfrogged over John Edwards to begin the longest (and most interesting) nomination battle in the last forty … [Read more...] about Romney’s ceiling is John McCain
Gratitude Won’t Pay The Bill For Returning Iraq & Afghan War Veterans
Homecomings for returning combat veterans have never been easy no matter the war, but the flood of Iraq war veterans who will be mustered out in the coming months, as well as a fair number from the Afghan war, pose a huge challenge. This is because gratitude, and Americans certainly are grateful, will not pay the bill. That bill is formidable: * About 800,000 veterans are … [Read more...] about Gratitude Won’t Pay The Bill For Returning Iraq & Afghan War Veterans
The Iowa Caucuses
Heard before the Iowa Caucuses: … [Read more...] about The Iowa Caucuses
They’re Off! Who’s the Winner in Iowa (and Does It Really Matter)?
As I write this, the good people of Iowa are casting the first votes for the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. The candidates are in the starting gate, bucking nervously… the gun fires, the gate opens and the race begins in earnest. They’re off! A few will stumble out of the gate, and one or more could drop out. Nobody seems to be a clear favorite, which explains why I’m … [Read more...] about They’re Off! Who’s the Winner in Iowa (and Does It Really Matter)?
Iowa: Whatever
Yawn, talk to the hand, how about dem Bears? Almost any conversation would be more interesting than one state's caucuses after months, MONTHS of listening to mostly petty rhetoric that has NO specifics all in one place about how to govern, truly help a suffering country. And neither does the other side either. Tried to refinance lately? How about turning back a foreclosure? … [Read more...] about Iowa: Whatever
(UPDATE VII) What The Iowa Caucus Results Tell Us About The GOP’s Chances Of Unseating Obama
The three top finishers in the Iowa caucuses tell you all you need to know about the Republican Party in 2012: Mitt Romney, who disavows his greatest accomplishment; Rick Santorum, whose compassionate conservatism does not allow room for anyone not sharing his extreme right-wing views; and Ron Paul, whose sensible ideas keep getting trampled on by wacky ideas tinged with … [Read more...] about (UPDATE VII) What The Iowa Caucus Results Tell Us About The GOP’s Chances Of Unseating Obama
Live-Blogging the Iowa Caucuses: American Democracy at Its Finest
If you're interested, I'm live-blogging the results of the Iowa caucuses over at my place. Is it a great day for democracy? Well, that's the intention. Old-school democracy. Hardly the way it's done anymore. Caucuses (particularly in Iowa), unlike primaries, represent a sort of idyllic (if mostly obsolete) Jeffersonianism, the people actually coming out, talking politics, … [Read more...] about Live-Blogging the Iowa Caucuses: American Democracy at Its Finest
Iowa Nice
(Clean Version.) To pass some time while we wait... "A response to national media coverage of our beloved home state." You want NSFW? See Andrew. … [Read more...] about Iowa Nice
Election System Alert: ES&S Machines
If you are a voter in Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin (or know someone who is) listen up. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has found signifiant anomalies with an optical scanner produced by Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and shows jurisdictions in these states using the equipment. Because of the "anomalies", close races could be decided … [Read more...] about Election System Alert: ES&S Machines
Afghanistan: Sometimes I Wonder …
As readers who have followed my writings -- some call them rants -- for the past few years know, while I have always opposed and condemned our invasion and occupation of Iraq, I have supported our efforts in Afghanistan to catch and punish the perpetrators of 9/11 and, in some measure, to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban. However, so many of the reports coming out of that … [Read more...] about Afghanistan: Sometimes I Wonder …
Absurd Human Rights Report May Hasten End of Putin Era (Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Russia)
America is far from being the only country currently obssessed with presidential politics and national elections. After a year of astounding despotic topplings and revolutions, is Vladimir Putin's reign over the vast territories of the Russian Federation finally coming to an end? For Russia's Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, journalist and opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza bravely … [Read more...] about Absurd Human Rights Report May Hasten End of Putin Era (Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Russia)
Old Habits Die Hard, Especially in One’s Sleep
CODA: Doing some "Googling" on languages and dreams, I was amazed at how many entries there are on the subject, "What language do you dream in?" There's even a book at Amazon.com titled -- you guessed it -- "What language do you dream in?" So, given the interest and since it has been more than three years since I wrote about it here, let me try it again, with a different … [Read more...] about Old Habits Die Hard, Especially in One’s Sleep