I am conflicted about the right balance between the visibility required for counter-democracy and the need for private speech among international actors. Here’s what I’m not conflicted about: When authorities can’t get what they want by working within the law, the right answer is not to work outside the law. The right answer is that they can’t get what they want.The Unites … [Read more...] about The U.S. Government’s Extra-Judicial Attack On WikiLeaks Is Wrong
Palin vs. JFK on Church and State
In an intellectual mismatch, Sarah Palin is now instructing John F. Kennedy about religion and the presidency by critiquing his classic 1960 speech on church and state. This gives new meaning to the Catholic fallacy of invincible ignorance, wherein someone "simply refuses to believe an argument, ignoring any evidence given" and is absolved from sin on the basis of pure … [Read more...] about Palin vs. JFK on Church and State
The Deal Is Done
The deal is done, and it's no compromise: … [Read more...] about The Deal Is Done
Yule Tree
I may be a heathen but I enjoy the Christmas season. Of course you won't find much about the season in the Bible - it was an add on to bring Christianity into the winter solstice celebrations. One of those pre Christian traditions is the Yule tree. This was forcasted to be the last dry day here in the Pacific NW for at least a week so I took my mother up to the tree farm … [Read more...] about Yule Tree
Idaho Independent Puts Some Numbers on the Board Against Partisan Pros
Story by Randy Miller I now have a life experience that I share with a very small group of people; I ran for public office as a non-partisan candidate in a partisan race. (and I polled over 20% in doing so, even 39% and 42% in the 2 highest precincts) Utah is home to 1.5 Million registered voters, 51.5% of which selected "unaffiliated" on their voter registration. Not to … [Read more...] about Idaho Independent Puts Some Numbers on the Board Against Partisan Pros
WikiLeaks Poses Greater Risk to West’s ‘Enemies’: Global Times, China
The reaction of China to the disclosure by WikiLeaks of U.S. diplomatic cables is particularly interesting. According to this editorial from China's state-run Global Times, Beijing suspects that the U.S. may have some kind of 'tacit understanding' with WikiLeaks. But even if WikiLeaks developed organically, the editorial says that China is concerned that as a child of the … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks Poses Greater Risk to West’s ‘Enemies’: Global Times, China
Wars, the UN and dangerous silence
Wars are becoming worse despite the world’s growing wealth, the grief of decent people and countless peace talks by the United Nations. This reality is worth confronting as we enter the new century’s second decade. Silence is dangerous. There are wars visible in the media as in Iraq and Afghanistan, less visible as in Indonesia, Bolivia and the Congo, and near-forgotten as … [Read more...] about Wars, the UN and dangerous silence
Blackmail, Cave-In, Sellout
How did Barack Obama and a lame-duck Congressional majority manage to lose their power in an impending deal to let Republicans keep tax cuts for the super-rich in return for extending unemployment benefits? Paul Krugman is not a great political strategist, but he can be trusted on economics, and his case for drawing a line in the sand rather than letting those tax cuts … [Read more...] about Blackmail, Cave-In, Sellout
Financial Termites May Be Coming To Your Hometown Soon
The New York Times ran a really scary story the other day. Titled "Mounting state debt stoke fear of looming crisis," it detailed how a few states such as California and Illinois are in such dire financial straits that they might soon have trouble meeting their obligations — even after steep reductions in state services. This was spooky enough. But buried in this long piece … [Read more...] about Financial Termites May Be Coming To Your Hometown Soon
Is John Edwards Headed For Major Legal Trouble?
Former Democratic Party presidential hopeful John Edward's image went from that of being a loyal, steadfast husband running for President while dedicated to his cancer-battling wife to a post boy for for a two-faced, sleazy, philandering husband who cheated on his ailing wife while garnering sympathy from many voters. And is he about to morph into a legal story headline? It … [Read more...] about Is John Edwards Headed For Major Legal Trouble?
They Were Asked and They Told, But Will McCain Listen? (Guest Voice)
They Were Asked and They Told, But Will McCain Listen? by Karl Frisch Nine months after nearly 400,000 service members and over 150,000 spouses of active and reserve component service members were surveyed by the Pentagon for their views on a potential repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the results are in. In what’s been called “one of the largest surveys in the history … [Read more...] about They Were Asked and They Told, But Will McCain Listen? (Guest Voice)
Can Democrats “Up Their Game?”
WASHINGTON -- From Ohio, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy describes "the worry, the anguish and sometimes despair" among her constituents and urges President Obama to spend more time with people who don't make "six-figure incomes." From Pennsylvania, Rep. Joe Sestak says Americans are angry at a government that failed to guard them against economic catastrophe. And from … [Read more...] about Can Democrats “Up Their Game?”
WikiLeaks: Pakistan Establishment A US Puppet
It seems my last post on TMV (WikiLeaks: Educating Americans About Open Society) has touched a raw nerve in some. Well that was the exact purpose. My journalistic mission has been to get people out of their comfort zone and provoke them to participate in a spirited no-holds-barred discussion. I try to irritate those who have a habit of trivializing issues :-) I have been … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks: Pakistan Establishment A US Puppet
Let’s Make A Deal: You Give Us Everything and We’ll Give You Nothing
Saudis Must Ask: Who Benefited from the WikiLeaks Disclosure? – Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
It's one of the most fascinating details to emerge from the leak of classified U.S. diplomatic dispatches: Leaders in Saudi Arabia and a number of other Gulf nations want the United States to stop Iran and its nuclear program, or in the words of Saudi King Abdullah, 'cut off the head of the snake.' But as the articles below show, while the two nations may in fact be at … [Read more...] about Saudis Must Ask: Who Benefited from the WikiLeaks Disclosure? – Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
An Excellent Video By Reagan’s OMB Director About The State Of The Labor Market
David Stockman, the director of the Office of Management and Budget for Reagan's first term has a great breakdown of job growth during a segment on CNBC. In it he claims that there have been zero new "breadwinning" (i.e. enough to raise a typical family) jobs created since the official end of the recession, with the enormous losses from the recession on a pace to take decades … [Read more...] about An Excellent Video By Reagan’s OMB Director About The State Of The Labor Market
Mayhem in the Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney was a dreamer at heart. The creator of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse had Utopian visions of a town where life would be perfect down to the last blade of grass. It wasn't built until three decades after he died, and now it has been rocked by violence--a SWAT team barricade, a suicide and murder. It began with euphoria. One evening in late 1966, Disney stopped by my … [Read more...] about Mayhem in the Magic Kingdom
Some World Cartoonists On WikiLeaks
The WikiLeaks controversy is a field day for cartoonists around the world. Here are a few examples: … [Read more...] about Some World Cartoonists On WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks: Educating Americans About Open Society
William Kern, my colleague at TMV, quoted a Spanish paper's headline: "WikiLeaks: The Assault on ‘Big Brother’ Begins (El Pais, Spain). He also mentions another article headlined "Thanks to WikiLeaks’ Disclosure, Classical Diplomacy is Dead." To the world at large America now, post-United States diplomatic cables leak, appears as a large wild elephant caught in the quagmire … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks: Educating Americans About Open Society
WikiLeaks: The Assault on ‘Big Brother’ Begins (El Pais, Spain)
As I have pointed out over recent days, one of the most riveting aspects of the disclosure of classified U.S. diplomatic cables is that because they touch upon local issues and local leaders around the world, there are fascinating nuances of reaction from country to country. Below are three articles we've translated from Spain's El Pais, one of the five newspapers in the … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks: The Assault on ‘Big Brother’ Begins (El Pais, Spain)