Note: This is a follow up to Joe Gandelman's post below. While we on this side of the pond worry about our debt crisis, things are really bad in Europe. The Euro and the European Community itself are in danger of collapse. Another week, another crisis for the euro. In April, the single currency wobbled as Greece was rescued. This week and last, Ireland sparked the … [Read more...] about When Sociopaths Are In Charge
The Easy, Not At All Painful Choices of American Royalty
This holiday season is looking more than a bit Dickensian: … [Read more...] about The Easy, Not At All Painful Choices of American Royalty
Mitch McConnell’s “Top Priority,” At Work
Obama Injured
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Get Rich Tips For Tough Economic Times
Yes, even in tough times there are still ways to get rich in America. In this regard, here's a half-dozen tips guaranteed to get you into the big buck big leagues. 1, Run for public office every two years. The office and the party you choose aren't important. What matters is that the positions you espouse with great heat and furious energy attract a following that includes … [Read more...] about Get Rich Tips For Tough Economic Times
Obama Gotchya Bubble
How much reality does a President need? As Barack Obama nurses an upper lip with 12 stitches from a flying elbow in a basketball scrimmage, Wall Street Journal doyenne Peggy Noonan advises him to escape the White House bubble by hiring "a special assistant for reality" to "advocate for the average, a representative for the normal." Whose normal? The full text, which Rupert … [Read more...] about Obama Gotchya Bubble
Europe’s Growing Debt Crisis Ominously Spreads
Ireland and Greek's financial problems were pitchforked into the headlines but there are fears that another key European country could also be enmeshed in Europe's escalating debt crisis: Spain. And although Spanish officials are pooh-poohing the idea of a bailout the situation in Spain -- and elsewhere in Europe -- is trending in one way: grim. The debt crisis in Europe … [Read more...] about Europe’s Growing Debt Crisis Ominously Spreads
Social Change Chicago Style (Guest Voice)
Social Change Chicago Style by Martha Randolph Carr The Great Recession has already brought forth a lot of change in the way Americans do things. No matter what the Feds do to try and get us to spend money wildly like we used to most of us have kept our purses snapped shut. That’s a course-correction that’s been needed since the heydays of the 1950’s when we started … [Read more...] about Social Change Chicago Style (Guest Voice)
Poor Europe
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Richard Hofstadter on “Pseudo-Conservatives”
I am currently reading Richard Hofstadter's The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, and was struck by a passage in his essay, "Goldwater and Pseudo-Conservative Politics," in which Hofstadter contrasts the sharply differing political styles of what he refers to as "Taft Republicans" (which included Eisenhower), and the new era of "pseudo-conservatives" that … [Read more...] about Richard Hofstadter on “Pseudo-Conservatives”
Vindictive, Mean-Spirited, Not Presidential
So this is the Thanksgiving message Sarah Palin wrote on her Facebook page: … [Read more...] about Vindictive, Mean-Spirited, Not Presidential
The Ultimate In Intentional or Unintentional Partisanship
Fox News published an item from the satirical The Onion site -- as if it was a real news story. Mediaite reports: Most people recognize The Onion as the Peabody Award-winning satire machine that it is. Some people, however, don’t. Which is why we get a story like this every few months. Of course, it’s sometimes easy to mistake an Onion article for the real thing since the … [Read more...] about The Ultimate In Intentional or Unintentional Partisanship
Russia Offers to Defend NATO. … Or So it Seems: Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Russia
Happy Thanksgiving Day weekend everyone! In addition to covering the crisis in North Korea, we're still busy covering the aftermath of the Russia-NATO Summit. After the summit last week, many analysts were baffled by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's proposal for joint 'sectoral missile defense,' which appears to put most of the responsibility for defending against a rogue … [Read more...] about Russia Offers to Defend NATO. … Or So it Seems: Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Russia
Losing the American Mind
At 46, she had a premature senior moment the other day, referring to our "North Korean allies" on Fox TV. No big deal, but Sarah Palin has become so pervasive an image for where the country is heading that her little lapse reflects larger issues about the state of the American mind. Government researchers report more than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of adults, had … [Read more...] about Losing the American Mind
Reverse Elitism and American Politics
In an earlier post on Sarah Palin and the Presidency, I casually mentioned that Palin is the consummate "reverse elitist" candidate. Commenters quickly jumped on that terminology and expanded upon it. To date, I haven't heard anybody really expound upon the notion of "reverse elitism," or even offer a rigorous definition of it. A quick search on the Web shows a handful of … [Read more...] about Reverse Elitism and American Politics
Is Iran’s Regime Officially Running–Or Merely Helping–a Pro-Nazi Site? (Guest Voice)
Is Iran's Regime Officially Running--Or Merely Helping--a Pro-Nazi Site? By Barry Rubin . Is Iran's government sponsoring an Internet site that extols the German Nazis, their history and achievements, including the antisemitism that the current Iranian regime also supports? Or is it merely permitting one to operate in its highly censored communications' system? Here are … [Read more...] about Is Iran’s Regime Officially Running–Or Merely Helping–a Pro-Nazi Site? (Guest Voice)
Thanks (Guest Voice)
Thanks by Peter Funt I'm thankful that this year many merchants were considerate enough to begin Christmas sales shortly after Columbus Day to avoid interfering with Halloween and Thanksgiving. I’m also thankful that: …Starbucks managed to put the snowflake designs on its paper cups long before most of the country got any snow. …The Neiman Marcus Christmas Book … [Read more...] about Thanks (Guest Voice)
Obama Plays Poker
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CHARGE (it)! Black Friday Begins Amid Hopeful Signs of Good Sales
CHARGE (it!)! Black Friday has begun and if you think the stampede in Cambodia was bad, and thought about two years ago the good news is: it's more sedate this year (so far). And there are hopes retail sales this holiday season will be better than last year's. Bleary-eyed shoppers lined up before dawn today to push their way into stores across the nation, kicking off the … [Read more...] about CHARGE (it)! Black Friday Begins Amid Hopeful Signs of Good Sales
How to Fix Airport Security?
Here are four proposals. … [Read more...] about How to Fix Airport Security?