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The Moderate Voice

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The Obama vs. Alito Legless Outrage

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I'll begin this discussion with a question. Is disgruntled Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito's muttering of "not true," according to lip readers, the same as Republican Rep. Joe Wilson's shout out "you lie" during a president's speech at a joint session of Congress? No. You wouldn't know that in the wake of President Obama's State of the Union address Wednesday. … [Read more...] about The Obama vs. Alito Legless Outrage

Alito Mouthing Off

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I agree with Glenn Greenwald that "the behavior of Justice Alito at [Wednesday] night's State of the Union address -- visibly shaking his head and mouthing the words 'not true' when Obama warned of the dangers of the Court's Citizens United ruling -- was a serious and substantive breach of protocol that reflects very poorly on Alito and only further undermines the credibility … [Read more...] about Alito Mouthing Off

An Afghan Strategy Progressives Could Love

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Guest post by Peter Henne Peter S. Henne is a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project and a doctoral candidate at Georgetown University. In his State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his support for the increasingly contentious U.S. presence in Afghanistan, even in the face of simmering domestic issues like health-care reform and the … [Read more...] about An Afghan Strategy Progressives Could Love

Quote of the Day: Obama’s Words and Realities

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Our political Quote of the Day once again comes from Dick Polman who compares some of Prseident Barack Obama's words in the state of the union address with some of the cold realities of his present political context and governing in general: His speech ran for 7127 words. Yet the issue that has dominated policy and political discussions over the past year (seemingly to the … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Obama’s Words and Realities

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Opinion and Reality (UPDATED)

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It wasn’t until nearly the end of his State of the Union address, when addressing civil rights, that President Obama said this: This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It's the right thing to do. Of course he was talking about … [Read more...] about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Opinion and Reality (UPDATED)

The Economy: Some Good News?

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I am not an economist, so I cannot comment in depth as to the “real” meaning and consequences of what I believe is some real good news that I read this morning about our economy, our country. The New York Times and several other publications report that the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in over six years during the last quarter: Gross domestic product expanded … [Read more...] about The Economy: Some Good News?

The empathy of Barack Obama

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What I wanted to know was whether Barack Obama really understands me. Sure, we've had our differences. He's a Democrat and I'm a Republican. Admittedly, I've criticized the President on several occasions. But maybe I've been unfair. Maybe he really understands why I'm concerned and why I don't always agree. As it turns out, the President nailed my concerns on the … [Read more...] about The empathy of Barack Obama

They found the WMD!

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No, there isn't any WMD in Iraq. But the Army Corps of Engineers believes it has found evidence of a long sought chemical weapons cache buried in my neighborhood during World War I. According to the local paper (PDF): The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has unearthed three broken glass jugs in Spring Valley that might have come from the longsought Sgt. Maurer burial pit, … [Read more...] about They found the WMD!

They Should Have Called It The iSlate

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You will remember, iSlate was the name that won in the Mashable readers poll. The NYTimes: Many women are saying the name evokes awkward associations with feminine hygiene products. [Stephen Colbert, "...the name that just barely beat out the TamPod."] People from Boston to Ireland are complaining that “iPad,” in their regional brogue, sounds almost indistinguishable from … [Read more...] about They Should Have Called It The iSlate

Obama’s Speech Earns ‘D’ Grade

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Apologies for being tardy commenting on President Obama's first State of the Union address. I had slept 36 hours as a result of some viral. I awakened for a bit of nourishment and watched the speech, followed by the Republican response, and went back to bed for another 12 hours. If I were a political science professor, I would grade Obama's speech a D. Before even reading … [Read more...] about Obama’s Speech Earns ‘D’ Grade

Howard Zinn and the “Good” War

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American historian and political activist Howard Zinn passed away yesterday at the age of 87. His "revisionist" brand of history and firebrand liberal activism at Boston University made him a controversial figure--to say the least. An ardent critic of the Iraq War and of war in general, Zinn questioned the notion of the "good" war. In the above clip, he tackles the … [Read more...] about Howard Zinn and the “Good” War

Glenn Greenwald on Justice Alito

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Beyond the issue of whether Justice Alito was substantively right or wrong when he mouthed at last night's SOTU that Pres. Obama's characterization of the Citizens United decision was "not true," there is another issue that very few (if any) bloggers or pundits are discussing -- and that is whether it was improper for Justice Alito to visibly react to what Obama said. … [Read more...] about Glenn Greenwald on Justice Alito

BREAKING: J.D. Salinger, 91, Dies “Of Natural Causes”

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Yesterday, Howard Zinn. Today, J.D. Salinger. The famed author of Catcher in the Rye, which achieved both literary and commercial success, and inspired an entire generation of misunderstood, rebellious young anti-hero books and movies, was born on January 1, 1919, making him eight months younger, to the day, than my father, who was born on May 1, 1918.  I'm not sure what that … [Read more...] about BREAKING: J.D. Salinger, 91, Dies “Of Natural Causes”