Dahlia Lithwick on Why Do We Talk About Judges This Way? Nobody in America believes the judicial confirmation system works. Not the senators who eat up precious questioning time with windy speeches about pet projects back home; not the interest groups who scour every sordid instant of a nominee's background for evidence that they are unfit for the bench; and not the American … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Why Do We Talk About Judges This Way?
Pay the Writer
Hat tip to Max Boot. Here's Harlan Ellison in a very memorable rant about why you should pay writers if you want them to write something for you. … [Read more...] about Pay the Writer
Australia: Indian Students Try Self-Protection
Australia's leading newspaper, The Age, carries a photograph of Indian students gathered outside St Albans railway station in Melbourne (see above). They have decided to move in groups "after incidents of intimidation in which train inspectors failed to intervene and police failed to respond to calls for help." While the governments of India and Australia are opting for … [Read more...] about Australia: Indian Students Try Self-Protection
With Obama, a ‘New Beginning’: Al Madina, Saudi Arabia
To hear subjects of a Saudi monarchy that bears precious little resemblance to a Jeffersonian democracy wax lyrical about America's Founding Fathers is an odd juxtaposition - but nevertheless encouraging. Continuing with our Arabic coverage of Barack Obama's speech to the Islamic world, this editorial from Saudi Arabia's Al Madina likens the president's address as and his … [Read more...] about With Obama, a ‘New Beginning’: Al Madina, Saudi Arabia
Labour Suffers Yet Another Defeat
In local elections in the United Kingdom the ruling Labour party has suffered another bad defeat, losing control of councils that in some cases they have controlled since the 1970's. The party is rapidly on the way to making the losses by the GOP look mild in comparison. Four years ago when these same councils were elected the Conservative party got 34%, the Liberals got … [Read more...] about Labour Suffers Yet Another Defeat
Obama: Speaker of Verities – Liberation, France
While Francois Sergent of France's Liberation has his doubts about whether Obama's efforts begun in Cairo will succeed, he nevertheless admires his forthrightness and clear statement of ineffable truths that needed to be said out loud by someone with the president's credibility. For Liberation and continuing with our global coverage of the reaction to President Obama's … [Read more...] about Obama: Speaker of Verities – Liberation, France
‘Hussein’ is for Bold: L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon
Contrary to the narrative on the U.S. Republican right, Issa Goraieb of Lebanon's L'Orient Le Jour asserts that President Obama's use of his diverse background to reach out to Muslims is an excellent idea - particularly the proud usage of his Middle name 'Hussein,' or as Goraieb refers to it, the 'H factor.' Continuing with our coverage from the Arab world of President … [Read more...] about ‘Hussein’ is for Bold: L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Heats Up
Yesterday afternoon Jason Bellini of The Daily Beast said that gay rights leaders had made a deal to wait on repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. He said that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) "let slip" to a number of gay leaders that the Human Rights Campaign told him that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is not the White House's priority: Last night Andy Towle got another statement from … [Read more...] about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Heats Up
An Unexpected Cache of World War II Memories
Tomorrow marks the 65th anniversary of the D-Day Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy. President Obama will visit the tiny town of Colleville in Normandy and view the beaches below the village---the sacred landing zone dubbed Omaha Beach---and pay homage to the over 9,000 American soldiers buried here. I just finished reading the story of one of the heroes who … [Read more...] about An Unexpected Cache of World War II Memories
BUY REAL ESTATE TODAY? – ONLY TO LIVE IN FOR THE LONG HAUL.
There have been many calls from “experts” that the time is right to buy real estate. Don’t believe their objectivity as many are funded by major national residential and commercial real estate companies. Surveys across the country do not indicate that the bottom of the real estate markets have occurred, even with significantly lower prices than 2 years ago. “Location, … [Read more...] about BUY REAL ESTATE TODAY? – ONLY TO LIVE IN FOR THE LONG HAUL.
The $125,000 Question
I feel like Jon Stewart of The Daily Show after taking a week off. Among the news items he missed was General Motors filing bankruptcy giving taxpayers a 60% ownership. Stewart thought it was cool owning a car company promised to be a more lean, green, mean machine. So what if it still fails? Stewart asked. "It's insured." Pause. Imaginary phone call. "By AIG? Yikes." I … [Read more...] about The $125,000 Question
Republicans: Note the Tories
Labour Leader Brown and Tory Leader Cameron; their expressions may soon switch faces * * * Do the Republicans in the U.S. think they have nothing to learn from the the Tories in the U.K.? If so, the R's may want to reconsider, given the T's strong showing in recent U.K. elections. Granted, those election results may have less to do with a sea-change in U.K. … [Read more...] about Republicans: Note the Tories
Pacifying The Proles
Will Pfizer prevent social revolution in this country? This question came to mind on a recent day when two seemingly unrelated events occurred. I finished reading a book about the decline of the Roman Empire. And a drug company announced an unusual giveaway plan. With regard to Rome. You think Bush and Cheney were bad? Think Nero and Caligula (the latter a nickname, by … [Read more...] about Pacifying The Proles
The Right and Obama’s Cairo Speech
Ira Stoll writes in Commentary that the speech was "awful." Here is a rundown of his complaints. … [Read more...] about The Right and Obama’s Cairo Speech
Dionne, Rush, et. al., Take 2
So the WaPo's Dionne and TMV's Stickings agree that "the right wing's rants get wall-to-wall airtime," while the most progressive voices are too-often ignored -- and thus "the range of acceptable opinion" for American media "runs from the moderate left to the far right and cuts off more vigorous progressive perspectives." One potential translation of this Dionne-Stickings … [Read more...] about Dionne, Rush, et. al., Take 2
Reflections on Obama’s Cairo Speech
I have been deeply disappointed with Obama's overly pragmatic (to put it nicely) approach to foreign policy thus far. In particular, I am disappointed with his emphasis on stability over democracy and human rights, notably with respect to China, Saudi Arabia, and other appalling regimes. As well, like the editors of TNR, I have been "extraordinarily disappointed" with … [Read more...] about Reflections on Obama’s Cairo Speech
John Avlon’s Wingnut Of The Week: Ted Rall and Tom Tancredo
Centrist writer John Avlon, who wrote the must-read book Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics -- a book that documents how centrists and moderates can indeed be passionate and do indeed take political stands -- has awarded his latest Wingut Of The Week awards on CNN to two worthy candidates, on the left and right: Ted Rall and Tom Tancredo. The former chief … [Read more...] about John Avlon’s Wingnut Of The Week: Ted Rall and Tom Tancredo
The Triumph of the Limbaugh-Gingrich Axis: E.J. Dionne on Rush, Newt, the Media, and How Conservative Spin Skews the News
In case you missed it, make sure to check out this brilliant column from E.J. Dionne, published yesterday at the WaPo. While it says what many of us have been saying for a long time -- namely, that the establishment media are effectively being manipulated by, and have for a long time been dominated by, conservative narratives that shape and frame how the media inform their … [Read more...] about The Triumph of the Limbaugh-Gingrich Axis: E.J. Dionne on Rush, Newt, the Media, and How Conservative Spin Skews the News
Obama’s Knowing Naivete
The Cairo speech has come and gone, an American president preaching the Golden Rule to the Muslim world, trying to walk a fine line between faith and reason through murderous beliefs and irrational hatreds. Parsing what Barack Obama said will keep "experts" busy for some time, but the words were less exceptional than the act, an American leader presenting himself as both the … [Read more...] about Obama’s Knowing Naivete
The Economy: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Today's unemployment report contained some of the first unequivocally good news that I've read in an economic report in a long time. The huge decrease in layoffs ("only" 350k jobs lost) was much better than expected, and while one month doesn't make a trend, it does provide some hope things won't disintegrate again like I think they will. The stock market may not go up much … [Read more...] about The Economy: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly