OBAMA, HERALD OF CHANGE: In the words of the certainly-not-conservative Jeffrey Rosen,Barack Obama is trying to split the difference on torture. He wants to move forward--no messy dwelling on the Bush-Cheney era--except that he'll look backward if forced. There will be no independent commission to hold top-ranking officials politically accountable. But, if Attorney General Eric … [Read more...] about Herald of Change
Obama’s Offer To Resolve Black Farmers’ Pigford Claims
Obama Foodorama: Later today, when the President announces his 2010 budget, which slashes 121 programs and about $17 billion, there'll be one crucial area where spending will increase. Working with his closest advisers, President Obama is attempting to redress the longstanding civil rights grievances of black American farmers, by proposing a $1.25 billion deal to settle the … [Read more...] about Obama’s Offer To Resolve Black Farmers’ Pigford Claims
President Obama: You’ve Paid for the Report, Now Read It (Guest Voice)
President Obama: You've Paid for the Report, Now Read It by Barry Rubin The U.S. State Department has produced excellent research and analysis in its “Country Reports on Terrorism 2008” report just released. Now the only problem is to ensure the Obama administration reads and absorbs the contents. What can this report teach U.S. policymakers? Regarding Iran, … [Read more...] about President Obama: You’ve Paid for the Report, Now Read It (Guest Voice)
How Brave Americans Were Turned Into Torturers: Liberation, France
Unlike much of the global coverage of the the torture issue, this article from France's Liberation sets out to explain how it came to be that officials of the United States, regarded by many people around the world as the the foremost defender of freedom, came to use the very practices U.S. forces have fought and died to prevent. For France's Liberation, essayist and … [Read more...] about How Brave Americans Were Turned Into Torturers: Liberation, France
The Trivialization Of American All Attack All The Time Politics
How trivial has partisan politics gotten? How far do some folks who belong to political parties look for just anything to try and define and negatively characterize someone? GO HERE. (See the Cagle Cartoon below on talk radio.) PS: If Obama is an elitist for ordering a burger with spicy mustard, then this means all of my relatives who lived in the 20s who were dirt poor … [Read more...] about The Trivialization Of American All Attack All The Time Politics
Christian College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography
The Chronicle: Grove City College, a Christian institution north of Pittsburgh, has suspended a student whom officials found to be working in the gay-pornography industry, reported The Herald, in Sharon, Pa. It's against the rules, obviously, but look what else is, too: Grove City’s student handbook lays out possible penalties for specific infractions, including a suspension … [Read more...] about Christian College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography
Talk Radio
David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Talk Radio
Cornyn v. Rush, et. al.
Perhaps the non-puritanical pragmatists have a prayer in the GOP, after all. Josh Kraushaar reports for Politico. … [Read more...] about Cornyn v. Rush, et. al.
Andy McCarthy Once Again Shows He Does Not Understand the Law
Andrew McCarthy has a long piece at National Review Online accusing the Department of Justice of "engaging in the worst type of hypocrisy." … [Read more...] about Andy McCarthy Once Again Shows He Does Not Understand the Law
Gitmo Gutbuster
Andrew Sullivan holds up this video as one reason he's not a Republican. He then links to Hilzoy who articulates the conclusion that any semi-intelligent adult should be able to reach: "If we can't have dangerous people living among us, then we are going to have a whole lot of extra prisons sitting around empty." (Not to mention all the job losses among prison security … [Read more...] about Gitmo Gutbuster
Ridge Won’t Run
Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge has announced he will not run against Arlen Specter in 2010. While the Democratic primary is still in flux, this pretty much locks up the seat for the Democrats. … [Read more...] about Ridge Won’t Run
Presidential Libidos
The flogging of John Edwards in the public square, aka the New York Times, raises the question of what relevance marital fidelity has to the qualifications of an American president. Trust and truth-telling come to mind, of course, but it gets more complicated in looking back. JFK famously cheated on his wife, while Richard Nixon, as far as we know, was a faithful husband … [Read more...] about Presidential Libidos
‘No Nuclear Surrender’: The Nation, Pakistan
Continuing with our coverage of the Pakistan media reaction to American attempts to address the ongoing chaos involving the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the region, this editorial from Pakistan's The Nation rejects any discussion of removing Pakistan's highly-enriched uranium to the United States, as was reported in the Boston Globe on Tuesday. Calling into question the … [Read more...] about ‘No Nuclear Surrender’: The Nation, Pakistan
The Debate Over The Present Republican Party And Ronald Reagan Rages On
A good roundup and take on it is here. Also read our earlier Guest Voice by Michael Reagan. … [Read more...] about The Debate Over The Present Republican Party And Ronald Reagan Rages On
GOP’s Fallin Calls Obama’s Budget “Taxation Without Representation”
And so the rhetoric continues painting what's going on with the federal government as some kind of massive break with the constitution, democracy and America as we know it. Just when you thought rhetoric from Republicans had not just jumped the shark but jumped the entire Sea World park in San Diego you get this: Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.) says President Obama's budget, the … [Read more...] about GOP’s Fallin Calls Obama’s Budget “Taxation Without Representation”
The Fire-Hire Ratio
Taken out of context, statistics that seem to show improvement in some aspect of the economy may actually simply mask the fact that things are getting worse. In this regard consider the number released today showing new claims for unemployment insurance last week. It was 601,000, a huge number certainly, but the lowest weekly number in several months, indicating that companies … [Read more...] about The Fire-Hire Ratio
Happy National Prayer Day
Another day, another national event. How does Hallmark manage to keep up? This time, it's National Prayer Day -- and some folks are mad at President Obama. The National Day of Prayer Task Force, chaired by Shirley Dobson, will be holding an observance at the Cannon House Office Building on Thursday, May 7, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. That observance is open to the public. … [Read more...] about Happy National Prayer Day
Will Congress Block DC Council’s Same Sex Marriage Recognition?
NO! But before getting into it... I linked yesterday to Marion Barry's "We may have a Civil War" over gay marriage quote. Ta-Nehisi Coates puts Barry & his quote in some much-needed perspective: I don't think that can be said loudly enough. There are 12 members of the City Council. Seven of them are black. One is Marion Barry. To anyone who's followed Barry's career, … [Read more...] about Will Congress Block DC Council’s Same Sex Marriage Recognition?
How Often Too Far?
It may be an isolated incident, but that doesn't make it any less frightening. Conservatives, of all people, should be outraged. Just ask Mickey Edwards. For my part, one of the key reasons I was initially drawn to the conservative movement was my disdain for concentrated power, my fear of Orwell's 1984 some day becoming reality. If the story linked above doesn't remind … [Read more...] about How Often Too Far?
State Sovereignty: A Tale of Two Views
There is some huffing and puffing going on out in Oklahoma this month, where Republicans in the legislature have decided to issue a slap in the face to their Democratic Party oppressors by raising the specter of state sovereignty and the tenth amendment. HCR 1028, which, if passed, would be sent to Democratic President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress, … [Read more...] about State Sovereignty: A Tale of Two Views