Like anyone who wants America to still have an economy tomorrow, I support the government's intervention to head off disaster in the Bear Stearns fiasco. But I admit discomfort, for this seems to be precisely the type of governmental assistance that I hear many people decry when it's proffered to the less fortunate. We give it to Bear Stearns -- even though they were reckless … [Read more...] about Power and Pity
Too bad ‘us’ is going to bring Obama down…
Conversation I just had with my Uncle Ronny over Yahoo Instant Messenger. Text is accurate. I added the who said what and cleaned up the punctuation: Uncle Ronny: "Well it's all over for brother Obama." Me: "How so?" Uncle Ronny: "He has to be the black guy tomorrow at his big race speech. That's all some folks need to hear to not vote for him." Me: "Yeah. … [Read more...] about Too bad ‘us’ is going to bring Obama down…
Economic Storm
Cartoon by Daryl Cagle … [Read more...] about Economic Storm
When The Media Gets It Wrong About Bloggers
A MUST READ by skippy (who created the word "blogtopia" and writes in lowercase). … [Read more...] about When The Media Gets It Wrong About Bloggers
Clinton Rules versus Obama Rules
Those of us who support Hillary---and make no mistake, the numbers are substantial, or there wouldn't be all this squabbling over delegates and the disenfranchisement of Florida---have noticed a certain imbalance not only in the media's coverage of Hillary, but also within attitudes currently prevalent among many of our fellow Dems. This perceptive blogger has looked … [Read more...] about Clinton Rules versus Obama Rules
Harness your Outrage
This is Sunshine Week 2008 Regardless of your partisan leanings, if you support a more transparent government consider checking this out and even encouraging your representative to do the right thing. … [Read more...] about Harness your Outrage
Iran’s Election Brings More of the Same
Details are still coming out about Iran's recent parliamentary elections, but here are a couple of my early thoughts and observations. First, a lot of English newspapers are inaccurately spinning this as a crushing win for conservatives. That's somewhat misleading. The Guardian Council -- which vets majlis legislation and monitors elections -- disqualified about 1,700 … [Read more...] about Iran’s Election Brings More of the Same
Hillary Clinton Speaks on Her Plan to End the Iraq War Responsibly
I have excerpted some of her key points and arguments, many of which are already in the process of being twisted and taken out of context by her opponents. Here's what she actually said in what I thought was an eloquent and crucial speech. Hillary began by expressing what many Democrats believe: the surge can't be said to be working unless its purpose is being … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton Speaks on Her Plan to End the Iraq War Responsibly
A Vast Media Conspiracy
I was scanning headlines on realclearpolitics and my blog aggregator and noticed that I was becoming irritable. The conservatives level this charge about the liberals and the liberals level that charge against the conservatives. Or, Democratic Party loyalists level this charge about Obama while unaligned bridge builders level that charge against Clinton. Or the NYT tries to … [Read more...] about A Vast Media Conspiracy
Obama’s Pastor Gets An Opinion Poll: 8% National Approval
It now turns out that there finally is someone more unpopular than Vice President Dick Cheney. Pastor Jeremiah Wright, who has become part of the national political dialogue in recent days, is viewed favorably by 8% of voters nationwide. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 58% have an unfavorable view of the Pastor whose controversial comments have created … [Read more...] about Obama’s Pastor Gets An Opinion Poll: 8% National Approval
Bailing Out Wall Street Perps: Get Ready To Open Your Wallets, Mr. & Mrs. Taxpayer
Sentient Americans long ago became accustomed to the gap between George Bush's words and reality. But when the president spoke to the Economic Club in Manhattan the other day his understanding of arguably the biggest economic crisis since the Crash of 1929 was so shallow, his misrepresentation of the causes so complete and his solutions so inadequate that I wanted to … [Read more...] about Bailing Out Wall Street Perps: Get Ready To Open Your Wallets, Mr. & Mrs. Taxpayer
The Economy: Are You Scared Yet?
Gold at $1,000 an ounce. Oil at $110 a barrel. Record home foreclosures. Steeply rising inflation. Worrisome employment numbers. Personal bankruptcies surging again. Are you worried about the economy yet? Are you beginning to be very, very frightened? And if not, why not? Bad times follow good times, just as good times follow the bad. That's a natural process. It's … [Read more...] about The Economy: Are You Scared Yet?
Guest Voice: Mother Russia Is a Bear — An Interview with Edward Lucas
This Guest Interview by Bill Steigerwald, columnist at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Mother Russia Is a Bear -- An Interview with Edward Lucas By Bill Steigerwald Look out for Mother Russia. The nation that emerged from the ruins of communism is not as dangerous to the world or as nasty to its own people as the old Soviet Union. But a new book by Edward Lucas, former … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: Mother Russia Is a Bear — An Interview with Edward Lucas
Guest Book Review: Fidel Castro: A Spoken Autobiography
This is another Guest Book Review by fiction writer Jessica Schneider who also writes for Cosmoetica, is Book Editor for Monsters and Critics and is the only contributor to her own blog. Book Review: Fidel Castro: A Spoken Autobiography By Jessica Schneider There are many different ways one could approach when reviewing this book. On one hand, it’s an excellent … [Read more...] about Guest Book Review: Fidel Castro: A Spoken Autobiography
DOLLAR at its LOWEST
Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune … [Read more...] about DOLLAR at its LOWEST
Narrowing News and Drive-By Journalism
Two stories hogged the attention of Americans in 2007 with "reverse trajectories," at first the war in Iraq, which declined in interest as the '08 Presidential elections took over the spotlight. That's a main conclusion of the State of the News Media 2008 report, just released by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which also cites "markedly short attention span" … [Read more...] about Narrowing News and Drive-By Journalism
‘Our America’ Needs a Forum Without the United States …
Would the nations of Latin America be better off replacing the Organization of American States with a new grouping that leaves out the U.S.? After the success of last week's Group of Rio Summit - which the U.S. did not attend - in defusing a military-diplomatic crisis involving Colombia and a number of its neighbors, there are many people south of the United States that seem to … [Read more...] about ‘Our America’ Needs a Forum Without the United States …
Founding Parents
The HBO miniseries on John Adams began this evening and I was riveted. Letting myself immerse into the story I swelled with pride and awe at the courage, tenacity, inspiration and skill of our founding parents. They let themselves rise from the frustration of tyranny to envision and commit to a new standard of rights for all of Humankind. It is so easy to take the American … [Read more...] about Founding Parents
Ness Plus Ultra
The name of Eliot Ness, that iconic crime fighter if the early 20th century - has reverberated down through history as the definition of justice and incorruptibility. In writing about his namesake Eliot Spitzer, Serge Truffaut of Canada's French-language Le Devior writes in part, 'You cannot make this up. … The first name of Governor Spitzer of New York is Eliot. The same as … [Read more...] about Ness Plus Ultra
News From The Israeli And Palestinian Front: March 16th
As part of this biweekly feature, I'll be presenting a slate of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) The Syrians have been making a strong push to restart peace talks with the Israelis. Between 2004-2006, there had been unofficial, track two discussions between a prominent Syrian-American businessman and a former Israeli official; these … [Read more...] about News From The Israeli And Palestinian Front: March 16th