Do Iraqis want Americans out of Iraq? It's a question that people around the world have been asking for years and by and large the answer has been yes. But now that the prospect of a U.S. pullout has become somewhat more tangible, it seems that some Iraqis are emphatically asking Americans to stay. In this ode to the Americans and Iraq's Christians from Iraq's Kitibat … [Read more...] about Muslim or Christian, All Iraqis Should Welcome America’s ‘Priceless Gift’
Why Moderate Republicans Are Dying
You want to know why moderate Republicans are dying? It's not because conservatives have run them out (which they have). It's because we lack stamina. We lack backbone. We are more interested in our own wants and needs than in looking at the bigger picture. We see politics more as enterainment instead of hard work. The far right got to where they are because they … [Read more...] about Why Moderate Republicans Are Dying
‘Roots News round-up and meta on Ohio campaign coverage
The e-mails, phone calls - robo and live, invites and blogs are buzzing through every inch of available space, cyber and otherwise, in Ohio right now. In the last two hours alone I've received information about Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to the Jewish community in Northeast Ohio, I was called by a live (as opposed to recorded) Hillary Clinton supporter about attending … [Read more...] about ‘Roots News round-up and meta on Ohio campaign coverage
Gunman Kills Four Students & Injures 14 Others
Gunman Kills 4 on Illinois Campus Is the response of the GOP and the National Rifle Association still that the students should have been armed? Would someone with a death wish be deterred by knowing that many of his victims may be armed? Are we reaching the tipping point where we are more in danger from renegade gunmen than we are from organized criminals? How come … [Read more...] about Gunman Kills Four Students & Injures 14 Others
Guest Voice: The Enthusiasm Gap
NOTE: This is a special Guest Voice sent out by Political Scientist Larry Sabato, whose Crystal Ball is required -- and reliable -- reading for all political junkies and concerned citizens. Read and get it HERE. THE ENTHUSIASM GAP Voter engagement in the presidential race By Alan I. Abramowitz Special Guest Columnist Dr. Alan Abramowitz is one of the most … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: The Enthusiasm Gap
A 21st Century Gulag
This article by Bret Stephens of The Wall Street Journal will make you wonder whether the cruelty of the Soviet era did, in fact, end decisively in 1991. The answer, in many regards, is no. Under Vladimir Putin, some of the most despicable and cruel tactics of the Communist years have been reinvented - from the intimidation of opposition leaders, to the killing of journalists, … [Read more...] about A 21st Century Gulag
Contempt Citations Issued, Lantos Memorial Service Interrupted
Over furious Republican objections, the House of Representatives passed contempt citations against Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten for their refusal to testify in front of House committees. Republicans threw every procedural tactic in the book to stop the vote, including finally walking out in protest. But tempers really flared when a GOP representative called for a dilatory … [Read more...] about Contempt Citations Issued, Lantos Memorial Service Interrupted
What is John Edwards to do?
John Edwards, it seems, is conflicted, agonizing over whom to endorse, Clinton or Obama. As ABC News is reporting, he may be leaning towards Clinton, though he "appears deeply divided" and may "ultimately stay neutral in the race". (Or it could be that he wants to endorse Clinton but is worried that Obama may be pulling too far ahead. I suspect his conflicted agonizing is … [Read more...] about What is John Edwards to do?
Clinton Campaign Signals Possible Delegate War Over Florida And Michigan
Faced by a string of recent primary defeats, and scrambling to shore-up its "firewall" against Democratic Senator Barack Obama, the campaign of Senator Hillary Clinton is now making rumblings about triggering a divisive convention delegate war that could polarize the Democratic Party -- and possibly leave the probable GOP Presidential nominee Senator John McCain … [Read more...] about Clinton Campaign Signals Possible Delegate War Over Florida And Michigan
Good News from Iraq
It was easy to overlook if you were thinking about baseball and mortgages and FISA yesterday, but Iraqi Parliament actually managed to get some good things done. They passed a budget, for one thing. They also defined the powers of the various states -- making Iraq a "federal" government. They gave amnesty to thousands of prisoners. They declared that an upcoming election … [Read more...] about Good News from Iraq
Clemens Pitching
Eric Allie, Caglecartoons.com … [Read more...] about Clemens Pitching
That Mighty Wave of Electoral Change & Why Hillary Clinton Never Saw It Coming
Hillary Clinton is a notorious control freak. Fifteen years ago, that resulted in the Hindenburg-like crash of her national health-care initiative, while more recently it was planted audience questions. After years of meticulous planning, Clinton launched her presidential campaign on January 20, 2007 with the words "I'm in. And I'm in to win." It must have seemed to her like … [Read more...] about That Mighty Wave of Electoral Change & Why Hillary Clinton Never Saw It Coming
A Valentine For the World 2008: The Lost Story
UPDATE You can hear Dr. E. telling the lost story of Eros and Limitless Love, here at KGNU F.M. for Thursday, February 14, 2008. Look in the far left column for 8:00 am "Morning Magazine" ... then click on yellow audio-speaker button on the far right. Then move your audio marker to about the 25:50 point, and you will hear intro. The story clip ends around 31:10. I aplogize for … [Read more...] about A Valentine For the World 2008: The Lost Story
India: Deadly Epidemic Grips “Smokers’ Paradise”
Owing to a growing awareness in the West about the threat posed by tobacco smoking, the cigarette companies made a frontal assault on the vulnerable Third World markets during the past decade. The result: A recent study shows that the 'smoker's paradise' India is in the grip of a smoking epidemic that is likely to cause nearly a million deaths a year by 2010. Conducted by … [Read more...] about India: Deadly Epidemic Grips “Smokers’ Paradise”
A Great Fall: John McCain Caves on Waterboarding Ban
That's about it, then, isn't it----all the talk about McCain as the new type of Republican moderate destined to lead the party back to its roots? I'm guessing that this latest news will put an end to talk among disenchanted Democrats of voting for him in November. Today, McCain voted legislation that intended to do exactly what he himself has advocated: adopted the … [Read more...] about A Great Fall: John McCain Caves on Waterboarding Ban
Guest Voice: Confessions Of A Low Expectation Analyst
This Guest Voice post is by Michael Silverstein, a former senior editor with Bloomberg Financial News, who now writes financial poetry and prose in Philadelphia. Confessions Of A Low Expectation Analyst by Michael Silverstein Do stock market moves confuse you? Do the prognostications of economists and policy makers seem at odds with reality? If so, I'm probably … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: Confessions Of A Low Expectation Analyst
Guest Book Review: Paws & Effect by Sharon Sakson
This is another Guest Book Review by fiction writer Jessica Schneider who also writes for the highly-visited site Cosmoetica, is Book Editor for Monsters and Critics and is the only contributor to her own blog. Book Review: Paws & Effect by Sharon Sakson by Jessica Schneider I admit that I am a dog liker but a cat lover. Still, despite my like for dogs I was … [Read more...] about Guest Book Review: Paws & Effect by Sharon Sakson
NATO’s Afghan Mission: ‘France is Ready to Do More’
Some Americans still haven't gotten used to the fact that since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French President, France is just about our staunchest European ally. In contrast to the Germans the Dutch and even the British, according to this editorial by Pierre Rousselin of France's Le Figaro, it seems that Paris is the rare European capital, ready, willing and able to send … [Read more...] about NATO’s Afghan Mission: ‘France is Ready to Do More’
Hillary Courts The Youth Vote
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch … [Read more...] about Hillary Courts The Youth Vote
‘Gondwana Link’: Saving Australia’s Threatened Biodiversity
'Gondwana Link' ---- It is an ambitious project that attempts to restore the ecology of a more than 25-million hectare swathe of land in Western Australia, running from the arid red interior of the continent to the wet forests of the southwest coast. It aims to convert the farmland, that fragments it (and is dedicated to the monotonous hectares of wheat and sheep progressively … [Read more...] about ‘Gondwana Link’: Saving Australia’s Threatened Biodiversity