WASHINGTON -- I had a twinge of nostalgia watching George W. Bush campaign for his little brother in South Carolina Monday night. He was earthy. He recalled a previous visit to a South Carolina breakfast spot, where an animal-rights demonstrator dressed as a pig interrupted Bush's meal by dumping a "steaming pile of manure" in the parking lot to block his exit. … [Read more...] about Donald Trump makes me miss George W. Bush
The rise and fall of Argentina’s real-life X-Files unit
LIMA, Peru — Even at the best of times, Argentina’s former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was controversial. Accused of populism, corruption, mismanaging the economy and un-statesmanlike mood swings, she also, apparently, had an interest in extraterrestrial life. In fact, in May 2011, she launched a new agency within Argentina’s air force specifically to research … [Read more...] about The rise and fall of Argentina’s real-life X-Files unit
Prez O (Guest Voice)
Prez O By Arif Ahmad My Dear Prez O Congrats on your last year in office You have done good, some more than the other And you have faltered, recovered Kind at heart and you have tried As we saw your hair turn white Though, there is something The big leaders lead The great ones unite Somehow they rise above the strife So, Prez O, can you try even harder and … [Read more...] about Prez O (Guest Voice)
Privacy and Security
While the country focuses on the presidential race and the Supreme Court nomination, there are other concerns that roil American citizens but have faded to the background. With growth of the Internet and social media, maintenance of privacy has become an explosive issue for some frequent users. Interestingly, Apple has been asked to hack the Iphone of one of the San Bernadino … [Read more...] about Privacy and Security
Trump and the GOP’s Identity Crisis (Guest Voice)
Trump and the GOP's Identity Crisis By Dick Polman Ever since George W. Bush went home to paint puppies, Republicans have generally lauded him as a tough commander-in-chief who "kept us safe." But Donald Trump is torching that party mantra. South Carolina, which will stage its GOP primary on Saturday night, is arguably the state that will make or break Trump and Jeb … [Read more...] about Trump and the GOP’s Identity Crisis (Guest Voice)
Cartoons: Good Riddance
Good Riddance by Clay Jones Within minutes of the announcement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia’s death a lot of liberals went to town expressing their excitement and happiness in the event. A lot of those people are friends and readers of mine. I’m not comfortable with that. I understand not liking the guy and I didn’t. I was not a fan of his rulings and … [Read more...] about Cartoons: Good Riddance
Obama Scolds Senate Republicans for Supreme Court Threat
By Jeff Mason RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to pick an indisputably qualified nominee for the Supreme Court and chided Republicans who control the U.S. Senate for threatening to block him from filling the pivotal vacancy. Obama told senators he has a constitutional duty to nominate a new justice after Saturday's death of … [Read more...] about Obama Scolds Senate Republicans for Supreme Court Threat
The ugly political spectacle around Scalia’s death
WASHINGTON -- In the first minutes after the shocking news spread Saturday that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had died, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley tried to be reasonable. It didn't go well for him. The Iowa Republican, informed in a phone call from Des Moines Register reporter Jason Noble that Scalia had died, responded … [Read more...] about The ugly political spectacle around Scalia’s death
Flint Could Be Any Town (Guest Voice)
Flint Could Be Any Town by Jack Burgess I lived in Flint, Michigan a long time ago. The water was clean and fluoridated, ahead of its time. Flint in 1960 was a progressive city of 200,000 people with one of the nation’s highest per-capita incomes. Today, Flint is the center of a national emergency, its water poisoning its people, and half of them fled. Thousands of … [Read more...] about Flint Could Be Any Town (Guest Voice)
Pee-wee’s Back in New ‘Big Holiday’ Trailer
Pee-wee Herman went on a big adventure in the mid-80s in the first feature film Tim Burton ever directed. More than two decades later, Pee-wee will be back, not on the big screen, but in the new Netflix movie Pee-wee’s Big Holiday. Netflix released a full trailer Tuesday, just over a month before the film’s March… … [Read more...] about Pee-wee’s Back in New ‘Big Holiday’ Trailer
Scalia, Trump, and Clinton on Civil Liberties
The recent death of Antonin Scalia (which I discussed here when the news first broke) has led to a lot of well-deserved criticism of his record. While his conservative votes have been damaging in some areas, it should be kept in mind when evaluating the candidates that, on civil liberties issues, Hillary Clinton is to the right of Scalia. I have previously discussed … [Read more...] about Scalia, Trump, and Clinton on Civil Liberties
How government can get smart
WASHINGTON -- For the first time since the modern budget process was initiated more than 40 years ago, the Republican chairs of the Senate and House Budget committees announced that they would not invite the president's budget director to testify. What seems like an act of disrespect for President Obama (something Republicans have reveled in for seven years) may also … [Read more...] about How government can get smart
Trump is the darkness within America’s past (Guest Voice)
Last week in New Hampshire, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich gave what many considered a gracious speech. He had just finished second, keeping his dim campaign hopes alive. The Ohio governor congratulated Donald Trump on his victory and then went on to talk about his own vision for America. It boiled down to the fundamental conservative… … [Read more...] about Trump is the darkness within America’s past (Guest Voice)
More Briefings? Yeah, More Briefings: On Government and Taxes (Guest Voice)
More Briefings? Yeah, More Briefings. By Robert P. Coutinho Just like Daffy Duck, who was trying to get Elmer Fudd to shoot Bugs bunny, I find myself seemingly unable to get through to the populace at large. “How do we pay for xxxxxx [regarding the federal government]?” “We increase taxes.” NOOOOOO!!! Federal taxes do NOT need to be collected in order to pay for … [Read more...] about More Briefings? Yeah, More Briefings: On Government and Taxes (Guest Voice)
GOP Supreme Court Perspective
Kevin Drum sheds light onto the GOP mindset regarding SCOTUS on Mother Jones. Let us speak of Robert Bork. I promise that I have a point to make with this. If you read mainstream coverage of the political fallout over Antonin Scalia's death, you won't see Bork mentioned much. But you should, because his defeat for a Supreme Court vacancy in 1987 remains absolutely central … [Read more...] about GOP Supreme Court Perspective
Republican rationale for blocking Obama Supreme Court pick doesn’t hold up
\ The spin has begun and as usual, it's refined a bit as a controversy breaks. But let's be blunt: No. It is not true that there is a modern precedent for Congress to simply refuse to take up a President's nominee to the Supreme Court because the President is in his last year in office. You have to go back to around the civil war for that. Yes, President Barack … [Read more...] about Republican rationale for blocking Obama Supreme Court pick doesn’t hold up
Klein: GOP May Regret SCOTUS Obstructionism
Ezra Klein ponders the potential consequences and underlying forces in GOP obstruction on vox.com. From one angle, Senate Republicans just made a massive mistake. They could have simply waited for President Obama to nominate a replacement for Justice Scalia, drawn out the confirmation process, and then rejected the nominee on ideological grounds months from now. But Senate … [Read more...] about Klein: GOP May Regret SCOTUS Obstructionism
George Washington’s crystal ball: a word about parties
Gen. George Washington understood human nature to an uncanny degree. But before you nod your head or share a Washington birthday quote meme, please, read on. Because that quote may very well not mean what you think it means. What were the political parties of the time? When Washington stepped down as the nation's first president after two terms (refusing the push for … [Read more...] about George Washington’s crystal ball: a word about parties
Mitch McConnell on the edge
Two of the current justices on the Supreme Court -- Kennedy and Thomas, as the Times reminds us -- "were nominated by Republican presidents and confirmed when Democrats held the majority in the Senate." This time, however, it didn't take more than a couple of hours after the news about Justice Scalia surfaced for Senate Majority Leader McConnell to announce a great girding … [Read more...] about Mitch McConnell on the edge
The Day Quite a Few Liberals Defended and Promoted Right-Wing Propaganda (Guest Voice)
One of the first things that I saw plastered everywhere on Friday morning was that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were tied in a new poll out of Nevada. Being that I'm a bit of a polling nerd, I was curious exactly how the poll was conducted and who it was conducted by. What was the… … [Read more...] about The Day Quite a Few Liberals Defended and Promoted Right-Wing Propaganda (Guest Voice)