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)
6 (Republican) Campaign Degrees of Separation
South Carolina is here and the kid gloves are off. At this stage in the Republican contest, I would like to offer a voters guide to identify the six remaining candidates. Jeb Bush, the Middle Child - Jeb has worked all of his life to matter in the grand scheme of things. Having a father as President is interesting enough, but having a less accomplished brother serve as … [Read more...] about 6 (Republican) Campaign Degrees of Separation
Forgiveness is free (Guest Voice)
Our years are not bound on what we did yesterday. It is based on what we have planned tomorrow. In life we cannot worry about the errs. We cannot worry about the bloopers. We must not worry about what happened on the last play of this competitive event of life. Yet, we must remember what made us sin and what can make us shun these actions again. Still, we need to know that … [Read more...] about Forgiveness is free (Guest Voice)
FBI WARNS OF ONLINE DATING SCAMS
FBI Warns of Online Dating Scams Criminals looking to steal your money through promises of love and companionship via money transfer services Source: FBI - San Diego Field Office February 12, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - SMillions of Americans visit online dating websites every year hoping to find a companion or even a soulmate. But as Valentine’s Day got closer, … [Read more...] about FBI WARNS OF ONLINE DATING SCAMS
Justice for the last Nazis (Guest Voice)
A 94-year-old former SS sergeant on trial over his actions at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp may make history as one of the last former Nazis to face his crimes. Reinhold Hanning stands accused in a German court of selecting inmates to be killed and participating in mass shootings during a period in 1943 and 1944 when… … [Read more...] about Justice for the last Nazis (Guest Voice)
Cartoons: GOP Block
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoons: GOP Block
Are These People Capable?
The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has given rise to yet another crisis in the United States. These days, when it comes to governing, America seems to be in a continual state of crisis. And, Paul Krugman writes, the reason can be laid squarely at the feet of the Republican Party: On the substantive divide between the parties: I still encounter people … [Read more...] about Are These People Capable?
The ‘You Lie’ Debate
Back in 2003, before he became a U.S. Senator, political commentator and comedian Al Franken wrote a book titled, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. It is a book in which Franken, according to the publisher, bravely and candidly exposes the Right “for what they are: liars. Lying, lying liars.” The back cover states in part, “We have to fight back. But we can’t fight … [Read more...] about The ‘You Lie’ Debate
SciFi Weekend: Bryan Fuller Named Star Trek Showrunner; Valentines Day For Marvel Heroes; Agent Carter; Gilmore Girls; Flash & Supergirl; Outlander; 11/22/63; Better Call Saul; House of Cards; Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton As Comic Book Leads
Bryan Fuller has been named to be the showrunner for the upcoming Star Trek television series on the CBS All Access streaming service starting in January 2017. Fuller has certainly demonstrated his skills in running a first class genre series with his work on Hannibal. He is also a long time Star Trek fan: “My very first experience of ‘Star Trek’ is my oldest brother turning … [Read more...] about SciFi Weekend: Bryan Fuller Named Star Trek Showrunner; Valentines Day For Marvel Heroes; Agent Carter; Gilmore Girls; Flash & Supergirl; Outlander; 11/22/63; Better Call Saul; House of Cards; Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton As Comic Book Leads
A court fight for the ages
WASHINGTON -- In most presidential elections, Supreme Court nominations are a major issue for elites and a substantial concern for significant parts of the conservative movement. Other voters usually see the future makeup of the court as a side matter, or not essential to their decisions at all. Justice Antonin Scalia's death on Saturday will change this. The … [Read more...] about A court fight for the ages
Slumming with GOP
The righteous constituency within the GOP is drifting away from the party, thanks to Donald Trump and his oh-my-gosh lapse into foul language. I'm not sure most of us would be shocked by his use of that word though we're probably aghast at the quality of the Republican candidates in general. From Carson and that corporate dame right down to Trump, they represent the "anything … [Read more...] about Slumming with GOP
Cartoons: Scalia
Scalia by Clay Jones I am not rejoicing the death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Yes, he wrote opinions I strong disagreed with. I viewed many of his views as hostile, racist, and anti-constitutional. I felt he favored partisanship over law. But I also do not want to just write nice things about the dead. Even when Glen Frey died I wanted to scream at … [Read more...] about Cartoons: Scalia
These indigenous Amazonians are standing up to Ecuador’s oil invasion
These indigenous Amazonians are standing up to Ecuador’s oil invasion AMAZON RAINFOREST, Ecuador — In one of the most ecologically diverse corners of the planet, a small tribe is fending off oil corporations that want to drill their ancestral land. It takes first a bumpy 20-minute drive from the city of Tena, then a two-hour journey on a rudimentary canoe to meet the … [Read more...] about These indigenous Amazonians are standing up to Ecuador’s oil invasion
Darly Cagle Cartoon: Bernie and Hillary Valentine
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Darly Cagle Cartoon: Bernie and Hillary Valentine