As with many religions, political parties have a tendency to start as a movement, transform into a business, and finally degenerate into a racket designed to fleece the yokels. One organization which has gone out of its way to illustrate this evolution is the Republican Party. And it has done so with a national scope…
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Chuck Hagel and the American Empire
Hagel’s legislative record belies his potential role as bit player on the stage of the American empire, unlikely to wield the kind of influence suggested by the controversy over his nomination. Ideological elements of both the Left and the Right have inflated the nomination of Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense to symbolize far more…
The ‘Führer’ Over Gun Control
Wait for it… three… two… one… now! It was bound to happen. Just in case you thought political discourse in this country couldn’t get any lower, Matt Drudge, the quasi-mainstream bellwether of the lunatic fringe, drags Adolf Hitler into the gun control policy debate. The gun lobby’s repeated use of Hitler (and also Stalin, when it suits them)…
Can the President Raise the Debt Limit?
I am sure we have all had it up to here with breathless reporting about the fiscal cliff. But within a month or two after the December 31, 2012 deadline for resolving the cliff, there looms another, more serious economic issue: extending the debt limit. The two matters are linked because Republicans now appear to…
The Case for Obama and Against Liberal Despair
Published Nov 2, 2012 in the Atlantic Magazine Link to the article There are valid critiques of the president, but what’s important now is that a vote for Obama is a vote against extremism — and for functional government. I think the Weimar Republic collapsed … because there were not enough citizens. That’s the lesson I have learned….
The Austerity Trap: Is Past Prologue?
A German chancellor touts austerity as the sovereign remedy for the worst global economic crisis in most people’s memory. Why? The great inflation of 1923 is still so seared into the consciousness of the German political class that keeping the stability of the currency is paramount. Therefore the decree goes out: wages, salaries, and pensions…
Meet the Welfare Queens of the 1%: The Moochers Mitt Missed Work for the Pentagon
Forget the laid-off workers, disabled veterans and elderly retirees. Pentagon contractors are far more dependent on taxpayers to pay their way than Mitt Romney’s fabled 47 percent; and rest assured, Mitt can count on their support. Mitt Romney’s recently-exposed statement disparaging nearly half of all Americans as hopelessly dependent on government may actually make a valid…