Saturday, February 11, 2012 The GOP Problem: 'It's Halftime in America'
Republicans are angry about the "It's Halftime in America" ad because it flies in the face of their negative themes: Obama has failed; America has gone in the toilet; and the only way to dig ourselves out of this hole is to place our faith in corporate America. Republicans will have an uphill battle selling this to voters.
Friday, February 10, 2012 The GOP Problem: "It's Halftime for America"
This year's Super Bowl program contained a commercial, "It's Halftime in America," featuring Clint Eastwood. Initially this seemed to be a public service pep talk for the nation, then a promo for Detroit, and it turned out to be a Chrysler ad. The commercial outraged Republicans. It's an indication of their core problems in the 2012 Presidential contest.
Friday, February 3, 2012 Is Obama a Failed President? (6 comments)
The outcome of the 2012 Presidential election will depend upon voters' perception of the US economy and the jobs market. Republicans have labeled Obama a "failed president" claiming he could have done more to create jobs.
Thursday, January 26, 2012 Obama's Common Sense (2 comments)
In January of 1776, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet, "Common Sense," that galvanized colonist support for American independence. 236 years later, Barack Obama presented his own forceful version of common sense in his third State-of-the-Union address.
Friday, January 20, 2012 America's Mobility Problem (5 comments)
2012's dominant political issue will be jobs and income inequality. Recent studies suggest that we add social mobility to the list: an American born into poverty is increasingly unlikely to be able to move up and out.
Friday, January 13, 2012 The Republicans' Mitt Romney Problem (1 comments)
After Rick Santorum's surprising showing in the January 3 rd Iowa caucuses, many observers asked, "Why didn't Mitt Romney win? What explains Santorum's late surge?" The answer lies at the core of contemporary Republican politics: they don't have one candidate that appeals to their fractured base.
Friday, January 6, 2012 2012: Will the Left Support Obama? (3 comments)
January 1 st marked the beginning of the transformative year predicted by the Mayan Calendar. Whether or not you believe that on December 21 st a cataclysmic event will occur, you can agree that on November 6 th there will be a monumental Presidential election to determine whether US democracy survives. An election the left can impact if they decide to support Barrack Obama and Democrats in general.
Friday, December 30, 2011 2011 Politics: The Best and Worst
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens wrote describing the period before the 1789 French Revolution. For America's rich, the 1 percent, 2011 was the best of times; for everyone else, the 99 percent, it was the worst of times.
Friday, December 23, 2011 A Christmas Carol for 2011
It's been 168 years since Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol to illustrate the horrific living conditions of the English poor and promote the true nature of Christmas. If Dickens were still alive, he'd be compelled to update his tale.
Friday, December 16, 2011 2011: The Year Corporations Attacked Democracy (13 comments)
For eighty years, Americans have feared robots, worrying they might one day rule the world. In 2011 we realized our real enemies are not robots, but multinational corporations, who have declared war on democracy.
Friday, December 9, 2011 Elizabeth Warren: Voice of the 99 Percent (1 comments)
Wednesday evening, December 7 th , senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren met with Bay Area progressives. Some of us recalled a comparable meeting four years earlier with presidential candidate Barack Obama. At the time Obama was a rising star; now Warren is the rising star. While the two have similarities, there is one crucial difference.
Friday, December 2, 2011 Occupy Wall Street: The Enthusiasm Gap (11 comments)
The latest polls indicate that approximately 75 percent of Americans agree with the goals of Occupy Wall Street. Nonetheless, only 29 percent consider themselves supporters of OWS. What accounts for this enthusiasm gap?
Thursday, November 24, 2011 Thanksgiving Politics: Top Ten Reasons to be Thankful (10 comments)
Despite the dreadful recession, a broken political system, and other woes, Americans have many reasons to be thankful. Here is my top ten list:
Friday, November 18, 2011 Politics 2012: They've Gone Too Far
While the 2012 elections are twelve months away, Republicans have handed President Obama and Democrats a winning theme: "They've gone too far."
Friday, November 11, 2011 Why Occupy Wall Street Won't Make a Difference (8 comments)
Occupy Wall Street is getting positive reviews and is viewed favorably by most Americans. Does OWS indicate the US political process has hit bottom and Americans are ready for radical change?
Friday, November 4, 2011 A New Declaration Of Independence (2 comments)
The preamble of the United States Declaration of Independence declares: ""whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter and abolish it, and to institute new Government." Occupy Wall Street is an assertion by 99 percent of Americans that our government denies us "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The movement must create a new Declaration of Independence.
Friday, October 21, 2011 The New American Revolution: Occupy Wall Street (1 comments)
While the organic Occupy Wall Street movement is similar to the spontaneous Arab Spring uprisings that began last December in Tunisia and Egypt, OWS is eerily reminiscent of the run up to the American revolutionary war.
Friday, October 14, 2011 Who Killed the Economy? Accounting Parasites (13 comments)
As the US Economy stagnates and 14 million Americans remain unemployed, Washington politicians play familiar blame games. Republicans believe our problems stem from too much government . Democrats assert the economy failed because of faulty government. But the real culprit lies deep within the bowels of modern corporations: parasitic accountants who have subverted America's entrepreneurial spirit and the common good.
Friday, October 7, 2011 It's the Water, Stupid: The Perils of Clearcutting (2 comments)
When you fly to the west coast, you usually pass over the Sierra Nevada mountain range. On a clear day you'll notice the surrounding forests are irregular; they've been "checkerboarded." Millions of acres have been logged and "clearcut." While problematic on many levels, clearcutting imperils the drinking water for 45 million Americans.
Friday, September 30, 2011 There is no Political Middle Ground (4 comments)
The defining characterisitic of the 112 th Congress has been extreme Republican partisanship, an unprecedented willingness to hold the Federal government hostage until conservative demands are satisfied. The GOP tactic has disrupted the US and demolished the myth of a middle ground in American politics.
Saturday, September 24, 2011 Setting Limits With Obama (17 comments)
Barack Obama has been a disappointment but in 2012 Americans will either vote for him or a Republican Neanderthal. To stay in the White House Obama will need our support. That's an opportunity to set limits, to make specific demands. Here are four suggestions.
Sunday, September 18, 2011 Job Wars: Republicans Strike Back (10 comments)
One week after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress and proposed "The American Jobs Act," House Speaker John Boehner responded for the Republicans. Not with a plan to address the US jobs' crisis, but with conservative talking points that indicate how difficult it will be to pass meaningful legislation.
Friday, September 9, 2011 Will Obama Control the Jobs Message?
Watching President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress, Americans were reminded of his oratorical prowess. That's never been his problem. In the two years 230 days plus of his Presidency Obama has given many powerful speeches but not followed up lost control of the message. On September 8 th he laid out a strong jobs plan; now he has to push it through Congress.
Friday, September 2, 2011 Labor Day: Dreaming of Joe Hill (4 comments)
For many Americans, Labor Day marks the end of summer and has little to do with the Labor movement. I wonder what Joe Hill would make of the demise of unions and the struggles of American workers.
Friday, August 26, 2011 Tiptoeing Towards Theocracy (5 comments)
In difficult times, nations sometimes embrace extreme solutions. In 1494 Florence became a Christian Republic and Savonarola commenced his inquisition. In 1932 Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany and launched the Third Reich. Now America is in turmoil and Republicans offer a radical vision - Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. Is the US sliding towards Theocracy?
Friday, August 19, 2011 Why Did Capitalism Fail? (4 comments)
We live in interesting times. The global economy is splintering. US voters hate all politicians and there's political unrest throughout the world. The root cause of this turmoil is the failure of the dominant economic paradigm global corporate capitalism.
Friday, August 12, 2011 One, Two, Three, What Are Liberals Fighting For? (5 comments)
These are hard times. The weather's bad and the economy awful. Obama has lost his mojo and 14 million Americans are unemployed. Many Liberals are discouraged and fearful about the 2012 election. But there's plenty of time to reenergize, so long as Liberals remember who we are and what we are fighting for.
Friday, August 5, 2011 Obama: It Became Necessary to Destroy the Economy to Save It (10 comments)
On February 7, 1968, US forces demolished Ben Tre, a provincial capitol in South Vietnam. An Army Major declared, 'It became necessary to destroy the town to save it." On August 2, 2011, President Obama signed the draconian law to raise the US debt limit and unravel our social safety net. He should have quipped, "It became necessary to destroy the economy to save it."
Friday, July 29, 2011 Republicans: The People Grandpa Warned Me About
When I was a teenager, my grandfather ate dinner with my family and repaid us with a post-dessert homily. His favorite was "the Red menace," where he raised his voice to warn us about the perils of Communism "Watch out for those people... they will say and do anything to win." Fifty years later Grandpa's words apply to the leaders of the Republican Party
Friday, July 22, 2011 What's Happened to Obama? (4 comments)
As he heads for the debt-limit showdown with Republicans, President Obama cannot be comforted by the latest Gallup Poll that shows him trailing the generic Republican Presidential candidate by five percentage points. Republicans won't vote for him; Obama has lost support among Independents and has alienated many Democrats. What happened?
Friday, July 15, 2011 Lost in Space: The Decline of the American Spirit (6 comments)
Fifty years after Alan Shepard became America's first astronaut, the US launched its last space shuttle, marking the end of our space program. And a new low for the American spirit.
Friday, July 1, 2011 It's the Values, Stupid! (8 comments)
President Obama's April 13 th speech about the economy emphasized cornerstone American values. Voters must understand these values to fully comprehend what's at stake as Democrats battle Republicans over the Federal debt limit and budget for the 14 months prior to the 2012 election.
Friday, June 24, 2011 2012: Who's Going to Vote? (1 comments)
On June 16 th , political pundits observed that liberals are unhappy with President Barack Obama and conservatives are displeased with GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney. If the 2012 presidential contest matches Obama and Romney, and their bases are turned off, how will this affect the outcome?
Friday, June 17, 2011 Obama's Tipping Point (6 comments)
This summer there's a lot at stake in Washington. The Congress and the White House are struggling over an agreement to extend the US debt limit before the August 2 nd deadline. Meanwhile the economy has slowed and we may be sliding back into a recession, so a second stimulus is being debated. We're heading for a Tipping Point that will determine Obama's political future.
Friday, June 10, 2011 Roll Over, Karl Marx (6 comments)
In 1883, Karl Marx died as an obscure philosopher, but since then he's become notorious. A 1999 BBC poll judged Marx "the thinker of the millennium" but for the last 60 years he's been infamous in America, where being called a Marxist is equivalent to being labeled a terrorist or pedophile. Despite the controversy, Marx's analysis was correct on many issues and his insights help explain America's growing economic divide.
Friday, June 3, 2011 The US and Israel: A Failed Marriage (3 comments)
Since 1948, when the United States recognized the state of Israel, twelve US Presidents have shaken the hands of Israeli leaders and pledged "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part." Sadly, this once happy marriage is in trouble. It's time for the US to reconsider its commitment to Israel.
Friday, May 27, 2011 Republicans Have a Problem. So What?
The Republican brain trust is gearing up for the 2012 Presidential election, stuffing their war chests and deploying an arsenal of dirty tricks. But they're having trouble finding a suitable Presidential candidate. Why should we care?
Friday, May 20, 2011 America After 9/11: Still Crazy After All These Years
The death of Osama bin Laden is an opportunity to reflect upon the deterioration of the United States since the attacks on September 11, 2001. We've entered into an endless state of war and our economy teeters on the brink of collapse. And, as a people, we've developed a distinctive derangement.
Friday, May 13, 2011 Barack Obama: The Return of the Cool (11 comments)
The May 1 st attack on Osama bin Laden produced an iconic image: President Barack Obama in the White House situation room, surrounded by his national security advisers, monitoring the progress of the Navy Seals' mission in far off Abbottabad, Pakistan. Obama stands out because of the steely intensity in his eyes. He's totally focused. Preternaturally cool.
Friday, May 6, 2011 Osama Bin Laden, Rapist (14 comments)
Many epithets describe Osama Bin Laden, but rapist fits best. On September 11, 2001, Bin Laden orchestrated what was, in effect, the gang rape of the United States. We were violated and that explains why America's recovery has been so difficult.
Friday, April 29, 2011 Swimming From Alcatraz
To celebrate turning 70, I swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco. Splashing one and half miles through icy water gave me time to reflect on six similarities between my trek, life in general, and US politics.
Friday, April 22, 2011 The Death of Bipartisanship (1 comments)
At the beginning of the 112 th Congress, a Bay Area Congresswoman was invited to a Washington gathering of new Representatives, mostly Republicans. When she mentioned that, in previous eras, the two Parties had often worked together, a Republican barked, "We were sent here to shrink government, not collaborate with you." President Obama seeks bipartisanship, but most Republicans aren't interested in pursuing the common good.
Friday, April 15, 2011 Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Debt? (2 comments)
Last week, I received an angry email accusing me of ignoring the number one political story, "...the USA is broke and has $14 TRILLION DOLLARS worth of debt!" It wasn't unusual as many Americans are overwrought about the US public debt. Sure, it's a problem but not number one and here's why.
Monday, April 11, 2011 2011 Budget Battle: Obama Wins While Democrats Lose (3 comments)
Although both sides claimed victory after agreeing on a 2011 Federal budget minutes before the April 8 th deadline, it was a smashing win for Republicans and a huge loss for Democrats. But even while his party went down in flames, President Barack Obama managed to dance away from defeat.
Friday, April 8, 2011 Libya: In America's National Interest? (1 comments)
On March 28, President Obama defended his decision to deploy US air power In Libya. After Libyan despot Moammar Gaddafi attacked his own people, Obama decided that protection of Libyan civilians was in America's "national interest." But it's not obvious that it is.
Friday, April 1, 2011 When Bad Things Happen to Good Americans (2 comments)
In 1981, in response to the death of his son, Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote the classic "When Bad Things Happen to Good People". In recent days there's been such bad news about jobs and unemployment that Rabbi Kushner should consider writing a sequel: "When Bad Things Happen to Good Americans."
Friday, March 25, 2011 Deconstructing America's Nuclear Cult
The August 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki both ended World War II and precipitated the United States' 65-year-long addiction to nuclear power. In the light of the catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi facility, it's time to reconsider America's lethal habit and our cult of atomic energy.
Friday, March 11, 2011 Suffer the Little Children (6 comments)
When I was growing up in the fifties, my parents, grandparents, and all the adults I knew lived an ethic of sacrifice. During the Great Depression and World War II they'd learned it was sometimes necessary to sacrifice for our children. This moral precept used to be shared throughout the US, but recently it's been lost. As a consequence, Congress now threatens to abandon America's children.
Friday, March 4, 2011 Pirates Threaten Washington (2 comments)
As US warships approached, on February 22 nd four American hostages were killed by Somali pirates. It was an ominous harbinger of the crisis in Washington, where Republican pirates are holding hostage the legislative process and threatening to kill the American dream unless their ransom demands are met.
Friday, February 25, 2011 Ronald Reagan: Setting the Record Straight (2 comments)
Shakespeare wrote, "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." In American politics the process is reversed, as the longer a President is out of office the more his reputation is sanitized. Tricky Dick Nixon is recast as a "statesman." And Ronald Reagan, who did more than any contemporary President to kill the American dream, is elevated to sainthood.
Friday, February 18, 2011 What Can Americans Learn From Egypt (5 comments)
As the world watched, millions of Egyptians engaged in an eighteen-day democratic revolution. For those of us fortunate enough to live in the United States, there are five lessons to be learned from the insurrection in Egypt.
Friday, February 11, 2011 Republicans Renew War on Women (6 comments)
The new Republican House majority had no sooner settled into their offices than they proposed savage restrictions of women's reproductive rights. Americans might question the GOP actions, since the new laws have nothing to do with Republican campaign promises to create jobs. But it's consistent with their archconservative ideology, yet another brutal attack in the three-decades-old Republican war on woman.
Friday, February 4, 2011 Global Climate Change: Missing in Action (3 comments)
Despite the fact that 2010 tied for the warmest year on record, President Obama made no mention of Global Climate Change in his January 25th State-of-the-Union remarks. Last summer an attempt to fashion a bi partisan Climate Change bill floundered in the Senate and since then prospects for Congressional action have dwindled. Global Climate Change hasn't gone away, but the political will to take action has disappeared, Why?
Friday, January 28, 2011 Obama Wins Round One
Obama Wins Round One
Twenty-two months will pass before Americans cast their votes on November 6th, 2012, but few who saw Barack Obama's State-of-the-Union address doubted that the Presidential campaign had begun. The President's stirring speech contrasted with the tepid Republican responses delivered by Representatives Paul Ryan and Michele Bachmann and established the ideological battle lines for the next election.
Friday, January 21, 2011 Show Us the Jobs: Obama's State-of-the-Union Challenge (2 comments)
On Tuesday, January 25 th , President Obama will give the annual state-of-the-union address to Congress and the American people. Since the disastrous mid-term elections, Obama's popularity has surged. The President should use this opportunity to tell Americans his strategy for dealing with the US jobs crisis.
Friday, January 14, 2011 Is the Giffords' Shooting a Teachable Moment? (2 comments)
While there is little doubt about the facts of the Tucson tragedy, that one man pulled the trigger on the automatic revolver that shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, killed six others, and wounded 12 more, the open question is whether it is a teachable moment.
Friday, January 7, 2011 Barack Obama and the Three Envelopes (2 comments)
The frantic final days of the 111 th Congress were an emotional rollercoaster that mirrored Barack Obama's first two years as President. As he prepares to run for reelection in 2012, he faces grave national problems, a recalcitrant 112 th Congress, and disgruntled Democrats. Obama should reread the classic management tale of the "three envelopes".
Friday, December 31, 2010 2010 "Person" of the Year: The US Supreme Court (3 comments)
It's difficult to look beyond the tumult of current events and ask, "what happened this year that will be remembered ten, twenty, or fifty years from now?" However, there was one 2010 event that, in terms of its long-term impact, loomed above the others, the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court Decision.
Sunday, December 26, 2010 2010: America Held Hostage (18 comments)
What can we do to snap America out of its trance and reverse our nation's disastrous course? Obviously, those of us who have the stomach for it can continue to write about the class war, tell the truth about what's happening to our beloved country. But what's really needed is a coordinated progressive message campaign to counter the evil Republican spinmeisters.
Friday, December 24, 2010 2010: America Held Hostage (4 comments)
If you were out of the United States for most of the year, or rely upon the mainstream media for all your "information," you missed the big news of 2010: we're having a class war and greed is winning. To get their way, the rich are holding working Americans hostage.
Friday, December 17, 2010 Lost in the White House (3 comments)
Lewis Carroll wrote: "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." Carroll was musing about Wonderland but his words apply to the White House, where the Obama Administration has lost its sense of direction. The challenge for Progressives is to recalibrate the President's moral compass.
Friday, December 10, 2010 Barack Obama: Negotiating With Vipers (5 comments)
In his inaugural address, John Kennedy said, "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate." JFK was referring to US deliberations with Russia, but his words apply to the current political reality. President Obama's tax cut "deal" was negotiated out of fear.
Friday, December 3, 2010 Who Should Pay to Fix the Economy? (3 comments)
Imagine you live in the suburbs and the residence next door is sold. The new owners raze the old cottage, build a McMansion and party 24/7. The neighbors complain about the noise but nothing is done until the house is trashed. Then your city council declares the dwelling a hazard and demands that you and your neighbors clean it up. That's what has happened in America, where the rich want average citizens to fix the economy.
Friday, November 26, 2010 Real Men Don't Move to the Middle (11 comments)
Since the midterm elections, there's been speculation that the Democrats' shellacking, coupled with the rightward shift of the Republican Party, would force President Obama to "move to the middle." That's a terrible idea! There's no longer a halfway point between Democrats and Republicans and any further Obama movement to the right would label him a wimp.
Friday, November 19, 2010 Obama Watch: Day 17 - The Missing Mojo (2 comments)
The Left Coast is on high alert, waiting for someone to find President Obama's mojo. It had been missing for most of the year, but no one in the Administration thought it was a problem until the November 2nd shellacking. Now Dems are holding their breath, praying for Barack Obama to get his act together.
Friday, November 12, 2010 The Jobs Crisis: What Obama Should Say (3 comments)
On November 2nd, Democrats were "shellacked" because they didn't have a coherent message about the jobs crisis. Whereas Republicans said, "Lower taxes and fewer regulations create jobs," Dems equivocated, "Let's not go back to the Bush era." To prevent another Democratic disaster in 2012, President Obama must develop a forceful jobs narrative.
Friday, November 5, 2010 Desecrating Nancy Pelosi (12 comments)
Imagine that a "company" faces hard times and the management "fires" one of their three top managers. You'd be surprised if the manager that was removed was the top performer of the three, the highest rated in terms of management criteria. You'd be shocked if that manager was the only woman; you'd suspect sex discrimination. But that's exactly what happened on November 2nd, when voters "fired" Nancy Pelosi.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 After the Disaster: Four Lessons for Democrats (2 comments)
In March, while driving in the California mountains, my car skidded on ice and hit a semi head on. The crash foreshadowed the disaster suffered by Democrats on November 2nd, where the Obama bus was mangled by a Republican freight train. The difference being that the Democratic catastrophe could have been avoided.
Friday, October 29, 2010 Election 2010: Remembering Weimar (8 comments)
It's been 77 years since Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, ending the fourteen-year democracy known as the Weimar Republic. A long time ago but painfully relevant as the November 2, 2010 elections near, because there are ominous parallels between Germany in 1933 and the United States in 2010.
Friday, October 22, 2010 Election 2010: Choosing the Abuser
Every day, 10,000 US women are assaulted by their husband or boyfriend. Most often they do not leave and the violence continues; psychologists call it battered women's syndrome. On November 2nd, we're likely to see the political counterpart, where American voters despite a history of egregious Republican abuse decide to give the Grand Old Party one more chance.
Friday, October 15, 2010 An Enemy of the People: Texas Money vs. Clean Air (1 comments)
Ibsen's AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE tells of Thomas Stockman who warns Norwegians that their town's tourist attraction, public baths, is a contaminated health hazard. Manipulated by wealthy polluters, the townspeople turn against Stockman and brand him "enemy of the people." Now a similar drama is being played out in California where wealthy polluters are trying to convince voters to repeal the state's clean air act (AB 32)
Friday, October 8, 2010 The Jobs Crisis: Hard Times and Tough Choices (1 comments)
Here in California, I've been calling voters, asking them to vote no on Proposition 23 -" the Texas Oil attempt to roll back our enlightened environmental law (AB32). I've been impressed both by voters' determination to defeat Proposition 23 and their reports of hard times. Many voters say they are hurting financially.
Friday, October 1, 2010 Polarization Politics: So Far, So Good
It's a familiar joke: A man falls off a forty-story building; as he passes the twentieth floor, a friend yells out the window, "How's it going?" and the faller screams, "So far, so good!" Now it's become the Republican campaign theme.
Friday, September 17, 2010 Proud to be a Liberal (7 comments)
Recent polls indicate that only twenty percent of voters describe themselves as "Liberal." I'm one of them, proud to be a Liberal.
Friday, September 10, 2010 Calling Obama the Fighter (1 comments)
Each day it's becoming more apparent that Democrats are headed for a whipping on November 2nd unless they get their act together. While it's Barack Obama's job to rally voters, a lot of Dems aren't sure he can do it. We feel that somewhere over the course of the last 20 months, Obama lost his mojo. If Dems are going to pull victory out of the fire, Obama is going to have to take off his gloves and fight.
Friday, September 3, 2010 No Depression in Heaven (2 comments)
Recent news about the contraction of the economy confirmed what many of us have suspected: the recession has morphed into a depression. Given that so many Americans are dejected and angry, how do Liberals turn this moment into an opportunity?
Friday, August 27, 2010 Republican Faith-Based Politics: The Dumbing of America
Republican panic about the size of the Federal deficit is wildly inconsistent with their plea to continue Bush-era tax cuts for the rich. Nonetheless they keep harping on both themes. It's emblematic of Republican faith-based politics; they believe we're too dumb to notice their schizophrenia.
Friday, August 20, 2010 The 2010 Elections: What's at Stake? (2 comments)
With the less than three months before the November 2nd elections, the political parameters are clear. Despite the accomplishments of the 111th Congress, Democrats are on the defensive and Republicans smell victory. Regardless of the outcome, it's likely little will change in Washington; Congress will spend the next two years avoiding America's most pressing problems.
Friday, August 13, 2010 The Jobs Crisis: What Hit Us? (15 comments)
The US is stuck in an economic quagmire featuring near ten percent unemployment. As politicians argue about the solution - massive tax cuts or increases in Federal spending - what's missing is a succinct analysis of the problem. Why has America lost 8 million jobs?
Friday, August 6, 2010 Obama's Failure to Communicate (3 comments)
Three months before the mid-term elections, Americans are angry. As a result, it's likely that Democrats will lose control of either the House or Senate. While the negative political trends can be attributed to the stagnant economy or ruthless Republican negativism, the primary culprit is the White House: Barack Obama has failed to communicate the accomplishments of his Administration.
Friday, July 30, 2010 Afghanistan: America's Failed Project (1 comments)
The summer of 2010 found most of the US wilting from a blistering heat wave and the Obama Administration withering from bad news about Afghanistan. Writing in ROLLING STONE Michael Hastings concludes: "There is a reason that President Obama studiously avoids using the word "victory' when he talks about Afghanistan. Winning, it would seem, is not really possible."
Friday, July 23, 2010 Is America on a Losing Track? (3 comments)
Returning from an extended vacation in Europe, it's been impossible to ignore the dark cloud of pessimism hanging over the United States. Americans are depressed about the economy, the BP/Gulf oil spill, and the war in Afghanistan. A majority of voters feel the US is on the wrong track. Is it? And has that perception made President Obama's job impossible?
Friday, June 18, 2010 Buy It Now! Meg Whitman's California Campaign (5 comments)
While California teeters on the edge of bankruptcy, the Golden State will feature the nation's most expensive gubernatorial race between former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and Attorney General Jerry Brown. Will desperate Californians be beguiled by Whitman's multi-million dollar advertising blitz?
Friday, June 11, 2010 Barack Obama: The Birth and Death of Cool (1 comments)
I'm part of an American demographic that values cool, the mystical self-confidence that sends the message "I have it handled." Since he burst upon the national political scene in 2004, Barack Obama has seemed the epitome of cool. But after the BP gulf oil disaster, pundits accused Obama of being "too cool."
Friday, June 4, 2010 Mad Deficit Disease (1 comments)
As Congress rushed to adjourn, Democrats dithered over a jobs bill and ultimately reduced benefits to the unemployed because of the concerns of "deficit hawks." It's another indication of the prevalence of a form of political dementia, mad deficit disease. It's insanity to worry about the US deficit when we're struggling to pull out of a recession.
Saturday, May 29, 2010 Forecasting the 2010 Midterm Elections
Less than six months out from the November 2nd US midterm elections, pundits continue to predict that Republicans will reduce Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, perhaps take control of the House. Seven factors will determine the final outcome.
Friday, May 21, 2010 Obama Foreign Policy: The Return of Third Way
It's fortunate for President Obama that domestic events swamp international concerns because most voters don't care about what happens in countries other than Iraq and Afghanistan. For those of us who do, Obama's foreign policy stances often bewilder both the left and right - they are the international equivalent of the Third Way domestic policies of the Clinton Administration.
Friday, May 14, 2010 What Caused the BP Oil Leak? Magical Thinking (2 comments)
Over the past twenty months the USA has experienced two cataclysmic disasters, the 2008 near meltdown of the financial system and the recent Gulf Coast ecological disaster resulting from a deep-sea oil leak. While both events resulted from failed oversight, they have a deeper genesis: magical thinking.
Friday, May 7, 2010 Budrus: Good News From the West Bank
I flinch every time I read a headline that includes the words Israel, Palestine, West Bank, or Gaza. Usually the articles contain horrific news: suicide bombs maiming Israeli civilians, troops dragging Palestinians off their ancestral lands, escalating anger and violence. At long last, the documentary film Budrus brings good news, a tiny ray of hope in what's seemed to be an ocean of despair.
Friday, April 30, 2010 The Jobs Problem (4 comments)
The latest polls indicate that if the mid-term elections were held today, Democrats would lose seats in Congress because of dissatisfaction about the economy, particularly high rates of unemployment. Over the next six months, what should the Obama Administration do to solve the jobs problem?
Friday, April 23, 2010 Big Liars and The Voters Who Love Them (3 comments)
It's not surprising that Republicans oppose the Obama Administration. And it's not surprising that they lie - this is, after all, the Party that created the fictional Iraqi atomic bomb threat so they would have a winning issue in the 2002 mid-term elections. What is surprising is that they've been so successful. Why are Republican supporters so enthusiastic when they've been force-fed a diet of BS?
Friday, April 16, 2010 Tax, Baby, Tax (4 comments)
As we approached Tax Day, April 15, there was increasing conservative rhetoric about the unfairness of US taxes. A typical lament came from conservative ideologue Grover Norquist, "The tax burden is too high. Americans should not (on average) work 3 plus months a year to pay taxes." Knowing that conservatives habitually lie about important political issues, why should we believe what they say about taxes?
Friday, April 9, 2010 BTW, Conservatism is Dead (2 comments)
Recently there's been a lot of speculation about why the mood on the right has turned so sour. Some observers attribute it to the lack of leadership at the top of the Republican Party. Others say it's a poisonous combination of economic angst and racial hatred. But there's a more obvious explanation: we're witnessing the death throes of conservatism. The right-wing ideology that ran the US for thirty years has failed.
Friday, April 2, 2010 The Next Civil War (106 comments)
The Civil War ranks as the most costly of US wars, with 625,000 deaths and a comparable number of injuries. Now the Republican Party is stoking the fires of insurrection and for thousands of right-wing zealots a new civil war seems a political necessity. As increasing numbers of Democratic politicians are threatened, how long will it be before domestic terrorists use their weapons?
Friday, March 26, 2010 Life After Healthcare: What's Next for Democrats? (3 comments)
If there was every any doubt, the rowdy passage of the Healthcare Bill indicated we have begun the mid-term elections campaign. Building upon the momentum from their healthcare victory, Dems need to challenge Republicans with a series of bold initiatives to create jobs.
Monday, March 22, 2010 Nancy Pelosi: The Resurrection of Healthcare Reform
After Republican Scott Brown's surprise Senate victory on January 19th, many Democrats believed that Healthcare Reform was dead. Democrats were discouraged and demoralized; the days that followed brought news of Dems who were not going to run for reelection. Nonetheless, two months later the House passed the Senate Healthcare bill and Dems have new vigor. The person responsible for this turnaround was Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Friday, March 19, 2010 Confronting the Politics of Rage
In mid March, a bankruptcy examiner suggested that executives at Wall Street financial giantLehman Brothers used "materially misleading" accounting gimmicks to delay its collapse. At the same time, the national press speculated about the evolution of the Tea Party movement. The juxtaposition of the two articles raised the question, "What would Tea Party activists have done about Lehman Brothers?"
Friday, March 12, 2010 Dangerous Visions for Desperate Times
The good ship USA is sailing through an iceberg-laden sea, severely damaged and taking in water. Beset by an array of daunting problems, including a failed economy and global climate change, Americans have two choices. We can ignore how bad our situation is or we can fight to save our democracy. For those of you who feel like taking action, here are ten dangerous visions.
Saturday, March 6, 2010 America's Locust Years (3 comments)
This past week I was reminded of a Winston Churchill speech where he lamented, "these are the years that the locust hath eaten." Speaking before the House of Commons, Churchill chronicled Hitler's rise to power, Germany's rearmament, and England's failure to respond. He used the locust metaphor to refer to the multiple opportunities England had to prevent war.
Friday, February 26, 2010 Can Dems Retain Control of the Senate? (3 comments)
One year ago, as the Democratic Senate majority inched towards the number 60, Party leaders expected to add to their majority at the mid-term election. Since then the political winds have shifted. Now Dems will be lucky to retain control of the Senate.
