43 Articles

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Case for Gore Obama
(5 comments) Hillary Clinton has risen from the dead more times that Count Dracula. She's sending shudders down the Democratic establishment, however, since the more primaries she wins the less popular she becomes. Hillary can't win the nomination, but she's succeeding in bringing down Obama. How can the Democrats avoid political suicide in a year the should and must win. Turning to Gore/Obama may offer Dems the best shot in 2008.

Monday, April 21, 2008
Sean Hannity's America: The Politics of Hate
(3 comments) Sean Hannity has taken journalism to a level even Joseph Goebbels would have to admire. In Hannity's hands, insinuation and guilt by association are art forms. Indeed, his ability to make the worse argument appear better is virtually unmatched by any rhetorician I know of. He may be the finest sophist America has. But can Hannity and his ilk use their demagogic skills once more destroy yet another Democratic candidate?

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Bush Administration Announces Capture of Bin Laden
(4 comments) Breaking News -- The AP is reporting and the White House is confirming the capture of Osama bin Laden.

Thursday, March 20, 2008
Barack Obama vs. the Axis of Idiots
(4 comments) Obama faces a steep challenge. George Bush has demonstrated that even a bad argument aimed at the lowest common denominator has a good chance of succeeding if it is repeated often enough. This is what makes Obama's candidacy really different; it's based on the premise that a leader can persuade the electorate by engaging them on a higher intellectual and emotionial level. That's the audacity of hope we so desperately need.

Monday, February 4, 2008
The Bush Tragedy
George W. Bush is a Churchill wannabe with the soul of Inspector Clouseau. That, in a nutshell, is the disheartening conclusion I draw from Jacob Weisberg's illuminating character study of our forty-third president, The Bush Tragedy

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Bush's State of Disunion
Bush's State of the Union was a surreal exercise in self-delusion. Virtually everyone – Republicans and Democrats – recognize the Bush administration has been a catastrophic failure, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisles treated our hapless and incompetent president to rapturous applause. What gives?

Monday, December 31, 2007
Is it Rational to Hate George Bush?
(42 comments) I dislike virtually everything about Bush's presidency. I'd use the word detest, but then I might be accused by apologists like Fred Barnes of harboring an irrational hatred of Bush. But is it really irrational to hate an arrogant and incompetent buffoon who has precipitated America's precipitous national decline? In other words, is Bush hatred an entirely rational response the disaster that is the Bush administration?

Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Poetic Justice and the Bush Administration
(7 comments) The spectacular failure of the Bush administration is a profound illustration that justice is more than just the letter of the law, it is its spirit. Bush and his enablers have played the law like an accordion, sometimes insisting on the most expansive reading of the law possible, at other times insisting on the most literal and restrictive reading. But Bush cannot escape the verdict of history, where poetic justice prevail.

Thursday, December 6, 2007
Stem Cell Research, the Soul, and the Bush Administration's sophistry
(3 comments) Stem cell research is filled with promise and fraught with peril. The breakthrough that involves turning skin cells into pluripotent stem cells (cells that could potentially grow into any organ or body tissue) seemingly overcomes a supposed moral issue, but the dilemma here was always more political than ethical.

Thursday, December 6, 2007
Bush Authorizes Secret Program to Torture Language
President Bush has signed a super-secret executive order that authorizes him, in his role as commander-in-chief, to torture the any member of the Axis-of-Information (language, reason, or truth) without court approval.

Monday, November 12, 2007
Bush, God, and the Collapse of the Religous Right
Bush, God, and the Collapse of the Religious Right by Scott D. O'Reilly Herman Melville once wrote that a sharing a bed with a sober cannibal was preferable to bedding down with a drunken Christian. After seven years of the Bush administration, the intoxication Evangelicals felt at having one of their own in the White House is giving way to a pretty nasty hangover

Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Pakistan and the Collapse of the Bush Administration's Freedom Agenda
(1 comments) The chaos in Pakistan is another indication that that the Bush administration's Freedom Agenda, which was always something of a cover for its imperial agenda, is coming apart at the seams

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Bush and Austin Powers: How Bush Lost His Mojo and Became Dr. Evil
George Bush is fond of doing imitations of Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers films. Unfortunately, Bush probably resembles the cartoonish megalomaniacal arch-fiend more than he realizes. After all, neither "leader" has much real mojo, their dreams of world conquest are always going awry, and each has a short, bald, baby-faced alter-ego (Mini-Me and Cheney) hunkered down in a secure location.

Friday, October 12, 2007
Bush Wins Nobel Prize for War
(3 comments) George Bush is the recipient of this year's Nobel Prize for War. The announcement made by the great-great-great grandson of the Prussian military strategist Carl Phillip Gottfried von Clausewitz, was greeted by jubilation in the White House Bunker. Previous recipients have included Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Benedict Arnold, General George Armstrong Custer, Napoleon, Mussolini, and the character known as Dr. Strangelove

Saturday, October 6, 2007
Onward Christian Soldiers: Blackwater Blues
Firms like Blackwater represent an ominous development for self-government and the separation of church and state. The existence of private armies controlled by a single individual (or loyal to a religious ideology) is a throwback to the feudal era.

Friday, September 28, 2007
Is George Bush a Sociopath?
(5 comments) Bush's behavior arguably fits the Anti-Social Personality Disorder profile in the DSM-IV. He has consistently flouted legal norms, lied repeatedly, acted impulsively, rejected responsibility, and shown no remorse. Does this mean our president is a sociopath?

Friday, September 28, 2007
It's the Oil, Stupid.
(3 comments) The United States' strength and strategic position will continue to weaken the longer it remains in Iraq. The Bush administration believed toppling Saddam would be relatively easy and that doing so would enhance America's ability to shape the Middle East. Instead, Iraq has become a black hole that is devouring America's military, resources, prestige, and moral authority.

Saturday, September 22, 2007
Bush: Dead Certain or Dead Wrong?
Bush's self-certainty – particularly at this late stage in his presidency, when most historians, political observers, and Americans believe his tenure has been an unmitigated disaster – is perhaps the most striking aspect of his presidency. How can President Bush remain dead certain when all the evidence suggests he is dead wrong?

Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Bush and the Art of War
In Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" the successful commander is the one who can defeat his enemy before the first battle even begins. Unfortunately, George W. Bush seems determined to ignore the insights of Sun Tzu.

Saturday, September 1, 2007
Is George W. Bush Driving You Crazy? Take This Simple Test to Find Out
(3 comments) Is George W. Bush driving you crazy? Take this simple test to find out.

Friday, August 31, 2007
Mr. Bush and Mr. Bean
George Bush is to statecraft what Mr. Bean is to vacations; both threaten disaster at every turn.

Thursday, August 30, 2007
Bush vs. History and the Future of Iraq
George W. Bush is invoking America's humiliation in Vietnam as a rationalization for staying the course in Iraq. Bush represents a fringe in American politics that believes America could have, should have, and would have prevailed in Vietnam, if only America's leaders had had the will to win. This delusion understanding of history will only perpetuate the tragedy in Iraq.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
George and Jesus
(3 comments) Is George W. Bush proof that we live in a universe devoid of intelligent design? Bush, of course, is famous for asserting that Jesus was his favorite political philosopher. He has also claimed that God wanted him to be president. Perhaps the Almighty has a sense of humor, because it looks increasingly certain the George W. Bush will go down in history as presiding over the worst administration in U.S. history.

Monday, August 20, 2007
Why Bush's Military Surge is Fizzling
(1 comments) General Petraeus and the men under his command are being asked to do the impossible; buy time for a political reconciliation among Iraq's warring factions. Because the surge cannot be sustained indefinitely, however, any military progress that is not accompanied by diplomatic progress will be in vain.

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Three Cheers for Dixie ; George Bush's Lost Cause
George Bush's catastrophic decision to invade Iraq, interestingly, has historical precedent with Confederate General Henry Hopkins Sibley's ill-fated plan to lead a daring raid into the heart of enemy territory in an ambitious but vain attempt to defeat the Union in a single blow.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Bush's Brain Resigns
For a guy who never managed to finish college Karl Rove did manage to accomplish quite a lot, including engineering a political realignment that will make Democrats the majority party for a generation or more. Too bad Rove is a Republican.

Friday, August 10, 2007
In Our Name: The Bush Administration and Torture
The Bush Administration has been utilizing torture methods that would make even the Marquis de Sade blanche. These forms of torture are shrinking America's humanity.

Saturday, July 21, 2007
Bush and the Nazis
(10 comments) There are some disconcerting parallels between Bush's regime and the Nazis that deserve attention. Highlighting these similarities is not meant to demonize the administration, but rather to make sure its less savory tendencies do not get further out of hand

Saturday, July 14, 2007
Bush, Faith, and the Verdict of History
(1 comments) Bush has a tragically misguided conception of his own role as president and the role of America in the world. Setting himself up as the infallible authority figure – the authoritarian parent -- has backfired big time. Bush's catastrophic errors follow from his failure to heed well-established psychological principles.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Bush Administration's Coming Flip-Flop in Iraq
The Bush Administration is looking for the right kind of language to sell its failed policy in Iraq as something other than a defeat. Most likely, the president and his spin-doctors will talk about a " post-surge redeployment," a euphemism for "cut and run." But basically, Bush will be forced by Congressional Republicans to accept the staged pullout recommended by the Iraq Study Group, the same plan it rejected months ago.

Thursday, July 5, 2007
Character is Destiny
(2 comments) The ancient Greeks believed character was destiny. This view naturally entailed the notion that the fate of the nation was inextricably bound up with the personal characteristics of a political leader. For better or worse, the fate of U.S efforts in Iraq – and hence America's destiny in the 21st century – hinges on the character of George W. Bush

Friday, June 29, 2007
Bush and God: How Bush's Faith-Based Foreign Policy Undermined America
(9 comments) Bush's deluded sense of grandeur -- a messianic complex that imprudently blended the president's faith with statecraft – is at the heart if his (and alas America's) undoing

Friday, June 8, 2007
Top Ten Reasons Scooter Libby Should be Set Free
A humorous look at why the recently convicted Lewis "Scooter" Libby should be set free from prison.

Saturday, May 26, 2007
Bush and the Axis-of-Cliches
The Bush Administration has relied on an axis-of-cliches to stifle thought, inhibit debate, and generally mislead the American people. But torturing langauge prevents Americans from using reason to confront the challenges we face.

Thursday, May 24, 2007
Bush's Mayday News Conference
Bush continues to mislead Americans on a variety of fronts. His failure to acknowledge the truth – that he alone bears responsibility for taking America into a disastrous war --reflects a personal pathology one normally associates with sociopaths, narcissists, and other serial-liars.

Friday, May 4, 2007
Top Ten Reasons Ann Coulter is America's Sweetheart
(2 comments) A humorous look at the tart-tounged Ann Coulter

Friday, April 20, 2007
State of Denial: The Bush Administration and Global Warming
The Bush Administration has set America on a declining course because it is in a state of denial, particularly about global warming. As Mark Twain said, "Denial is not just a river in Egypt." But staying in denial about climate change will not lead us to a more promising future.

Sunday, April 8, 2007
Top Ten Reasons Dick Cheney Should Run for President in 2008
(4 comments) The Conservative New York Daily, "The Sun," recently editorialzed that Dick Cheney is the ideal candidate to head the Republican ticket in 2008. Here are the top-ten reasons to draft Dick.

Saturday, April 7, 2007
Bush Loses His Mojo, and His Mind
(2 comments) George Bush's venture in Iraq was every bit as delusional as Don Quixote's campaign against windmills. It's sheer lunacy to think the Bush Administration can find a rational solution to Iraq.

Monday, April 2, 2007
Bush and Blackwater: The Rise of America's For-Profit Military
As Congress is threatening to set a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq the Bush Administration is stepping up deployment of its own private army of independent mercenaries to augment to so-called surge in Iraq

Monday, April 2, 2007
Why the Right is Wrong for America
George Bush is high in aggressiveness but low on insight. This is a well established character flaw among arch-conservatives, and it invariably leads to the "conservative crackup."

Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Bush's Hot Air on Global Warming
Bush's refusal to take the perils of global warming seriously shows how bankrupt the administration is when it comes to national security.

Monday, March 19, 2007
Bush vs. The Second Law of Thermodynamics
(1 comments) The Bush's Administration's failure to craft a comprehensive national energy policy is undermining America's resilience. As a result, America is caught in a vicious cycle that is breaking her military and leaving us more brittle at home.