https://www.opednews.com/populum/rss.php?c=a&t=&p=&tid=0 Opednews.com Progressive, Liberal United States and International News, Opinion, Op-Eds and Politics en-us Copyright 2026 Thu, 20 Aug 2026 20:35:56 -0400 Thu, 20 Aug 2026 20:35:56 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss https://www.opednews.com/populum/pthemes/opednews/images/rssbanner.png https://www.opednews.com/populum/rss.php?c=a&t=&p=&tid=0 152 149 https://www.opednews.com/articles/On-the-Subject-of-Quitting-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101203-41.html Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:25:38 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/On-the-Subject-of-Quitting-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101203-41.html William Rivers Pitt There is talk about Obama's character, or lack thereof. He's not a fighter, he's too conciliatory, he's weak, he's unprepared, he's a secret Republican... I have an outside-the-box theory about Obama that may explain all this: Stockholm Syndrome. The GOP has been pounding Obama since his presidential campaign began almost four years ago, and I think the pressure and stress might have blended his sense of direction. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-TSA-the-Right-and-My-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101126-843.html Fri, 26 Nov 2010 11:49:52 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-TSA-the-Right-and-My-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101126-843.html William Rivers Pitt the attacks against Obama and the TSA happen to be coming from the same people who have made a cottage industry out of claiming Obama is a secret terrorist who wants to bring Sharia law to America, yet who are now saying he has gone too far in defending the nation from terrorism. https://www.opednews.com/articles/On-Being-Thankful-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101125-967.html Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:55:57 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/On-Being-Thankful-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101125-967.html William Rivers Pitt Jobs are not a priority, nor is legitimate health care for all, and instead we shovel money ever upwards towards the rich and to those whose good fortune far eclipses my own. Instead, we continue to fight unwinnable wars while leaving the military budget largely untouched. So many people are suffering, and nobody in power seems to have the ability or the inclination to do anything about it. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Hateful-Days-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101119-690.html Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:26:37 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Hateful-Days-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101119-690.html William Rivers Pitt More than half the members of Congress are millionaires -- 261 of them, to be exact -- which puts the stalled conversation on erasing the Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthy into much greater and more nauseating perspective. https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Small-Fraction-of-a-Man-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101113-280.html Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:56:55 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Small-Fraction-of-a-Man-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101113-280.html William Rivers Pitt This is the guy who said "Bring it on" and put a target on the backs of tens of thousands of US troops. This is the guy who is personally responsible for the death and injury of hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings. The body count from his administration is breathtaking in size and scope. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Be-Careful-What-You-Wish-F-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101107-243.html Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:02:23 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Be-Careful-What-You-Wish-F-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101107-243.html William Rivers Pitt As the 2010 midterms approached, Repubs found themselves making a very delicate straddle; they needed these Tea Partiers to win back the House, and would deal with the problem of batpoop-crazy people joining the caucus after the House majority was secured. They may live to regret letting these whacked-out foxes into the henhouse. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Another-Hard-November-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101105-704.html Fri, 05 Nov 2010 18:30:10 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Another-Hard-November-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101105-704.html William Rivers Pitt In 2008, we were spared the horror of "President McCain and Vice President Palin," only to be handed half a loaf after half a loaf after half a loaf by a Democratic congressional majority that could not get out of its own way, and by a White House that sought compromise from a GOP minority that, quite simply, wanted the new president and his whole party dead. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Downhill-Run-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101029-81.html Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:06:49 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Downhill-Run-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101029-81.html William Rivers Pitt Except for get-out-the-vote efforts, a final blizzard of campaign ads and perhaps one last scandal before the polls open, we are into the downhill run of this thing, and all that's left is the voting and the counting. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Now-We-Know-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101028-855.html Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:51:13 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Now-We-Know-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101028-855.html William Rivers Pitt The release by Wikileaks of some 400,000 pages of official Iraq war documents has ripped the lid finally and forever off what must surely become known as one of the largest lawless actions by a presidential administration in all of American history. https://www.opednews.com/articles/What-Me-Racist-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101021-571.html Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:44:07 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/What-Me-Racist-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101021-571.html William Rivers Pitt Organizations seeking to register voters and organize early voting for the upcoming elections are getting lambasted by Tea Party groups with racist and threatening emails. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Way-We-Forget-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101017-610.html Sun, 17 Oct 2010 18:56:19 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Way-We-Forget-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101017-610.html William Rivers Pitt We are able to forget what happened one year ago, last month, last week, and even yesterday. We forget, we ignore, we refuse to know, and in our deliberate ignorance are found the seeds of further destruction, widely sown and also to be forgotten. https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Rape-in-Colorado-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101015-305.html Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:00:25 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Rape-in-Colorado-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101015-305.html William Rivers Pitt Rape is rape, a prosecutor's personal and political positions should not trump the rights of a victim, and any candidate who sees things otherwise has no place representing the people in Congress. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Random-Thoughts-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101012-11.html Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:42:36 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Random-Thoughts-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101012-11.html William Rivers Pitt The Tea Partiers are the base of the GOP, the same base they were two years ago, and the same base they will be two years from now. The Tea Party is a confection created by big-money GOP donors and the "mainstream" news media, and they get coverage for the same reasons car accidents and police chases get coverage. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Thank-God-for-Fred-Phelps-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101008-37.html Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:41:30 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Thank-God-for-Fred-Phelps-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101008-37.html William Rivers Pitt Fred Phelps is a toilet bug, but in his infinite miserableness, he gives to us the opportunity to reaffirm our most closely held national ideal. The First Amendment gives us all the right to say as we please, to espouse our views in the public sphere at whatever volume we wish. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Come-Wake-Me-Up-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101003-500.html Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:08:49 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Come-Wake-Me-Up-by-William-Rivers-Pit-101003-500.html William Rivers Pitt It is one hell of an experiment we are all a part of, more mind-bogglingly complex today than the genius of the Framers could have ever encompassed. But somehow, the genius of those Framers created a framework to hold it all together, to give it a way to self-improve, to become a better place. It is your country, and mine, and no amount of cynical obfuscation, wedge-issue politicking, media-driven divisiveness can alter that. https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Waste-of-Paper-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100924-345.html Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:56:45 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Waste-of-Paper-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100924-345.html William Rivers Pitt Unless I'm mistaken, this "Pledge to America" thing was conceived, written, printed and distributed by "politicians in Washington." In order to appease the Tea Partiers on their right flank, the GOP has apparently decided to run against itself, and that just cracks me up. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Sick-Bastards-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100922-729.html Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:29:22 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Sick-Bastards-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100922-729.html William Rivers Pitt A pretty substantial portion of the population are being diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's and MS every day. All of them, every single one of them, can basically just go die in Mike Huckabee's world. They are not worthy of coverage, treatment or consideration. Millions of people should just dig their own graves and lie down in them. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Ultimate-Political-No-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100917-784.html Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:03:41 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Ultimate-Political-No-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100917-784.html William Rivers Pitt The Democrats have right in front of them the biggest no-brainer tactical move in the history of the universe: repealing the Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. The issue is a big fat meatball floating right over the plate, and it seems all too evident that these nimrod Democrats are just going to watch it as it sails by. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Suck-It-Up-and-Dig-In-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100909-532.html Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:26:26 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Suck-It-Up-and-Dig-In-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100909-532.html William Rivers Pitt If Democrats and liberals are incapable of summoning the will to keep these right-bent fiends out of power after the eight-year demonstration of what they're about that we just endured, then they don't deserve to be anywhere near political power at all. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Hatred-and-Stupidity---B-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100904-917.html Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:16:31 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Hatred-and-Stupidity---B-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100904-917.html William Rivers Pitt In the absence of anything substantive to give the American people, the right has gone home to their mothership: sowing discord, fear and hatred to distract people from the fact that, while Republicans are good at campaigning, they are walking cancer cells to the body politic if and when they actually win. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Mosques-Muslims-and-Ameri-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100819-525.html Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:15:24 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Mosques-Muslims-and-Ameri-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100819-525.html William Rivers Pitt First of all, the Cordoba House is not a "Ground Zero Mosque." It is a Muslim community center, it is two blocks away from the site, and in a neighborhood that already has a mosque...and a strip club, and a lot of other stuff that makes talk about "desecrating hallowed ground" sound like the nonsense that it is. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Bad-Old-Days-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100811-739.html Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:46:09 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Bad-Old-Days-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100811-739.html William Rivers Pitt It started with Bush v. Gore, and went from there into a bunch of faith-based baloney, a huge tax cut for rich people who didn't need it then and need it less now, a ban on stem cell research because sick people can screw themselves...and that was only nine months and ten days into the beginning of the last decade. It got so much worse on the eleventh day. https://www.opednews.com/articles/New-Dawn-Old-Story-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100804-618.html Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:55:37 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/New-Dawn-Old-Story-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100804-618.html William Rivers Pitt As for the 65% of U.S. soldiers who will be out of Iraq at the end of the month, don't expect any tickertape parades or tearful, permanent homecomings. If they make it back to the States at all, many of them will be retrained and retooled for deployment in Afghanistan to support President Obama's escalation of that war. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Missing-Piece-Meets-th-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100731-780.html Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:38:04 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Missing-Piece-Meets-th-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100731-780.html William Rivers Pitt The public's collective impression of Obama's performance to date has been thoroughly skewed by the absence in our national discussion of the last guy to occupy the Oval. The media wants you to forget George W. Bush ever happened. Don't fall for it. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Dog-Whistles-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100723-884.html Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:18:50 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Dog-Whistles-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100723-884.html William Rivers Pitt og-whistle politics, also known as the use of code words, is a type of political campaigning or speechmaking employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Bring-It-On-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100723-286.html Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:10:16 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Bring-It-On-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100723-286.html William Rivers Pitt Instead of any sort of high-minded debate on the issues of the day-Afghanistan, Iraq, energy policy, the Gulf, the economy, the banks, the mortgage crisis, the environment-we will be subjected to four stupid months of name-calling, obstructionism and general nonsense, again. there's a lot of high-level conversation in the GOP ranks about championing the presidency of George W. Bush as a reason to vote Republican in November. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Seeing-the-Elephant-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100715-853.html Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:44:42 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Seeing-the-Elephant-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100715-853.html William Rivers Pitt If the beyond-terrible GOP option seems valid to a majority of people after everything we've been through, if voters who know better can't find the motivation to pull the lever and keep the worst from happening, well, then Mencken was right: we get what we deserve. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Playing-the-Too-Big-To-Fa-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100709-499.html Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:16:45 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Playing-the-Too-Big-To-Fa-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100709-499.html William Rivers Pitt Capitalism, as practiced in the United States and, unfortunately, throughout much of the world is, at bottom, a fraud and a sham. The cementing of "Too big to fail" into our public discourse is proof enough of that. Capitalism without meaningful regulation is a ticking time bomb, and that time bomb has gone off with both a terrible bang and a pathetic whimper. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Ridiculous-America-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100704-565.html Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:15:31 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Ridiculous-America-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100704-565.html William Rivers Pitt Happy birthday, you ridiculous nation. You are a great and terrible place, and you must do better. Not just because you have to, which you do, but because you can. You have the necessary pieces, and you have the potential. Go. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Summer-in-Iraq-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100630-978.html Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:02:04 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Summer-in-Iraq-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100630-978.html William Rivers Pitt It would be a hell of a thing if this country, its people and its "mainstream" media could focus on more than one thing at a time, wouldn't it? Because we are still at war in Iraq, too. https://www.opednews.com/articles/These-Empty-Spaces-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100624-462.html Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:09:35 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/These-Empty-Spaces-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100624-462.html William Rivers Pitt At no time in history had any nation premised its existence on the bedrock truth that all of us are created equal until the Founders did so in Philadelphia, and in doing so, they created a self-improving process of national growth and redemption that functions through the will of the people alone. Too many of us, including our president and congressional representatives, have forgotten this. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Enough-of-This-Crap-Part-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100617-695.html Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:18:44 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Enough-of-This-Crap-Part-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100617-695.html William Rivers Pitt There are a great many people like me, who for reasons of employment, family, health or whatever, are unable to saddle up and head to the Gulf to do what needs doing. To you, I have this request: put this information in front of any and all whom you think has the time and capacity to give of themselves in this time of crisis. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Enough-of-This-Crap-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100615-248.html Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:27:56 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Enough-of-This-Crap-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100615-248.html William Rivers Pitt Perhaps having thousands of people descend upon the Gulf is a dumb idea, not feasible, even crazy. But imagine what would happen if we did just that. Imagine Wall Street thronged with citizens whose futures have been looted, refusing to leave until real change is finally effected. Imagine what would happen if this slumbering, pissed off nation rose up and got moving again. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Our-Fault-Too-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100611-895.html Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:21:50 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Our-Fault-Too-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100611-895.html William Rivers Pitt We are learning a savage lesson in the Gulf. We are witnessing the end of a way of life we have become all too deeply accustomed to. We drive, we eat, we fly, we vote, and in doing so, we share the blame for what is happening, and what is to come. https://www.opednews.com/articles/I-Come-to-Praise-Helen-Tho-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100609-530.html Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:56:18 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/I-Come-to-Praise-Helen-Tho-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100609-530.html William Rivers Pitt Frauds. Mouthpieces. Dupes. Willing participants. Colluders. Conspirators. Traitors. That's what much of the press has become over the last ten years, but not Thomas. Never Thomas. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Down-to-Raisins-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100603-470.html Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:12:29 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Down-to-Raisins-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100603-470.html William Rivers Pitt Mud to fill the hole, and now movie directors to save the day. You really can't make this stuff up. Hurricane season began on Tuesday, the saw got stuck, and the end of August is more than 70 days away. Christmas is too massive to contemplate, but contemplate it we must, because we are down to raisins with this thing. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Top-Kill-Indeed-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100529-745.html Sat, 29 May 2010 14:09:00 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Top-Kill-Indeed-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100529-745.html William Rivers Pitt There are millions of gallons of oil threatening thousands of miles of coastlines, ecosystems and livelihoods. Nobody knows how much there is, or where it will appear, or when. It's about to be brutally hot exactly where the clean-up needs to happen, and a whole slew of hurricanes and tropical storms are on the way. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Two-Stories-One-Truth-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100524-82.html Mon, 24 May 2010 17:30:58 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Two-Stories-One-Truth-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100524-82.html William Rivers Pitt That front page on Monday told me everything I needed to know about how it is in America today. I knew it already, but those two stories were like getting slapped in the face with an oil-murdered fish. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Short-Tales-From-Bizarro-W-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100520-163.html Thu, 20 May 2010 17:46:28 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Short-Tales-From-Bizarro-W-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100520-163.html William Rivers Pitt the Tea Party is for real. Not really, not in any larger national sense, but they are certainly a force within the Republican Party now, and boy, oh boy, it is going to get wildly entertaining from here. While the Tea Party itself is largely a creation of Big Media's desire to apply "balance" where none actually exists, like it or not, their focus on this ridiculous phenomenon has borne some bitter fruit for the GOP. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Killing-Our-World-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100518-321.html Tue, 18 May 2010 19:04:35 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Killing-Our-World-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100518-321.html William Rivers Pitt We've been through so much in the last ten years. So much damage has been done in so many places and in so many ways. Millions of people have died in wars and acts of terrorism, of disease and starvation and neglect and atrocity. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Out-of-Iraq-Don-t-Hold-Yo-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100514-594.html Fri, 14 May 2010 20:26:01 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Out-of-Iraq-Don-t-Hold-Yo-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100514-594.html William Rivers Pitt We made such an incredible mess in Iraq that continued violence is a brass-bound guarantee. Every act of violence gives more fuel to those who argue for staying. It's a perfect circle, and it is not going to stop. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Here-We-Go-Again-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100511-775.html Tue, 11 May 2010 16:27:26 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Here-We-Go-Again-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100511-775.html William Rivers Pitt Few issues raise more consternation and rage on the left than the constitutional crisis created by the deranged activities of the Bush administration. Liberals will point to this in disgust and accuse Obama of moving the Supreme Court even further to the right. https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Simple-Way-to-End-This-R-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100509-82.html Sun, 09 May 2010 14:01:14 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Simple-Way-to-End-This-R-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100509-82.html William Rivers Pitt Just dumping the Osprey program would have given us enough money to pay for the disasters in Tennessee and the Gulf, with a whole lot left over to help those affected by the recession and the Wall Street thievery. Psssst, Mr. Obama: tap the defense budget. We can be out of this recession in the morning. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Things-Fall-Apart-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100504-16.html Tue, 04 May 2010 19:40:55 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Things-Fall-Apart-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100504-16.html William Rivers Pitt It was sickening to behold, and says many things about our national character that are deeply uncomfortable to contemplate. An unknown person filled with hate tried to blow up Times Square. A shabbily-run oil rig might literally kill us all. A water crisis turned ordinary people into greedy, pushy animals right before my eyes. The center cannot hold. https://www.opednews.com/articles/By-the-Time-I-Get-to-Arizo-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100429-274.html Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:14:05 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/By-the-Time-I-Get-to-Arizo-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100429-274.html William Rivers Pitt This new Arizona law, however, deserves as much condemnation as can be mustered. Beyond the fact that it is so brazenly unconstitutional that it will likely not survive long, there is the matter of turning an entire race of people - nay, make that a few races of people - into suspected criminals. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Real-War-Reporters-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100427-821.html Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:25:48 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Real-War-Reporters-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100427-821.html William Rivers Pitt It's not over over there. Not by a long chalk, and despite the whistling silence, it's not over over here, either. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan affect every living American well beyond the impact of the flesh-and-blood conflicts we occasionally see on TV. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Do-the-Right-Thing-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100423-4.html Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:34:04 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Do-the-Right-Thing-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100423-4.html William Rivers Pitt George W. Bush and his people got a walk for the flagrant crimes they committed, and we've watched these Wall Street criminals thus far escape equally scot-free, and I am here to tell you, the view from the sidewalk is nothing but livid little people who wonder what it has to take before someone goes to jail for being a crook. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Tea-on-the-Common-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100413-199.html Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:45:12 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Tea-on-the-Common-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100413-199.html William Rivers Pitt With Obama in the White House, the combination of 'Bagger bedlam and Boston-style racism will almost certainly turn Boston Common into an open-air insane asylum complete with pigeons poop and trolley services. https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Quiet-Giant-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100410-181.html Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:02:28 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Quiet-Giant-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100410-181.html William Rivers Pitt The right-wing media, and the bevy of presidential wanna-bes like Palin and Romney who are scurrying around the countryside attending Tea Party rallies trying to gin up support for their erstwhile campaigns. A Supreme Court nomination and confirmation is a big, fat, juicy target, and you can bet the entire GOP will be taking some big swings. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Stupid-People-With-Guns-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100405-485.html Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:39:37 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Stupid-People-With-Guns-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100405-485.html William Rivers Pitt There are right-wing people who are angry, and there are right wing people who are angry and stupid, and that turns out to be a pretty ridiculous combination, especially when these angry stupids also happen to own firearms. The stupid ... it burns ... If we can't or won't cure the stupid, at least we can disarm it. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-New-Dumb-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100325-758.html Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:50:38 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-New-Dumb-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100325-758.html William Rivers Pitt It's pretty much official now. The GOP, in whole and in part, has gone completely over the high side in the aftermath of the House's successful passage of President Obama's health care reform package. Angry, bitter and frustrated has made way for deranged, deluded and dangerous within the minds and souls of that particular crowd. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Victory-at-Last-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100317-943.html Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:14:56 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Victory-at-Last-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100317-943.html William Rivers Pitt The US military has been shredded by this conflict in combination with the ongoing war in Afghanistan. The dire financial straits we find ourselves in, thanks in no small part to the spending for these wars, undermine our national security in any number of ways. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Out-of-Iraq-Maybe-Not-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100305-596.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:22:08 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Out-of-Iraq-Maybe-Not-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100305-596.html William Rivers Pitt The number of Iraqis killed in war-related violence increased by 44 percent between January and February, with civilians accounting for almost all of the casualties. We should never have been there to begin with. We should not be there now. Let the word go forth from this time and place: we must be gone from there before another year passes. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Skewing-the-Health-Care-De-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100226-352.html Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:55:02 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Skewing-the-Health-Care-De-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100226-352.html William Rivers Pitt Every once in a while, CNN and MSNBC deigned to show footage of the actual event, but a majority of their air time was devoted to giving right-wing anti-reform mouth-breathing cretins free reign to spew their nonsense to all points on the compass. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Has-a-Shakeup-Started-in-W-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100224-156.html Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:40:52 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Has-a-Shakeup-Started-in-W-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100224-156.html William Rivers Pitt Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, whose name could be changed to "Harry The Inert" after his anemic leadership of the majority to date, appears poised to use the same reconciliation process the White House is preparing to deploy as a means of passing an actual public option in the health care reform process. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Bush-Cheney-and-the-Great-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100206-265.html Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:28:06 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Bush-Cheney-and-the-Great-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100206-265.html William Rivers Pitt A recent report from the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility slapped a big fat "Not Guilty" stamp on the jackets of John Yoo and Jay Bybee, the two central authors of the notorious "torture memos" that argued the legal justifications for the use of torture by the Bush administration. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Schooled-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100201-329.html Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:39:35 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Schooled-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100201-329.html William Rivers Pitt On Friday, Mr. Obama presented himself before a collection of some 140 Republican members of Congress and, not to put too fine a point on it, bounced them individually and collectively off all four walls in the room. Fox News saw how badly those GOP Congress people were being thrashed and cut away from their broadcast of the event a full 20 minutes before it was over. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Strange-Days-Indeed-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100101-568.html Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:36:29 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Strange-Days-Indeed-by-William-Rivers-Pit-100101-568.html William Rivers Pitt I know, I know, the decade doesn't really end until next year, but whatever to that. The calendar police can come and arrest me, because I'm calling this damnable decade over and done with first thing Friday morning. To hell with it, and anything that looks like it. The odometer is rolling, and I say good riddance to bad rubbish. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Palin-the-Pundit-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091218-70.html Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:33:04 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Palin-the-Pundit-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091218-70.html William Rivers Pitt If President Obama came out in favor of sunshine, puppies and the Lord Jesus Christ, a poll would come out a week later that showed cratering GOP support for all three. If he's for something, they will be against it, and Sarah Palin has never been one to miss out on a good pander, even if it promotes a mindset that could lead to the end of human civilization on this planet. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Joe-Lieberman-and-the-Heal-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091215-332.html Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:10:31 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Joe-Lieberman-and-the-Heal-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091215-332.html William Rivers Pitt According to several sources,Rahm Emmanuel and the White House are actively pressuring the Democratic leadership in Congress to give Lieberman whatever he wants in order to pass some form of health reform legislation, no matter how ragged, damaging and useless the final product may turn out to be. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Cheney-for-President-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091209-687.html Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:37:54 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Cheney-for-President-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091209-687.html William Rivers Pitt D.C. lawyer and former political director for the Log Cabin republicans, said, "I think there is only one man who is capable of bringing the entire Republican coalition together and speaking with clarity about the values that have made our party great. And that is Vice President Cheney." https://www.opednews.com/articles/Little-Joe-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091104-953.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:14:47 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Little-Joe-by-William-Rivers-Pit-091104-953.html William Rivers Pitt Why this man is tolerated by the Democratic caucus in the Senate is an enduring mystery, frankly, and not just because Lieberman is a publicity-hogging fraud, although that is most definitely the case. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Eight-Years-Ago-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090911-239.html Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:50:33 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Eight-Years-Ago-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090911-239.html William Rivers Pitt By the first week of October, with a pall of poison smoke still hanging over New York City, Bush declared that, "We have to counteract the shockwave of the evildoer by having individual rate cuts accelerated and by thinking about tax rebates," and the world threw up into its collective mouth. He took us to war; he took us to Hell, and we are still far, far from anything resembling recovery. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Howl-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090814-348.html Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:29:58 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Howl-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090814-348.html William Rivers Pitt This is what has become of the Republican Party in the 21st century. the GOP is once again rushing into the demented embrace of their base instead of trying to broaden their appeal. What we have is a GOP so demonstrably starved of ideas that all they have left is howling disruption and mindless noise. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Worst-Case-Scenario-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090722-909.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:56:46 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Worst-Case-Scenario-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090722-909.html William Rivers Pitt If the Taliban decide Bergdahl has information they want, they can waterboard him until he talks. They can compress his body and cover him with insects, they can rob him of sleep and deny him food, they can beat him and slather his body with his own waste, they can shove sticks into his rectum, they can rape him, and they can murder him. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Now-Can-We-Investigate-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090713-929.html Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:29:27 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Now-Can-We-Investigate-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090713-929.html William Rivers Pitt The revelation over the weekend that former Vice Pres. Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to lie to COngress has the Obama Administration playing defense.----This article, which first appeared on Truthout.org, discusses Obama's reticence, and the fact that events have moved away from his control.----Sweeping crimes under the rug only means more crimes will be committed in the future. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Pass-the-Ball-for-Victory-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090705-68.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:06:53 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Pass-the-Ball-for-Victory-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090705-68.html William Rivers Pitt This is the GOP of the 21st century. You'd think it couldn't get any worse, but if Palin, Sanford, Haggard, McCain, DeLay, Foley, Cunningham, Ney, Abramoff, Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Bush and Cheney have taught us anything, it is that we can never assume the bottom of the GOP barrel has been reached. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Gimme-That-Old-Time-Religi-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090609-56.html Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:27:45 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Gimme-That-Old-Time-Religi-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090609-56.html William Rivers Pitt A whole lot of Faustian chickens are coming home to roost in the GOP's crumbling coop. The party courted those base voters -- evangelical Christians, hardcore gun-rights fanatics, anti-tax, anti-immigrant and anti-choice voters -- championed them, pandered to them and ultimately empowered them. Now, that power is subsuming the party, and for the time being, there is no end in sight. https://www.opednews.com/articles/Sotomayor-Derangement-Synd-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090601-580.html Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:12:43 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Sotomayor-Derangement-Synd-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090601-580.html William Rivers Pitt Ranting incoherence, brazen racism and suicidal ideation swept through the ranks of the far right after Judge Sotomayor was nominated to replace Justice Souter on the high court, symptoms that became worse by orders of magnitude as the week wore on. https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Other-100-Days-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090504-567.html Mon, 04 May 2009 12:16:32 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Other-100-Days-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090504-567.html William Rivers Pitt For the Republican Party, the last 100 days have been something out of a Roger Corman flick: blood on the walls, body parts everywhere, lots of screaming and no plot to speak of. https://www.opednews.com/articles/It-Just-Doesn-t-Matter-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090429-615.html Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:24:55 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/It-Just-Doesn-t-Matter-by-William-Rivers-Pit-090429-615.html William Rivers Pitt The fallout after Specter woke up on the left side of the bed on Tuesday has been entirely entertaining, largely hilarious and just significant enough to warrant a little serious attention ... but that's just politics, which is also the entire reason Specter jumped. https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__080408_remember_3a_they_are_l.htm Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:11:02 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__080408_remember_3a_they_are_l.htm William Rivers Pitt "George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, along with a slew of administration underlings and a revolving-door cavalcade of brass hats from the Pentagon, have been making claims regarding Iraq for many years now." Remember this as Petraeus reports to congress. https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__061115_the_carlyle_white_ho.htm Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:37:00 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__061115_the_carlyle_white_ho.htm William Rivers Pitt It was bad enough when the Carlyle Group bought Dunkin' Donuts last year, forcing millions of conscientious caffeine addicts to look elsewhere for their daily fix. Now, it appears Carlyle has added 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to its formidable portfolio of acquisitions. https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__061102_speaking_of_apologie.htm Thu, 02 Nov 2006 10:27:49 -0500 https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__061102_speaking_of_apologie.htm William Rivers Pitt Let's take a minute and think of some apologies that probably should be offered... https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__060929_in_case_i_disappear.htm Fri, 29 Sep 2006 14:24:18 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__060929_in_case_i_disappear.htm William Rivers Pitt A running joke between my mother and me is that she has a "safe room" set up for me in her cabin in the woods, in the event I have to flee because of something I wrote or said.---- I always laughed and shook my head whenever I heard this stuff. Extreme paranoia wrapped in the tinfoil of conspiracy, I thought. This is still America., and these Bush fools will soon pass into history, I thought. ----Things are different now. https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__060717_cheerleading_the_apo.htm Mon, 17 Jul 2006 15:20:33 -0400 https://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__060717_cheerleading_the_apo.htm William Rivers Pitt "The fighting between Israel and Lebanon over the course of the last few days presents perhaps the most dangerous moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The leadership of Israel and Hezbollah spend the blood of innocents to prove how very tough they are, and the lords of unreason hold sway over all. Syria trembles on the edge of significant involvement, with Iran waiting in the wings,"