David Cole at the New York Review of Books (along with many other on the left) would like to see some prosecutions: In the face of overwhelming evidence that numerous US detainees were tortured during the Bush years, President Barack Obama has famously said he wants to “look forward, not back.” He prohibited the use …
Does Hillary Clinton Care if the Christians in Iraq are Wiped Out?
It sure doesn't look like it: Now that a new government has finally formed, it is time for Maliki to switch his focus from trying to remain prime minister to fulfilling his duty as head of state to protect the most vulnerable among his population. But let’s be honest—without enormous pressure from his backers in …
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TSA Gearing Up for Trade Union Election
As if the flap over full body scans--physical and otherwise--wasn't enough, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) is about to have elections for union representation: The Federal Labor Relations Authority on Friday accepted a petition from the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union to hold an election to determine which group …
Is Democracy Really Dying After All?
To some, it looks that way: Winston Churchill may have been right about democracy’s being the worst form of government except for all the others, but he probably wouldn’t have guessed that the bar would fall so low. In his sweeping review of contemporary moral and political life, Kenneth Minogue contends that, as currently practised, …
Health Care: If It's a Tax, It Should be Called One
That's the core issue of challenges to the health care law: When 21 states and several private groups initiated lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Obama health care law earlier this year, critics denounced the suits as frivolous political grandstanding. But it is increasingly clear that the plaintiffs have a serious case with a real …
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The Old British Tactic of Playing Off Minority Races Against Majority Ones
This interesting tidbit, buried in an Asia Times Online piece about why Myanmar (Burma) has been a string of dictatorships and conflicts since independence: During Myanmar's period of colonial rule, from 1886 to 1948, Great Britain preferred hiring ethnic minorities to work in its colonial administration, for fear of putting the majority Burman in positions …
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NPR News and Fox Not News? You've Got to be Kidding!
But that's still NPR's line re the firing of Juan Williams, as elucidated at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches: When asked about the firing of Juan Williams by NPR for comments he made on Fox News, (NPR Political Editor Ken) Rudin said he regretted the way it happened, but it was almost inevitable. …
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Transportation Lobbyists Better Work With the Winners
That's what they're paid to do: There was a palpable sense of disbelief in the air at Wednesday’s gathering of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance. On Tuesday, the transportation advocates saw some of their biggest boosters, including U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, chair of the House transportation committee, go down to defeat as Republicans took control of …
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The Nastiest Election of the Season, and Yes, They're Smoking Something
A couple of interesting tidbits from this election cycle: first, concerning Allen West's victory over Ron Klein (congratulations are in order) in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, the Palm Beach Daily News noted the following: The West-Klein race was one of the nastiest campaigns of the season. Only the Shiny Sheet would put it this way. …
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The Closet Socialists are Still in the Closet
The late 1970's and early 1980's were an exciting time for me for this reason, but they were also a stressful time. Between the challenge of dealing with a Scots-Irish workforce (organised and otherwise) and a "culture of envy" which hadn't experienced the Reagan Era, things could get frustrating. It got to the point where …
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