Understanding todays Soviet Russia

Nov 11, 2009 - Twenty Years After the Fall By George Friedman We are now at the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe. We are also nearing the 18th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union itself. This is more than simply a moment for reflection — it is a moment to consider the current state of the region and of Russia versus that whose passing we are now commemorating. - 0 Comments

Obamanomics' Backlash Stimulus

Nov 10, 2009 - Obamanomics' Backlash Stimulus By Ralph R. Reiland What the Democrats should have learned from their losses last Tuesday is that the advice given by political strategist James Carville to candidate Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential campaign is still valid -- "It's the economy, stupid." More specifically, what hurt Democrats at the polls is the lack of new jobs and the flood of red ink -- plus the doctor-bashing as a strategy to enact Obamacare, the push to cancel a worker's right to a secret ballot during unionization drives, the promise of skyrocketing utility rates via cap-and-trade mandates, and the prospect of higher taxes, more regulations and less liberty by way of an ever-increasing intrusion by government into every aspect of our lives. - 0 Comments

Obama's "mild" presidency

Nov 05, 2009 - Analysis: Where was the downtown rally? Obama’s Madison visit a hallmark of his mild presidency By JOHN NICHOLS   Analysis: Where was the downtown rally? Obama's Madison visit a hallmark of his mild presidencyOne year ago Tuesday, Barack Obama redefined American electioneering to such an extent that it was possible to believe that the success of his transformational campaign would lead to a transformational presidency. - 16 Comments

Republicans Face The Right & Dems on Tuesday

Nov 02, 2009 - The conservative coup in upstate New York did much more than lay bare the power of conservative activists: It exposed how little control GOP officials hold over this surging and formidable political movement. In the wake of conservatives’ role in forcing liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava out of Tuesday’s special election in New York’s 23rd District, GOP officials are trying to make it seem as if they are helping to stoke the passion — and can harness it to upend President Barack Obama and Democrats. They didn’t — and they can’t. - 3 Comments

Glenn Beck's Bizarre Outburst Against Meatless Mondays and Vegetarians

Oct 30, 2009 - This goes along with the story that I posted in 4.0 about Meatless Mondays in Baltimore schools Jon Stewart ended an interview with climate-change contrarian and Super Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt on Monday night by noting, "I've apparently frightened our audience by suggesting that conservation isn't the only way out of any of the problems of the world. I sincerely apologize." He added, "And I do also believe that we should just eat vegetables." - 13 Comments

Who Killed California?

Oct 15, 2009 - by Troy Senik http://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/who-killed-california My apologies for having nothing originally in this post.  The text was here but didn't show up. Apparently this article is too long to be printed here, at about 11 pages.  It is nevertheless worth reading, unless, as someone has already done, you have made your  mind up what to believe before reading. - 29 Comments

Tea Party Conservatives Turn on GOP Leadership

Oct 12, 2009 - While the energy of the anti-tax and anti-Big Government tea party movement may yet haunt Democrats in 2010, the first order of business appears to be remaking the Republican Party. Whether it’s the loose confederation of Washington-oriented groups that have played an organizational role or the state-level activists who are channeling grass-roots anger into action back home, tea party forces are confronting the Republican establishment by backing insurgent conservatives and generating their own candidates — even if it means taking on GOP incumbents. “We will be a headache for anyone who believes the Constitution of the United States … isn’t to be protected,” said Dick Armey, chairman of the anti-tax and limited government advocacy group FreedomWorks, which helped plan and promote the tea parties, town hall protests and the September ‘Taxpayer March’ in Washington. - 49 Comments

I guess thay didn't like my first title ("Civil Service")

Oct 13, 2009 - Lexington Of debt and deadbeats Oct 8th 2009 From The Economist print edition A new culture war is brewing over capitalism SEVENTEEN Uncle Sams were seen begging on the streets of Washington, DC, this week. They were a sad sight, with their slightly bedraggled red, white and blue hats and their cardboard signs with the hand-scrawled plea: “I want YOU to give me $12 trillion.” It was a publicity stunt, of course, staged by DefeatTheDebt.com, a fiscally hawkish pressure group. But it captured something important about the national mood. - 0 Comments

Democrats, sex crimes and hypocracy

Oct 09, 2009 - Democrats Called Foley Guilty of Sex Crimes By Jeffrey Lord The magic number is 16. Just last night, on Sean Hannity's Fox Show, ABC's George Stephanopoulos said in defense of the liberal media's non-coverage of Kevin Jennings, that a person's entire career should be taken into consideration before they are sent packing from public service. Fair enough. - 3 Comments