Archive
What’s Next?
With the health-care fight finally behind him, it looks like Obama can now address other key issues.
Why Our Taliban’s Gaining Traction
The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the Netherlands’ ruling coalition government to protest the extension of the Dutch deployment in Afghanistan, the Taliban rejoiced. Perhaps you thought I meant Afghanistan’s Taliban. No, I meant the Taliban in the Netherlands. Never heard of it? It’s the “Freedom Party,” and it’s poised to become a top vote-getter in the elections scheduled for early June because of the ruling coalition’s collapse.
No More Blank Checks for the Pentagon, Please
Peace is possible through peaceful means. If more of our budget were invested in civilian efforts, we would conserve precious tax dollars and create a more secure country. Pentagon chief Robert Gates is among the leaders who say the United States needs more investments in diplomacy and development to help prevent wars before they break out.
The Right’s Obsession with Abortion and Sex
The Right just doesn’t like it. Abortion, like birth control, allows women to enjoy the pleasures of sex without suffering the penalties of children. Naturally, conservatives aren’t keen on birth control either, except for themselves. Actually, the Right isn’t really into fun.
Consumer Protection and Corporate Purses
In this period of painfully partisan politics, it’s too easy for the focus to be on who won today, instead of the American people’s needs. We’re witnessing just that in two roiling debates–one over the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), another over the recent Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
Another Corporate Path for Buying our Government
Like the five-man majority of Supreme Court justices, perhaps you’ve been worried sick over the possibility that corporations just don’t have enough power over our government. If so, let me soothe your fevered brow by showing that election spending is just one path that corporations take to buy our government. Many other lanes are also open to them. There, feel better now?
Pro-Life
Washington Must Pressure Israel to Stop Illegal Settlements
After meeting with Israeli officials and declaring there was “no space between the United States and Israel,” Biden was hit by news of the Israeli government’s approval of 1,600 new Jewish-only homes on Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem. The settlements are illegal under international law, and the U.S. government has consistently opposed their construction since the Johnson administration.
Racism Just Isn’t Funny
A few weeks ago some frat boys at the University of California, San Diego, pulled what they thought of as a prank–just a fun thing. In mock honor of Black History Month they held an off-campus “Compton Cookout,” named after the largely black suburb of Los Angeles a few dozen miles up the road.
Many Palestinian Protestors Already Use Nonviolent Tactics
Israel is escalating its quiet campaign to round up and detain nonviolent Palestinian protesters, from leaders to children, in nighttime raids. And although these protesters remain committed to nonviolence, the world continues to believe the Palestinian struggle is mainly based on violence.
