Archived
articles that appeared in Sounding Off on our Home page
from January 5, 2009-present that were linked to from outside sources.
Current archive 2009-2012 (from most recent ): / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 /
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Older archived articles pre-2009 can be found using the below links:
Archived
by date: / Apr. 10, 2003-October 15, 2003
/ October 16, 2003-December 31, 2003
/ January 1, 2004-February 29, 2004 / March
1, 2004-April 30, 2004 / May 1-May 31, 2004
/ June 1, 2004-June 30, 2004 / July
1 - August 19, 2004 / August 20 - September
30, 2004 /
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Newtown kids v Yemenis and Pakistanis: what explains the disparate reactions?
Numerous commentators have rightly lamented the difference in how these childrens' deaths are perceived. What explains it?
by Glenn Greenwald |
Paper Tigers and Glass-jawed Bullies
by TIMOTHY EGAN
"On Friday, after a week of hiding, the National Rifle Association will attempt to explain why it has spent more than two decades trying to ensure that weapons of mass murder are accessible to madmen." |
Why Democrats Must Break With Obama on Social Security Cuts
by John Nichols
"So the word for what is being proposed is 'cut'—as in: President Obama and congressional Republicans are proposing to cut Social Security." |
Plan B is BS
by Jared Bernstein
"There’s not much to say about Rep Boehner’s plan B…neither Senate D’s nor the White House would accept it so it’s just theatrics–and this is a very unfortunate time for theater." |
Why America Lets the Killings Continue
by GREGORY GIBSON
"I came to realize that, in essence, this is the way we in America want things to be. We want our freedom, and we want our firearms, and if we have to endure the occasional school shooting, so be it." |
Death in Connecticut
New York Times editorial |
Don’t talk about gun control!
Gun rights advocates tout "political correctness" to shut down talk of gun restrictions. We can't let them continue
by DAVID SIROTA |
“The NRA is the enabler of mass murderers”
In the wake of today's shootings, Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler says we need to wage "war" on the gun lobby
by ALEX SEITZ-WALD |
Politico's Ben White Ignores 'Free Riders' While Carrying Water for Rick Snyder's Union Busting
by Heather |
When Democrats won on guns
Gun control advocates want to replicate their biggest ever victory over the NRA. Will the president lead the fight?
by STEVE KORNACKI |
Guns have never saved us
Second Amendment defenders misread history: Armed citizens did not win our freedom and would not protect it
by MICHAEL LIND |
Time to profile white men?
My interview with MSNBC ignites a conservative media firestorm -- and exposes America's dangerous double standard
by DAVID SIROTA
" Indeed, unlike other demographic, white guys as a group are never thought to be an acceptable topic for any kind of critical discussion whatsoever, even when there is ample reason to open up such a discussion." |
U.S. Intelligence emerges from the shadows
America's covert wars continue, but on a far grander scale than we ever could have imagined a generation ago
by TOM ENGELHARDT, TOMDISPATCH.COM |
Following up on the lastest mass shooting
by Michael Moore
"I am truly beside myself this time. I tried to ring a warning bell about this a decade ago. The disease has only gotten worse." |
New York's top court highlights the meaninglessness and menace of the term 'terrorism'
A fascinating new ruling unwittingly illustrates the separate system of 'justice' invented for Muslims in the US after 9/11
by Glenn Greenwald |
Egypt's New Pharaoh
by Chris Hedges
"The referendum masks the real center of power, which is in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood." |
It’s not the guns, it’s the culture
If progressives want to stick it to the NRA, they can start by calling for restrictions on gun advertising
by Amanda Marcotte, The American Prospect |
The Right's "Limited Government" Scam
by Robert Parry
"That is what the Framers did with the U.S. Constitution in 1787. They set limits, but they also vastly expanded the central government's powers, a fact that today's Right doesn't want to acknowledge." |
Crime Watch: American Presidents and their Advisors are War Criminals
by Dave Lindorff
"Bush, Cheney, White House counsel (and later Attorney General) Alberto Gonzalez and others were found guilty earlier this month of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the executive orders that launched the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as of authorizing and failing to punish torture and other war crimes by US forces, including the military and the CIA." |
Is the Second Amendment Absolute?
by ANDREW ROSENTHAL
"In addition to the all-guns-all-the-time argument, we are starting to hear opponents of gun control cite the Second Amendment as the impermeable barrier to change." |
New press freedom group is launched to block US government attacks
Nothing is more vital than enabling true transparency and adversarial journalism, and preventing further assaults on them
by Glenn Greenwald |
Compromise or betrayal?
If Democrats cut Social Security, they're breaking a campaign promise and fostering cynicism about politics.
by JOAN WALSH |
Cliff Hanger: The President’s Unnecessary and Unwise Concessions
by Robert Reich |
Solstice 2012
A darkness from within
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
Prosecution of Anonymous activists highlights war for Internet control
The US and allied governments exploit both law and cyber-attacks as a weapon to punish groups that challenge it
by Glenn Greenwald
"Whatever one thinks of WikiLeaks, it is an indisputable fact that the group has never been charged by any government with any crime, let alone convicted of one." |
Is Obama already ceding ground on the “fiscal cliff”?
The White House's warning today about letting the Bush tax cuts expire only plays into Republicans' hands
by ROBERT REICH, ROBERTREICH.ORG |
The fiscal cliff is a lie
Only the rich win in a grand bargain on taxes and entitlements. We can afford Social Security, and should expand it
by MICHAEL LIND
"The need for a “grand bargain” involving taxes and entitlements — in the next few years, if not immediately — has moved to the center of discussion in Washington. But it’s the wrong grand bargain — and a very bad deal for Middle America." |
The 'both-sides-are-awful' dismissal of Gaza ignores the key role of the US government
The temptation to wash one's hands of the whole conflict is understandable, but US support of Israel is a central force driving it all
by Glenn Greenwald
"Everything about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict follows the same pattern over and over, including the reaction of Americans." |
The Israel-Palestine problem has a simple solution
Only political stubbornness, not popular support or irreconcilable differences, prevents the two-state solution from working, argues Matt Hill.
by Matt Hill |
Is Rush Limbaugh’s Country Gone?
by THOMAS B. EDSALL
"In our Gilded Age of extreme inequality, with a middle class that increasingly understands the rules are rigged against them, this was the first election in what is likely to be an era of growing class warfare." |
The US and Israel: a short quiz on 'rogue nation' status
A series of events just from this week makes clear who is actually violating the consensus of the international community
by Glenn Greenwald |
Noam Chomsky: What the American Media Won't Tell You About Israel
The savage punishment of Gaza traces back to decades ago.
by Noam Chomsky
"An old man in Gaza held a placard that read: 'You take my water, burn my olive trees, destroy my house, take my job, steal my land, imprison my father, kill my mother, bombard my country, starve us all, humiliate us all, but I am to blame: I shot a rocket back.'” |
Why can Limbaugh speak, but not Costas?
Conservatives get outraged when a celebrity talks politics, as long as it's not one of their "expert" entertainers
by DAVID SIROTA |
Simpson-Bowles is magic
It's every pundit's favorite budget plan, but no one seems to know -- or care -- what it actually contains
by Alex Pareene
"No one actually knows or cares what’s in the actual Simpson-Bowles plan, but at this point it doesn’t actually matter." |
Laptop seizures by US government highlight 9/11-era climate of fear
The treatment of dissidents is the true measure of how free a society is: consider today's examples from the US
by Glenn Greenwald
"A nation in which liberties are systematically abused - in which limitations on state power are ignored without consequence - is one which gives rise to a climate of fear." |
GOP Resurrects Plan to Rig Electoral College
After Romney got walloped on November 6, Republicans want to change how electoral votes are awarded.
by Nick Baumann |
Feinstein amendment doubles down on NDAA's assault on constitutional rights
by Naomi Wolf
"To make matters worse, a recent development sees the threat of the NDAA on US citizens increasing. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein recently introduced an amendment to the 2013 NDAA, which, at first, seems to protect Americans' due process -- but, on closer examination, can be easily misinterpreted." |
What Jim DeMint figured out
Don't be fooled by Sen. Jim DeMint's resignation. His influence on the Republican Party is as strong as ever
by STEVE KORNACKI |
It's Time to Challenge the Propaganda Regarding Who is Killed by U. S. Drones
"The public would not be accepting of drones, if they knew how kill decisions are made, and how many innocents are killed in the process."-- Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films
by Don Hazen |
Progressive media claims they'll be 'tougher' on Obama now
Given the rationale they have embraced, is there any reason to believe this will happen, or that it will matter if it does?
by Glenn Greenwald
"Once one decides in the name of electoral expediency to abdicate their primary duty as a citizen and especially as a journalist - namely, to hold accountable those who wield the greatest political power - then this becomes a permanent abdication. That's because US politics is essentially one permanent, never-ending election." |
Two Years of Cablegate as Bradley Manning Testifies for the First Time
by Julian Assange
"The United States' War on Terror has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, inflamed sectarian violence, and made a mockery of international law." |
Congressman No
How I learned to stop worrying and love the austerity bomb
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
"No, the real battle is between the moderates that remain in the GOP, and what one Guardian blogger called “the more swivel-eyed” elements of the far right." |
Bradley Manning: a tale of liberty lost in America
The US does nothing to punish those guilty of war crimes or Wall Street fraud, yet demonises the whistleblower
by Glenn Greenwald
"To the mavens of the US watchdog press, Assange and Manning are enemies to be scorned because they did the job that the US press corps refuses to do: namely, bringing transparency to the bad acts of the US government and its allies around the world." |
Susan Rice for Secretary of State? VERY Bad For Liberals and Progressives
by Rob Kall |
Why I Don't Want to Be a West Point Graduate
by Blake Page
"While there are certainly numerous problems with the developmental program at West Point and all service academies, the tipping point of my decision to resign was the realization that countless officers here and throughout the military are guilty of blatantly violating the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution." |
Millions will qualify for new options under the health care law. Most have no idea.
by Sarah Kliff
"After surviving a Supreme Court decision and a presidential election, the Obama administration’s health-care law faces another challenge: a public largely unaware of major changes that will roll out in the coming months." |
Obamacare, brought to you by Johnson & Johnson
When push comes to shove, corporate interests will always have the upper hand in determining public policy
by BILL MOYERS AND MICHAEL WINSHIP, BILLMOYERS.COM |
HSBC, too big to jail, is the new poster child for US two-tiered justice system
DOJ officials unblinkingly insist that the banking giant is too powerful and important to subject to the rule of law
by Glenn Greenwald
"But not everyone is subjected to that system of penal harshness. It all changes radically when the nation's most powerful actors are caught breaking the law. With few exceptions, they are gifted not merely with leniency, but full-scale immunity from criminal punishment." |
Questions I ask myself about Connecticut School Shooting
by Juan Cole |
The Shameful Exploitation of Bradley Manning
by Robert Scheer |
Noam Chomsky Interview Transcript Part 2. America in Decline, America Blocking Democracy, and Thoughts on Gaza
by Rob Kall |
The revealingly substance-free fight over Susan Rice
Her record of war advocacy and close ties to tyrants is notably missing from the debate over whether she should be Secretary of State
by Glenn Greenwald |
Where Petraeus let us down
by ANDREW BACEVICH
"Future generations will remember David Petraeus, if they remember him at all, as the general who enabled the United States, at great cost, to avoid defeat in a misguided and badly-managed middle-sized war." |
Suckers for Superheroes
We should have known all along that David Petraeus was cheesy. And Lance Armstrong mendacious. And Joe Paterno a coward. And yet.
by Frank Rich
"The carnival has moved on, but many are still mystified why David Petraeus abruptly abdicated his seat of power after a mere marital lapse." |
Stop giving war-veteran novelists a free pass
"The Yellow Birds" is considered one of this year's best books. Are reviewers too scared to pan our servicemen?
by MICHAEL LARSON |
Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job
Few people embody the corporatist revolving door greasing Washington as purely as Elizabeth Fowler
by Glenn Greenwald |
Politico flunks economics
A new piece examining how to spark the economy reveals how stale conventional wisdom in D.C. really is
BY JARED BERNSTEIN, ON THE ECONOMY
"What’s holding back growth is inattention to the need for stimulus in the near term in an economy where monetary policy is at least partially hamstrung (zero lower bound), premature fiscal contraction (premature contraculation?), too much income and wealth inequality, and, over the longer term, the lack of a deep investment agenda in public goods, including education and worker training." |
Four huge corporate power grabs possibly worse than Citizens United
These court cases offer a chilling reminder how close America has come to becoming an outright plutocracy
by STEVEN ROSENFELD, ALTERNET |
The PSY scandal: singing about killing people v. constantly doing it
Americans would benefit from less outrage at anti-US sentiment and more energy toward understanding why it's so widespread
by Glenn Greenwald
"If you want your country to rule the world as an aggressive and militaristic empire, then accept the inevitable consequence of that: that there will be huge numbers of people in the world who resent and even hate your country for that behavior." |
The Botox Solution
Why the Formerly Grand Old Party Needs to Change and Won't
By Jeremiah Goulka
"It wants to tweak its talking points slightly and put more minority and female Republicans on stage as spokespeople. Many in the GOP seem to believe that this will do the trick in 2014 and beyond. Are they deluded?" |
What If There Is No Fiscal Crisis?
by David Corn
"[S]pending is not out of control. Entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are rising gently as the baby-boom generation retires. All other spending, including that for the military and domestic discretionary programs, falls—with the notable exception of interest on the debt." |
Frank Rich on the National Circus: America’s Real Fiscal Crisis
by Frank Rich
Frank Rich talks with assistant editor Eric Benson about the biggest stories in politics and culture. This week: the Koch brothers enact revenge in Michigan, HSBC gets away with high crimes, and the Supreme Court takes on gay marriage. |
How America’s toxic culture breeds mass murder
Mass shooters in the U.S. are almost always men — angry men who can get guns more easily than mental health care
by ANDREW O'HEHIR |
We’re stuck with guns. But…
That doesn't mean we can't ban some, make them a lot harder to get -- and maybe even tax the hell out of them
by ALEX PAREENE |
Petraeus scandal is reported with compelled veneration of all things military
The reverence for the former CIA Director is part of a wider religious-like worship of the national security state.
by Glenn Greenwald |
Four generals who can’t shoot straight
A look at the startlingly poor track record of Afghan war commanders in the Obama era
by ALEX SEITZ-WALD |
Obama’s “grand bargain”-ing leverage
If the president wants to achieve a $4 trillion deficit reduction, he needs to aim high with the GOP
by Robert Reich, ROBERTREICH.org |
Election 2012: Everything wrong with Citizens United
The obscene sums of money both parties poured into their campaigns is a haunting presage of things to come
by Michael Winship, BillMoyers.com |
In search of his son’s casualty report
The army told Jim Butler his boy was killed by rocket-propelled grenade. Then he went searching for the truth
by PETER SLEETH, PROPUBLICA |
Mister President, You Have a Mandate
The American people are behind you: Do your job
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
America’s forgotten war
Historian Jon Wiener asks: If the Cold War was a great struggle the West won, then where are all the monuments?
by ANDREW GUMBEL, LA REVIEW OF BOOKS |
Why Anonymous’ Claims about Election-Rigging Can’t Be Ignored
by Thom Hartmann
"As laid out in the previous article, Anonymous, Karl Rove and the 2012 Election Fix?, it’s possible that Karl Rove used SmartTECH’s servers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to flip the vote totals in Ohio in 2004 and thus steal the election that year for George W. Bush – and just as possible that he tried to do the same thing this year on Romney’s behalf but was thwarted by the hacktivist group Anonymous." |
Top Ten Myths about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
by Jeremy R. Hammond |
Once Again—Death of the Liberal Class
by Chris Hedges
"The presidential election exposed the liberal class as a corpse. It fights for nothing. It stands for nothing." |
Puppet State America
by Paul Craig Roberts
"But how is a country a superpower when its entire government and a majority of the subjects, especially those members of evangelical churches, grovel at the feet of the Israeli Prime Minister?" |
An Open Letter to President Obama "from Michael Moore"
by Michael Moore |
Blogging and Nothingness: Progressives Turn Their Gaze from Gaza
by Chris Floyd
"It seemed as if there were no major news events going on anywhere in the world that involved the violent, unjust infliction of human suffering, with the direct monetary, military and political support of United States government and its entire bipartisan political and media establishments." |
Elites Will Make Gazans of Us All
by Chris Hedges
"Gaza is a window on our coming dystopia. The growing divide between the world's elite and its miserable masses of humanity is maintained through spiraling violence." |
MSNBC's Disgrace: In Five Hours of Prime Time, Fifteen Minutes on Israel-Gaza
by Greg Mitchell |
8 bosses who screwed their employees after Obama’s reelection
Papa John's John Schnatter isn't the only "job creator" putting his workers' salaries in jeopardy
by Lauren Kelley, Alternet |
Dark money obscures Congress
Forget the national elections. Two thirds of winning House incumbents outspent their opponents by a factor of nine
by Mark Schmitt, Next New Deal |
Israel’s new Gaza mess
Rather than provide any lasting relief, its deadly offensive has shown that deterrence can't replace diplomacy
by Gershom Gorenberg, The American Prospect |
US battles Iraq and Afghanistan over detention without charges
The Obama administration fights to spread its own values on the core, fundamental right of due process
by Glenn Greenwald
"In Afghanistan and Iraq, the US government is engaged in a fierce and protracted battle over the fundamental right to be free of indefinite detention." |
McCain’s obscene hypocrisy
He says Susan Rice is unfit for office because she's "not qualified." This from the man who tapped Sarah Palin
by KATIE, FEMINISTING |
Stop obsessing over the budget deficit!
We can't dimiss the "fiscal cliff" outright, but the truth is it's not even our most pressing economic issue
by ROBERT REICH, ROBERTREICH.ORG
"I wish President Obama and the Democrats would explain to the nation that the federal budget deficit isn’t the nation’s major economic problem and deficit reduction shouldn’t be our major goal." |
Courage and malfeasance in Afghanistan: “Anyone we drop off will die”
Officers ordered an Afghanistan outpost built knowing it was vulnerable. Then the Taliban arrived and soldiers died
by JAKE TAPPER |
Obama's kill list policy compels US support for Israeli attacks on Gaza
The US was once part of the international consensus against extra-judicial assassinations. Now it is a leader in that tactic.
by Glenn Greenwald |
How to Live Without Irony
by CHRISTY WAMPOLE
"If irony is the ethos of our age — and it is — then the hipster is our archetype of ironic living." |
Stop pretending the US is an uninvolved, helpless party in the Israeli assault on GazaThe Obama administration's unstinting financial, military and diplomatic support for Israel is a key enabling force in the conflict
by Glenn Greenwald |
Oliver Stone: America is an “outlaw nation”
by ANDREW O'HEHIR |
Now’s the time to fix the filibuster
The stars are aligning for filibuster reform and changing the Senate's stupidest rules. Let's not mess it up
by JONATHAN BERNSTEIN
"The problem, very simply, is that filibusters have exploded in the Senate." |
5 reasons to kill the filibuster
The procedure is unconstitutional and undemocratic, and will bring the entire government down with it. Here's why
By Alex Seitz-Wald |
9 greediest CEOs
These financiers, polluters and business honchos are teaming up to strangle the economy -- and shred our safety net
by LYNN PARRAMORE, ALTERNET |
ACLU Challenges Warrantless Wiretapping
Governing extrajudicially.
by Stephen Lendman |
Filibuster reform: The Senate is filled with hypocrites
Don't believe the GOP's charges of hypocrisy on filibuster reform -- both parties are guilty
by ALEX SEITZ-WALD |
Dear Mr. President: “Fix that”
Twelve years after the 2000 Election crisis, dismal voting conditions continue. It's time for real reform
by SANDRA FLUKE |
Obama: a GOP president should have rules limiting the kill list
The president's flattering view of himself reflects the political sentiments in his party and the citizenry generally
by Glenn Greenwald
"For the last four years, Barack Obama has not only asserted, but aggressively exercised, the power to target for execution anyone he wants, including US citizens, anywhere in the world." |
Stand Still for the Apocalypse
by Chris Hedges
"Humans must immediately implement a series of radical measures to halt carbon emissions or prepare for the collapse of entire ecosystems and the displacement, suffering and death of hundreds of millions of the globe's inhabitants, according to a report commissioned by the World Bank." |
No Absence of Malice: Whitewashing the White House Murder Program
by Chris Floyd
"As we know from numerous reports -- and as we know from what the Obama administration itself has acknowledged -- the Murder Program murders innocent human beings." |
The Political Trial Of A Caring Man And The End Of Justice In America
by John Pilger |
America didn’t vote for a “grand bargain”
Listen up, Democrats: Obama didn't win by promising a compromise on entitlement reform. He won despite it
by RICK PERLSTEIN |
Bad Day for GOP Super Donors
Biggest contributors to super PACs in 2012 election backed losing candidates
by Rachael Marcuse and John Dunbar |
The final defeat of backlash politics
The right's hopes of overturning the 1930s and the 1960s have been doomed by cultural and demographic change
by Michael Lind
"Despite its reinforcement of the status quo and the lack of debate about large issues during the campaign, the election of 2012 will go down in history as the end of the backlash against mid-20th century liberalism." |
Why revenge is sweet
Obama was right: The GOP got the electoral rebuke it needed, and that's good for the country, and the party
by JOAN WALSH
" I waited in a long line to vote for the president, even in a blue state, because I wanted a punitive kind of revenge, a rebuke to the hate-mongers and the dividers and the cynical political profiteers." |
A Great Night for US Democracy
by Robert Parry
"Rather than reward the GOP for making the U.S. economy "scream," voters -- by a margin of nearly three million ballots -- reelected President Barack Obama." |
Whites-only GOP meets its demographic destiny
The creaking noise you hear? It's the sound of conservative white men trying to fight off change -- and failing
by Rich Benjamin
"Why did conservative straight white men self-destruct so spectacularly this election?" |
Gaza: The Gates of Wrath and Sorrow Swing Open Once Again
by Chris Floyd |
The Land of Milk and Honey Once More
by Robert Scheer
"...the shifting demographics of California, forerunners of an inevitable national trend, are producing an American electoral majority that is more culturally sophisticated, socially tolerant and supportive of a robust public sector than can be accommodated by the simplistic naysayers who now dominate the Republican Party." |
Don't expect a second-term Obama to take on Israel
by Jonathan Cook
"The reality, as Netanyahu understands well, is that Obama's hands are now tied as firmly in the Middle East as they were during his first term." |
Shattering the Petraeus mystique
The former general's disgrace is being portrayed as a national disaster. Truth is he was no miracle worker
by JEAN MACKENZIE, GLOBALPOST |
The sore losers club
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are already starting to channel the last guy who lost to Obama
by Steve Kornacki |
America’s nation-building hypocrisy
For all the talk of starting at home, the US is still pouring billions into the Middle East. When will it stop?
by Nick Turse
"A billion dollars from the federal government: that kind of money could go a long way toward revitalizing a country’s aging infrastructure. It could provide housing or better water and sewer systems. It could enhance a transportation network or develop an urban waterfront. It could provide local jobs. It could do any or all of these things. And, in fact, it did. It just happened to be in the Middle East, not the United States." |
The Neocons' Waterloo
by Robert Parry
"The decisive defeat of Mitt Romney in the presidential race and the forced resignation of ex-Gen. David Petraeus as CIA director have marginalized America's neoconservatives more than at any time in the past several decades, confining them mostly to Washington think tanks and media opinion circles." |
Benghazi’s buffoons
John McCain and his sidekick, Lindsey Graham, are determined to get to the bottom of an entirely made-up scandal
by Alex Pareene |
Is it game over for Grover Norquist?
The anti-tax activist's grip on power, even in the GOP, has never been weaker -- just as he faces a critical test
by Alex Seitz-Wald |
Lawrence Wilkerson Interview Transcript-- The "Israelization of the USA, CIA lies, and; "It's not a Coup. It's Worse!"
by Rob Kall |
Obama’s biggest challenge: Job creation
Forget all the hand-wringing about the fiscal cliff. The president needs to set his sights on unemployment
by Jeff Madrick, Next New Deal |
FBI's abuse of the surveillance state is the real scandal needing investigation
That the stars of America's national security establishment are being devoured by out-of-control surveillance is a form of sweet justice
by Glenn Greenwald |
Counterterrorism Legal Policy in Obama’s Second Term
by Jack Goldsmith
" We will have four more years of a Democratic president presiding over military detention without trial, military commission trials (at least for the 9/11 conspirators, if not for more), broad warrantless surveillance, drone strikes around the globe, and covert war more generally." |
Upholding Democracy, Ballot by Ballot
NYT editorial |
Discovering a truly exciting Obama and five other items to note on election day
The long national nightmare - at least one of them - will come to an end tonight, hopefully.
by Glenn Greenwald |
Voting’s gotten real ugly, real quick
Bomb scares. Belligerent Tea Partiers. Last-minute disenfranchisement. We're already off to a flying start
by JOSHUA HOLLAND, ALTERNET |
Hey, Obama, let’s actually fix elections
We may be stuck with the electoral college, but a few simple reforms would drastically improve American democracy
by ALEX PAREENE |
Morning in America
by Michael Moore
"This country has truly changed, and I believe there will be no going back. Hate lost yesterday. That is amazing in and of itself." |
10 right-wingers who got the election hilariously wrong
So much for hunches and gut instincts. Maybe in 2016, these would-be pollsters will read Nate Silver like adults
by ALTERNET STAFF, ALTERNET |
Hurricane Sandy: beware of America's disaster capitalists
by Naomi Klein |
Donald Trump: Irrelevant
Brian Williams throws the worst possible insult at The Donald, who promptly melts down on Twitter -- again
by MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
"The thing about a guy like the Donald is that he’s so big, so loud, so shamelessly gaudy that he’s cleverly managed to make a whole career out of being terrible." |
CNN claims Iran shot at a US drone, revealing the news network's mindset
Its Pentagon reporter parrots significant, inflammatory government claims without an iota of skepticism or balance
by Glenn Greenwald |
Ballot measures: A rundown of results
States weighed in on issues including the death penalty, GMO labeling, human trafficking and racist language
by NATASHA LENNARD |
What’s next for America’s economy?
It's time the president shifts his focus away from the budget deficit towards creating more jobs with better pay
by Robert Reich |
US Muslim placed on no-fly list is unable to see his ailing mother
Despite never having been charged with any crime, an Air Force veteran is effectively exiled from his own country
by Glenn Greenwald |
The Obama mandate
His reelection -- maybe more remarkable than his first -- is a win for using government to improve people's lives
by JOAN WALSH
"President Obama’s reelection represents a victory for the Democratic ideal of activist government and a mandate for more of it." |
The Morning After
What does the Obama victory mean?
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
The 20 biggest sore losers of election night
We rank the most churlish reactions to President Obama's reelection -- and Donald Trump is a winner!
by JILLIAN RAYFIELD |
The right’s new line: Obama has no mandate
The president won by wider margins than Bush in '04, but that hasn't stopped the right from dismissing his victory
by Alex Seitz-Wald
"So Obama won by a far bigger margin than Bush in the electoral college and comparable margin in the popular vote, but Bush got a mandate and Obama didn’t?" |
Obama and progressives: what will liberals do with their big election victory?
With fights over social security, Medicare, ongoing war, and other key progressive priorities looming, what will they do with their new power?
by Glenn Greenwald
" It was not merely Democrats, but liberalism, which was triumphant." |
Romney’s concession speech was not gracious
Pundits rush to praise the GOP candidate, but his behavior was petulant and sullen
by Mary Elizabeth Williams |
Ryan has more in common with Akin than you think
Don't be fooled by his carefully worded responses to abortion questions on the campaign trail. He's a true radical
by ROXANA BADIN, LA REVIEW OF BOOKS |
Trump hits a new low after Sandy
As New York recovers from the hurricane, the Donald renews his Obama vendetta
by MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS |
US detention of Imran Khan part of trend to harass anti-drone advocates
The vindictive humiliation of Pakistan's most popular politician shows the US government's intolerance for dissent
by Glenn Greenwald |
Mitt rewrites auto bailout history
In Romney's parallel universe, Obama has convinced Chrysler to move all of its Jeep production to China
by JARED BERNSTEIN |
The wave for Obama
As he tours Sandy devastation with Chris Christie, swing state polls break for the president
by Joan Walsh |
Romney's Jeep Lie Outdoes Richard Nixon in the Mendacity Department
by Mark Karlin |
The progressive case for Obama
Drones, the drug war and income inequality are important. But a vote against Obama only makes other issues worse
by PETER COYOTE |
Iran War on the Ballot
by Robert Parry
"However, the prospects for peace could head off in a very different direction if Romney wins. His neocon advisers are considered likely to hijack the Iran sanctions and use them to force "regime change" in Tehran, rather than for their current narrow purpose of compelling Iran to negotiate seriously on limiting its nuclear program." |
The Problem with the New American Exceptionalism
by Charles P. Pierce |
Why I'm Voting Green
by Chris Hedges
"The November election is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats. It is not a battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. It is a battle between the corporate state and us." |
Transcript Exclusive Chris Hedges Interview; The Template for Harvesting America, Sacrifice Zones and Blood
by Rob Kall |
Paul Ryan Takes a Side in the War on Poverty: He's Against What Works
by John Nichols |
Journalism in the Obama age shows the real media bias
A new Rolling Stone interview with the president shows subservience to power, not partisan favor, is what drives the press corps
by Glenn Greenwald |
Barack Obama for Re-Election
NYT Editorial
"President Obama has shown a firm commitment to using government to help foster growth." |
Let’s kill the electoral college so we never have to pay attention to Ohio and Florida again
Why is a ballot in Ohio worth more than in other parts of the country? It's time to let the electoral college go
by ALEX PAREENE |
US justice likely coming soon to Benghazi with extrajudicial executions
If the Obama administration identifies suspects in the consulate attack, should they simply be killed without a trial?
by Glenn Greenwald |
Liberals let Obama get away with un-American actions
The president's deplorable record on privacy and kill lists is an affront to our values. Liberals just shrug it off
by DAVID K. SHIPLER
"Let us stipulate, as lawyers like to say, that President Obama has a deplorable record on civil liberties, one that threatens long-term damage to the country’s constitutional culture." |
Something in the Air
Climate Change affects the election
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
The Silver Lining
Did Frankenstorm take America off a Path to Catastrophe?
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
"Romney is squarely on the wrong side, a stooge for the reptilian Koch Brothers and all the other polluting industries who want to safeguard their profits no matter what the cost to the rest of us." |
Want a strong economy? Vote Democrat
If you think jobs, prosperity and income growth over the long term are important, your choice is easy
by LARRY M. BARTELS |
5 Questions Romney Never Answered About Mormonism -- And Why He Should
by Helen C. Whitney
"As we said in our earlierHuffPost article, Romney's ordination to the offices of Bishop and Stake President obligates him to answer questions more fully than other candidates never ordained to the ministry." |
Romney’s Five Wars
by Juan Cole
"I’ve decided that my initial assumption that a businessman of Romney’s experience must know something about the world was dead wrong." |
Romney's Latest Lie, His Former Lies, and Why We Must Not Put Liars in the White House
by Robert Reich |
Who is the worst civil liberties president in US history?
Where do the abuses of the last decade from Bush and Obama rank when compared to prior assaults in the name of war?
by Glenn Greenwald
"Ultimately, there are two critical factors that, for me at least, are highly influential if not decisive in determining the proper ranking. The first is the extent to which the civil liberties abuses are temporary or permanent." |
Mitt Romney's New American Century: Its Frightening Implications for America
by Elliot Cohen |
Obama Dares to Say It: Romney Lies
by David Corn |
Joseph Stiglitz: “Romney’s plan is based on magic”
Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz -- an Obama critic -- says Romney's cuts would be disastrous
by ANDREW LEONARD |
A Republican’s rare chance to be a real leader
Chris Christie has an opportunity to demand that the GOP get real about climate change.
by DAVID SIROTA |
Impressive integrity from two New York Times writers over BBC scandal
Margaret Sullivan and Joe Nocera raise troubling questions about their own paper's incoming president and CEO, Mark Thompson
by Glenn Greenwald |
Various items
Looking back at Obama's first term; exploitative smears from neocons and Democrats; a tactic of lawlessness from the justice department
by Glenn Greenwald |
DOMA is doomed
ny Jonathan Capehart
"The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York slammed another nail in the coffin of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act on Thursday." |
Exclusive Interview: Chris Hedges: Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt
by Rob Kall |
Mitt Romney's "Perry Mason" Moment
by Robert Parry
"It was to be Mitt Romney's 'Perry Mason' moment, pouncing on President Barack Obama's insistence that he had denounced the attack on the Benghazi consulate as a "terrorist" attack on the day after the lethal assault." |
US supreme court finalizes gift of immunity to the telecom giants
Yet again, the Congress, courts, executive branch and the establishment media work together to protect the nation's most powerful actors
by Glenn Greenwald |
The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent
by CHRYSTIA FREELAND
"...what separates successful states from failed ones is whether their governing institutions are inclusive or extractive." |
America’s most disenfranchised population?
Nearly six million ex-cons have been deprived the right to vote -- enough to swing the election several times over
BY BRANDI LUPO, NEXT NEW DEAL |
Joe Klein's sociopathic defense of drone killings of children
Reflecting the Obama legacy and US culture, the Time columnist says: "the bottom line is: 'whose 4-year-olds get killed?'"
by Glenn Greenwald |
Twisting the Facts About Health Care
NYT editorial
"If voters re-elect President Obama, he will protect the health care reforms that are his signature domestic achievement. If they elect Mitt Romney, they will be choosing a man who has pledged to repeal the reform law and replace it with — who knows what?" |
Why a Romney win would be bad for America
It's not (necessarily) about ideology: It's about the destructive opposition party behavior it would reward
by STEVE KORNACKI |
Debate the Final
Romney blusters, Obama calls, but neither take the pot
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
Romney & Co Shipped Every Single
Delphi UAW Job to China
by Greg Palast |
Cultthink
When knowledge is an opinion, ignorance is king
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
"No matter how this election turns out, the fact remains that the United States is a desperately sick society. You have nearly half the population apparently reduced to the status of religious cult members, and it's only getting worse. |
The Business of America
...is not business. It's being a society.
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
A debate to be ashamed of
On drones, Israel and Iran, Obama and Romney revealed shockingly similar policies -- both of them hawkish
by ANDREW LEONARD |
The man without a soul
In the final debate, Romney disavows almost everything he's ever said on foreign policy while the media just shrugs
bt JOAN WALSH
"Mitt Romney should be doing a walk of shame today, after reversing most of his irresponsible, hawkish foreign policy statements from the last year just to have a hot night with undecided female voters in the final debate." |
Obama moves to make the War on Terror permanent
Complete with a newly coined, creepy Orwellian euphemism – 'disposition matrix' – the administration institutionalizes the most extremist powers a government can claim
by Glenn Greenwald
"A primary reason for opposing the acquisition of abusive powers and civil liberties erosions is that they virtually always become permanent, vested not only in current leaders one may love and trust but also future officials who seem more menacing and less benign." |
Progressives can’t sit this one out
Disappointment with Obama's first term is understandable, but allowing Romney to take office would be calamitous
by ROBERT REICH
"This is for those of you who consider yourself to be progressive but have given up on politics because it seems rotten to the core." |
How to Rig an Election
The G.O.P. aims to paint the country red
by Victoria Collier
"From the earliest days of the republic, American politicians (and much of a cynical populace) saw vote rigging as a necessary evil. Since the opposition was assumed to be playing equally dirty, how could you avoid it?" |
The true reason US fears Iranian nukes: they can deter US attacks
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham echoes a long line of US policymakers: Iran must not be allowed to deter US aggression
by Glenn Greenwald |
Joe Biden gets the job done
He fired up the Democratic base and made Paul Ryan look like a teenager. Oh yeah, and he laughed a little
by JOAN WALSH |
Criminal Investigation? Mitt Romney’s Disclosure Form Under Scrutiny
by ARI PICKER
"Romney says he left Bain in February of 1999, even though he still owned 100% of the company through 2002." |
Latinos–too lazy to vote?
by Greg Palast
"So, then, how do they stop Americans from taking over America? Easy: first, make registering voters a crime." |
“Facts Matter”
The VP Debate
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
"I hope Obama was watching. Biden was showing everyone how it's done. He was quick on his feet, animated, quick to spar, and threw blockbuster punches." |
Religion in America 2012
Jesus still more popular than Dawking, but...
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
How British companies pour cash into the American elections
As the presidential election enters its final phase, FTSE 100 companies are making use of relaxed campaign financing rules to bring their influence to bear
by Simon Bowers |
How the G.O.P. Became the Anti-Urban Party
by KEVIN BAKER
"But the fact is that cities don’t count anymore — at least not in national Republican politics." |
Debate II
The gloves come off, so do the Mittens
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson |
How Mitt and Ann made millions–and Mitt's hedge fund donors made billions–from the auto-industry rescue that he condemned.
by Greg Palast |
Fox News cost Mitt the debate
Romney stumbled on Libya because the GOP is reliant on a right-wing media machine that has no ideas, just scandals
by JONATHAN BERNSTEIN |
Obama still vulnerable on the economy
by JEFF MADRICK, NEXT NEW DEAL
"So Obama needs a strong, non-defensive explanation of his achievements, and one way to put it is what would have happened had Romney won the presidency in 2008." |
If Being Governor Is a Test of Leadership, Romney is Getting His Ass Kicked in Massachusetts
by Mark Karlin
"According to a list of polls assembled by the generally conservative site, Real Clear Politics (RCP), Romney is likely to receive a whopping rejection from the people he once served as governor." |
Treason – House GOP outs undercover CIA operation in Libya on C-SPAN
by John Aravosis |
The Tea Party Will Win in the End
This is a nation that loathes government and always has. Liberals should not be deluded: The Goldwater revolution will ultimately triumph, regardless of what happens in November.
by Frank Rich |
Various items: free speech v 'community', lawlessness in Libya, sprawling surveillance state
The core western political liberty is being slowly eroded by a toxic combination of the worst human attributes
by Glenn Greenwald |
Newsflash for Mitt: The recovery’s not so sluggish
It's understandable that Romney's painting a grim picture of the economy, but the numbers don't quite bear him out
by Jared Bernstein |
Romney’s Medicaid shell game
by Daniel L. Hatcher
"But he pulled all the stops to pursue federal aid as governor of Massachusetts, even hiring “revenue maximization” contractors to scour federal programs for every possible penny — and using financial schemes to maximize and then divert the aid from his needy constituents." |
Martha Raddatz and the faux objectivity of journalists
Establishment journalists are creatures of a highly ideological world and often cause ideology to masquerade as neutral fact
by Glenn Greenwald |
The Alliance from Hell
How the U.S. and Pakistan Became the Dysfunctional Nuclear Family of International Relations
by Dilip Hiro |
Why I Dislike Israel
by Philip Giraldi
"But even the existence of good upstanding Israelis doesn't alter the fact that the governments that they have elected are essentially part of a long-running criminal enterprise judging by the serial convictions of former presidents and prime ministers." |
Bush on Trial: After Media Black-Out, The Prosecution of an American President Opens at US Theaters
by Ralph Lopez
"After a years-long media black-out and a grueling battle to get the film shown in the US, The Prosecution of an American President, the brainchild of the Los Angeles County prosecutor who prosecuted Charles Manson, opens at theaters this week." |
George Bush the Murderer: The Movie
by David Swanson
"In the book, and in this new movie, Bugliosi makes a devastating, well documented case that President George W. Bush is guilty of the murder of U.S. soldiers as a result of the lies he told to justify the invasion of Iraq, and can be prosecuted by any state attorney general in the country, or by any county prosecutor from a jurisdiction where a U.S. soldier lived prior to being killed in Iraq." |
The Big Three Myths Fabricated By Right-Wing Fabulists to Frame America's Elections
by Jim Hightower
"Deliberately planted and nurtured by various Koch-funded front groups, these invasive myths (let's dare call them lies) have been spread by assorted Ayn-Randian acolytes, advancing the anti-democratic notion that corporations and the wealthy are America's most able, virtuous, and deserving citizens." |
Iraqi-American is imprisoned by US for saving his family from US sanctions
A harrowing case of a Missouri engineer highlights the travesties routinely imposed on Muslim Americans
by Glenn Greenwald |
Best democracy money can buy
Six billion dollars of campaign spending has cast a shadow over this election. Is there any hope for reform?
by MICHAEL WINSHIP, BILLMOYERS.COM
"The total being spent for all the races in 2012 is projected at $6 billion this year; possibly rising to as much as $8 billion – which perhaps not coincidentally is the same amount the National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend on Halloween." |
No, “moderate Mitt” isn’t back
A month before the election, he's suddenly embraced the same rhetorical strategy George W. Bush used in 2000
by Steve Kornacki |
SUPER-RICH IRONY
Why do billionaires feel victimized by Obama?
by CHRYSTIA FREELAND
"The growing antagonism of the super-wealthy toward Obama can seem mystifying, since Obama has served the rich quite well. His Administration supported the seven-hundred-billion-dollar tarp rescue package for Wall Street, and resisted calls from the Nobel Prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, and others on the left, to nationalize the big banks in exchange for that largesse." |
Sweden detains Pirate Bay founder in oppressive conditions without charges
The case underscores the prime fear long expressed by Assange supporters about the Swedish justice system
by Glenn Greenwald |
How to Help Iran Build a Bomb
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
"In reports, talks, articles and interviews, they argue that a strike could actually lead to Iran’s speeding up its efforts, ensuring the realization of a bomb and hastening its arrival." |
The Maimed
by Chris Hedges
"It is only the maimed that finally know war. And we are the maimed. We are the broken and the lame. We ask for forgiveness. We seek redemption. We carry on our backs this awful cross of death, for the essence of war is death, and the weight of it digs into our shoulders and eats away at our souls." |
