‘Opinion/Commentary’ Archives
Christian conservatives think they’re above the law
Cliven Bundy syndrome: Why Christian conservatives think they’re above the law From Hobby Lobby to the Nevada rancher, members of the far right share a dangerous, anarchic pathology Amanda Marcotte, Alternet The situation with Cliven Bundy of Nevada should be a no-brainer for people from both the left and the right. Bundy has been stealing from the taxpayers for years, illegally grazing his cattle on federal lands while refusing to pay for the privilege. Both liberals and conservatives pay ... Full Story
Cliven Bundy Is a Pampered Millionaire, Not a Rugged
Fox News 'Hero' Cliven Bundy Is a Pampered Millionaire, Not a Rugged Rancher Watching Fox rally to the defense of moneyed interests like mining and ranching is unbearable. The latest right-wing media poster-victim, Cliven Bundy, is just the latest in a long line of desert dwellers who thinks he or she should not have to follow the law and has a god-given right to unlimited use of public resources, in this case, rangeland. I know the mentality well, because I grew up in rural Nevada and clung ... Full Story
Tea Party has become a terrorist group
It’s Time to be Honest: The Tea Party Has Become a Terrorist Group April 16, 2014 By Allen Clifton While I’m sure many liberals who come across this headline will have some response like “Duh” or “Tell me something I didn’t already know, ” I think it’s time to put hyperbole aside and get real for a moment. Sure, for a while many liberals have called tea party supporters domestic terrorists and have accused them of actively trying to sabotage our government. And with ... Full Story
Democracy, sold down the river
America the voiceless: Voters can't compete with big campaign cash American public has ‘virtually no influence’ over politics in face of wealthy interest groups, study finds April 16, 2014 11:30PM ET by Wilson Dizard @willdizard It’s not just your imagination: The influence of money in politics has indeed drowned out the voices of American voters, a new analysis shows, with runaway corporate lobbying and a lack of campaign finance reform to blame for giving much more ... Full Story
Concealed Carry Cowards
Are George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn "protecting" us? By Martha Rosenberg (about the author) The pro-gun lobby has successfully changed the gun violence argument from asking how mass shooters pass background checks and buy guns legally to why weren't there more guns around. Almost every mass shooter from Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech), James Holmes (Aurora), Jared Loughner (Tucson) and Stephen Phillip Kazmierczak (Northern Illinois University) to the more recent shooters, Aaron Alexis ... Full Story
Greenwald on Clapper
Inside the Mind of James Clapper By Glenn Greenwald I’m going to have a story published later today about a new document, but until then, this new interview with (and profile of) Director of National Intelligence James Clapper by the Daily Beast‘s Eli Lake is worth spending a few moments examining. Last week, Lake published one excerpt of his interview where Clapper admitted that the U.S. Government should have told the American people that the NSA was collecting their ... Full Story
The invasion of Afghanistan, a disaster
Wasted Blood and Treasure: The Futility of Invading Afghanistan Every single war in Afghanistan, whether waged by the Soviets, the British or the Americans, has wreaked havoc on the country . OpenDemocracy / By Rodric Braithwaite February 21, 2014 | On 16 December 2013 David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, told British soldiers in Helmand in Afghanistan that they had accomplished their mission, and that they could come home in 2014 with their heads held high. He ... Full Story
U.S. Drone murders innocent Yemenis
Turning a Wedding Into a Funeral: U.S. Drone Strike in Yemen Killed as Many as 12 Civilians Investigation reveals that 12 civilians were killed when a U.S. drone targeted a wedding procession in Yemen. By Amy Goodman & Juan González Human Rights Watch has revealed as many as 12 civilians were killed in December when a U.S. drone targeted vehicles that were part of a wedding procession going toward the groom’s village outside the central Yemeni city of Rad’a. ... Full Story
Badge, license to kill
Why Do Cops Who Shoot Unarmed People Get Their Guns Back? By Kevin Mathews What happens to police officers who shoot unarmed citizens while on duty? More often than not, nothing. Even in the most egregious examples of misconduct and bad policing, officers are found not guilty in court (if they even stand trial in the first place) and are free to return to duty… re-armed to potentially cause more harm in the future. This pattern is a serious miscarriage of justice. By refusing to ... Full Story
Politics and National Policy
Deficit Reduction Declines as Policy Priority Just Half of Democrats Rate Deficit as ‘Top Priority For the first time since Barack Obama took office in 2009, deficit reduction has slipped as a policy priority among the public. Overall, 63% say reducing the budget deficit should be a top priority for Congress and the president this year, down from 72% a year ago. Most of the decline has come among Democrats: Only about half of Democrats – 49% – view deficit reduction as a top priority, ... Full Story
