John Peeler: Obama, if he could free himself of the Wall Street crowd, is the likelier buyer of Will’s prescription of breaking up financial institutions that are “too big to fail”.
License to Kill
By
John Peeler: It is distressing that a president who came to office as a bitter critic of abuses of presidential authority by his predecessor now takes essentially the same position as George W. Bush. Power that is unchecked and operates in secret is always dangerous to democracy.
Santorum, Romney Square Off on Felon Disenfranchisement
By
Bruce Reilly: Romney, at first, beat around the bush. “I don’t believe people who have committed violent crimes should be given their right to vote.”
Shock and Awe versus Aw Shucks: Taking Out the Bad Guys
By
John Peeler: Obama has set a major contrast in style and strategy with George W. Bush: he does not grandstand, he does not order massive military interventions. He doesn’t question Bush’s commitments, but he set up the rules of engagement and the negotiating positions to allow him to dial them back.
Bush Without the Brains
By
Ted Vaill: President Perry would truly be President of “The Untied States of America”, and he might even allow states that are still unhappy to secede. If Perry is elected President, our 236-year experiment with democracy could very well be over.
U.S. Refusal of 2001 Taliban Offer Gave bin Laden a Free Pass
By
Gareth Porter: When George W. Bush rejected a Taliban offer to have Osama bin Laden tried by a moderate group of Islamic states in mid- October 2001, he gave up the only opportunity the United States would have to end bin Laden’s terrorist career for the next nine years.
Bush Concerned Nation ‘Going Through Period’ of Nativism
By
Andrea Nill: The Bush brothers don’t appear ready to fully acknowledge the role their party has played in stoking nativism and killing the chances for sensible immigration reform in the near future.
Tax Deal Will Normalize Bush Era
By
Joseph Palermo: Whatever President Obama accomplished during his first two years in office, with most of the heavy lifting thrown on Nancy Pelosi’s shoulders, his decision to normalize the sweeping changes in American governance of the George W. Bush period will likely neutralize any lasting positive effects for Democrats.
Russ Baker: Elections, Obama, The Bushes, The Future
By
Please join award-winning investigative journalist and author Russ Baker for a talk, reading and signing of his book Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, America’s Invisible Government, and the Hidden History of the Past Fifty Years.
After the Midterms: Why Democrats Move to the Center, and Republicans Don’t
By
Robert Reich: Republicans are cynical about politics from the jump. Political cynicism fuels them. Democrats are idealistic about politics. When they become cynical they tend to drop out.
The Politics of Taxes
By
Tracy Emblem: Bush Tax cuts have conferred the most benefits, by far, on the highest-income households – those least in need of additional resources – at a time when income already is exceptionally concentrated at the top of the income spectrum.
Why We Really Shouldn’t Keep the Bush Tax Cut for the Wealthy
By
Robert Reich: Restoring top earners’ marginal tax rates to what they were during the Clinton administration (36 and 39 percent) won’t inhibit their spending. That’s because they already save a large portion of what they earn, and already spend what they want to spend.
Bush Recession Comes Home to Roost
By
Adam Eran: Tax cuts caused the current budget deficit, not crazy spending. Local government revenues fell 57% after Proposition 13. Even more egregious, the consume-atives™ (they do not conserve), now complain that State funding for local governments to fill that revenue hole meddles too much in local affairs.
When Are White People Going to Get Over It?
By
Until this past November 4, I didn’t believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem.
The Audacity To Win: The Notion of a President Barack Obama and What That Really Means
By
The euphoria has yet to wear off, and probably won’t for a while. The “shock and awe” of the looks of dazed black people walking down the street really says more than could ever be explained. Many folks I talked to are virtually speechless and just walk around shakin’ their heads, not so much wondering [...]
The Bushes and Hitler’s Appeasement
By
The irony of George W. Bush going before the Knesset and mocking the late Sen. William Borah (pictured here) for expressing surprise at Adolf Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland is that Bush’s own family played a much bigger role assisting the Nazis. If Borah, an isolationist Republican from Idaho, sounded naïve saying “Lord, if only [...]
PCL offers monthly Open House Events on the 2nd Saturday at 2pm and 3rd Thursday at 6pm. Click here to learn more.
Europe Ponders U.S. Election Results
Steven Hill: Europeans are puzzled by the success of the populist Tea Party movement, which seemingly wants to roll back the last two years and return to how things were at the end of the Bush-Cheney years.