Gary Corseri: Once you start thinking about memes, it’s like having cataracts removed—colors emerge more vividly; you start seeing patterns in carpets, in wallpaper. It’s like suddenly seeing Snooky’s face for the first time on HDTV!
Jon Huntsman: A Star Is Born
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Brent Budowsky: When Huntsman was named ambassador to China I wrote on this page that he is five-star and first-rate. It would be a better world if everyone in politics and political media would occasionally speak well of a member of the other party.
The Politics of Hate—and Hate Speech
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Walter Brasch: While most Tea Partiers are White, middle-aged or senior citizens who are angry but not violent, whenever there is violence, whenever there is racism, discrimination, or homophobia, there are Tea Party sympathizers present.
When Radicalized Political Rhetoric and Anti-Intellectualism Meet
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Anthony Samad: Free speech is one thing. Symbolic speech is covered by the First Amendment, but don’t say your coded messages don’t have anything to do with violent consequences.
The Consequences of Words
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Tom Degan: The extremism of 1963 was pretty much isolated to a few southern cities. Forty-eight years later it’s gone national. What happened in Arizona over the weekend is only the beginning.
Tpaw and the Campaign ‘Autohagiography’
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Michael Sigman: Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty this week joined Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, 2012 GOP presidential hopefuls who’ve published campaign books that might best be called “autohagiographies.”
The Political Fight after the Arizona Gunfight: Right Target, Wrong Trigger
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Gil Troy: Yes, we need more civility in our politics. But no, we should not use one crazy gunman’s random fixations and horrific violence to trigger the kind of reform modern political culture needs.
“Truth or Consequence” – How Did You THINK It Was Going to End Up?
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Scott Prosterman: The Tea Party Nation issued a statement, “We didn’t intend for this to result in violence.” Huh? How did they think it was going to end up?
White Power, White Terrorism, White Mainstream
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Jessie Daniels: The white mainstream is already framing this shooting as the act of a crazed, lone gunman, rather than part of a consistent pattern of right-wing violence perpetrated almost exclusively by white men who are responding to a political climate that is increasingly stoked by vitriolic rhetoric.
At Least Stand By Your Free Speech
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Tina Dupuy: Sarah Palin, stand by your free speech. Minutes after the Arizona shooting, Palin’s “Crosshairs” image was scrubbed from her website without an explanation or comment – a cowardly move. If you are going to say outrageous things, then you are going to have to stand by outrageous things
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot
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Tragedy in Tucson Arizona Congressional Representative Gabrielle Giffords has been shot. She was shot in the head as she was addressing constituents at a Tucson, Arizona stripmall. Congresswoman Giffords was immediately taken to a nearby hospital and is listed in critical condition. The Arizona representative was attending an event at a local stripmall in Arizona [...]
Our Predictions for 2011
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Randy Shaw: The biggest story will be President Obama’s “new” relationship with Congressional Republicans; as if the president had not reached out to obstructionist Republicans from the start. We will be deluged with stories describing the “idealism and vision” of newly seated House Republicans, despite their allegiance to large corporations and goal of restoring failed Hoover-era policies.
CNN Reignites Death Panel Myth, Sparking My “Network” Moment
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Linda Milazzo: Corporate media’s constant drumming of death panel lies resulted in Section 1233 (which allowed Medicare to provide advance planning doctor visits every five years) being eliminated from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that passed in 2010. This week CNN was back using the same death panel misnomer, spreading the death panel myth. Well I’m mad as hell. I’m not going to take it anymore from CNN, MSNBC, Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS and talk radio. We, the people, deserve better.
The Boehner-Hoover-Tea Party Connection
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Tom Hall: Is Boehner learning, now that he has given control to the bosses, that they have little further use for him? After working his way up the system, how does it feel to have young messenger boys from corporate bosses giving him instruction on how to act?
New Haiti Cholera Warning, Vaccine Questions, and “Squatters” Vulnerable
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Georgianne Nienaber: While all eyes were on Sarah Palin’s visit to Haiti this weekend, Dr. Jocelyne Pierre Louis, Director of Haiti’s Department of Public Health and Population (MSPP) predicted a new outbreak of the cholera epidemic, particularly in Port-au-Prince and the Metropolitan Region due to the unsanitary conditions in the city.
In the Cold Climate of Politics, We’ll Miss Elizabeth Edwards’ Warmth
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Linda Milazzo: In today’s America, where corporate media caters to the right, Elizabeth Edwards was that rare progressive woman who could make her voice be heard. And now that voice is gone.
Meat: Politics and Perspective on Steroids
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Charles Hayes: As those who participate already know, the greatest lesson of all of self-education is that things are seldom as they seem. Examining the food industry is a good way to prove this to yourself. Then apply what you’ve learned to politics.
The Lynch-Mob Moment
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Tom Hayden: There’s wisdom in expecting calmer heads to prevail in the WikiLeaks matter, but what can be done when the calmer heads are going nuts or hiding in silence?
GOP to USA: Drop Dead
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Tom Degan: The president, far from being the Progressive warrior his base was praying for when we elected him two years ago, appears hell bent on caving into their demands.
Good for You, Ron Paul!
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Tom Hayden: Thank you so much for your courage in standing up for WikiLeaks at a time when so many seem intent on killing the messenger. Your statement, “In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble.” should be posted around the world.
Sarah Palin: America’s Full-Time Professional Duelist
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Tina Dupuy: Palin is now our nation’s only full-time professional duelist. She fights with everyone. Her entire post-quitting career is centered on flame wars, most of which she starts.
Fairness and the Bristol Stomp
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Walter M. Brasch: Through our actions, we continue to teach America’s children that no matter how much they’ve studied or worked, it is the boss’s niece or a boss’s friend’s son who is hired first.
Sarah Palin’s Presidential Strategy, and the Economy She Depends on
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Robert Reich: The Republican establishment doesn’t get it. Celebrity is part of The Palin Strategy – as is avoiding the insider game. She doesn’t want to do what Huckabee, Pawlenty, Gingrich, or Romney have to do. She has an outside game.
Color Blindness
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Steve Hochstadt: Our nation also has far to go. Claiming that we are color blind, that whites no longer have privileges in America, that we need no longer worry about preventing discrimination is nonsense. One need only have observed the reception of our first black President to know how important skin color still is in America.
What’s the Matter with America? The Big Disconnect
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Charles Hayes: If America is going to have a better future, we need to put our Stone Age feelings of exceptional identity aside and intellectually guard ourselves against emotional manipulation while reasoning our way forward.
Good Grief, Sarah: David Kernell Is No G. Gordon Liddy and You’re No Victim
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Scott Prosterman: Palin travels the country decrying the “pork” politics of Washington, while actively engaging lobbyists for that very task. Mama Grizzly likes her pork chops too. She also likes her revisionist history. David Kernell is no Gordon Liddy, but Sarah Palin comes pretty close.
What Center?
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Joseph Palermo: The political “center” of American politics is a moving target. And for the last thirty years it has moved in only one direction: Rightward.
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