Paul Ryan blames President Obama for the government’s budget deficits, and singles out the stimulus program as the culprit. But stimulus was one-time expenditures, not ongoing annual ones, and so over time will contribute little to the deficit. What does drive up the deficit annually is a series of Bush-era measures, including the Iraq and […]
Romney Hood and his Merry Band (Cartoon)
Two Ways Mitt Romney Really Will Kill lots of People
Controversy is swirling about a poorly argued attack ad done by a super PAC that is pro-Obama, which accuses Mitt Romney of being responsible for throwing a family where the wife had cancer out of health insurance when he closed the company. The case seems convoluted and the argument tenuous. Romney isn’t responsible for people […]
On Martyrdom for Freedom of Expression (Thomas Jefferson Poster)
America’s New Proxy Wars (Turse)
Nick Turse writes at Tomdispatch.com: In the 1980s, the U.S. government began funneling aid to mujahedeen rebels in Afghanistan as part of an American proxy war against the Soviet Union. It was, in the minds of America’s Cold War leaders, a rare chance to bloody the Soviets, to give them a taste of the sort […]
Parliament takes over in Modern Libya’s First Peaceful Transfer of Power
The UN observer sent to commemorate the event said it all. The peaceful transfer of power from the National Transitional Council to the newly elected Libyan parliament “surprised the world.”. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the NTC during the transitional period, handed the baton to parliament, which was buzzing with deliberations about who the […]
Top Ten differences between White Terrorists and Others
1. White terrorists are called “gunmen.” What does that even mean? A person with a gun? Wouldn’t that be, like, everyone in the US? Other terrorists are called, like, “terrorists.” 2. White terrorists are “troubled loners.” Other terrorists are always suspected of being part of a global plot, even when they are obviously troubled loners. […]
Hitchhiking Camels, Libya (Photo)
Photograph on road from Tripoli to Misrata, Libya, May, 2012, by Juan Cole
In Memoriam Marvin Hamlisch: “Nobody Does it Better” (Carly Simon Performance)
In Memoriam Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012): Below, his “Nobody Does it Better,” theme of the 1977 Bond film, “The Spy Who Loved Me” and among the best of the 20-odd Bond film themes. It was performed by Carly Simon: If we post-moderns all live our lives to a set of background theme songs, Mr. Hamlisch provided […]
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