Vice President Joe Biden may or may not have concurred with some disgruntled Democratic politicians that in the negotiations over the debt ceiling, the Tea Party Republicans acted like “terrorists.” But what critics of the Baggers’ methods were pointing to was well described by Fareed Zakaria: Fareed Zakaria explains why the Tea Party tactics are […]
Eissenstat: Turkey’s Generals Resign
Howard Eissenstat writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Turkey’s Generals Resign: Thoughts on a New Chapter in Turkish Politics For most of my professional life I have argued that one of the chief flaws of Turkish democracy was the overwhelming influence of its military. It is for this reason I have been largely […]
Sound and Fury: Americans Actually Lightly Taxed
The following chart is a slightly shortened version of the one at The Globe and Mail, which demonstrates that US tax rates are among the lowest in the industrialized world. Tax Revenue as a Percentage of GDP, 2009 There is another chart at the Globe and Mail showing how US taxes have fallen since 1965. […]
Cheek: We have no Liberty without Energy Freedom
Martin Cheek, co-author of Clean Energy Nation: Freeing America from the Tyranny of Fossil Fuels, writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Americans Must Lead the World to Energy Freedom OPEC and the International Energy Agency are both expecting that demand for crude oil will start rising again next year. OPEC’s market report in […]
Al-Tamimi: The Norway Attacks and the Paranoid Mindset
Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The Norway Attacks and the Paranoid Mindset It has emerged that Anders Breivik- who is suspected of killing at least 76 people in two attacks in Norway on Friday a week ago– was an avid user of online so-called “counter-jihad” forums. At one such […]
Top Developments in the Arab Spring this Weekend
As usual, Friday was a big day for the popular Arab reform movements that are challenging dictatorial governments. 1. Syrian security forces are alleged to have killed about 20 protesters on Friday, as the demonstrations and rallies continue to be vigorous in places like Hama and Deir al-Zor. The one-party state, ruled by the Baath […]
European Extremism Scares Arabs
Egyptian newspaper Al-Shuruq in Arabic for July 29, 2011: Article on Anders Breivik with the title, “Europe’s Extreme Right: A Hatred Factory”
A Story More Important than Debt Limit Kabuki
I take it the American news cycle is dominated by the artificial debate over raising the debt limit. It is a silly season story. The budget was being balanced by Clinton in the late 1990s, and the Republicans were the ones who created long-term structural deficits by slashing taxes on the wealthiest Americans (even Bush […]
Controversies over Younis assassination in Libya
Abdel Fattah Younis, military leader of the Free Libya Forces, was assassinated Thursday. Younis was too close to Qaddafi, despite his defection, to remain truly popular with the rebels, and it is a little unlikely that his death will affect the terms of the uprising, despite what some observers are saying. He was not allowed […]
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