“Hacking Democracy” follows Harris – a middle-aged writer and literary publicist from Seattle who first became interested in voting difficulties shortly before the 2002 race – as she travels the country to sound the alarm about what has become the most talked-about problem in elections, the dangers posed by the paperless electronic voting machines. Harris… Continue reading Hacking Democracy
Bushenfreude
And yet Bushenfreude—the phenomenon whereby high-income beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts use their windfalls to fund Democratic candidates—is still raging this election season. If anything, it’s more intense than in 2004. Around the country, high earners with million-dollar homes, foreign cars, and fancy jobs, people who have won the meritocratic race, are furious at… Continue reading Bushenfreude
Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers
if current trends continue, only 4 percent of teenagers will be “Bible-believing Christians” as adults. That would be a sharp decline compared with 35 percent of the current generation of baby boomers, and before that, 65 percent of the World War II generation. From Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers – New York Times… Continue reading Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers
Kissinger’s back in the White House
Bob Woodward’s disclosure of the influence of Henry Kissinger on the Bush administration’s Iraq policy both is and is not a surprise. After all, we have known for a long time that the bungling old war criminal has his admirers within the White House. From Slate Magazine Hitchens called Kissinger a gargoyle. I couldn’t agree… Continue reading Kissinger’s back in the White House
The Case for the Libertarian Democrat
It was my fealty to the notion of personal liberty that made me a Republican when I came of age in the 1980s. It is my continued fealty to personal liberty that makes me a Democrat today. The case against the libertarian Republican is so easy to make that I almost feel compelled to stipulate… Continue reading The Case for the Libertarian Democrat
OPEC Moves Toward Production Cuts
A consensus among OPEC members began to form over the weekend about cuts in oil production to help stem the recent decline in price, but the group’s members have not yet agreed on how to share the reduced output. From As Price Slips, OPEC Moves Toward Production Cuts – New York Times Just in time… Continue reading OPEC Moves Toward Production Cuts
Al Qaeda Increasingly Reliant on Media
“We are the energy behind the path to jihad,” Abu Omar said proudly. “Just like the jihadis reached their target on Sept. 11, we will reach ours through the Internet.” From Al Qaeda Increasingly Reliant on Media – New York Times More proof that Gibson had it right when he said the street finds its… Continue reading Al Qaeda Increasingly Reliant on Media
number six
(Bloomberg) – The U.S. lost its position as the world’s most competitive economy to Switzerland as budget and trade deficits prompted a slide to sixth in the World Economic Forum’s annual rankings. From Bloomberg Sadly, not surprising. This is the result six years of economic policy set by people who think that supply-side economics is… Continue reading number six
Study of Iraq War and Terror Stirs Strong Political Response
Democratic lawmakers, responding to an intelligence report that found that the Iraq war has invigorated Islamic radicalism and worsened the global terrorist threat, said the assessment by American spy agencies demonstrated that the Bush administration needed to devise a new strategy for its handling of the war. And then there is the kicker: In public… Continue reading Study of Iraq War and Terror Stirs Strong Political Response
UN Dispatch: Ted Turner: Telling It Like It Is
the U.N.’s not perfect. It structurally needs to be reformed. The Security Council, it just doesn’t make sense to have only five countries and the victors of World War Two. I mean Germany and Japan, that was 60 years ago. They’re both two of the most peaceful and best run countries in the world. They… Continue reading UN Dispatch: Ted Turner: Telling It Like It Is