The Right often demonizes Hollywood as “liberal” and surely there are some TV shows and movies with liberal themes but most of what the U.S. entertainment industry produces is either apolitical or super-patriotic. “Argo,” a new movie on Iran, fits the…
Month: June 2012
Obama’s Celebrity Boosters
In the era of Citizens United, a dilemma confronts Democrats who opposed the ruling but now face electoral disaster if they don’t tap into this flood of special-interest money. President Obama’s response has been to turn to celebrities in the…
Who Speaks for Jesus?
The Vatican has scolded American nuns for deviating from Church doctrine. Conservative bishops decry President Obama’s health-care reform for violating their religious freedom. But some Catholics find this heated rhetoric at odds with the gentler message of Jesus, as Catholic theologian Paul Surlis said…
What Iran Wants
As talks on Iran’s nuclear program resume in Moscow, the United States and Western powers are showing little willingness to pull back on economic sanctions, even in exchange for Iran’s suspension of its higher refinement of uranium. Ex-CIA analyst Paul…
Amnesty’s Shilling for US Wars
For decades, Amnesty International has been a respected name in the cause of human rights, but its recent hiring of Suzanne Nossel, a longtime U.S. “humanitarian interventionist,” has swung the organization more behind the Afghan War and the use of U.S.…
How Tea Partiers Diss the Framers
Exclusive: The Framers of the U.S. Constitution never looked smarter than when the American system of a strong central government is compared to the European Union model, a loose federation staggered by disunity. But the Tea Partiers want a states’ rights…
Super PACs Give Status to the Rich
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall victory was a glimpse into the future of American “democracy,” as billionaires showered him with Super PAC gifts like they might a favorite new mistress, a concern addressed by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship.
Trading the Environment for Coal
The American Right has grabbed a sizable voting bloc of working- and middle-class men by pitting jobs from coal against the environment. In the short term, this dichotomy seems to make sense since it’s important to pay the bills but…
A Chill in Egypt’s Arab Spring
Dissolution of Egypt’s parliament and doubts about the upcoming presidential election have undermined the country’s once-promising transition to democracy. Now the question is, can any likely outcome justify the hopes of last year’s Arab Spring, asks ex-CIA analyst Paul R.…
Admissions on Nixon’s ‘Treason’
Special Report: Definitive proof of a historical mystery is often elusive, even with archival documents and memoirs. Skeptics can always say some witness or some evidence isn’t perfect. But the case that Richard Nixon sabotaged the Vietnam peace talks in…