Politics in America is a balancing act between idealism and cynicism, with the latter usually triumphing over the former at least in the near term, until a new surge of idealism arrives. As Lisa Pease writes, this ebb and flow is at the center of George Clooney’s new movie, “The Ides of March.”
In America, bubbles come in two forms: how Wall Street insiders suck in a sucker’s money before the speculative bubble pops and how those same scam artists stay inside a protective bubble to spare themselves from the fallout. In this autumn of national discontent, Phil Rockstroh sees hope for real change.
Exclusive: The stupidity of the Republican presidential field seems to know no bounds, with Gov. Rick Perry’s putting the American Revolution in the 1500s and joining Rep. Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party in messing up the history of the nation’s founding, notes Robert Parry.
Exclusive: Backed by a powerful right-wing media and aggressive Tea Party activists, Republicans appear unafraid of any political risks from their out-of-hand rejection of President Barack Obama’s jobs bill. The GOP senses its anti-government message remains potent, writes Robert Parry.
The “99 Percent” movement continues to grow, surfacing not only in New York, Washington and other major cities like Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles – but in smaller cities, even in conservative bastions like Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Richard L. Fricker reports.
Exclusive: The Park Police have agreed to let protesters camp out at Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C. for four months as they press their demands for a shift in national priorities from war and greed toward jobs and peace. Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern reports on a anti-war march to the White House.
Presidential contender Mitt Romney has laid out his vision for a foreign policy in a Romney administration – and it looks like it could have been dreamt up by the same neocons who guided George W. Bush’s disastrous pursuit of permanent U.S. military dominance, as Lawrence S. Wittner reports.
The Republican complaint that any talk about raising taxes on the rich is “class warfare” has now refocused on the protests against Wall Street greed as an example of “mob” rule, instigated by President Barack Obama. But Danny Schechter finds the GOP accusation absurd.
Across the United States, the 99 Percent Movement is occupying more and more parks to protest America’s growing economic inequality. In Washington DC, activist Kevin Zeese reports on the protest at Freedom Plaza near the Treasury building.
Exclusive: For three decades, the United States has undertaken an extraordinary social experiment, incentivizing greed among the richest Americans by cutting their top tax rates in half or more. The results are now in from Ronald Reagan’s bold gamble and Robert Parry says they aren’t good.
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