Category: Politics

Buying What’s Left of Democracy

Under the cloak of “free speech,” rich Americans — especially on the Right — are buying what’s left of U.S. “democracy” and doing much of it in secret, insisting their sponsorship of TV attack ads be hidden. Some of their handmaidens even…

The ‘America-Held-Hostage’ Narrative

Exclusive: From the moment Barack Obama took office, the Republicans plotted to sabotage his presidency, even though the nation faced its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The U.S. news media knows that, but can’t resist blaming the President for…

The Battle over the Constitution

Claiming to speak for the Constitution, the Right has convinced many Americans of an upside-down account of what the Framers were doing and timid historians have let these false impressions harden into conventional wisdom. Beverly Bandler says a vigorous and…

Higgs Boson/Nature’s Bosom/US Bozos

The announcement that scientists may have discovered a mysterious particle, called the Higgs boson giving mass to all matter, was a reminder of the majesty of the universe. But it comes at a time of a dumbed-down culture in America…

The Silence on Global Warming

Exclusive: Harrowing predictions of climate scientists are coming true, as glaciers melt, forests burn, heat waves proliferate and freakish weather strikes in unexpected places. But the propagandists of global-warming denial have succeeded in silencing most politicians and the mainstream press, writes…

Seeking Rules for the World’s Guns

A United Nations conference is looking at ways to reduce global instability by regulating the international flow of guns and other conventional weapons. But the talks face the usual obstacles, including political resistance in the United States to any constraints on…

The Picking-a-President Dilemma

Many Americans struggle with the moral and practical issue of whether to vote for someone who may be the better choice to be President but who is still far from perfect. With another upcoming election, Lawrence Davidson suggests some guidelines…

How Scalia Distorts the Framers

Exclusive: In rejecting the Commerce Clause as the constitutional foundation for the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court’s right-wing justices distorted America’s founding narrative, including one made-up view attributed to Alexander Hamilton, writes Robert Parry.

Prancing Horses, Prancing Politicians

Dressage or “horse ballet” may be the only equestrian competition that makes polo look like a working-class sport. But it is a favorite Romney family pastime, like lucrative fundraisers hosted by rich bankers under suspicion of financial crimes and looking…

New Israeli Leader Balks on Iran

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kept President Obama behind a hard-line strategy on Iran’s nuclear program via lobbying pressure from Congress and Washington’s neocons. But a new member of the Israeli government is complicating matters, writes Gareth Porter for…