Departing political leaders offer two kinds of reflections: self-serving rationalizations by those still protecting their reputations and blunt truth-telling by people who realize they should have done more when they had the chance. Both are galling, though in different ways,…
Category: Politics
Bush’s ‘October Surprise’ File in Dispute
Exclusive: The enduring October Surprise mystery whether Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign sabotaged President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to free 52 American hostages in Iran has reached a possible turning point, whether details of George H.W. Bush’s activities on a key day…
Resetting the American Narrative
Exclusive: The U.S. political climate might change if Americans understood how much the federal government did to create the infrastructure behind many business fortunes, including the Internet and computer technology. That narrative would justify higher taxes on the rich to repay the nation…
The Absurd US Bases in Japan
Anticipating a return to power after Republicans win in 2012, the neocons are now in a delaying game to stop any serious cuts in the U.S. military budget, including in the global network of bases, even in countries like Japan…
Nuke Plant Battle in Kansas City
A dispute in Kansas City over a new plant for modernizing U.S. nuclear weapons has drawn local opposition and international attention as political and religious leaders question the Obama administration’s commitment to a nuke-free world, Lawrence S. Wittner writes.
Demanding Hurricane Irene ‘Offsets’
Unlike Hurricane Katrina on George W. Bush’s watch, FEMA stayed on top of Hurricane Irene rushing help to flood-stricken Americans, from North Carolina to Vermont. But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and right-wing Republicans are demanding spending “offsets” from other…
Democracy v. the Greedy Rich
As the rich get richer, the poor poorer and the middle class smaller, America’s most prominent “populist” movement, the Tea Party, demands more tax breaks for the rich and less help for the rest. Kevin Zeese says only a true…
A Labor Day Tale of Three Cities
For several decades, America’s political/media elites have song the siren song of a post-industrial economy based on “free trade” and “financial innovations” while silencing dissent that questioned this new-age group think. Now, the results are in, as Phil Rockstroh encountered…
Jesus: Redistributionist-in-Chief
If Christian conservatives truly understood and accepted the teachings of Jesus, they would not be at the Tea Party barricades fighting to protect the money, power and privileges of the rich; they would be demanding what Jesus wanted, a radical…
Is Obama to Blame for America’s Mess?
Exclusive: With the 2009 stimulus money running dry and with businesses unnerved by Washington’s political gridlock and brinksmanship, America’s weak “recovery” has stalled, prompting more criticism of President Barack Obama. Robert Parry explores whether these complaints are fair.