Republicans are gearing up for a new push to increase military spending, one that will be justified on the basis that America’s military has been “hollowed out,” what with us spending a mere half-trillion dollars a year on wars and preparing for wars. Is there any truth to that argument? To help answer that question, […]
Obama Administration
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
At National Gathering, Firefighters Not Impressed By Potential GOP Candidates
Ted Cruz elicited more grumbles than laughs with jokes about Hillary Clinton and the IRS. The rest of the Republican presidential field didn’t fare much better.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Time For Everyone to Dial It Back On the Iran Letter
I don’t remember the last time a letter from a bunch of senators generated as much news as the one Senator Tom Cotton and 46 other Republicans sent on Monday to the government of Iran. It’s quite a coup for Cotton himself, and something of a black eye for the Republicans, given that it has […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Looking Forward to the Sequel
If we don’t alter the power distribution that led to the financial collapse, it will happen again.
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Obama in Selma, and the Definition of America
View image | gettyimages.com I wanted to say a bit about President Obama’s speech on Saturday in Selma, which I think will (and should) stand as a key document in one of the central arguments of the Obama years. That argument is this: What is America? It’s an argument as old as the nation itself, […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Selma March Commemorated By Politicians Who Support Gutting of Voting Rights
The 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday—the catalyst for passage of the Voting Rights Act—is being remembered at a moment when voting rights in the South are at their most precarious in half a century.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The End of the Siege of Obama
White House photo by Pete Souza This is an auspicious week, because it saw the first real controversy of Hillary Clinton’s campaign (there were a couple of “She said what?!?” mini-stories, but those don’t count). And why is that so important? I explain in my Plum Line post today: Mark the first week of March […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Republicans Hankering for Ground War Against ISIS. What Could Go Wrong?
We’re going to hear more and more Republican politicians coming out for a re-invasion of Iraq. And how ’bout a strike on Iran while we’re at it?
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Can Liberal Democracy Survive?
America is becoming more like the illiberal pseudo-democracies and kleptocracies.
Posted inAmerica and the World
How to Sabotage Iran Negotiations in the Name of Avoiding War
Israel and AIPAC are using Congress to push their own agenda of increasing sanctions on Iran and reducing presidential authority.
