Category: Politics & World Affairs
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Quote of the day: It doesn’t help that McCain has never put his argument for staying into some larger context that might explain what he really means by “winning” the war in Iraq. If you ask him to define victory, his answer is that Americans soldiers will have stopped dying, and that the Iraqi military…
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Frank Rich explains.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, Obama leads McCain, 46% to 40% (9% undecided). Clinton leads McCain, 47% to 38% (11% undecided). It’s interesting that Clinton is outperforming Obama against McCain. But here’s the really interesting part: The results represent a shift from a Times/Bloomberg poll in February, when McCain led Clinton by 6 percentage…
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Because he is black! During my vacation last week, every time I put the TV on in my hotel room, I came across yet another lame excuse, counter-factual argument and shifting of the goal post by Hillary and Bill Clinton and their desperate handymen explaining that Barack Obama cannot win the general election in November…
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Once upon a time, there was a ladybug who was competing with another ladybug for aphids on a leaf. The ladybug didn’t want to share and said to the other "Hey, wanna fight?" On getting no response, the ladybug got angry and went off in a huff to another larger insect and said "Hey, wanna…
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In recent days we have repeatedly heard news reports of the rising cost of food and food shortage. The effects have been mild to moderate in wealthy, developed nations like the US, more worrisome in Asia and severe in some poorer parts of the world. Namibia and Haiti have already seen food riots. The cause…
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I didn’t watch last Wednesday’s presidential debate in Philadelphia between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. From what I have read and heard since, I gather that the debate was more of a "gotcha" game of distractions than substantive questioning of the two candidates. The media critique of the two moderators, George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson…
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I am currently in the throes of a blogger’s block and a fading but persistent back ache. Hopefully I will be able to write something thoughtful in the next couple of days, instead of just fulminating about the Democratic primaries in the comments section of my co-authors’ posts. Today I will leave you with a…
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There’s an interesting post up at Obsidian Wings about the backlash to Obama’s recent remarks about working-class Pennsylvanians. The theory, essentially, is: "pin it on liberal self-loathing." [F]ar too many liberals — particularly circa 2002-03 — had internalized the view that they were snobby, that they were elitist, that they were too anti-religion, or that…
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Based on computer modeling studies, University of Colorado scientists predict that a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan will not only cause havoc in the vicinity of the Indian subcontinent; it will also have far reaching effects on human (and animal) health and the environment worldwide. A limited nuclear weapons exchange between Pakistan and…
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With the Summer Olympics just a few months away, China is running into problems, already visible in the inaugural ceremony of the Olympic torch relay. The relay, dubbed the "The Journey of Harmony" by the Chinese government has been anything but harmonious. Several attempts have been made to extinguish the torch which is scheduled to…
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Normally New York Times op-eds annoy me (David Brooks, anyone? Not to mention Dowd on a day when her snark fails to be funny…). A notable exception is Paul Krugman’s column today on how, in the context of health care reform, John McCain is a dirty liar, and also possibly evil. (Okay, the words "dirty…
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The most troublesome point in a politician’s career is where the opposition’s criticism coincides with the suspicions of one’s own party loyalists. That the narrative about Hillary and Bill Clinton emanating from both the left and the right are merging, should say something about the couple whether or not their supporters recognize it. More often…
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No, not on the basketball court – at the Texas Democratic convention to assign delegates to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. When I attended the caucus on the evening of March 4, things were a bit confused but not chaotic. See if you can figure out what happened today in Texas. AUSTIN — Traffic jams,…
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