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Category Archives: Columns
The Military-Industrial Complex Is Real, and It’s Bigger Than Ever – The Daily Beast
In January 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously warned about the growth of the “military-industrial complex” in his farewell address. Ed Snowden, late of Booz Allen Hamilton, is just one small expression of its rise. The rest is evident throughout … Continue reading
NSA Spying Shows Obama’s Machine Out of Control – The Daily Beast
With news that Verizon was required to hand over supposedly private domestic phone records to the government as part of a national security dragnet, the second-term curse just got much more real for the Obama administration. To date, however, the … Continue reading
Michele Bachmann Is Done: Her Hostage Tape to Reality – The Daily Beast
Our long national nightmare is over. Well, that’s overstating it. But the congresswoman who represented the worst of modern American politics more than she ever tried to represent her Minnesota constituents has announced that she will not run for reelection. … Continue reading
Memo to the GOP: It’s Time to Listen to Your Elders – The Daily Beast
Sometimes retirees are out of touch. But sometimes they’re freer to tell the truth. And that’s what happened when GOP mandarins Bob Dole and John Warner fired off warning flares about the rightward drift of the Republican Party. Former presidential … Continue reading
How Did ‘Patriot’ Become a Dirty Word? – CNN.com
On Memorial Day, we honor those patriots who gave “the last full measure of devotion” — in Abraham Lincoln’s words — and died defending our freedom and union. But this Memorial Day is partly clouded by the resurgence of partisan … Continue reading
Stuck Far From Home, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett Asks for Prayers – The Daily Beast
When the mile-wide twister came down just outside his town, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett was watching the devastation on television, just like the rest of America. The three-term mayor was stuck at an economic-development conference in Las Vegas—the last … Continue reading
American Way: Don’t Impose Watergate on the Scandals Facing Obama – They Stand on Their Own – The Telegraph
Somewhere Richard Nixon is smiling. Four decades after Watergate and two decades after his death, we still can’t stop talking about the dark anti-hero of American politics. His five-o’clock shadowy visage remains too convenient a metaphor for lazy critics looking … Continue reading
Hispanic Outreach Director Explains Why He Said ‘Adios’ to the GOP – The Daily Beast
Conservatives should consider this a warning sign. The Republican National Committee’s former Hispanic outreach director for Florida has left the GOP and registered as a Democrat, citing a “culture of intolerance.” Pablo Pantoja is a decorated Iraq war vet who … Continue reading
With Benghazi Video, Karl Rove Kicks Off 2016 With Hillary Clinton Hit – The Daily Beast
Less than five months after Barack Obama began his second term, the 2016 presidential campaign kicked off this weekend with a Benghazi-themed attack ad that takes direct aim at Hillary Clinton. The 90-second web ad, called “Benghazi”, was issued by … Continue reading
IRS Wrong To Target ‘Patriots’–But Also To Let Non-Profits Play Politics – The Daily Beast
Forget slow-news Friday. The IRS admission today that it singled out for scrutiny political action committees with the words “Tea Party” and “Patriot” in their names rocketed around the Internet, fueling conservatives’ feeling of persecution. The actions were apparently taken … Continue reading
Mark Sanford Is the Comeback Kid, Winning SC Congressional Seat – The Daily Beast
The redemption tour is over and Congress has a new Comeback Kid. Scandal-laden former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford won back his old congressional seat on Tuesday night, defeating Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch by a 54 percent to 45 percent … Continue reading
The High Cost of Rush: Talker Bleeds Millions From His Carriers as Toxic Talk Slumps, Cumulus Seems Set to Part Ways With Rush Limbaugh – The Daily Beast
“We’ve had a tough go of it this last year,” Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey said Tuesday morning. “The facts are indisputable regarding the impact certain things have had on ad dollars.” Dickey told analysts on the earnings call that his … Continue reading
Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Mark Sanford Clash at South Carolina Debate – The Daily Beast
There was rolling thunder and rain outside the Citadel on Monday night, but the lightning was inside the packed auditorium where Mark Sanford and Elizabeth Colbert Busch clashed in the one debate of the one congressional race in the country … Continue reading
False Flags, Sharia Law, and Gun Grabs: GOP Lawmakers Embrace The Crazy – The Daily Beast
A few days after the Boston bombings, Stella Tremblay went to Glenn Beck’s Facebook page to express her conviction that the terror attack was, in fact, orchestrated by the U.S. government. “The Boston Marathon was a Black Ops ‘terrorist’ attack,” … Continue reading
Market Leninism vs. the West – The Daily Beast
So much for the end of history. Twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall gave rise to the idea that liberal capitalist democracy would carry the human race inexorably toward broad sunlit uplands, we are confronted with the … Continue reading
Mark Sanford Ditched by NRCC, but Counting Him Out Would Be Unwise – The Daily Beast
Leave it to the National Republican Congressional Committee to take a bad situation and make it worse. After the unwelcome revelation that former South Carolina governor and GOP congressional nominee Mark Sanford has been accused of trespassing by his ex-wife, … Continue reading
A Time for Resilience – The Daily Beast
There, with the end in sight, two bombs exploded on Boylston Street. The shrapnel tore through the cheering crowd, knocking marathon runners down with the force of the blast, turning their moment of triumph into tragedy. Even hours later, still … Continue reading
GOP’s Cowardly Gun Filibuster Threat – CNN.com
There are days when Congress seems determined to earn its 12% approval rating — and that 14 Republican senators are threatening to filibuster any new gun legislation should make your blood boil if you still have a heart to pump … Continue reading
Obama Budget Catching Hell From Both Sides: Why That’s a Good Sign – The Daily Beast
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall catch hell from both sides.” So said a sign on the Justice Department wall of Burke Marshall at the height of the civil rights era. But it could also apply to President Obama’s … Continue reading
South Carolina Special Election Has All the Makings of a Scandal-Filled Telenovela – The Daily Beast
This is one local election that’s going to get national attention. With Mark Sanford’s victory in the Republican runoff Tuesday night, South Carolina’s May 7 congressional special election will be packed with enough scandal, redemption, and gender-war themes to fill … Continue reading