A glance at what passes for insider “wisdom” in Washington these days reveals a worldview of stunning insularity. Take Harvard political scientist Joseph Nye, Jr., known for his concept of “soft power,” as an example. Offering a simple list of ways in which he believes U.S. military, economic, and cultural power remains singular and superior, he recently argued that there was no …
Emergency Powers Give Barack Obama Authority Over Just About Everything During A Major National Crisis By Michael Snyder
Presidents have always exercised emergency powers, but now thanks to dozens of new laws, regulations, court decisions and executive orders, Barack Obama is the most powerful president in all of U.S. history. Of course the U.S. Constitution does not actually give the president any special powers during a time of national emergency, but over time presidents have decided that they …
Judith Miller’s Comeback By Matt Taibbi
o I read disgraced former New York Times reporter Judith Miller’s new book, The Story. It’s awesome! She’s really not kidding about a comeback. It might be the weirdest episode in journalism since “Kenneth, What Is the Frequency?” I’d say this will be a no-holds-barred review, but I promised myself I wouldn’t compare this book to Mein Kampf for at least 500 …
A Prehistory of Violence – George Monbiot
Do you want to know the real reason for the advances by Isis in Iraq and Syria? Changing lightbulbs in America. This is the explanation given by John McCain, Republican chair of the Senate armed services committee. At the weekend he blamed Barack Obama’s inability to magic away Islamic State on the president’s belief that climate change is “the biggest enemy we …
How NPR Is Doing Right-Wing’s Economic Dirty Work on Debt By Dean Baker
Billionaire Peter Peterson is spending lots of money to get people to worry about the debt and deficits rather than focus on the issues that will affect their lives. National Public Radio is doing its part to try to promote Peterson’s cause with a Morning Edition piece [2] that began by telling people that the next president “will have to wrestle with the …
The Taliban in Our Midst – Mikey Weinstein
This guest Op-Ed from my dear friend, Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) [2] Advisory Board member, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson [3], comes in light of an unprecedented Christian fundamentalist furor over MRFF’s demands [4] for the U.S Air Force to court-martial [5] Major General Craig Olson. Why did we demand this [6] punishment for Olson? Because of this senior General’s illegal and unconstitutionally sectarian speech of shocking …
Top Bush Era CIA Official Just Confirmed the Iraq War Was Based On Lies – Claire Bernish
Twelve years after George W Bush initiated the illegal invasion of Iraq, ostensibly under the premise of preemptive self-defense, a stark majority — as many as 75% in 2014 — feel the so-called war was a mistake. As evidence rapidly accumulates that Bush’s yearning to launch an aggressive attack was likelier due to a personal grudge than anything else, that number will …
George W. Bush Did Something Much Worse Than Lie Us Into War
The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given. The regime has long-standing and continuing ties to terrorist groups, and there are al Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq. This regime is …
Why Islamic State Is Winning – Daniel Lazare
President Barack Obama and his foreign policy staff are not having a very merry month of May. The Islamic State’s takeover of Ramadi, Iraq, on May 15 was one of the greatest U.S. military embarrassments since Vietnam, but the fall of Palmyra, Syria, just five days later made it even worse. This is an administration that, until recently, claimed to have turned …
The US Government Told Me Bin Laden Read My Book. But What Is It Not Telling Us? – Greg Palast
I already knew that Osama bin Laden read my book before the headlines this week — but I’m still angry that he gave The Best Democracy Money Can Buy only four-and-a-half stars on his Amazon review. Obviously, something in the book pissed him off, because he never friended me on Facebook. It was actually quite embarrassing to learn that Bin Laden was …