All presidents lie. Richard Nixon said he was not a crook, yet he orchestrated the most shamelessly crooked act in the modern presidency. Ronald Reagan said he wasn’t aware of the Iran-Contra deal; there’s evidence he was. Bill Clinton said he did not have sex with that woman; he did, or close enough. Lying in politics transcends political party and …
Robert Parry – Obama Bequeaths a More Dangerous World
Any fair judgment about Barack Obama’s presidency must start with the recognition that he inherited a dismal situation from George W. Bush: the U.S. economy was in free-fall and U.S. troops were bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clearly, these intertwined economic and foreign policy crises colored how Obama viewed his options, realizing that one false step could tip the …
NORMAN POLLACK – America: Banana Republic? Far Worse
Before the Inauguration, one was guarded about using the term “fascist” to describe America, as if slanderous and an exaggeration. No longer. It is not entirely Trump’s doing; Obama and his predecessors were creeping up to that point with each intervention, confrontation, weakening of civil liberties, drone attack, regime change—a whole catalogue of death, defiance, destruction. But it is Trump …
John Scales Avery – We Must Not Demonize And Threaten Russia
Eisenhower’s warning In his famous farwell address, US President Dwight Eisenhower eloquently described the terrible effects of an overgrown military-industrial complex. Here are his words: “We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions…. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence, economic, …
Alternative Visions – Obama’s Farewell Address—What’s the Real ‘Legacy’? – 01.13.17
Jack reviews Barack Obama’s parting farewell address delivered this past week in Chicago.
Daniel Lazare – How Obama Spread the Mideast Fires
With President Obama down to less than two weeks in office, everyone is busy assessing his legacy. So let’s begin with the Arab world. Not since the Vietnam War, we can safely say, has an administration left a region in ruins the way Obama has left the Middle East (although it’s true that George W. Bush contributed mightily to the mess). But …
Rebecca Gordon – Tomgram: Rebecca Gordon, The Best Defense
At the height of the George W. Bush years, a bit of a TomDispatch piece would sometimes be reposted at a right-wing website with a disparaging comment, and I’d suddenly be deluged with abusive emails (many homophobic) that regularly advised me to take my whatever and get out of Dodge. Though I was born in New York City, as was …
Leid Stories—Confirmation Hearings for Trump’s Cabinet Nominees Begin—01.10.17
Confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for Cabinet-level posts begin today. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) faces off with the Senate Judiciary Committee at 9 a.m., and the Senate Homeland Security Committee questions retired Marine general John Kelly at 3 p.m.
Steven Singer – Why Schools Should NOT Be Run Like Businesses
America loves business. We worship the free market. Nothing is more infallible – not reason, not morals, not even God. Money is the true measure of success – the more you have, the better a person you are. This perverted ideology has taken over much of American life. Where we once cared about our country, justice and fair play, today …
JON EMONT – The Growing Urban-Rural Divide Around the World
Immediately following the U.S. presidential election on November 8, anti-Donald Trump demonstrations sprang up in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles—cities that vote overwhelmingly Democratic. The protesters felt robbed: Hillary Clinton had won the majority of voters nationwide. But, like Al Gore in 2000, Clinton was hamstrung by the Electoral College, an institution designed to ensure a voice for …