Category: US Politics
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Glenn Beck Is No Ron Paul / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Aaron David Ward writes: For a man who claims to be a principled defender of freedom, Glenn Beck leaves a lot to be desired. He talks out of both sides of his mouth and never seems to miss an opportunity to bash Congressman Paul who is one of the few principled defenders of liberty in a position of power seemingly left in the U.S.
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Thursday, August 11, 2011
It's the Free Trade, Stupid / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
One point seems largely to have been missed in recent weeks, amid all the excitement over the Federal budget and the sovereign-debt crises in Europe: free trade is largely the root cause of all these problems. So let's trace the causation for a minute.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Bread, Circuses, Spending Cuts, Unicorns & The Appearance Of Wealth / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
"Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses" -
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Personalising The Debt Ceiling Crisis / Personal_Finance / US Politics
By: Walter_Brasch
You have a credit card with a $25,000 limit.Because you have a good job, you only have $6,000 on the card, and routinely pay the monthly statement and a little extra on the principal.
But then you decide you need a 52-inch high-def LCD TV screen to go into your “man cave,” and your family rightfully decides they need a vacation. So, you add a few thousand to the credit card. But, it’s all OK since you just got a promotion at work.
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Friday, August 05, 2011
Dog Days Of Summer, Politicians Rest Before Returning To The Fray. The Political War Will Continue / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Now that the debt drama is over for the moment, we can all safely retreat in what was once called the “Dog Days Of Summer” and chill out if the volatile weather allows us to. We can think back to that old song, “Summer time and the living is easy” even as we all know that for millions “the living” is anything but.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Obama Torn Between Two Evils of Exorbitant Privilege And Eminent Domain / Politics / US Politics
By: Andrew_McKillop
EXORBITANT PRIVILEGE
Using this codeword term, yesteryear, Imperial Powers bandied this subtle threat around and between themselves when things got tense. It basically threatens retaliation against an Imperial Power using borrowed and printed, invented or stolen money to grab control of local, regional or even global economic activity by inundating its rivals' zones of influence with its worthless money.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Obama, Idle Thoughts For The Ides Of July / Personal_Finance / US Politics
By: Andrew_McKillop
Most persons vaguely heard of the Ides of March, associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, but in fact the ides were periodic Roman pagan calendar-based days, that repeated right through the year, with the Ides of March, May, July and October being the most magically powerful.
Although we missed this year's Ides of July by a few days, the slippage between the Roman calendar, and our own, variously called the "christian" or "modern" calendar (named for the not-so-modern 13th century Pope Gregory), can easily cover this problem.
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Monday, August 01, 2011
When a Spending Cut is Not a Cut / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
One might think that the recent drama over the debt ceiling involves one side wanting to increase or maintain spending with the other side wanting to drastically cut spending, but that is far from the truth. In spite of the rhetoric being thrown around, the real debate is over how much government spending will increase.
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Monday, August 01, 2011
Debt Wars in Washington: The First Crucible of Choosing Lambs for Sacrifice / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
After my wife passed, I moved from my home and applied for an apartment. The stern manager looked at my application with approval but couldn't accept me because I had two ferrets, my only remaining family. He turned and asked: "Can you get rid of one of them?" I quickly replied, "Which one?" He was neutralized. When the Tea-Party/GOP presented President Obama its demands to dismantle Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and entitlements, the President didn't reply "no", and didn't ask "which one". He answered: "We'll negotiate. We'll compromise. We'll make it bipartisan." It was a done deal.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Debt Ceiling Crisis Objective is to Scrap Social Security and Medicare / Politics / US Politics
By: Bob_Chapman
There is still no debt limit for the US Treasury and the protagonists are still playing politics. That leaves a week to find a solution by August 2nd.
The first House passed a $16.7 trillion cut, cap and balance bill calls for a cut in the fiscal September 1st budget for 2012 and a balanced budget amendment that goes into effect in five years. Why five years, so they can amend it in a couple of years? This is truly political theater. This has little to do with the budget and everything to do with political powers. Worse yet, unless it meets the President’s approval, he will veto the bill.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
He Once Told the Truth, Obama vs Obama / Politics / US Politics
By: Gary_North
As a lawyer, Obama was trained to argue rival positions, depending on who hired him. So, what I am about to present should not be regarded as hypocrisy on his part. Yes, it is hypocrisy by the standards of any normal human being, but not for a lawyer. He is a lawyer. He does what lawyers do. He looks to see who is buttering his bread, and then he presents his case.
When we elect lawyers to political office, this sort of thing happens.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Kabuki Play On Capitol Hill Comes Right Before The Debt Ceiling Deal / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Oh, the gnashing of the teeth, Oh, the flamboyant tactics. Oh, all the breaking news excitement on cable news as the debt ceiling countdown saga went down to the wire with an intense political confrontation of a kind we haven’t seen before …
Or maybe we had---in the TARP debate and so-called Obamacare vote, to cite but two moments of high political drama. Once again, all the key players knew the outcome but wanted to keep us guessing because it served everyone’s interests.
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Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Debt Ceiling Reality Show, Who Are The Extremists? / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
“Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers.” – Ron Paul
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
U.S. Debt Ceiling Intransigence: Unintended Consequences... / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Which party is responsible for intransigence on raising the debt ceiling? Republicans say the Democrats are, and Democrats say the Republicans are.
One could blame both parties equally, as both have their positions, but as I see it, it is the Republicans who are the most intransigent. The Democrats have shown more willingness to compromise, even offering cuts in Medicare and Social Security. Moreover, the Republicans started the fight, whereas the Democrats were willing to just raise the debt ceiling routinely, as in the past, and to get on with things.
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Fascism to come, wearing a libertarian veneer / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
I said to my homemaker when she arrived for her weekly visit, "I guess you are aware that Social Security checks might not arrive next week?" No, she didn't know that fact. "Well, you are aware of the Oslo gunman last Friday?" She couldn't place the word "Oslo" so I explained the tragedy in loose detail. No, she wasn't aware of it.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Democrats, Republicans Push for Deeper U.S. Spending Cuts / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Patrick Martin writes: The latest turn in the bipartisan talks on the federal debt ceiling demonstrates that both Wall Street and its political representatives in Washington are making use of the debt ceiling deadline to push through historic cuts in social spending.
White House-led negotiations on a measure to lift the debt ceiling before the August 2 deadline set by the Treasury collapsed Friday after House Speaker John Boehner, the leading congressional Republican, pulled out.
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Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Fix Is In: Washington's Planned Social Contract Destruction / Politics / US Politics
By: Stephen_Lendman
The criminal class in Washington is bipartisan, united against working household interests. In fact, lawmakers yield on virtually everything big money wants, notably when banks and other corporate favorites are affected.
Last December, Obama capitulated to Republicans, rigging a deal for up to $1 trillion dollars in handouts, mostly to corporate giants and America's wealthy with working households almost entirely left out.
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Friday, July 22, 2011
Pentagon Seeks to Manipulate Social Media for Propaganda Purposes / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Wired reported on Friday: The Pentagon is looking to build a tool to sniff out social media propaganda campaigns and spit some counter-spin right back at it.
On Thursday, Defense Department extreme technology arm Darpa unveiled its Social Media in Strategic Communication (SMISC) program. It’s an attempt to get better at both detecting and conducting propaganda campaigns on social media. SMISC has two goals. First, the program needs to help the military better understand what’s going on in social media in real time — particularly in areas where troops are deployed. Second, Darpa wants SMISC to help the military play the social media propaganda game itself.
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Friday, July 22, 2011
The Class Politics of the U.S. Debt Ceiling Crisis / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Patrick Martin writes: Washington, reinforced by the commentaries in the corporate-controlled media, both liberal and conservative.
Why is the demand for “deficit reduction” now being voiced so unanimously in every quarter of official American politics? What are the fundamental class issues that underlie this campaign?
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Friday, July 22, 2011
U.S. Economy Destroyed, Washington Is the Enemy / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Recently, the bond rating agencies that gave junk derivatives triple-A ratings threatened to downgrade US Treasury bonds if the White House and Congress did not reach a deficit reduction deal and debt ceiling increase. The downgrade threat is not credible, and neither is the default threat. Both are make-believe crises that are being hyped in order to force cutbacks in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.