Issue #304

GOP voters in Maryland face dilemma as theocrats win primaries Something unusual is happening in the politics of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Michael Peroutka, one-time presidential candidate of the Constitution Party, won the Republican primary for a seat on the County Council and GOP Central Committee. His pastor, and partner in the Christian historical revisionist…

Issue #303

The coming Democratic schism There is a striking generational split in the Democratic electorate. This deepening division is apparent in a June Pew Research Center survey of more than 10,000 people, “Beyond Red vs. Blue.” The Pew survey points up the emergence of a cohort of younger voters who are loyal to the Democratic Party, but much…

Issue #302

Right-wing “populism” is a joke: Poor-bashing, immigrant-hating, and a revolting agenda Writer John Judis presciently published an important book about American politics about a decade before its time called “The Paradox of American Democracy: Elites, Special Interests, and the Betrayal of the Public Trust” in which he accurately observed the seeds of discontent among the American public…

Issue #300

(Two links for the price of one today; same subject) Lone Star Crazy: How right-wing extremists took over Texas In today’s Texas, which is falling into the hands of gun nuts, border-sealers, and talk-radio charlatans, George W. Bush would practically be considered a communist. After nearly six years of pumping out cynical horror stories involving our…

Issue #299

Judge invalidates two Florida congressional districts A judge threw out Florida’s congressional map late Thursday, ruling that the Legislature allowed for a “secret, organized campaign” by partisan operatives to subvert the redistricting process in violation of the state Constitution. In a 41-page ruling, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis said that two of the state’s…

Issue #298

Thrown out of court: How corporations became people you can’t sue Late last year a massive data hack at Target exposed about 110 million consumers around the country to identity theft and fraud. As details of its lax computer security oversight came to light, customers whose passwords and credit card numbers had been stolen banded together…

Issue #297

Recent immigrant surge is rooted in law to curb child trafficking It was one of the final pieces of legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush, a measure that passed without controversy, along with a pension bill and another one calling for national parks to be commemorated on quarters. It was called the William Wilberforce Trafficking…

Issue #296

Chris McDaniel’s election tantrum is more than sore-loserdom Last Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a bill designed to protect the right to vote and fight racial discrimination in education, employment, and public facilities. It was a hard-fought historic accomplishment, one that changed lives and made the promise of democracy…