The Scottish government may not be united with respect to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill’s decision to release the so-called Lockerbie bomber, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, last month, but for his part, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to make it clear that any conspiracy theorists working on this case should hang it up already. Hmmm.
As American schoolkids clamber back onto buses and funnel into classrooms, the federal government is working on ways to squelch the swine flu virus, which may not be as ferocious as health officials first feared but is proving to be pretty tenacious. President Obama, as well as a familiar red fuzzy friend, are on the case in this clip from The Associated Press.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs fielded a question about former Vice President Dick Cheney’s ongoing Enhanced Interrogation Press Tour with restrained disdain Monday, calling Cheney’s comments “the same song and dance we’ve heard since literally the first day of our administration,” as well as “wrong.”
The Obama administration hopes to announce a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. But Israel’s ever-expanding network of settlements seems to stand in the way. Will a new push for “settlement freeze” succeed? Or will Netanyahu’s delay tactics prevail?
Not surprisingly, “Left, Right & Center” co-hosts Arianna Huffington, Robert Scheer and Tony Blankley harbor some differing viewpoints when it comes to Sen. Ted Kennedy’s legacy, as well as whether Congress should push through a health care reform plan to “win one for Ted.”
The pressure on South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford to resign hasn’t let up since his revelation earlier this summer of his extramarital escapades in Argentina, but for his part, Sanford says he’s staying put for the remainder of his term, thank y’all very much.
There’s a lot missing in this hastily constructed array of Ted Kennedy’s life. His run for the presidency, for instance, and the scandal that never quite left him. We also leave out his many legislative accomplishments to focus on his family and the extraordinary swan song that might have been.
Amy Goodman, Chris Hedges and Robert Scheer discuss the present and future of media with the global economic crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the health care debate raging on.
Boy, Stephen Colbert got a lot accomplished on “The Colbert Report” this past week! He established whose God was best (duh) and why writing an Op-Ed in The New York Times is a clear sign of desperation and defeat (double duh), and he even managed to outdo Rep. Barney Frank in the table-talk department. But with what kind of cracker does Obamargarine go best? Hmmm.
President Obama released a video greeting Friday to Muslims in America and abroad to commemorate the start on Saturday of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and reflection for members of the Islamic faith.
Was Thursday’s election in Afghanistan a step forward for representative democracy in the South Asian nation? What exactly does President Obama aim to accomplish in Afghanistan anyhow? This week’s lineup of commentators explores the possible connections between the CIA and Blackwater and considers the current status of the health care debate.
With the folksy charm of a timeshare salesman, Austan Goolsbee of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers outlines some of the new credit card rules, which began taking effect Thursday.
In this clip from the Associated Press, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill of Scotland announces his country’s decision to release “Lockerbie bomber” Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on Thursday so the terminally ill Libyan can return to his homeland to die.
Ever wonder whether it gets a touch exasperating for politicians to face angry throngs of American citizens at those unruly gatherings everyone quaintly insists on calling “town hall meetings”? Well, witness Barney Frank, here, on the brink of a town hall snap (or two) in this bit from Wednesday’s “Daily Show.”
Like an embarrassing father using the word tight or a mother who think it’s OK to dance to Beyoncé while carpooling, CNN has found yet another way to make your skin crawl by desperately trying to act “hip” as it struggles to find a niche in the cable news wars. Jon Stewart chides the network in a piece that will probably elicit a grimace or two.
Although news wires buzzed Monday with reports that President Obama had changed his tune when it came to pushing for the government to make a public health care option available to give private insurance companies competition, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs begged to differ during a press conference Tuesday.
Reports that President Obama may change his position on his proposal to set up a system of government health care insurance for Americans under 65 caused ripples, mostly on the left, and critics continued to clamor Monday for an alternative to private insurance companies.
Last summer around this time, Barack Obama was entering the busiest phase of his presidential campaign, and now he’s back on the road giving speeches. Here, he talks to a seemingly polite crowd about his health care reform plan at a town-hall-style gathering in Grand Junction, Colo. Updated
President Obama is gambling on America’s readiness to embrace a larger, more comprehensive form of government, but will it take? “Recovering Republican” Arianna Huffington argues that the system Obama favors is currently working best for oligarchs, not those losing their homes or worried about their health care, while Tony Blankley thinks Big Pharma is pitching camp in the White House.
What happened in the few months between the time when Glenn Beck denounced the dismal state of American health care and when he celebrated it as a systemic triumph just a smidge later? And can we replicate this one-man odyssey with a simple tweak of our own remote controls?
Amy Goodman, Chris Hedges and Robert Scheer discuss the present and future of media with the global economic crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the health care debate raging on.
The Nation’s Ari Melber has some ideas about how the president can turn around his slipping poll numbers. First and foremost: Take charge and fight for the public option.
Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films have a simple but compelling health care argument: Compare the obscene earnings of one insurance CEO to the comparatively bargain claims his company has refused to honor. UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley, this clip argues, is personally profiting from the misery of children.
Amy Goodman and Robert Scheer discuss the present and future of media with the global economic crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the health care debate raging on.
Refuse Allegiance to Coal
