|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ 12.21
By Tony Platt
$26.95
$23
|
|
|
|
|
Those Truthdig readers who are following the Chris Hedges vs. Sam Harris exchanges on our site may be interested to read that Hedges subsequently faced off with atheist author and provocateur Christopher Hitchens for a debate in Berkeley about religion and politics. Also, check out this funny and insightful interview with Hitchens.
|
Truthdig / Todd Wilkinson
|
By Sam Harris — The following is Sam Harris’ response to Chris Hedges’ essay, “I Don’t Believe in Atheists.” Last week the two Truthdig contributors battled one another over the issues of religion and politics during a live debate in Los Angeles. While they both agree on the dangers posed by religious fundamentalism in America, their views on religion in general differ greatly, as you will soon read.
|
Truthdig / Todd Wilkinson
|
By Chris Hedges — On Tuesday night, Chris Hedges and Sam Harris debated “Religion, Politics and the End of the World.” The following is Hedges’ opening statement, in which he argues that Harris and other critics of faith have mistakenly blamed religion for the ills of the world, when the true danger lies in the human heart and its capacity for evil.
|
|
Chris Hedges’ Truthdig column, which normally appears on Monday, will be posted on Wednesday this week. Chris is busy preparing for his debate with Sam Harris on Tuesday at UCLA’s Royce Hall, where he will present his companion essay, “I Don’t Believe in Atheists.” If you can’t make it or you just can’t wait, here is a preview of the column.
|
|
By Andy Borowitz — The satirist pokes fun at the Republican candidates who are competing for that often-neglected voting bloc—the white male.
|
|
Rudy Giuliani was widely praised for his demagogic smackdown of Ron Paul during the second Republican debate, feigning shock and outrage at Paul’s explanation of “blowback.” But Giuliani’s performance, while a crowd-pleaser, exposed the superficiality of his terror-fighting credentials. As CNN’s Roland Martin writes: “Giuliani must be an idiot to not have heard Paul’s rationale before.”
|
|
By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — In Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, every leading candidate declared independence from some piece of dogma or another—even as all of them clung for dear life to the word conservative. They sounded like religious doubters who compensate for their ebbing faith by shouting ever more fervently: “I believe!”
|
|
The first Republican debate was like a first date, with the presidential candidates behaving politely and saying things they could all agree on, like “Ronald Reagan and tax cuts are great, don’t you think?” But by the second debate, it’s clear these guys aren’t relationship material. Here are some highlights, including Rudy Giuliani attacking Ron Paul for making sense.
|
|
“The Family Guy” spoofs the recent presidential debates and the superficiality of horse-race politics. Lois starts the debate badly, then realizes all she has to do to win over the crowd is repeatedly refer to 9/11 and Jesus.
Posted on May 15, 2007
READ MORE 
|
|
By Joe Conason — Sensing their own smallness, contemporary politicians often seek to puff themselves up by appealing to myth and legend. For Republicans, there is no mythology more appealing than that of Ronald Wilson Reagan, as the party’s presidential candidates eagerly demonstrated during their May 3 debate in the library that bears his name.
|
|
By Marie Cocco — Compared to the Democrats’ groundbreaking lineup of candidates, the 10 white men who gathered for last week’s Republican debate showed a determination to cling to the bad old days.
|
|
By Eugene Robinson — The announced Republican candidates for president did nothing in their first debate to discourage the unannounced Republican candidates—Fred Thompson, Newt Gingrich, maybe Chuck Hagel—from wading in. The water doesn’t look very deep.
|
|
MSNBC sets the record straight on some of the errors and misrepresentations from the first Republican debate: More than a few thousand soldiers have been injured in Iraq, you can’t flip-flop on abortion like Bush 41 if Bush 41 never flip-flopped, and Bill Clinton didn’t gut the Army—he modernized it with bipartisan support.
|
|
With President Bush slumping in the polls, it’s no wonder the Republican candidates chose to model Ronald Reagan at their first debate. The front-runners, especially, avoided mentioning Bush almost as urgently as the topic of abortion. Iran-Contra just pales in comparison to Niger-WMD-Katrina-U.S. Attorney-Missing E-mail-Secret Prison-Jeff Gannon-Domestic Spying-Halliburton-Abu Ghraib-Plame-Gate.
|
AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
|
Presidential candidate Mike Gravel’s performance in the first Democratic debate took him from off the radar to Truthdigger of the week. Naturally we just had to pick his brain. The former senator from Alaska, who helped end the draft, tells Truthdig why he’s running, why there are so few mavericks in politics these days and why war makes him angry.
|
AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
|
Presidential candidate Mike Gravel’s performance in the first Democratic debate took him from off the radar to Truthdigger of the week. Naturally, we just had to pick his brain. The former senator from Alaska, who helped end the draft, tells Truthdig why he’s running, why there are so few mavericks in politics these days and why war makes him angry.
|
|
It could happen. The most alarming difference between the Democratic and Republican debates would have to be the response to this question: “Is there anyone on this stage ... that does not believe in evolution?” Three hands shot up.
|
AP Photo/Scott Applewhite
|
Truthdig tips its hat this week to former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who commanded the stage at Thursday’s presidential debate with a fiery and candid performance, taking other Democratic candidates to task for their positions and policies and maintaining a fiercely antiwar stance throughout. Loud and clear, Mr. Gravel.
|
|
MSNBC just hosted the Democratic candidates in their first-ever presidential debate, and it was quite the bore. That is, except for former Sen. Mike Gravel, who stole the show with an electrifying and inspirational outburst. Update: More debate clips added.
|
wikipedia.org
|
Liberal bloggers had gone crazy when they heard the Nevada Democratic Party had agreed to co-sponsor a debate with Fox News. On Friday the event was canceled after a series of developments. Barack Obama was freezing out Fox reporters, John Edwards and Bill Richardson announced they wouldn’t participate in the debate and, finally, Fox President Roger Ailes (above) brought the whole thing crashing down with a botched bad joke.
|
|
Three of the country’s leading religious intellectuals—Truthdig contributor Sam Harris (left above), author and blogger Andrew Sullivan (right above), and author Jonathan Kirsch—engage in a spirited KCRW radio discussion about whether the world’s major religions are truly compatible.
|
|
By Molly Ivins — The Rev. Louis Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition told Sen. John McCain that he can forget about the evangelical Christian vote if he doesn’t support Bush’s torture bill. I’d like to see an evangelical vote on that one.
|
|
Is Ned Lamont running a one-issue campaign against Conn. Sen. Joe Lieberman? Perhaps. But can you think of any one issue more important than the one in question?
|
|
Remember the unexplained shape visible under Bush’s jacket during the 2004 debates? A German TV station has solved the mystery: It’s Bush’s gas tank. Check out this very funny satirical riff on “Bush, the puppet.”
|
|
Cute moment in Thursday’s debate in Connecticut’s Dem. Senate primary race: Sen. Lieberman tried to interrupt challenger Ned Lamont and Lamont silenced him by saying “...this isn’t Fox News, sir.”
|
From spazeboy.net
|
Want to see everything you need to know about how hopelessly out of touch Sen. Joe Lieberman is with the next generation of voters? Check out his campaign website, then check out the site of challenger Ned Lamont:
Immediately after the candidates’ Thursday night debate, Lamont’s site was jam-packed with video highlights, media reactions, blogger coverage and fact-checked responses to Lieberman’s charges. Lieberman’s site, however, barely even mentions the debates; there’s nary a blog; and his “news” page hasn’t been updated since Monday. (Update: 12 hours after the debate, the campaign posted a few paragraphs—but that’s it.) It’s such a tone-deaf approach you have to wonder who’s minding the shop over there.
|
From spazeboy.net
|
Conn. businessman Ned Lamont, who in the polls is closing in fast on Joe Lieberman, forced the three-term senator in a debate Thursday night to defend his strong support for President Bush over the Iraq war, in addition to charging that Lieberman has made his bed in Congress with lobbyists and special interest groups.
A few elbows were thrown.
Video highlights
Individual video clips of each exchange
MSNBC Host: Lieberman used GOP talking points (he even channeled Reagan).
Lamont blog with media reactions, fact-checking and blogger coverage
Point of interest: One of the main blogs featured on Lamont’s site is My Left Nutmeg.
President Bush (interviewed before the debate) on Lieberman
Truthdig’s interview with Lamont
UPDATE #1: Blogger Enigmatic Paradox gives the debate to Lamont, but not for the reason you’d expect….
|
|
Think Progress got ahold of Majority Leader John Boehner?s confidential strategy memo for Thursday?s congressional debate on the Iraq war. Think Progress says the memo aims to “exploit,” “attack” and “create a false choice.”
|
|
By Norman Solomon — Weeks after a British magazine published a long article by two American professors titled “The Israel Lobby,” the outrage continues to howl through mainstream U.S. media.
|
|
The U.S. ambassador has told Shiite officials that the president does not want Ibrahim al-Jaafari to remain in power, mocking the notion that U.S.-sponsored elections were intended to give Iraqis control over their government.
|
Illustration by Karen Spector
|
By Blair Golson — Two respected researchers have touched off a firestorm with their report arguing that America’s pro-Israel lobby has badly damaged the United States’ strategic interests. Check out this Truthdig report on the reactions from all sides of the debate.
|
|
Marc Cooper peels away the myths shrouding the U.S. immigration debate.
|
|
By Blair Golson An intense debate has been raging on Op-Ed pages and in the blogosphere over the legality of President Bush’s warrantless domestic surveillance program. What follows is a roundup of some of the most influential, talked-about and linked-to analyses.
|
|
How refreshing that there is one democratic nation — Chile — where a leading candidate has the courage to suggest that the impact of the clergy has not always added to enlightenment, particularly as to the place of women in society. Jefferson lives.
|
Kimberly French/Focus Features
|
By Sheerly Avni — “Brokeback Mountain,” winner of four Golden Globes, including Best Dramatic Film, goes beyond gay issues to not only break your heart but wring your soul.
|
View the most popular tags overall?
|
|
Benghazi: Dissecting Congressional Follies, Media Coverage and ‘Cover-Up’ Charges
Newsletter 
Like Us
Follow Us
Get Our Feed
