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By Robert Scheer
By Herman Melville
$21
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A look at the day’s political happenings, including Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker’s personal connection with gun violence and the surprising information revealed by the FBI’s internal records on the Occupy movement.
Posted on Dec 23, 2012
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emilio labrador (CC-BY)
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By Noam Chomsky, TomDispatch —
Significant anniversaries are sometimes ignored. At the moment, we are failing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the most destructive and murderous act of aggression of the post-World War II period: the invasion of South Vietnam and later all of Indochina.
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Flickr / DonkeyHotey
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For years, the conservative wing of the Supreme Court has flapped mightily in the face of any attempt to deny American corporations their ability to disenfranchise and dispossess the American public. (more)
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AP / Lionel Cironneau
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Here we have a headline that smacks of the inevitable: Arnold Schwarzenegger has conceded that he fathered a child just over 10 years ago with a longtime member of his household staff. This “event,” as the former California governor called it in a statement ... (more)
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Flickr / welovepands
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This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of Cuba’s defeat of a CIA-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs, and the communist nation remembered the occasion with a parade Saturday celebrating the bloody nose it delivered to its powerful neighbor.
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By Richard Reeves — If Americans had really understood what was happening with the Peace Corps, we might be a much greater country today and the world might be a better place as well.
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Official White House portrait of John F. Kennedy
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By Richard Reeves — Fifty years ago, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. He gave a stirring inaugural address and then took over a job for which he was unprepared. No one is ever prepared.
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Wkimedia Commons
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The History Channel announced Monday that it was dropping “The Kennedys,” an expensive eight-part miniseries about the American political dynasty, from its spring lineup, sparking speculation that political drama may have extended beyond the narrative scope of the series itself.
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Flickr / Grace (CC-BY)
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It’s not polite to speak ill of the dead, but Jimmy Carter is still harboring a grudge from his health care showdown with Ted Kennedy. Asked about his use of the words “irresponsible and abusive” to describe the Senate lion, the former president said Kennedy opposed his health care proposal out of spite.
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Is it fair to call this a meltdown? The war in Afghanistan—and the media’s lack of interest in it—is certainly a subject worth losing one’s temper over. Rep. Patrick Kennedy had trouble using his indoor voice during Wednesday’s debate in the House.
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Is the conservative creator of torture-evangelist “24” really the right person to helm a miniseries about the Kennedys? On the basis of a draft of the script, some scholars say “no.” Above is one of those scholars, Theodore C. Sorensen, an adviser to President John F. Kennedy.
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By William Pfaff — With Vietnam, John F. Kennedy counted on the fact that one of the most effective ways to take a decision is to postpone it until it no longer is relevant. This is what Barack Obama has been able to do until now.
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White House / Pete Souza
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — The hawks urging President Obama to escalate the war in Afghanistan have no interest in his domestic policy. The 20th century is a graveyard of good ideas that lost out to war.
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dipity.com
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With Ted Kennedy’s death, the Democrats fell one vote short of the 60-seat threshold needed to stop a filibuster in the Senate. But now the governor of Massachusetts has named former Democratic Party Chairman Paul Kirk to temporarily fill Kennedy’s seat, giving the Democrats a major tool in the fight for health care reform.
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If these anti-Obama marchers are to be believed, fascism and socialism are the same thing, abortion caused 9/11 and “Glenn Beck is such a logical thinker.” There’s a whole pile of crazy where that came from.
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By Eugene Robinson — That the nation is so moved by the passing of Edward Moore Kennedy testifies to his skill, grace and determination at playing a role that must have been infinitely more difficult than it sounds: a prince fated never to be king.
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By Ellen Goodman — The obituaries say that Kennedy never achieved the dream of becoming president. But there is a difference between a family destiny and a man’s dream.
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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.
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Wikimedia Commons
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The Washington Post called her “a gladiator for a new age.” JFK’s sister was also the mind and spirit behind the Special Olympics, which has allowed millions of disabled athletes to “be brave in the attempt.” Her life ended in Boston on Tuesday, but her good works live on.
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AP / File
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One of the news industry’s longest-living legends, Walter Cronkite, died of cerebrovascular disease Friday at the age of 92. Over the course of his storied career as the anchor of CBS News, Cronkite covered some of the biggest events of the 20th century. He himself coined his famous and often-quoted sign-off line: “And that’s the way it is. ... ”
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — The House this week is expected to vote to expand civilian service, and the Senate will soon take up a similar bill. This issue holds the promise of producing that much prized but elusive Washington commodity: a large bipartisan majority.
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By Marie Cocco — It’s “a completely different world,” says the House speaker, delighted by “the fact that we have a Democratic president who ... put forth an agenda for America that contained many of the issues that we have been fighting for over the years.”
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White House
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In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama acknowledged the dire state of the economy, but struck a hopeful tone as he expanded on his vision for recovery. Investments in energy, education and health care will be key, he said, as will an expanded bailout of the financial sector. (Summary, video and full text after the jump)
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Bill O’Reilly must be some kind of highly dedicated comedian who has managed to fool the country with a series of elaborate Andy Kaufman-esque stunts. How else to explain moments like this, exquisitely captured by Stephen Colbert, when the “Factor” host unintentionally ridicules himself ad absurdum?
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By Ellen Goodman — After the collapse of trust in every sort of expert—after lenders financed houses for people who couldn’t afford them, bankers created systems they couldn’t even describe and, finally, we hear, Bernie Madoff ripped off even his high school friends—there is a residue of resilience.
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An ailing Ted Kennedy experienced seizures during a ceremonial luncheon on Capitol Hill and was removed from the private function, according to reports. President Obama accompanied Kennedy from the room and then returned to offer a few words of support. The luncheon then went ahead, though without Sen. Robert Byrd, who was too upset over his friend’s seizure to stay. Update 2
Posted on Jan 20, 2009
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By Ellen Goodman — What will happen if Michelle Obama makes the personal her political issue? What would a serious work-and-family policy look like?
Posted on Jan 14, 2009
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By Marie Cocco — Hilda Solis does not have star power. What the nominee for labor secretary does have is a record of loyalty to those who work and want to work, and who wish to receive in exchange a decent wage and a measure of dignity.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — One of the clearest signals President-elect Barack Obama has sent is his determination to learn from the Clinton years, and particularly from the former president’s failures on health care.
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Flickr / me and the sysop
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A recent spate of mass e-mails nearly crippled the State Department’s communications and generated a terse cable—sent out to all employees, of course—threatening disciplinary action if diplomats and others don’t cut it out. The note blamed abuse of the “reply all” button for the “e-mail storm.”
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By Eugene Robinson — President-elect Obama will have more urgent matters to deal with after he takes the oath of office. But somewhere on his long to-do list, he should make a note to finally bring five decades of counterproductive American policy toward Cuba to a definitive end.
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Flickr / Joe Shlabotnik
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On Monday, the paper of record published an e-mail from the mayor of Paris slamming Caroline Kennedy’s political maneuvering as “appalling.” Unfortunately, the Times failed to check whether the message was authentic—it wasn’t. Guess that explains all those articles by Nigerian princes.
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Satire by Andy Borowitz —
Caroline Kennedy would like to be considered Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2009 and has let the magazine’s editor know of her interest in the honor, aides to Ms. Kennedy confirmed this week.
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One of JFK’s “best and brightest” died wondering how the Vietnam War could have gone so wrong. Now, in an important new book, we have some answers.
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By Joe Conason — In the culture of celebrity, the media have instantly deemed Caroline Kennedy a leading candidate to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate, much to the frustration of elected officials who feel they have earned a chance to win what she would merely take.
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welt.de
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By Ellen Goodman — There is something refreshing in seeing a mother and public citizen auditioning for a second act. Beyond that, there is something tender and timely in seeing this particular woman coming home to the family business.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — The troubles of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich have endangered one of the Democratic Party’s safest U.S. Senate seats.
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Frank Langella as Nixon in the new Ron Howard movie does his best, but no one did Nixon like Nixon.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — Oh, my: Barack Obama is still more than a month away from assuming the presidency and already there are reports about “the left” being dispirited about change it no longer believes in.
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By Marie Cocco — How can Democrats, who ridiculed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as an inexperienced political wannabe, now embrace the idea of elevating Caroline Kennedy—who hasn’t served a day in public office—to Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat?
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Flickr / marcn
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Sen. Ted Kennedy has asked Sen. Hillary Clinton to take up an important post shaping landmark health care legislation. The offer comes as Clinton reportedly weighs continuing her work in the Senate against joining Barack Obama’s administration as secretary of state.
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Archive / White House Press Office / Cecil Stoughton
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By Stanley Kutler — The 36th president of the United States seems strangely absent in the current celebrations. Perhaps Lyndon B. Johnson is not fondly remembered, but his triumphs paved the long road to Barack Obama’s historic presidency.
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By William Pfaff — Governments, like corporations and modern organizations of all kinds, make much of systematically teaching “lessons learned” to those newly arrived to responsibilities, yet they seem infrequently to succeed.
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Collage: AP photo / Chip Somodevilla, pool / Wikimedia Commons
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James G. Blight and janet M. Lang —
The leading issue in the current face-off between Barack Obama and John McCain is the economy. Once elected and inaugurated, however, a U.S. president’s politics become global literally overnight.
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By Arthur Blaustein — Many Americans believe, despite the current financial crisis, that Republicans are generally better at managing the economy. History tells a very different story.
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AP photo / Chip Somodevilla, pool
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By Bill Boyarsky — Was he too calm? Did he pull his punches in an effort to look presidential? Not really. The viewers got a clear choice: a reasoned and reasonable Obama versus an old-fashioned Cold Warrior who would keep us in Iraq endlessly and extend the boundaries we must defend to Georgia and Ukraine.
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By David Sirota — When I first heard about the Democratic convention coming to my hometown of Denver, I wasn’t all that excited. For many reasons, in fact, I was pretty unhappy with the whole idea.
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The ailing senator from Massachusetts brought many Democrats to tears in Denver with a surprise speech at his party’s convention, during which he promised to lead the fight in the Senate to finally pass a form of universal health care.
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