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By Varlam Shalamov; John Glad (Translator)
By Robin Waterfield
$17.99
$21
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By Marie Cocco — A contemporary Willie Horton has turned up in the Democratic presidential campaign, and so far he is winning. No such person sat in the Drexel University auditorium during the Democrats’ debate on Tuesday night. But the candidates, especially the unprepared front-runner, Hillary Clinton, should long ago have recognized that Republicans and a shrill conservative chorus intend to make Hispanic illegal immigrants the Willie Hortons of 2008.
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AP photo / Rick Vasquez
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James Harris and Josh Scheer —
The always entertaining Kinky Friedman, author most recently of “You Can Lead a Politician to Water, but You Can’t Make Him Think: Ten Commandments for Texas Politics,” tells Truthdig why the Internet is the work of Satan, why politicians are “stuck on stupid” and why even God couldn’t beat the Republicans in Texas.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — The first big scandal confronting Rudy Giuliani in his presidential quest has nothing to do with his personal life, his governing style in New York City, or his associations with people such as Bernie Kerik, his police commissioner now under criminal investigation.
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historicaltextarchive.com
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We certainly hope so, because it has just elected one. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who happens to be the current first lady, managed to pull in more than 40 percent of the vote. In fact, the runner-up (with 23 percent of the vote) is also a woman. Not bad for Gaucho country.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — Clinton knows she has to win in New Hampshire. That might not be too difficult if Obama continues to fail to captivate Granite State voters.
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nydailynews.com
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In an act of political expediency that makes Mitt Romney look like a paragon of consistency, Rudy Giuliani has backed the hated Boston Red Sox in the World Series. New York, home of Giuliani’s beloved Yankees, is aghast.
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AP photo / Rick Vasquez
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The always entertaining Kinky Friedman, author most recently of “You Can Lead a Politician to Water, but You Can’t Make Him Think: Ten Commandments for Texas Politics,” tells Truthdig why the Internet is the work of Satan, why politicians are “stuck on stupid” and why God couldn’t beat the Republicans in Texas.
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Former Sen. Mike Gravel’s campaign released this video after the candidate was barred from NBC’s upcoming debate in Philadelphia. Is it just a coincidence that the network is owned by GE, which has a profit incentive for war? Gravel doesn’t seem to think so.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — Let’s say it unequivocally: Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith should not be an issue in this presidential campaign. Period. And then let us explore why the Mormon “issue” may be unavoidable—and what Romney and the rest of us should do about it.
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The gloves come off in this rhetorical showdown between the Republican candidates.
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AP photo / Charles Dharapak
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By Scott Ritter — The former intelligence officer and weapons inspector argues that the president’s recent World War III comment offers some rare insight into the highly secretive world of George W. Bush’s White House, where the leader of the free world gets advice from reckless neoconservatives, “war criminal” Dick Cheney and “God.”
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politico.com
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Hillary Clinton may be the front-runner, but her campaign has been doing a bit of damage control in Iowa over the senator’s vote to declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization, a move critics believe is a prelude to war with Iran. Clinton sent out a mass mailing explaining her vote and insisting that she opposes military action “without full Congressional approval.”
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nytimes.com
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The voters of Louisiana are very close to electing as their governor Bobby Jindal, a conservative Republican congressman of Indian descent. While the chattering class is preoccupied with whether the nation is ready for a black or woman president, the conservative Republicans of Louisiana, many of whom once threw their support behind former klansman David Duke, seem to have moved on.
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Appearing on “The Tonight Show,” Barack Obama tells Jay Leno that he’s not worried about Hillary Clinton’s sizable lead in the polls: “Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare ‘mission accomplished’ a little too soon.”
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By Ellen Goodman — The attention on Al Gore’s trajectory misses something about this second act and second actor. As he approaches 60, Gore’s staking out something of a new path for his generation.
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moviereporter.net
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As if he’s already secured the nomination, Rudy Giuliani has begun to focus his vitriol on the other party’s presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton: “I don’t know Hillary’s experience. She’s never run a city.” It’s been a long, long time since we’ve had an ex-mayor occupying the Oval Office. Maybe Giuliani is on to something here. There just has to be some parallel between being a mayor and the leader of the world’s only superpower.
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Rep. Dennis Kucinich flexes his comic muscle by responding to Stephen Colbert’s challenge to empty his pockets on the air. It’s a shame he didn’t get to dive into the issues, but it’s nice to see a candidate who can take a joke.
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Political analyst James Carville shocked the crowd at CNN’s America Votes 2008 gala by suggesting that Jeb Bush would be the Republican nominee. According to the Ragin’ Cajun: “There is nobody in this field who can rally the Republican Party; he’s the only person in America that can do it.”
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — One of the few things the Republican and Democratic presidential contests have in common is the relentlessness with which candidates on both sides are wrapping themselves in orthodoxy. Heretics need not apply.
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Frank Rich of The New York Times argues that although there’s plenty to blame on the Bush administration, a timid Congress and a compliant press, it’s time for the American people to accept at least some responsibility for the Iraq war and its many disastrous episodes. From Abu Ghraib to contractor killing sprees, we the people have known far too much for far too long to feign surprise when things suddenly go sour.
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Though he referred specifically to the gay non-discrimination bill, Rep. Barney Frank made an impassioned plea for realism among activists that could be applied to the war, the environment or any other major issue of the day. He warned that imperfect legislation can help millions of people, unless “ideologically committed single-issue groups” are given a veto.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — Conservatives claim to be in favor of stable families, small businesses, hard work, private schools, investment and homeownership. So why in the world are so many on the right attacking the family of Graeme Frost?
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By Eugene Robinson — In his first presidential campaign debate, the former senator didn’t fall on his face but his performance was of less than Emmy caliber.
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AP Photo / Victor R. Caivano
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By Marc Cooper — A former translator for Chile’s Salvador Allende reviews three books evaluating the remarkable rise of Venezuela’s irrepressible Hugo Chavez.
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By Joe Conason — Once among the most frightening epithets in American political culture, “socialized medicine” seems to have lost its juju. Today that phrase sounds awfully dated, like a song on a gramophone or a mother-in-law joke or a John Birch Society rant against fluoridated water.
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drinkliberally.org
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DraftGore.com purchased a full-page ad in The New York Times, hoping to persuade an audience of one that “it’s a moral imperative for [Al Gore] to be a candidate.” The former vice president appreciates the sentiment, but still “has no intention of running.”
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Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer goes head to head with progressive icon Ralph Nader, who denies the charge that he has been a spoiler and challenges the value of the Democratic Party.
Special thanks to The Nation.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — You know the religious right is in trouble when some of its leaders threaten to bolt the Republican Party if it nominates a candidate who supports abortion rights. But the well-publicized warning directed against Rudy Giuliani earlier this month is decidedly not the most important sign that religious conservatives are facing the disintegration of their movement.
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By Will Durst — The creator will campaign for a third-party candidate if Rudy locks up the GOP nomination. How do we know this? Well, it seems God whispered in the ears of certain evangelical leaders.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — Would conservatives and Republicans support the war in Iraq if they had to pay for it? This is the immensely useful question that Rep. David Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, put on the table this week by calling for a temporary war tax to cover President Bush’s request for $145 billion in supplemental spending for Iraq.
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israellobbybook.com
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The editor of the provocative new bestseller by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt asks the authors (pictured above) whether their book is good for the Jews and good for America.
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washingtonpost.com
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Comedians can now let out that sigh of relief: Disgraced Sen. Larry Craig isn’t going anywhere. While he says he won’t run again, Craig now plans to finish his term in the Senate.
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By Marie Cocco — If American politics is “an arena for angry minds,” then Clarence Thomas is in the right business. His new autobiography is filled with the predictable narcissism, but also a rage that raises questions about the merit of the lifetime appointment.
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By Ellen Goodman — With Hillary Clinton well ahead of the Democratic pack in the polls and Republican candidates scrambling to demonstrate who is best able to defeat her, the question isn’t whether America is ready for a woman president but rather can anyone stop her.
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By Eugene Robinson — I believe in affirmative action, but I have to acknowledge that there are arguments against it. One of the more cogent is the presence of Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Yes, they’ve done battle before, but who can get enough of these kooky Democrats with their healthcare plans and their distaste for Bush? Ladies and gentlemen, here they are, your Democratic candidates. ...
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getreligion.org
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Lest anyone forget that Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York on Sept. 11, 2001 (it’s true, we looked it up), a buddy of his is throwing a fundraiser that will charge—wait for it—$9.11 per person.
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By Marie Cocco — Republicans almost suffered strokes over Hillary Clinton’s health insurance plan. Now that the screams of outrage have subsided, a close examination reveals that the GOP alternatives are either nonexistent or unworkable.
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Hillary Clinton shored up her left flank during an interview with Tim Russert, promising to vote against continued funding for the war in Iraq. Still, one must be wary of caveats such as “at the level we’ve seen.”
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The “Real Time” host argues that it’s about time for the growing “rationalist” minority to challenge the ubiquity of religion in politics.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — Here is why the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination seems so peculiar: Political campaigns are normally about highlighting differences, but never have the philosophical distinctions among Democratic candidates been so small.
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By Joe Conason — Hillary Clinton’s skillful introduction of her new health care plan demonstrated why she is the most formidable Democrat running for president. It also suggested that if victorious, she won’t be defeated so easily by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries as she and her husband were the last time they tried to reform the dysfunctional American medical system.
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The “Daily Show’s” Samantha Bee investigates whether America is ready for a woman president, “Sex and the City” style.
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By Chris Hedges — In his book “Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia,” John Gray warns that as the era of liberal intervention in international affairs wanes, it is being replaced with “primitive versions of religion” that will be used to fuel apocalyptic violence.
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Truthdigger of the Week: Medea Benjamin
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