The Liberal Doomsayer My blog deals primarily with national politics in the U.S. as well as, on occasion, local politics in Pennsylvania. From time to time, I may have something to say about sports and entertainment as well. I try to interpret information that shapes the news and provide context to current events. I am definitely left of center politically, but as far as I'm concerned, neither major party is perfect. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 26 0 107 4947

Articles from The Liberal Doomsayer

It's Money That Matters, As Always 2008-01-21 22:48:00 I just wanted to throw out this crazy notion given the disconsolate news of the world wide markets in response to our little untidiness over the subprime mortgage meltdown and the effects rippling through our financial institutions.Yesterday in the New York Times, this story tried to create the impression that, somehow, this could be good news because foreign investors would establish more of a presence in this country than the substantial one they have already, bailing us out somehow in light of our own ineptitude and malfeasance.And this particular bit of condescension caught my eye...Some labor unions see the acceleration of foreign takeovers as the latest indignity wrought by globalization.“It’s the culmination of a series of fool’s errands,” said Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers. “We’ve hollowed out our industrial base and run up this massive trade deficit, and now the countries that have built the deficits are coming back to buy up our ...

Read And Learn, Inky 2008-01-21 12:26:00 Kudos to Guy Petroziello and the Bucks County Courier Times for publishing David Sirota today on its editorial page; Sirota's great column today pertains to the health care insurance initiatives in Washington state and Wisconsin in which employers and employees pay a modest payroll tax in exchange for full medical benefits.For all of the wingnuttia on that paper's Op-Ed pages - and there's plenty of it again today - the Courier Times at least makes the effort to publish progressive voices like Dave as well as Gene Lyons, Paul Campos, Jim Hightower on occasion and others (as opposed to the Inquirer, which is just about beyond any hope as far as I'm concerned). ...

Remembering Dr. King 2008-01-21 12:11:00 Prof. Marcus posted this already, but I'd like to do so again - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was talking about Vietnam and communism in the '60s, but he could have just as easily been talking about Iraq and terrorism today, among other things (and pay close attention to his totally apropos Biblical references, you self-professed Christians and "values voters" - it's called "walking the walk," and he paid the ultimate price for it).The duration of this video is 22:48, but it's worth every second and much more. ...

Kos Doth Protest On Edwards Too Much 2008-01-20 14:37:00 First, Markos calls John Edwards "an ass" for Edwards' criticism of Barack Obama for calling the Republicans "the party of ideas for about 10-15 years" and "challenging conventional wisdom" here while giving credit to Ronald Reagan, allowing infamous freeper demagogue Fred Barnes a shot to write stuff like this).Next, we have Markos citing Edwards' "stalling effort" and claiming that "this may be the last week of the Edwards campaign" if he doesn't win South Carolina (here - it's crucial I'll admit and doesn't look good at the moment, but the primary will be held on the 26th, so we'll see). In fact, Edwards has stated that he's in for "the long haul" (here, though I can assure you that I will acknowledge it if Markos turns out to be right).And also, we have this post from Markos where he alleges that Obama's supporters ridiculed the Edwards supporters, though there is no link or further information to back up that charge.All of this is starting to cause concern with yours trul ...

Saturday Videos 2008-01-19 21:12:00 (I meant to get to these last night...)As we watch our investment earnings go further down the drain, let's boogie down to "The Wall Street Shuffle" by 10 cc (Are you as psyched about Dubya's wonderful "stimulus" package as I am, by the way? Just keep digging that hole and hope our "friends" the Saudis and the Chinese continue to bail us out - forgot to note earlier that today was Eric Stewart's birthday)......this would have been Janis Joplin's 65th birthday, by the way ("Summertime," recorded in Stockholm in 1969)......Dayna Kurtz ("Love Got In The Way"; wow, what a talent, and I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that Joplin was a trailblazer of sorts who helped make it possible to folks like Kurtz to get noticed)......and for your listening and dining pleasure, the melodic sounds of Tool ("Forty Six and 2," with clips from the film "Constantine"). ...

Friday Videos 2008-01-18 23:49:00 Robert Palmer would have been 59 tomorrow ("Addicted To Love"; guilty pleasure time)......and here's Sara Bareilles with "Love Song." ...

Friday Political Stuff 2008-01-18 23:24:00 I realize I haven't said anything about the war for a little while, though I should have, but I came across this, so (rough language)......and speaking of our military (here's more)...Update 1/19/08: Forgot this from last night (h/t to Prof. Marcus - you go, K.O.). ...

In Praise Of A King Of Cultural Kitsch 2008-01-18 17:47:00 Finally, I cannot let this week conclude (more or less) without observing the passing of Richard Knerr (pictured), the co-founder of Wham-O Inc., makers of frisbees, super balls, silly string, and all kinds of other utterly mindless toys which I enjoyed with my friends growing up in a long-gone era, as we tortured ourselves ceaselessly without the aid of any electronic gadgets whatsoever.Of course, as it turns out now, the company he and childhood friend Arthur “Spud” Melin founded in 1948 is now owned by Cornerstone Investments Overseas Ltd. of Hong Kong (Melin died in 2002).Well anyway, thanks for the fun while it lasted, guys. ...

Sounds Like Justice Was Already Done 2008-01-18 17:38:00 I’ve been meaning to take note of an excerpt in this New York Times story written when Dubya visited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but this is the first chance I’ve had, so…Mr. Bush’s tour of Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum, and his trip to Galilee on Friday produced the not-so-revelatory headline, “Remembrance and Faith in the Holy Land.”That item opened with a tantalizing clause — “After a later-than-usual dinner at Prime Minister Olmert’s residence ...” — but Mr. Gillespie dished no more, even though the dinner was, the Israeli accounts said, a raucous affair. It was said that Mr. Bush buttonholed two wavering members of Mr. Olmert’s cabinet, while an Israeli lawmaker buttonholed Mr. Bush about the case of the American spy Jonathan Pollard, to Mr. Olmert’s chagrin.It turns out that there has been a movement afoot for some time to free Pollard and allow him to emigrate to Israel (news to me anyway), and the Israelis have even granted him citiz ...

Where’s Your “Identity Politics” Now? (Update) 2008-01-18 16:42:00 A whole raft of other bloggers, pundit types, and media notables have weighed in the flap over Barack Obama’s praise of Ronald Reagan, including John Edwards, who I think is entirely correct of course here.I would just ask that others consider this latest dustup in context with these moments and wonder why the senator from Illinois lapses into rhetoric and actions that end up complementing anything that could come out of the RNC playbook when “crunch time” arrives. Yes, I know he’s a bit “green” after all on this stage, which isn’t his fault entirely, but it’s bad enough when the Repugs trip all over themselves with their “Gipper love” – I can’t think of a word to describe how unseemly it is when a Dem engages in it also.Update: Wow, Markos, way to take a shot at John Edwards and totally ignore Obama's habit of resurrecting right-wing talking points which you yourself have noted in the past (and you even managed to plug your book in the process...dag, what a pr ...

A PA Electoral Warning? 2008-01-18 14:43:00 I’ve been thinking about this article written by Clive Thompson in the New York Times magazine (dated 1/6) for a little while, and I just wanted to share this excerpt…IF YOU WANTED to know where the next great eruption of voting-machine scandal is likely to emerge, you’d have to drive deep into the middle of Pennsylvania. Tucked amid rolling, forested hills is tiny Bellefonte. It is where the elections board of Centre County has its office, and in the week preceding the November (2007) election, the elections director, Joyce McKinley, conducted a public demonstration of the county’s touch-screen voting machines. She would allow anyone from the public to test six machines to ensure they worked as intended.“Remember, we’re here to observe the machines, not debate them,” she said dryly. The small group that had turned out included a handful of anti-touch-screen activists, including Mary Vollero, an art teacher who wore pins saying “No War in Iraq” and “Books Not Bombs. ...

A Sign Of Desperation 2008-01-18 14:20:00 Based on this quote in today’s commercial for the Republican Party by Kevin Ferris of the Inquirer, I don’t think it’s going to be much longer before “the gloves come off” concerning Tom Manion…"(Patrick) Murphy became co-opted by the Nancy Pelosis and the John Murthas of the world - and MoveOn.org. That's not part of the change that voters in the Eighth District expected."Yep, they got nuthin’ all right. Given the low regard I hold for Mikey, though, I at least have to give him credit for exercising the good judgment to sit out this election (and Manion said that he wants to now get out and talk to the voters, which is a worthy goal; however, I would have done that before I'd decided to run for office.)And this Letter to the Editor appeared in the Courier Times today…Signs have appeared recently that read: “The Iraq War is a success. Patrick Murphy is a failure.” We cannot be certain who sponsored this exercise in double speak since those involved were ashamed to ...

More From "The Most Trusted Name In News" 2008-01-18 11:26:00 This is “water wet, sky blue” stuff and I should probably be spending my time on something more productive, but…It seems that Glenn Beck is now being promoted by CNN as a featured online columnist, which makes me wonder if that network has any journalistic credibility left at all.And in this piece of drivel, he uses our current economic melt down triggered by the mortgage subprime lending crisis to accomplish two things: the first is to take another shot at Hillary Clinton, and the second is to tell us all that cutting corporate tax rates will solve everything (see, doing that will spur investment and job growth, encouraging people to spend and saving our economy).The Repugs and their acolytes are nothing if not predictable, aren’t they? But in the real world, this tells us the following…Congressional Budget Office data show that the tax cuts have been the single largest contributor to the reemergence of substantial budget deficits in recent years. Legislation enacted since 2 ...

Thursday Political Stuff 2008-01-17 22:03:00 Looks like "Mittmania" could be derailed based on these startling allegations from The Onion (h/t The Daily Kos)...Mitt Romney Defends Himself Against Allegations Of Tolerance...and I know I've been beating this drum so much that I'll probably end up putting a hole in it, as it were, but here goes one more shot (and if you're so inclined)......and by the way, let's not forget Al, you Minnesotans (no punch lines any more, just the truth)......and "The Pap Attack" takes on Dubya and the Saudis. ...

A Granite State Wingnut Alert 2008-01-17 15:51:00 I admit to being a novice about New Hampshire politics, but it set off a warning bell or two when I read here that Jennifer Horn, who apparently is a media type in those parts, has decided to challenge first-term Dem U.S. House Rep. Paul Hodes.What I do know is that Hodes is endorsed by Act Blue (here) and, out of a possible 1185 votes cast by the House during his term thus far, he has missed four votes.That’s impressive.So why exactly does Horn want to oust him?(She) says New Hampshire voters elected Hodes to change Washington, but that Washington has changed him. She says she would work for smaller government, to cut taxes and wasteful spending, to develop a long-term energy solution, for immigration reform and to support the military and veterans.Yep, I think you could pretty much expect any Repug from the freeper-cookie-cutter mold to spout that stuff (and by the way, she wrote this fawning column about Frederick of Hollywood that positively made me gag; sounds like Hodes support ...