I don't know what to make of Japan - a former regional empire, rebuilt as an economic dynamo or an aging country that is rapidly being overtaken by their former whipping boy, China. They rapidly embrace and adapt to Western culture but also seek to maintain their racial purity. They raped Nanking, kept comfort women in Korea, and bombed Pearl Harbor, but after being defeated in WWII and losing two cities to the atomic bomb, purport to have rejected armed conflict.
 [Read more]

In TPM tradition I figured I'd open up with a list of complaints about the site ... well, maybe later. I do have a question, though. What will you do (besides siccing Orlando on them, of course) if'n all the trolls follow TPMers over here, and try to start a slugfest? Some people enjoy that but I find it tiresome. By trolls I don't mean people I disagree with, just people who stir up trouble to attract attention or feed their egos, or whatever.

Charles and David Koch

  [Read more]

I'm more of a reader than a blogger, but followed the Duck from TPM.  TPM's "Cafe" taught me a lot and, every now-and-then, I felt I had something of value to add.  Perhaps, you will tolerate me here.

This just might be one of the most important documents that you have ever read. You don’t have to agree with everything that I say. All I ask is to read this. If it makes sense to you also then do something about it. Do you remember watching the movie Robin Hood and feeling like Robin Hood was doing something that was really good, right and just because of the evil, corrupt political power there? I remember feeling that way, but more than that I feel that way today. I believe that I have a dream and a vision for the common good of all mankind. [Read more]

I agree with Deadman that "the idea of social security is to provide the elderly with a baseline level of resources so they don't become impoverished".  I think that a major reason that Social Security reform is the "3rd rail" of politics is that so many people disagree with us.  If you listen to the AARP crowd, they are adamant that this is not the case. 
 [Read more]

Now, those were not the greatest eight years this country has ever seen, I’ll admit that right off the bat. Yet, I can’t help but miss having George in the White House. Here’s why.

I miss the silence. Seems like every other day Obama is giving a speech or a lecture or tap-dancing in front of the cameras to promote one issue or another. George W. Bush had no need for such antics. It was never “open mike” at the White House. He kept his appearances among the riff-raff to a minimum. The only times the general public was addressed by the President was during the annual State of the Union speech and whenever we attacked another country. [Read more]

It appears that Al Franken's first go-round on the Senate Judiciary Committee was at the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings on SNL (portraying Senator Paul Simon). Funny how life imitates art. For the HULU-impaired: http://snltranscripts.jt.org/91/91cthomas.phtml

Obama has disappointed many on the left time, and time again, from suppression of abuse/rape photos to giving amnesty to telcos over illegal wire-tapping, just to name a couple.

This time, however, he's crossed the line.

We want a President who wouldn't hurt a fly. Don't we? Well, maybe not all of us, but PETA does.

Although I'm a pescetarian, and am very sympathetic to many of PETA's causes, they really do like the crazy, don't they?

Greetings Friends.  I come to you with a true story of God’s victory over evil.  Keep in mind the victory was a hard fought one - and were it not for one Christian sacrificing his own future - all may have been lost.
 [Read more]

In the spirit of a recent post comparing Hamilton and Cheney, I thought I'd explore one area where George W. Bush bests Thomas Jefferson hands down: Bush never owned a single slave (as far as I know).

Of course, you might say that times were different when Jefferson was president, but is that any better of an excuse than "just following orders"?

Discuss. Please. (I'm only being half-way snarky here.)