A few minutes ago, the Greek parliament voted in favor of the austerity plan being pushed on its governments by the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission. The result will be falling living standards in Greece, lower growth (if not outright recession) and much suffering in general. But, Greece will receive the n
Well, according to a piece on Countdown tonight, the Dems may be able to skewer the Repubs with the Constitution itself, making raising the debt ceiling a moot point, and at least temporarily taking away the possibility of a default.
The 14th Amendment states in section four: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."
By William K. Wolfrum on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 4:01pm | Politics, World Affairs
MINAS GERAIS — Brazilian officials are in Washington, D.C., today to speak with the Food and Drug and Administration to attempt to get them to change their minds about building an FDA office in Brasilia.
In what Brazilian magazine Epoca is calling the first speed bump in President Dilma Rousseff’s dealings with the United States, the U.S. announced on April 26 it’s plans to build an FDA office in Brasilia – a move Brazilian officials are saying was never discussed with them.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Independent from Vermont, held the senate floor for 90 minutes yesterday, talking directly to President Obama, pleading, cajoling, scolding--begging the president to take the lead on obvious things like lifting the poor and the downtrodden out of the depths, protecting them from any more grief, and demanding that the rich pay their fair share of U.S. taxes.
In what's called "a letter to President Obama", Sen. Sanders, a man Diogenes would be proud to call an honest man, said this:
I'm pretty bad at the politics part of politics. Sure, I can read opinion polls and guess at what messages will play well in communities I know well, but I don't have a great crystal ball for predicting how groups of people will react to major events.
When I look over at the Republican ticket I see one threat (Mitt Romney) and a lot of nothing else. I also think Romney is eminently beatable and that so long as the economy is improving, even if it's improving too slowly, Obama has to be the odds-on favorite to win in 2012. But, hey, anything can happen, right?
By William K. Wolfrum on Mon, 06/27/2011 - 9:29am | Social Justice, Personal
Note: Will Kohl over at Back2Stonewall asked me if I’d write him a guest post about some of my experiences in Brazil. Here is that post, originally posted at Back2Stonewall.com
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t Gay friendly. But it took coming to Brazil for me to become a full-fledged Gay ally. That change started almost immediately upon my arrival.
When I read and hear of all the despair about the current situation in the United States expressed by Progressives, I often wonder why I'm not equally depressed. I find comfort when I read polls that note that despite the economic hardships present in the country today, African-Americans remain optimistic about the future. In a Washington Post poll cited by Ellis Cose in a "The Daily Beast" column on May 22, 2011 notes that 60% of African-Americans polled felt that their children would have a better standard of living.
While the exceedingly cool members of this nation were celebrating some success, the cable news media was at it again. Let's review for a moment and be thrilled about the events that took place, leading to the exhilarating events of last night, Roy McDonald broke with his party, when he told reporters June 15, 2011 this: "F**k it, I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing." And with that, the line of demarcation was absolutely shattered.
By Doctor Cleveland on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 3:05pm | Politics, Social Justice, Media
The FBI has caught Whitey Bulger, after a mere sixteen years. The arrest made national news because of the FBI's well-earned embarrassment and because of the mythology around Bulger. As a crime boss, Bulger was not nationally significant. He was a formidable gang leader with firm control over one slice of Boston's organized crime, but it was only a slice.
By Ramona on Fri, 06/24/2011 - 1:16pm | Politics, Humor & Satire
Rachel Maddow, dear-heart, I'm begging you--never, ever do beat poetry at the bongo drum AGAIN! Gawd! That was painful! I'm telling you, it was excruciating! I love you truly but that was just gawdawful. Really.
If anyone doubted this (and I suspect few outside the White House and Treasury did), there will be no "adults" coming to the rescue it appears. Congressman Cantor has announced that it will be impossible for him or his party to vote to extend the debt limit (to agree to pay our national obligations) without an agreement by Democrats not to seek a repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest among us.
What is blogging while female? What is it about so many blogs, whether they are of the liberal, conservative or middle of the road blogs that sexism becomes the mode of what is deemed civil discourse? What is female empowerment and what constitutes an on-line civil society and how does it contribute to the overall meaning of civil society? In the end, how do we become more effective communicators and more inclusive of other voices.
When I saw that 
