The issue of the drone war and the public reception to it, particularly among progressives, demonstrates both the strength and failings of that movement. The hallmark test of legitimacy for any body that espouses political opinion is and must be consis…
Continue readingTag: US politics
Red Tory v.3.0.3: Calling Out Libertarians (Part II)
Sam Seder rebuts various comments from libertarians on his Majority Report YouTube channel concerning alleged hypocrisy vis-à-vis libertarian principles in connection with the death of Ron Paul’s former campaign manager. Regular commentators (you know who you are!) have probably exhausted … Continue reading →
Blast Furnace Canada Blog: Reopen Swiss Air 111
Yesterday morning’s explosive (pardon the expression) allegations by a former Mountie that the Swiss Air 111 crash in 1998 may have been a terrorist act and not an entertainment system gone haywire is something that absolutely has to be taken seriously…
Continue readingbastard.logic: Looking Backward in the Year 2011
by matttbastard Der Spiegel runs down W’s “tragic legacy” in the long, long, looooong decade of U.S. decline that followed 9/11: America was trapped in Iraq for years, where a victory was a long time coming and was never a … Continue reading →
wmtc: tar sands pipeline arrests now total 1253: naomi klein among them
In case you missed it, this past Monday, September 5, Canadian author Naomi Klein became one of the more than 1,200 people to be arrested at the White House this summer, as part of the ongoing protest of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. You…
Continue readingCredible terrorism threat?
Hmmm? Or someone trying to take the wind out of Obama’s big speech in a few minutes? Good luck with that. The President apparently plans to reveal his his package on nationwide TV, and according to Tim Geithner, it’s “substantial“. Could be a hard act to follow. (And people wonder why I find their politics […]
Progressive Proselytizing: Libya Rebel Leader Underscores Our Deep Hypocricy
When it first became clear that NATO actions in Libya were going to far exceed the UN mandate of a no-fly zone to protect civilians and would instead be a massive and sustained bombing campaign on all kinds of military targets in support of the rebels …
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Shrill Bitch Alert!
Video of Sarah Palin squawking at speaking to “supporters” of a newly formed group called “Tea Party of America” today at a rain-soaked rally in Iowa… and covered LIVE by Sun News! Go figure. In a Godly portent worthy of … Continue reading →
Red Tory v.3.0.3: Do Teabaggers Read Books?
Well, not that much, apparently. At least if sales figures for the latest raft of books penned by Tea Party icons are any indication of that group’s appetite for book learnin’… Despite widespread media hype, TroubleMaker, by vacuous non-witch and … Continue reading →
Progressive Proselytizing: Sarah Palin: The epitome of the celebrity politician
It is that time again when my fingers twitch and compel me – struggling with my sense of decency – to write another blog post about Sarah Palin. I have tried to stop, honestly, but like any good addict I cannot. I think what is so compelling to me abou…
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Fox & Fiends
Generally reviled former Vice-President Dick Cheney hit the “curvy couch” of Fox’s most unctuous right-wing sycophants this morning to promote his new book, In My Imagination… Unsurprisingly, Cheney believes it imperative for the U.S. government to continue wasting a TRILLION … Continue reading →
wmtc: canada and u.s.: join to speak out against tar sands pipeline
Environmental activists in the US see an opportunity for real action against the tar sands pipeline. Since the oil-friendly and environment-hating Harper government won’t listen to us on this issue, we owe it to North America to do whatever we can to t…
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Enough of 9/11 Already!
Arrrrgh. Another maudlin 9/11 commemorative is drawing closer – this time with even more dramatic intensity, being the 10th anniversary of the completely avoidable attacks on the American “homeland” that supposedly “changed everything” (i.e., provided a convenient excuse for the … Continue reading →
Blast Furnace Canada Blog: DSK walks
In probably his most humiliating moment since becoming Manhattan’s DA, Cyrus Vance Jr has dropped all seven charges against Dominique Strauss Kahn in the allegation that he raped a hotel worker, now identified as Nafissatou Dialou — and the courts hav…
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Analyzing the Tea Party
A new study by professors David Campbell and Robert Putnam tracking the origins of the so-called Tea Party movement in America made a bit of a splash recently, after highlights of their findings were published in the New York Times. … Continue reading →
Canadian Soapbox: Book Review "Broken Words" Understanding the grip Neo-Cons have on evangelicals
As the author of a blog I get occasional emails asking me to review a book or promote a particular cause. In most cases I decline, and I’ve never agreed to review a book before…until now.
The book I was asked to review is entitled ‘Broken Word…
Blast Furnace Canada Blog: Enter stage right — WAY right — Rick Perry
Just as former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty — probably the only guy who’s close enough to the centre that he could actually beat Barack Obama in next year’s presidential race — withdrew his candidacy, current Texas governor Rick Perry announced he…
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: A Vote for “Rick Parry” is a Vote for a Better America Tomorrow!
Stephen Colbert answers the question, “What will you do with all that unrestricted SuperPAC money?” with the launch of a TV commercial urging voters in Iowa to cast their ballots in the upcoming Ames Straw Poll for write-in candidate “Rick … Continue reading →
Blast Furnace Canada Blog: Latest Fed decision, and de Tocqueville on bombastic simpletons
The US Fed dropped its usual pretentiousness and the technocratic language often used in its statements on interest rate decisions and was remarkably clear in yesterday’s decision, in which it pledged (by a vote of 7 to 3 with two abstentions) to…
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: UK lights up — is Canada next?
While no act of law enforcement, and no austerity measure, can justify the kind of rioting that has happened in the UK the last few days, one cannot help but appreciate the need to vent. These are not easy times and budget cutbacks can only…
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