Alexander Cockburn's Blog, page 6

Obama's Lackluster State of the Union for 01/27/2012

Does one await a presidential State of the Union address with keen anticipation? It's like saying one looks forward to taking a niece to "The Nutcracker." The last time I truly enjoyed one — the speech, not the ballet — was Bill Clinton's in 1998, and it wasn't because of anything he said. It was his terrific aplomb, despite the fact that the Monica Lewinsky scandal was br ...

Updated: Fri Jan 27, 2012

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Mitt's Romney's Gingrich Nightmare for 01/20/2012

Poor Romney. He's back in the Newt nightmare. Here comes the portly Georgian, brushing aside the guards outside Romney's hotel suite, kicking open the bedroom door, seizing Romney by the throat ... Aaaargh! And then Romney is awake, realizing that this is a cold-sweat nightmare that will last ... maybe until they close in Florida on Jan. 31; maybe until Super Tuesday on March 6, when nine state ...

Updated: Fri Jan 20, 2012

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War on Iran: It's Not a Matter of “If” for 01/13/2012

The world's press is choc-a-bloc with “if” questions about Iran and war. Will Israel attack? Is Obama, coerced by domestic politics in an election year, being dragged into war by the Israel lobby? Will he lunch the bombers? Is the strategy to force Iran into a corner, methodically demolishing its economy by embargoes and sanctions, so that in the end a desperate Iran strikes back?

As wit ...

Updated: Fri Jan 13, 2012

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He Signed It on the Dotted Line for 01/06/2012

America changed as the new year stumbled across the threshold, but the big shift didn't get much press, which is easy to understand. Can there be a deader news day than a New Year's Eve that falls on a weekend? Besides, alive or dead, habeas corpus has never been a topic to set news editors on fire.

The change came with the whisper of Barack Obama's pen, as he signed into law the Nationa ...

Updated: Fri Jan 06, 2012

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Loom of the Jackboot: Obama Gives Military Extreme Powers for 12/23/2011

Too bad Kim Jong-il kicked the bucket last weekend. If the divine hand that laid low the North Korean leader had held off for a week or so, Kim would have been sustained by the news that President Obama had signed into law a bill that puts the United States not immeasurably far from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in contempt of constitutional protections for its citizens or constitut ...

Updated: Fri Dec 23, 2011

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Suffer the Little Children for 12/16/2011

Newt Gingrich, who recently admitted that his own childhood was comfortable, seems to have a problem with youth — poor youth, that is. Back in 1994, the Gingrich master plan to shrink the welfare rolls was to ship the children of the poor off to orphanages. He told a Harvard audience not so long ago that child labor laws are "truly stupid," and schools should fire janitors and r ...

Updated: Fri Dec 16, 2011

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Barack Obama Plays the Teddy Roosevelt Card a Little Late - Battleground Blog (blog)

[image error] Barack Obama Plays the Teddy Roosevelt Card a Little Late
Battleground Blog (blog)
When in doubt, wheel on Teddy Roosevelt. It's article one in every Democratic president's playbook. Roosevelt was president from 1901 to 1909. He was manly; he ranched in North Dakota and explored the Amazon. ...

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Barack Obama Plays the Teddy Roosevelt Card a Little Late for 12/09/2011

When in doubt, wheel on Teddy Roosevelt. It's article one in every Democratic president's playbook. Roosevelt was president from 1901 to 1909. He was manly; he ranched in North Dakota and explored the Amazon. He was a rabid imperialist, charging up San Juan Hill and sending the Great White Fleet round the world. And he loved the wilderness — so long as it was suitably cleansed of Indians. ...

Updated: Fri Dec 09, 2011

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The People vs. 'Europe' for 12/02/2011

It looks as though the eurozone may be in a decisive meltdown, which is just fine in my book. The sooner we get back to francs, lire, punts, drachmas and the rest of the old sovereign currencies, the better.

It used to be as much a part of going to France to change money and be handed a bundle of notes featuring the devious Cardinal Richelieu as choking on Gauloise smoke. Instead, those ...

Updated: Fri Dec 02, 2011

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Newt Gingrich's big sell: he's not that clown Mitt Romney - First Post

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First Post
[image error] Newt Gingrich's big sell: he's not that clown Mitt Romney
First Post
SLAPSTICK depends on repetition. The clown always slips in the pile of elephant crap, inevitably walks into the ladder. By such standards Mitt Romney is now the undisputed slapstick king of America. About every four to six weeks the pundits shout out ...

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