US politics

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | – – “It’s hard to insult Bernie Sanders when he doesn’t mind being called a socialist. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: ” Why Won’t Bernie Sanders Take “Socialist” As An Insult?”

Immigration

How the GOP’s decades of Angry Resentment Led to Frankentrump

contributors

By Randall Stephens | (The Conversation) | – – The latest Republican presidential primary debate had it all: denunciations of President Obama, angry rants about America’s future, and all manner of bile. It seems like a new low – but in reality, Republican candidates have been singing this tune for years. In the fall of […]

Featured

How GOP Candidates would Deal with Syria, Short Version

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Political Satire In the course of the second GOP debate at CNN, anchor Jake Tapper asked the candidates about Syria policy. They for the most part did not actually answer the question, but occasionally said something. But they often said it at great length. Here is […]

Featured

Pope Francis Endorses Iran Deal: Another Dilemma for GOP Catholic Candidates

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Republican presidential candidates are virtually unanimous that human-caused climate change is a hoax and burning fossil fuels is good for us; that Obamacare is evil and must be repealed; and that the UN Security Council’s deal with Iran restricting its nuclear enrichment program must be […]

Arab Americans

Islam Hysteria: 14 yr old Muslim Student Invents Digital Clock, is Arrested

contributors

The Dallas Morning News | (Video Interview with Ahmad Mohamed) | – – “Ahmed Mohamed, 14, an Irving MacArthur High student who invents as a hobby, talks about being detained and interrogated after bringing a homemade clock to school Monday that was mistaken for a hoax bomb.” The Dallas Morning News: “Irving MacArthur student arrested […]

Barack Obama

Obama as Grandmaster of Grand Strategy: Containing China

contributors

By Alfred W. McCoy | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – In ways that have eluded Washington pundits and policymakers, President Barack Obama is deploying a subtle geopolitical strategy that, if successful, might give Washington a fighting chance to extend its global hegemony deep into the twenty-first century. After six years of silent, sometimes secret preparations, the […]

Culture

Andrew Garfield of Spiderman: Trump ‘has a lot,’ Unwelcoming of those with Little

contributors

Popsugar Entertainment | (Video Interview with Andrew Garfield) | – – “Andrew Garfield spent hours with families who’d lost their homes in the foreclosure crisis to prepare for his role as a single dad fighting to stay afloat in 99 Homes. While those stories may have faded from the daily news cycle, he says they’re […]

Bernie Sanders

Sanders surges in Iowa as Clinton faces Enthusiasm Gap

Juan Cole

Anthony Salvanto | (CBS Face the Nation Video) | – – “A new CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker poll shows presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, leading in both Iowa and New Hampshire. With 78 percent of Sanders fans “enthusiastically” supporting his candidacy, states across the nation are feeling the Bern.” CBS Face the Nation: […]

Democratic Party

When will War be off the Table? Iran & US Trash Talk

contributors

By David M. Faris | (Informed Comment) | – – You have to admire the sheer gall of the Republican presidential field, which has coalesced around the idea of, in Scott Walker’s words, blowing up the Iranian nuclear deal “on day one.” As most candidates also pledge to repeal Obamacare on the first day, one […]