Recent Blog Entries:
Critique of the Court's Ricci Decision: Drew Westen on The New Republic
Mark Sanford's Dilemma and the Quest for the Good: I
Betraying the Planet: Paul Krugman in the NYTimes
Defectors and Cooperators: Illuminating Issues in America Today
In Other Words # 1: Some Choice Untranslatable Terms from Other Languages
Obama's Cairo Speech and the Changes in the Middle East: Gershom Gorenberg in The American Prospect
Sanford Should Apologize for How He Judged Others' Morals: Cenk Uygur on Huffington Post
What Obama Must Do to Save Universal Health Care: Robert Reich on The Arena
The Politics of Revulsion: Research Findings Regarding Disgust and Political Orientation
Stranger in a Familiar Land: The Introduction to My Book, *The Illusion of Choice*
The Sexual Scandals of Our Politicians: What's Worth Saying?
Court Declares Illegal the Strip-Search of 13 Year-Old
The Anti-Gay-Marriage Non-Argument: Jonathan Chait in the New Republic
Hoping for Audacity: Drew Westen Questioning Obama's Strategy
Hate Speech Right and Left? A Reader Thinks He Sees a Double Standard
A Brief Report on Yesterday's Radio Show
The Sonia Sotomayor You Don't Know: Jeffrey Rosen in the New Republic
Worst. Damage Control. Ever. Nate Silver on the Question of Election Fraud in Iran
House Revives Some Health Care Hopes the Senate's Been Killing: Ryan Grim on Huffington Post
Tuesday's Radio Show: Official Notification of Topic, Time, Phone Numbers, Customs and Manners
An Appalling Ruling from the Supreme Court: NYTimes Editorial
Discussion of the Iranian Situation: Daniel W. Dresner on ForeignPolicy.com
What Does it Mean Not to be Hoping for these Iranian Protestors?
What To Make Of The Russian Media’s Reaction To Iran? Julia Ioffe in The New Republic
Obama and Iran's Elections: An Interpretation (By Me)
As Ye Sow: Some Lessons from *Prisoner's Dilemma* Research
Health Insurance Plan Is Great Politics for Democrats: Robert Creamer on Huffington Post
America’s Sea of Red Ink Was Years in the Making: David Leonhardt in the New York Times
Good News A Propos the Radio Show
Say No to Censorship: Washington Post Editorial Against Chinese Restrictions on the Internet
Whither the Iranian Protests? Maya Schenwar on Truthout
GOP Activist Calls Gorilla One of Michelle's 'Ancestors': Meteor Blades on Daily Kos
Keeping Them Honest: Paul Krugman on Health Care Reform and the Insurance Industry
Stealing the Iranian Election: Juan Cole on Truthout
A Father's Mortification at Growing Old
GOP Smear Campaign vs. Sotomeyer Fails: Greg Dworkin on the Arena
Iran Awakens Yet Again: Roger Cohen in the New York Times
A Unified Theory of Obama: Jonathan Chait in the New Republic
How to Deal with the Pathological Spirit on the Right?: Sharing My Dilemma
The Importance of How We Leave Iraq: Fareed Zakaria in Newsweek
Obama to Forge a Greater Role on Health Care
What's Going to Become of the Republican Party? A Discussion Question
Animals Possess a Sense of Morality: Science Report in Telegraph (UK)
Cooperation and Conflict in Obama's Cairo Speech: Aaron Zelinsky in the Huffington Post
YOU ARE BRILLIANT AND THE EARTH IS HIRING: Paul Hawken to Some College Grads
The Media Attend to the Right and Ignore the Left: E.J. Dionne on How the Debate Gets Skewed
"Memento Mori": Some Wonderings About Death
Testing Our Beliefs: An Informative, Entertaining Video (A TED Talk)
Empathy? It's Just a Question of *With Whom?* Adam Serwer in The American Prospect
Revisiting "Revisiting the 'Muddle Through Scenario'"
The Roots of Today's Financial Crisis Lie in the Reagan Years: Paul Krugman in the NYTimes
The Great Deflector: How Obama Stays Out of the Fray (Cottle at TNR)
Who Is to Blame for the Next Attack? Frank Rich in the New York Times
A Possible Logjam-Breaking Move for Obama to Make on the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
High Expectations for Obama's Speech in Egypt: James Zogby on Huffington Post
Obama's Center-Left Two-Step: E.J. Dionne's Interpretation of Obama's Political Strategy
How the Internet Helped a Canadian Mag Beat Canada's Human Rights Censors
Wondering About the Banking Crisis
Notes Toward a Theory of Obama: Jacob Weisberg on Slate.com
Statistical Proof that Democrats Hate Freedom: Funny and Incisive Report on Daily Kos
Blessed by Obviousness: My Response to a Comment on Opednews
How Colin Powell Got Snookered at CIA: Ray McGovern on Common Dreams
Time is Not Running Out on the Prosecution of Torture Crimes: Elizabeth de la Vega on Truthout.org
Troubling Commentary on North Korea's Troubling Nukes: Bill Powell in Time Magazine
Schmookler is Available for Conversation
Questioning Obama's Strategy Against Evil: Letting His Foes Be the Focus of Ugliness
The GOP’s Paranoid Foreign Policy: Michael Freedman in Newsweek
Is Cheney Hurting/Helping? Question from Me, Article from Lincoln Mitchell
My Hunch about a Credit Card Reform Matter
Cheney Lost to Bush: David Brooks in the NYTimes
Advice from *America's Worst Mom*: Lenore Skenazy in The Week
The Problems in Obama's Speech: More Stategic Subtlety or Outright Hypocrisy?
Signs of the Times in Russia: A Dramatic Example of the Long-term Battle of Patterns in a Society
Politics and the Passage of Credit Card Reform: Ryan Grim on Huffington Post
Senate Democrats, the Closing of Guantanamo, and the Obama Strategy: A Tentative Hypothesis
Imagine You're Talking to People Who Think FOX is a Legitimate News Source
The Happiest People in the World are Heavily Taxed: Thomas Kostigen on Marketwatch
The Politics of Excusing Torture in the Name of National Security: John Dean on Findlaw.com
The Character of Dick Cheney: Andrew Sullivan in The Atlantic
What Obama Wants in the Next Justice: Geoffrey R. Stone on Huffington Post
Torture Defensible? How about Homicide? Mcjoan on Daily Kos
Questioning Obama's Strategy Against Evil: Correlation of Forces
Introducing HuffPost*s Weekly Recap of the Sunday Talk Shows
Interesting Reflections on People and Happiness: A Passage from an Atlantic Monthly Article
The GOP's Misguided Campaign Against Judicial Empathy: Dahlia Lithwick in Slate.com
Questioning Obama's Strategy Against Evil: A Missed Opportunity?
The Decline of The Conservative Intellectual: Nate Silver on FiveThirtyEight.com
Calling Club for Growth: Kos Hopes the Suicidal GOP Will Knock Off Krist in the Primaries
Obama, The Torture Pictures, and this Dick Cheney Moment: A Speculation
Questioning Obama's Strategy Against Evil: Premise
Debt is Not So Cool: How the Recession May be Changing the Attitudes of the Young
Ronald Reagan's Position on Torture Now Labeled "Hard Left": Glenn Greenwald on Salon.com
Questioning Obama's Strategy Against Evil: Overview
Upcoming Battle on Souther's Replacement: William Rivers Pitt in Truthout.org
Obama Delivers the Zingers at Journalists' Dinner: Washington Post Report
Bonkers in Georgia: Hendrik Hertzberg on More of the Rising Craziness on the Right
A Great Party Needs to Have Give: Peggy Noonan on the Problems of Today's Republican Party
Archiving NSB Writings: Anyone Out there Willing to Help?
How Obama Sees the Court (According to Those Who Know Him): NYTimes Article
DOJ Report Reaches "Damning" Conclusions for Bybee and Yoo: Jason Leopold on Truthout.org
Book review of Dave Neiwert's "The Eliminationists": By Susan G on Daily Kos
What Do Liberals Want on the Court? Josh Patashnik in The New Republic
Anti-Green Economics: Paul Krugman's Blog
America Becomes Desensitized to Torture: Dahlia Lithwick on Slate.com
Arlen Specter Needs to Earn His Spot in the Democratic Party: Editorial in The New Republic
How the Republicans Re-Write the History of the New Deal: Jonathan Chait in the New Republic
Christopher Buckley on Losing His Parents
Craziness in America: II. The Same Dark Spirit at Work
Reconciliation as Game-Changer on Health Care Reform: Jonathan Cohn in the New Republic
Bailouts Have Cost Less than You Think: David Weidner in the Wall Street Journal
Obama Gets Higher Grade at 100 Days than His Followers: Robert Borosage on Huffington Post
Crawling Out from Under the Rocks: Thoughts on the Ongoing Exposure of Bushite Crimes
How the Media Cover the Torture Controversy: Glenn Greenwald on Salon.com
What Obama Can Do on Energy on His Own: Becker and Gerstenzang in the New York Times
Juicy Morsels from Dean Baker: Cases of Misreporting of Economic News from Major Media
Why Do Conservatives Like Stephen Colbert? Lee Drutman Article Followed by Schmookler Commentary
Larry Summers is Not the Guy to Lead Us Beyond the Money Culture: Frank Rich in the New York Times
Reclaiming America's Soul: Krugman Argues for Prosecution of Bushite Crimes
Why It's Necessary to Fast-Track Universal Health Care: Robert Reich
Obama and Transparency: Thoughts about Lions and Foxes
Handshake Diplomacy: Fred Kaplan on Obama's Approach to Foreign Policy
Obama's Loyal Opposition: Robert Kuttner in Huffington Post
Threats of Secession and Other Recent Republican Rhetoric: Lincoln Mitchell in the Huffington Post
Rising Craziness in America: I. Obama Has to Address It
The State of the Post-Bushite Republican World: Sam Gruen and David Spangler Offer Good Thoughts
The Texas Governor Strikes the "Secession" Note: Gail Collins in the New York Times
Why a God with Such Dubious Character? Thoughts from Jack Miles, Jerome Segal and Me
Red and Blue Economies? Nate Silver on Partisan Distortions of Perceptions
How Minnesotans Feel about Resolving Their Senate Race: DemFromCT on Daily Kos
You've Really Got to See and Hear This: Something Irrelevant but So Inspiring
The Bushite Policies of Obama’s Department of Justice: IV-Justified?
The Bushite Policies of Obama's Department of Justice: III. Protest!
Playing on People's Fears: Please Help Me Flesh Out this Indictment
The Bushite Policies of Obama's Department of Justice: II-Illustrated
The Bushite Policies of Obama's Department of Justice: A Series with a Surprise
From "Bad Experiences" to an Ecology of the Soul: An Essay by Me
Post-Consumer Prosperity: Robert H. Frank in The American Prospect
Is the GOP Cynical or Naive? Christopher Orr in the New Republic
The Geithner-Summers Plan Can Be Gamed: Jeffrey Sacks (and a Comment from Paul Krugman)
The Pick-Your-Poison Paradox: Nate Silver on FiveThirtyEight
Understanding Systems vs. How the Human Mind Seems Wired to Think
Why Obama Has (Largely) Stopped Reaching Out for Bi-Partisanship: John Dickerson on Slate.com
Your Help Wanted: Seeking Examples of Dishonest Republican Arguments
Obama as Peacemaker: A Tale (That Makes Me Feel Good) from the G-20
Will the Recession Bring a Collapse of U.S. Power? Au Contraire, Says Walter Russell Meade
Jim Webb's Courageous Call for Major Changes in Our Justice System: Glenn Greenwald on Salon.com
In Praise (Mostly) of the Obama Auto Plan: From John Paul MacDuffie, a Business School Professor
Being Right Has Little to Do with Pundits' Success: Paul Farrell on Marketwatch
No Return To Normal: James K. Galbraith on Why this Economic Crisis Changes Things
A Truth Deficit: E.J. Dionne on Why the Conversation over our Financial Future is so Poisoned
Different Spiritual Paths, Different Contributions
This Time, Geithner’s Plan for Banks Makes Sense: Jim Nocera in the New York Times
Why We Need a Commission on Presidential Power: Bruce Ackerman in the American Prospect
The Right Way to Fix Wall Street's Pay: Some Smart Analysis from Nate Silver
Behold, humble Deutschland: David Marsh on Why Germany Isn't Gloating Over its Relative Prosperity
Shall We Get Rid of the Lawyers? Anthony Lewis Review Article in the NYRB
Two Sides of an A.I.G. Bonus Story: From the Receiver of a Bonus, and From a Critic of Him
What The Ozone Scare Can--And Can't--Teach Us: Bradford Plumer in the New Republic
If Obama Did Take on Wall Street, How Tough/Winnable a Battle Would it Be?
Memory: A Fascinating Passage about the Role of Memory in Some Biblical Stories
Two Questions: What Does it Mean to Support Obama? and What if Obama's Banking Policy is Right?
Obama's Missing the Opportunity the Banking Crisis Presents
Some Truths About Guantanamo Bay: Lawrence Wilkerson Sheds Light on the Darkness
Does Krugman Have the Ear of the President? If Not, Here's What He Could Do
Can Anyone Reassure Me? Is there Any First-Rate Economist Who Agrees With the Geithner Approach?
Revenge of the Glut: Paul Krugman Helps Illuminate the Economic Crisis
Some Reflections on Obama's Promise: An Exchange Between Jim Oberg and John Hofer
Public Anger and the Challenge to Obama: Two Pieces, E.J. Dionne and Thomas Friedman
Ongoing Thoughts and Open Forum --March 19
Does Obama Have the Right Economic Team: Two Pieces that Feed My Doubts
Problematic Southern Culture: Cheap Labor from Slavery to Union-Busting
How Should We Think about the AIG-Bonus Affair? A Discussion Question
Banking Vouchers: Benjamin Barber with a Good Idea for Market-Loving Geithner
The Irish Troubles: A Moving and Hopeful Opinion Piece from an Irishman
Kepler and Brahe: A Little Piece of Science History
Today's Republican Party is a Central Part of our National Crisis
Stop Blaming the Market's Collapse on Obama: Jonathan Chait in the New Republic
Half-Way Through Obama's "First 100 Days": William Rivers Pitt Gives an Assessment
From Longfellow's Poem, "The Building of the Ship"
Nuclear-Armed China and India, with Tibet in Between: Dan Twining in Foreign Policy
Obama, Bush Secret-Keeper: Dahlia Lithwick Questions Obama's Position on Bushite Crimes
Ready to Rumble: Jed Lewison on Obama Taking on the GOP on Earmarks
Financial Glimmerings? A Couple of Brief Notices
The Media's Stupid/Corrupt Quest for "Balance": An Article from Daily Kos
Obama's Fine Memorandum Breaking with Bush on Signing Statements
The Tall People: Reflections on Humans and Trees
Why the Market Wants Banks Nationalized: John Verke on Seeking Alpha
Behind the Curve: Krugman's Continuing Worries about Obama Economic-Rescue Policies
A Fictious Exchange Between Obama and Emanuel on Their Beleaguered Banking Policy
The Republicans' Limbaugh Problem, According to David Frum (Conservative Republican)
The Cynicism of the Commentariat?
The Internet: Foe of Democracy? An Analysis from Cass Sunstein
Obama and the Banks: Critiques from Kuttner and Krugman
Obama Should Proclaim His Liberal Vision, Says Leon Wieseltier (But I do not Concur)
Virtue and Victory in Armed Struggle: An Exchange on Opednews
Pithy Insights from Dean Baker's Beat-the-Press Round-up
I Believe This is an Accurate Translation of the Bush DOJ *Legal Opinions* Released Yesterday
The Santelli Screed Hits Wrong Target on Mortgage Bailout: Dean Baker on Truthout
Obama's "Centrism" is Protective Coloration: Part II, Some Applications
The Obama-ites Are (Wisely) Using Limbaugh as a Weapon Against the GOP
The Obama Code: Passages from George Lakoff
Frugality, Eternity and Clarity
Paul Krugman Has Me Worried about How Obama's Handling the Banks
Chris Matthews Has His Moments-- Watch the Brief Video
Problematic Southern Culture: The Lost Cause Movement
Obama's "Centrism" is Protective Coloration: Part I, the Thesis
There Is No Social Security Crisis: Paul Waldman on The American Prospect
Obama Redefines *Investment*: Jeffrey Feldman on Huffington Post
Obama and the Revival of Responsibility: Robert Creamer on Huffington Post
Obama's State of the Union Address: An Epitaph for the GOP-- Jacob Heilbrun in Huffington Post
The Filibuster Issue: An Argument from Ryan Grim and a Dismissal from Me
The GOP's Jihad on Obama: Robert Parry on Consortium News
Normal Times? Not Yet. Maybe Not in Sight.
Disagreeing With Paul Krugman: Stan Collender at capitalgainsandgames.com
What Are the Characteristics of an ENLIGHTENED Human Being?
THE LAND’S PRAYER: An Expression of Reverence for the Earth by Layne Longfellow
Ongoing Thoughts for February 20
The Republicans Foretell Their Opposition to Health Care Reform: Howard Dean on Huffington Post
Dean Baker Takes Two Swipes at the Washington Post
The Left Would Help Obama by Complaining More: John Judis in the New Republic
George Will's Disingenous Global-Warming Denial: Two Critiques of a Recent Piece
Wondering: What Changes to the NSB Site in the Post-Bushite Era?
How to Speak Obama: Zadie Smith's Insights Reported by Jack Shafer
Republicans Propose Nationalizing the Banks: An Opportunity for Obama?
Obama's Stimulus Rope-a-Dope: Noam Scheiber in The New Republic
The Irrational Voter: Larry M. Bartels in the Wilson Quarterly
GOP, Like Rush, Sees Hope in Failed Stimulus: Meteor Blades on Daily Kos
Let the Zombie Banks Die: Ariana Huffington
Obama Versus Petraeus? Gareth Porter on Inter Press Service
Plunder and Blunder: Progressive Economists Discuss the Crisis (Part II)
Problematic Southern Culture: Venerating Disastrous Leaders
Krugman on Geithner's Ambiguous Bank Bailout Plan
The Capitulation of the Mountain Man
The Myth about FDR's New Deal Failing: Charles McMillion
Ongoing Thoughts and Open Forum: February 9
Plunder and Blunder: Progressives Discuss the Crisis (Part I)
Ariana and Me on the Proper Beneficiaries of Bailout
Operation *Zero Cred*: Bob Cesca Calls for the Netroots to Rise Up to Help Obama on the Stimulus
Obama*s Growing Pains: Chuck Todd on Accomplishments and Errors in the Pursuit of the Stimulus
European Activists Call For Bush To Be Tried For Torture: Julio Godoy on Inter Press Service
Why I'm Not OK with this Dying Thing
We're on the Edge: Paul Krugman Exhorting Obama to Take the Offensive on the Stimulus
Should Obama Have Taken Fuller Ownership of the Stimulus Package? Nate Silver on FiveThirtyEight.com
Why Pay $36.09 for Rancid Chicken?: Stephen J. Dubner on Freakonomics.com
Obama Shores Up Ethics Credibility: NYTimes Editorial on the Daschle Withdrawal
The Big Sort Revisited: Shankar Vedantam in the Washington Post
A Hopeful View from Robert E. Lee
More on the Dilemma Regarding Prosecuting the Bushites: From Some Exchanges I Had on Opednews
Post-Partisanship, R.I.P.: Robert Kuttner in The American Prospect
Interpretations of Obama: Paul Waldman in The American Prospect
Generals Seek To Reverse Obama*s Iraq Withdrawal Decision: Gareth Porter on Inter Press Service
Ongoing Thoughts and Open Forum: February 1
What Life Asks of Us: A Piece Worth Discussing from David Brooks
The New Me: I Just Changed the Photo of Me on My Bio Page
Question on Stimulus and Politics: Was Obama Brilliant or Blundering?
If I Could Now Ask Obama, Privately, One Question
The Debunking of Obama in Some Foreign Press: Anne Applebaum on Slate.com
MLK's *Black President* Prediction-- A Very Lucky Shot
A Return to Professionalism: Fred Kaplan on Obama's National Security Under-Secretary Appointments
Wanted: Good Calls to a Radio Show this Thursday Morning
Prosecuting Bushite Crimes: It's a Genuine Dilemma
What Will the Next Republican Coalition Look Like? Paul Waldman in The American Prospect
Speaking in Washington, D.C. on Sunday: All Are Welcome
Challenging Time in the Practice of Frugality
The Loyal Opposition: Joe Scarborough Manifests How Obama's Bridge-Building Is Working
Wall Street Voodoo: Krugman Fears Another Bank Bailout Where Taxpayers Will Get the Shaft
Reverend Lowery's Benediction: The Transcript
How to Push Obama: John Nichols in The Progressive
FROM OPPOSING EVIL TO SUPPORTING THE GOOD
Bush's Central Defect, According to Historial Alan Brinkley
Ongoing Thoughts for January 18
What was with this McClelland Dude? Ruminations on a Civil War Matter
What Will, What Should, Obama's Inaugural Address Be Like?
Sponsor an Executive: A Very Funny Video
Evil Leaders Destroy What They Claim To Love: An Essay by Me from More Than Three Years Ago
The Complicity of the Mainstream Media in the Bushite Iraq Fiasco: William Rivers Pitt in Truthout
Should Environmentalists Fear Cass Sunstein? Michael A. Livermore on Obama's New *Regulatory Czar*
Intellectual Dishonesty (Gasp!) from a Conservative Economist: Nate Silver Hits Another Good One
A Deepened Sense of the Tragedy of Lincoln's Assassination
Ehud Barak and the Gaza Conflict: A Glimpse into Israeli Politics
Ariana Proposes a Way for Us Americans to Join in this Presidency
Shocked! G.W. Bush has Done Something Good
Two Views of Obama's Tax Cuts: Krugman and Scheiber
The Future of the Internet: A Review Article by Tim Wu
Radio Show in Virginia on Monday: What My Approach Will Be This Time
Best Nuggets from Dean Baker's *Beat the Press* This Week
Why Bananas are a Parable For Our Times: Johann Hari of the London Independent
A Couple of Poignant Little Stories from the Civil War: From Goodwin's TEAM OF RIVALS
Three Ideas of What To Do About Burris: From John S. Bohrer, Nate Silver, and Me
The Panetta Nomination Picks Up Steam: News article by Sam Stein and Ryan Grim on Huffington Post
Obama's Justice Nominees Signal End of Bush Terror Tactics: News Report from McClatchy Newspapers
Deficit or Depression? Robert Kuttner on the Need for Stimulus
E.J. Dionne on *Why Senate Democrats need to reject Roland Burris*
The *Secret of Lincoln's Gifted Leadership*: A Passage from A TEAM OF RIVALS
Two Brief, Pungent Entries from Paul Krugman's Blog
What Book(s) Would You Recommend?
The Two-Sidedness of the Obama-Warren Gambit: Two Similar Takes-- Alan Wolfe and E.J. Dionne
On the Legalization — or Not — of Marijuana: Stephen J. Dubner in the New York Times
The Madoff Fraud and the Erosion of Trust in American Capitalism: Anne Applebaum in Slate.com
Nate Silver Thinks Through the Smart Republican Strategy on the Stimulus Bill
Why Gaza Matters: An Israeli's Analysis
The Return of the Princess: The Mythic Dimension of the Caroline Kennedy Story
Slow Learners: Jonathan Chait on the Post-Defeat Republicans
Lincoln's Empathic Approach: A Passage from A TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Torture Report: A NY Times Editorial
Keeping Order: The Latest on the *Broken Windows* Theory
Reading Obama's Character from How He is on the B-Ball Court: Essay by Obama's Brother-in-Law
A Christmas Present You Could Give Me that Won't Cost You a Cent
The Beauty I Find in Christmas
The Obama Inauguration Plan as Another Indicator of the Obama Way
NSB and Catching the Wind: A Communication from Jude Wilber
Ten Things Science Says Will Make You Happy
Why I Don't Agree with Those Who Oppose Caroline Kennedy's Appointment
Supreme Court Overturns Bush v. Gore: Humor Piece from the Onion
A Morning Wrapped in Ice: A Special Scene Described by April Moore (my wife)