sarah palin

A well funded network of right-wing extremists wants to make it socially and politically impossible to express the ideals that made this country great. One of those extremists appeared on their billionaire-funded network this week to attack Elizabeth Warren, and anyone else who isn't on the far right, as a Communist. more »

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Psst. Hey, Senator! Just wanted to say thanks for all the free publicity! It's getting even better now that your pal – what's her name, the Half-Governor? - is talking about me too. You know what they say: It's not bad press if they spell your name right!

But listen – and I really shouldn't do this – I'm not sure you realize where you're headed. Put it this way: When the lead singer from Megadeth says he'll vote for you, take it as a sign. I mean, c'mon man! They sang “Prince of Darkness”!

You already talk about me like you know me. Have we met? You do look familiar, but I meet so many guys in your line of work - lobbying, that is. Oh, right, you're a politician too. When it comes to politicians, let's just say we've always got a quorum down here! Talk about your “smoke-filled rooms” …

Oh, wait. Maybe you haven't figured out who I am. Please allow me to introduce myself - I'm a man of wealth and taste.

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What can a democracy like ours do when giant companies say, "Rules? We don’t need no stinkin’ rules! We don’t got to pay you no taxes!" and "We will just move out of your puny country if you try to tell us what to do." more »

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Tax Day was approaching and the righties were out to denigrate government workers and government spending. Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska, who quit her job in 2009, headlined a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, bought and paid for by the front-group [[Americans for Prosperity]] (AFP), but billed as a “grassroots” Tea Party event.

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Five years ago, a 47-year-old Missouri woman began a duplicitous on-line courtship through MySpace with a 13-year-old neighbor who once had been friends with the woman’s daughter. more »

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The electorate is bitter and angry. It’s no wonder. more »

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There's a new undercurrent in Washington debate, an unstated drive to undo the bipartisan consensus that's governed American policy for a century. New pieces by Fareed Zakaria and Clive Crook merely reflect the new unspoken theme that's revealing itself in debates on taxation, Social Security, and a dozen other areas: If the wealthy must sacrifice anything, then the middle-class and poor must sacrifice at least as much. The old belief that greater fortune brings greater responsibility is under attack. The idea that "to those whom must has been given, much is expected" is being overthrown. more »

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The trade association for payday lenders objected to what they called my "name calling" in their blog yesterday ... then called me a "pig."Why? Because I quoted Aristotle and told a story about Jesus. Well, to be fair, I did suggest their industry might be "evil" according to traditional definitions of the term. But that doesn't explain the payday defender who called me "Doofus Major du Jour."

There are some more civil arguments being used to defend payday lenders, however, and many commenters repeated them in the Huffington Post and in the DailyKos. These arguments are myths. They're being repeated by reasonable, well-intentioned people who have been misled by a wealthy lobby and its flacks.

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Sarah Palin's broadside against the Obama administration's Wall Street reform proposal is an interesting study in, well, hackery. One the one hand, her latest Facebook post is a disingenuous smear, loaded with outright lies. On the other, she's kind of onto something, in her own horrible way. more »

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