The Big Con
Top Stories
Firing Back on Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism
June 18th, 2009
There's an appalling (though, sadly, hardly surprising) amount of conservative myth-making going on around the very serious issue of right-wing domestic terrorism. They've come up repeatedly in talk shows and online forums, so you're likely to encounter them as well. Here's what you need to separate fact from fiction when the talking points start flying.
Featured Issues
Tragedy at the Holocaust Museum: Stand Up To Terrorism
June 10th, 2009
You have to go back a long, long way in American history before you come to a place where you find incidents like this happening an average of once every two weeks.This escalating level of violence is adding data points to a potentially emergent pattern that we need to be looking at and preparing for. So far, there are at least five things I'm particularly concerned about.... more »
The Haters’ Silent Enablers
Hard-core haters resolutely dismiss any “mainstream media” debunking of their conspiracy theories. The only voices that might penetrate their alternative reality &38212; I emphasize might — belong to conservative leaders with the guts and clout to step up. Where are they?... more »
Conservatives Aren't Being Persecuted
To be a conservative these days is, or so they would have you believe, like being black in Birmingham in 1952. It is to be the victim of media, culture and law, which hate you just for being. Your first thought is to reason them out of it, but it is notoriously hard to reason people out of victimology because it: a) feels good, b) demands deference, c) relieves them of any responsibility for their own fouled-up condition.... more »
The Case
Why We Call It "The Big Con"
Conservative government during the past few years has failed—even some conservatives acknowledge that. But the problem is not just that conservatism has failed to live up to its promise; it is that conservatism cannot live up to its promisemore »
Conservatism: Flawed By Design
Inherent ideological flaws cripple the ability of conservatives to govern:
The Facts
Investing In People
Here are some basic facts behind our call for "real investment" in people, assembled from recent government and private studies. We've fallen behind as a nation, but making the right spending choices will yield lasting dividends.more »
Banksters Run Amok: The Facts
Financial institutions went on a binge; the cops on the street turned a blind eye. The bankers pocketed billions until the housing bubble burst. Americans are now paying dearly for the folly. Here are some facts you need to know and some ideas for change.more »
The News
Toy Makers to Report to Consumers In Safety Proposal
July 2nd, 2009
E. Coli Found in Nestle Cookie Dough Sample
June 30th, 2009
The Case
How a Loophole Benefits GE in Bank Rescue
"The company did not initially qualify for the program, under which the government sought to unfreeze credit markets by guaranteeing debt sold by banking firms. But regulators soon loosened the eligibility requirements, in part because of behind-the-scenes appeals from GE."more »
Congress Pushing for Federal Reserve Audit
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is "not revealing what they did with the two trillion dollars they created on their books. It was loans to banks for sure. There have been several actions under the Freedom of Information Act to get them to say who they were to and what the terms were, but they won't do it,"more »
Latest from our Bloggers
jun
12
2009
1:26 pm
1:26 pm
Dear Conservatives:
Your fellow Americans demand an answer -- and we want it now. Just one simple question:
Are you deliberately trying to start a civil war? more »
jun
12
2009
10:31 am
10:31 am
Health Care Reform Hits the Road
The health care reform battle is heating up on several fronts. more »
jun
11
2009
10:42 am
10:42 am
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced yesterday that it would “develop a sweeping national advocacy campaign … to defend and advance America’s free enterprise values in the face of rapid government growth and attacks by anti-business activists.” The Chamber doesn’t get it. They aren’t defending capitalism and free enterprise. They are all but destroying it. more »
jun
11
2009
7:15 am
7:15 am
We are like astronomers watching a black hole collapsing inward. But it’s the conservative movement we’re viewing. Lacking a Republican president to hold it in place, the powerful gravity of extremist ideology is crushing its adherents. At least, that’s how it looks through the lens of recent public opinion polls.
jun
11
2009
4:44 am
4:44 am
Does the road to health care reform run through Wisconsin? Could the shape of health reform to come be based on a Wall Street model?
more »jun
9
2009
10:30 am
10:30 am
The healthcare reform battle heats up, as the House and Senate each grapple with their plans — and both grapple with the inclusion of a public plan option.CNN Politics:
more »may
28
2009
1:04 pm
1:04 pm
One of the things I'm really liking about the new regime is the way the stark, terrified silence of the Bush years is giving way to noisy, energetic public discussion of subjects that would have been considered hardcore political pornography just a year or two ago. more »
may
27
2009
10:28 am
10:28 am
Congressional Republicans are marginally more popular and significantly less contagious than the swine flu. Even conservatives are keeping their distance. House leader John Boehner's perpetual tan has become a presidential punch line. Senate leader Mitch Dr. No McConnell is known only for obstruction. Ideologues like Rush rush to fill the leadership vacuum, seeking to purge the party of any lingering moderates. It's gotten so bad that neo-con Bill Kristol suggests that leading presidential candidates for 2012 might well be the oft disgraced Newt Gingrich and..gulp.. Darth Cheney himself.
more »
