Category Archives: Electoral Politics

Too Late Smart

3/10/2011 – 5:41 pm

The envelope arrived Tuesday. The dreaded envelope, the one I knew was coming and containing the invitation to join AARP. It hasn’t happened yet but yes, I will soon turn 50. Like KFC, AARP is now just a set of initials. The initials used to stand for American Association of Retired Persons, but in 1999 […]

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Do It (For) Yourself

12/17/2010 – 2:54 pm

The Bush tax cuts for the rich are now the Obama tax cuts for the rich. As we wait for the Great Recession’s double dip, as the smart economists (Hello, Paul Krugman!) tell us we need more government spending to offset the consumer spending that just ain’t there, Congress today sends a bill to Barack […]

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The Lunatic Fringe

10/28/2010 – 12:23 pm

Do you remember the incident, two years ago, as the presidential election campaign was winding down, an old lady at John McCain rally got a hold of the microphone and said she didn’t trust Barack Obama because “he’s an Arab.” Senator McCain pulled the mike away from her and said, “No, ma’am, he’s a decent […]

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Where Does That Leave You?

9/16/2010 – 1:47 pm

We ignore the seasons in our post-industrial age, but they must hold some portent beyond what we see on WeatherUnderground.com. How else to explain the madness of late summer when world wars and terrorist attacks are launched, the lunacy of last year’s congressional town hall meetings or the contrived narrative arc that’s spooled out this […]

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Look at Vermont

9/2/2010 – 11:15 am

Look at Alaska. Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded the Republican primary Tuesday to tea party/Palin candidate Joe Miller. In conceding, Ms. Murkowski criticized what she called distorted and personal attacks against her by Mr. Miller in the campaign. For his part, Mr. Miller accused Mr. Murkowski’s campaign staff of illegally interfering with the recount. Look at […]

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Nice to be Important, Important to be Nice

8/26/2010 – 12:07 pm

Not that you’d know it by the national media, but we had a primary election in Vermont Tuesday. Pretty exciting, but lacking in tea parties, billionaires trying to buy their way into office, wrestling executives and so forth. What we had was a five-way contest for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Our four-term (two-year terms) Republican […]

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Quid Pro Coal

2/11/2010 – 10:28 am

You’re hearing more and more voices on the left (including this one), saying Barack Obama can’t get behind initiatives and really make things happen. Health care reform and banking regulations are two frequently cited examples. It’s not universally true. There are times when this administration moves with surprising speed and efficiency. Just last week, President […]

By floegel | Also posted in Commentary, Energy, Global Warming | Comments (0)