Who Killed California?

Oct 15, 2009 - by Troy Senik http://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/who-killed-california My apologies for having nothing originally in this post.  The text was here but didn't show up. Apparently this article is too long to be printed here, at about 11 pages.  It is nevertheless worth reading, unless, as someone has already done, you have made your  mind up what to believe before reading. - 29 Comments

Left finds Obama not liberal enough

Sep 11, 2009 - Left finds Obama not liberal enough By Ruben Navarrette Jr. SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- It's political déjà vu. It seems like just yesterday that hard-core conservatives were griping about a Republican president who wasn't dependably conservative. - 6 Comments

The Hopeless Opposition As Obama falters, Republicans dither

Sep 07, 2009 - The Hopeless Opposition As Obama falters, Republicans dither Michael C. Moynihan | September 4, 2009 Here is Nate Silver, Democratic polling whiz and notoriously clever political prognosticator, issuing a blunt warning to the citizens of Netroots Nation, a yearly gathering of left-wing bloggers, activists, and Howard Zinn-loving killjoys: "I don't think you should feel at all comforted by 2010." Silver, known for his prescience on such matters, suggests that Democrats will hemorrhage support in the next midterm elections, losing anywhere from 20 to 50 seats. - 4 Comments

poted on 4 sites.

Aug 31, 2009 - Michael Yon Online Magazine  

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Home Michael's Dispatches Precision Voting Precision Voting Next > 31 August 2009Helmand Province, Afghanistan The historical Afghan elections scheduled for 20 August were days away.   While the west mostly continued to vote for Afghanistan, the big question was, “Will Afghanistan vote for itself?” The latest media wave splashed into the main voting centers in places like Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat and Lashkar Gah.  The larger cities only account for perhaps 20% of the Afghan population.  Whereas the easy and obvious stories are in the cities, a crucial and larger dimension—the other 80%—would unfold in the boonies.  Most Afghans would have no chance to vote. The election was to be run by Afghans.  In theory and in practice this would be a recipe for disaster.  The strategic thinkers cannot be faulted for this; after nearly eight years of war, if the west were still running the elections, the elections and government would be a failure to begin with.  By comparison, the Iraqi elections on 30 January 2005 (less than two years after invasion) were run mostly by Iraqis.  In the voting of October and December of that same year, Iraqis had two more runs at the ballots, which were increasingly successful.  Afghanistan, however, is different.  This would be only the second election in history. There are no good choices here.  Either we run the elections and the central government and in doing so undermine the same central government we are investing in, or we allow that central government to run the elections and probably watch it undermine itself.  But who knows? - 1 Comment