by Gaius Publius[W]e were told by a high up staffer who works for Joe Biden that Obama did it [endorsed Patrick Murphy] to get contributions to his uber-expensive presidential library, ostensibly from Murphy's rich, crooked father, from the super-wealthy Saudi family that sponsors Murphy (the notorious Al-Rashids) and from Schumer's Wall Street patrons. (source)There's always a question about who politicians are primarily working for.
What drug company CEOs are doing to patients for a few dollars more (source)by Gaius PubliusSky-high drug prices are a scandal, but everyone knows that, even those responsible for the prices. They're also a source of enormous profit and wealth, which is the problem.
Carbon-loving TPP proponent Ken Salazar, Clinton's new head of her transition team. Salazar's group will will recommend names to fill thousands of Executive Branch jobs in the next Clinton administration, should there be one. What do progressive Clinton supporters have to say about his ascension? Anything? Will they push back against it?by Gaius PubliusThis really matters. That Clinton is a better progressive choice than Trump is not much contested.
Clinton and Trump, on the high wire, Once side's ice and one is fire, Putting on a show for you and me.by Gaius PubliusI'm preparing for a month-long haitus (vacation, finally), and while I'll be reading the news I won't be commenting on it. Ahead of that, I'd like to offer these thoughts.1. Our "Look Ahead" series will continue as the fall campaign kicks off. The outcome of the election, though, is very hard to predict. Each campaign seems determined to drive its own car into the ditch. Last car with wheels on the road will win this one.
Hillary Clinton campaigning with Tim Kaine (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP; source)by Gaius Publius The widely rumored Democratic candidates to be
"Winter Blackbird," linocut by Lisa Hooper (source; click to enlarge)by Gaius Publius Among twenty snowy mountains,The only moving thingWas the eye of the blackbird.–Wallace Stevens, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"Sometimes the thing that matters is not the thing seen, but the w
by Gaius PubliusI'm going to break the rule normally applied when one asks a question in a title ... by answering it immediately. Using NATO for economic purposes is very dangerous indeed, since it could, and perhaps will, lead to war.The stated purpose of NATO is "defense," yet it seems to exist for a different purpose — (a) to bring money into the coffers of U.S. corporations by strangling European trade with Russia as an economic competitor to the U.S., and (b) to guarantee billions of dollars in armament sales for U.S.
The modern world of bubbles (source; click to enlarge)by Gaius PubliusI'm following a number of stories at the moment, including the possible further collapse in carbon (oil and gas) prices; the likely and casual ubiquity of election-stealing by both parties (which has interesting implications for the general election); and the next installment in our "Look Ahead
Ignore Chris Matthews' aggressive pro-Clinton badgering. Focus on Turner's determination to keep her progressive powder dry ... for the moment.by Gaius PubliusI'm not saying this is a trend ... yet ... and I'm presenting this just as news, not as something I do or do not want to happen.Frankly, part of me is watching this drama with a novelist's fascination, or more accurately, with a novel reader's fascination.
