Since its inception, this Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll is the first one ever I failed to attend. And it would have been easy for me.  I was speaking at a J-conference in St. Louis Friday morning and I easily could have flown or even driven over to Ames.  But what the hell for? It [...]

The final results are not all in but the decision appears to be cast.  Democrats have come up one seat short of winning back the state senate in Wisconsin. As of late Tuesday night, it appears that the GOP will hold on to four seats and the Dems will take back two. They needed three [...]

I guess we no longer have to speculate how the Almighty Market will react to the recent credit downgrade. Let me clearly state that I am NOT an economist, thank heavens, but this was not hard to see coming. Indeed, even though I am someone who started saving relatively late in life and I was, [...]

Here’s some video from The Great Rick Perry Texas Fundamentalist Prayer Rally on Saturday. These people desperately need some sort of hobby — or some very strong medication.  In the meantime, I respectfully ask them to stop praying for me. Send cash instead! Let’s start with the notion that ONLY Christianity is a valid religion. [...]

It could be a very interesting morning on Monday.  We will find out if the S&P downgrade was already priced into the Thursday crash of the Dow …or…if we can fall another 500 points or so by noon.  Aww, that mysterious market that rules our lives and dwells at the center of our civic religion [...]

Sorry but true. The overwhelming percentage of Americans relate to politics the same way hotel guests relate to room service (not an original thought. Lewis Lapham came up with it about 20 years ago in an essay I can’t find).  We vote for politicians the same way we choose a hotel room and then we [...]

The rhetoric and framing of the debt deal is much worse than it’s already objectionable content. The actual cuts made to social programs are very small and the cuts made in defense, while also small, are somewhat larger than expected. What’s noxious is that the Republicans got their way in forcing a manufactured crisis and [...]