Washington can stop trying to pass a bill on expanding background checks, because it turns out we don’t need them. At least, that’s the word on the Right.

The Pew Research Center reported that gun violence in the United States has plummeted since 1993:

“Compared with 199… Read full post »

It took me a while, but I finally came around on the GMO controversy. I was on the wrong side for a long time, but now it’s clear: We have to keep science out of the grocery store.

And, while we’re at it, the schools.

After last year’s snow… Read full post »

The Republican Party has found its dream candidate. He’s never held elected office and refuses to register as a Republican, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

He does have one thing going for him: he’s black.

Dr. Benjamin Carson is a black man who doesn’t like President Obama’… Read full post »

Countless new fans are discovering The West Wing, now that it’s available on Netflix and Amazon Prime. They’ll love the show; it’s full of quirky, witty, flawed characters that form the principled, passionate staff of advisers in the administration of fictional President Josiah Bart… Read full post »

Clint Eastwood’s rant last night against an empty chair was definitely weird. But I think he’s onto something. Mitt Romney isn’t running against President Obama. He can’t – he’d lose.

Romney is running against Imaginary Obama.

You’ve heard of him: he raised… Read full post »

And we said Republicans would never budge on tax increases. The good news is: Lubbock County Judge Tom Head conceded that a property tax increase (of 1.7 cents) is necessary to maintain the district attorney’s office and police force.

There’s a catch.

Here’s the bad news: he wants… Read full post »

Words I never thought I’d write: I agree with Rush Limbaugh. Here he is on Monday’s radio show: 

The Paul Ryan pick “signals a decision was made somewhere that … we’re going to go head-first, going to take it straight to them and we’re going to win or w… Read full post »

Before this morning’s announcement, I considered myself “middle class.”

And before this morning’s announcement, Paul Ryan was relatively unknown, familiar to Washington pundits for drafting “The Path to Prosperity,” a budget outline that is so viciously cruel to t… Read full post »

Republicans have spent a lot of time championing how well the private sector operates. Romney even suggested a constitutional amendment specifying “that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he could become president of the United States.” (I… Read full post »

I know the news media loves an election, but this is ridiculous.

They’re currently asking how a potential repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act next week would affect Obama’s re-election odds.

Who cares?

The media is missing the point: 46 million people currentl… Read full post »

I have a theory that the Wall Street Journal editorial page exists to cruelly undermine the newspaper’s esteemed journalism.

It’s like a gypsy curse. This is one of the best newspapers on the planet – it has the widest circulation in the US and has won 33 Pulitzers – and… Read full post »

A music teacher who was offered a position at Cincinnati Hills, a non-denominational Christian school in Ohio, reported that the offer was rescinded after the school brought him back to ask if he was gay. Cincinnati Hills has a policy against hiring teachers who “live as homosexuals.&… Read full post »

Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein argued this morning for a Romney victory, despite admitting it would set a “terrible precedent.” I initially misread it as “terrible president.”

Klein sets up the problem with an analogy: the GOP is holding a gun to the head of t… Read full post »

President Obama’s Keynesian job creation proposals have been given short shrift due to partisan opposition. Despite alarmingly low employment numbers in April and May, this administration feels incapable of action before the November election. But they have a recourse – buy out… Read full post »

What are North Carolina Republicans thinking? I don’t mean creating the ballot measure that passed today, the one mandating that only married, heterosexual couples are recognized by the state. That I get.

Sure, gays already can’t get married in North Carolina, so the whole exer… Read full post »

Add “foreign policy” to the long list of Romney’s positions that we’re not allowed to discuss this election cycle. A list that already includes the auto bailout, the individual healthcare mandate, the economic recovery, the Blunt amendment, aborti… Read full post »

Another election season is upon us, and that means more conservative friends and relatives sharing their opinions on President Obama, which often sound suspiciously like the opinions of pundits on Fox News. If you’re sick of rolling your eyes and biting your tongue, you might try tactfully… Read full post »

The Supreme Court is listening to challenges on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in what has become an unending challenge to every aspect of the Obama Administration from the far Right. We’ve seen this before.

It began with a challenge to his candidacy – is Obama even a… Read full post »

If you love the Confederate Flag and the n-word, then have I found the online store for you. It’s called Stumpy’s Stickers (http://www.stumpysstickers.com/), and it sells doozies like this:

Get it? “Renege” means to “go back on a promise” like the one you… Read full post »

Here’s one email list no one wants to be on.

A new online service provided by You’ve Been Left Behind, LLC (http://youvebeenleftbehind.com/index.html) promises to send emails to loved ones (up to 150MB!) after you’ve been raptured. Loved ones who may not be joining you on yo… Read full post »

A recent USA Today / Gallup poll reveals that 72% of voting Americans believe the healthcare mandate is unconstitutional. Imagine how surprised they’ll be when they find out there isn’t one.

Or that there *was* a mandate, but the Obama Administration actually alleviated it.

Or that the… Read full post »

By now you’ve probably read that this past weekend, former Senator Rick Santorum accused President Obama of basing his policies on a “phony theology… not based on the Bible.” Considering that Santorum leads Romney among evangelical protestant voters by a ratio of 2 to 1 (http… Read full post »

Can we have the term “Pro-Life” back, if everyone else is just going to misuse it?

I’m pro-life because I value all human life. I value the lives of every person living in my country. I value the lives of children living in poverty, and victims of AIDS, tuberculosis, and… Read full post »

Democrats must increase efforts to communicate the party’s message and achievements on abortion rights: we are the party that defends a woman’s right to choose while working tirelessly to prevent women from being burdened with the choice itself.

It’s that second point that often fa… Read full post »

The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed this morning titled “Obama’s Running Mate” (5/12/11) that criticizes his health reform package in Massachusetts, his subsequent handling of the package, and his current inability to formulate a coherent plan of action for health reform across the… Read full post »