Independent, Critical Insight by UK-Based American Journalist Denis Campbell and Guests

Tuesday
6 January, 2009

Politics

DemconWatch – Always Doing the Heavy Lifting

By Denis Campbell • Jan 4th, 2009 • Category: Politics

 
By Denis Campbell
Matt, Tom and Oreo (not their real names and as far as you will get) are data gathering wonks that have been anonymously producing the best political blog of the last 18-months. Want to know who is getting what cabinet position? Need a department scorecard? They have it and it can all be [...]



Big ‘Hoorah!’ To The NYT’s Dexter Filkins

By Charley James • Jan 2nd, 2009 • Category: Politics

 
by Charley James
In a devastatingly critical examination of the narco-state formerly known as Afghanistan, the New York Times’ Dexter Filkins today documents case after case of wide spread corruption on a massive scale in the Afghan government, including officials ranging from low-level, local bureaucrats right up to the brother of President Hamid Karzai. Filkins shows [...]



The 10 Worst People Of The Year; Wait, Actually There’s Only One

By Charley James • Dec 31st, 2008 • Category: Politics

 
by Charley James
I detest the Top 10 lists sprouting up daily: Newspapers, magazines, television, cable, blogs, whatever. One acquaintance in New Mexico sent a mass e-mail to everyone in her Outlook directory asking each of us to submit our own Top 10 list of whatever we want to rank. 
By December every year, these rankings appear [...]



White House, US Media, Picking Sides In Israeli Terror Bombings

By Denis Campbell • Dec 30th, 2008 • Category: Politics

by Charley James
By now, no one should be surprised that the White House is taking its usual, uneven and heavy-handed approach in reacting to the gargantuan Israeli shock-and-awe bombing of densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip. 
Rather than using American influence – if there is any left in the region after eight years of Bush [...]



Ruth Marcus Should Know Better

By Charley James • Dec 26th, 2008 • Category: Politics

 
by Charley James
Last Saturday, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus came up with an unusually convoluted bit of punditspeak about forgiving Dick Cheney his self-admitted war crimes and crimes against humanity including lying the country into war, illegal wiretapping, outing Valerie Plame-Wilson, torturing prisoners of war and – oh, right – telling Fox News’ Chris Wallace [...]



An Open Letter to Right Wing-Nut Racist Republicans

By Denis Campbell • Dec 18th, 2008 • Category: Politics

 
 By Denis Campbell
Your campaign of fear and hate? It didn’t work. Your attempts to portray our next President as a “lying Muslim socialist with no experience who hates our flag and Constitution and what this country was founded on.” It will put you further on the fringe than you already are. I’m really just sick [...]



Caroline Kennedy to Seek Clinton’s Senate Seat

By Denis Campbell • Dec 14th, 2008 • Category: Politics

The New York Times and AP are reporting that Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy and keeper of an American political dynasty, has decided she will pursue the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a person told of her decision said Monday.



Oh Canada! (Parliamentary Kerfuffle Expertly Explained)

By admin • Dec 13th, 2008 • Category: Politics

by Gayle Furr
(Ed. Sometimes the comments here are so good and well thought out, they deserve their own byline.) You don’t have to tell us our Parliament’s a mess, eh!  We’ve having to live through it, eh? As a Canadian I feel I must correct a couple of points, and offer some further explanation as to the events.
First [...]



Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove

By Denis Campbell • Dec 7th, 2008 • Category: Politics

 
By Denis Campbell
As Chancellor of the Washington DC Public School system, Michelle Rhee, 38, has tipped public education on its end in Washington, DC gaining a lot of high-powered fans and a few enemies. She was an unwitting reference during the 3rd Presidential debate as John McCain and Barack Obama disagreed on whether or not [...]



Leaving As He Arrived: On A Lie And A Prayer

By Charley James • Dec 4th, 2008 • Category: Politics

 
by Charley James
George Bush is leaving the White House the same way he entered: On a lie and a prayer.
He took office on a lie that he won the 2000 election and a prayer no one would object. Now that he’s finally – finally! – leaving, Bush is lying about his disastrous presidency and praying [...]