Romney's Utopia -- For Robber Barons

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter April 26, 2012 THE BIG STORY, BY E.J. DIONNE Mitt Romney's Magical Capitalism It turns out that there is at least one question on which Mitt Romney is not a flip-flopper: He has a utopian view of what an unfettered, lightly taxed market economy can achieve. He would never put it this way, of course, but his approach looks forward by looking backward to the late 19th century, when government let market forces rip. READ MORE VEEPSTAKES Marco Rubio Stumbles On His Way To The Vice Presidency [VIDEO] Marco Rubio gave a major foreign policy address at the Brookings Institution Wednesday, and near the end of his remarks, the Florida senator -- who has mocked President Obama on multiple occasions for using a teleprompter -- had to pause after accidentally misplacing the last page. And that's only the least of his problems. READ MORE THE GREEDIEST CASES Obama: Why Climate Deniers Are Winning In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the president bluntly explains why his White House hasn't done more to address global warming -- much less pass a comprehensive cap-and-trade bill -- and how his opponents have stymied change. READ MORE SOCIAL SECURITY AND YOU Trust Funds Depleting...But Don't Panic! The latest news stories focused on a recent report issued by Social Security's Board of Trustees, based on data compiled by Social Security Administration actuaries, that the program's trust funds will run dry in 2033, three years earlier than the estimate in last year's report. My message to all concerned is to take a deep breath and calm down. READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: LEONARD PITTS JR. Perhaps Idiots Should Wear A Scarlet 'I' John Raese is feeling persecuted. Raese, a West Virginia businessman running for the U.S. Senate, declared in a recent speech that he doesn't want the government telling him what to do "because I'm an American." Specifically, he lamented that he is required to place a "huge sticker" on his buildings declaring them smoke-free environments. "Remember Hitler used to put Star of David on everybody's lapel, remember that? Same thing," he said. READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: TIM PRICE How To Keep Politicians Honest Politicians are big, fat liars. It's a belief so deeply ingrained in American culture that we're taught to revere George Washington as the one-of-a-kind exception who narced himself out for chopping down a cherry tree, and even that story is completely made up. But it's not necessarily true that politicians produce lies the way plants produce oxygen. READ MORE CARTOON OF THE DAY   (c) 2012 Eastern Harbor Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 28 West 27th Street, Suite 502 New York, NY 10001

Thursday's Daily Brief: Murdoch Testifies, Liberian Ex-President Guilty, SB 1070 Reaches Court

Thursday, April 26, 2012 Murdoch: "There Was a Cover-Up" WORLD Former Liberian President Found Guilty Of War Crimes POLITICS Biden: Mitt Wants 'Collective Amnesia' On Foreign Policy BUSINESS Geithner: 'You Can't Legislate Away Stupidity And Risk-Taking And Greed' POLITICS Supreme Court Appears To Favor Arizona On Controversial Immigration Law GREEN Are Rapidly Expanding Coal And Oil Sands Exports To Asia Raising Risks Of Another Major U.S. Oil Spill? BLOG POSTS Marlo Thomas: National Humor Month: Laughing Your Way to Good Health There are two things I like to do every day of my life -- look after my health, and laugh. Not a bad combo, right? But did you know that by doing the second, you're also doing the first? Ted Kaufman: New Gangs in Politics There are some new gangs in our political neighborhoods called "super PACS" and they distorted the outcome in a number of states during the Republican presidential nomination campaign. Sen. Amy Klobuchar: Why We Must Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act Now Domestic violence is not a partisan issue. We need a system that encourages victims to come forward. Not a system that discourages them from seeking help, or one that intimidates victims into staying in the shadows. Rep. Hansen Clarke: Trillion Dollar Crisis: The Case for Student Loan Forgiveness For at least a century, this country has run on an implied social contract that says "if you study hard and work hard, you'll have a steady middle-class income and a stable career." Let's reinstate that contract and put student borrowers back on higher ground. Robert Reich: How Europe's Double Dip Could Become America's What's the problem with Europe? Don't blame it on the so-called "debt crisis." There was no debt crisis in Britain, for example, which is now experiencing its first double-dip recession since the 1970s. Blame it on austerity economics.

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Wednesday's Daily Brief: Supremes Hear Immigration Law, America's Most Polluted Cities, People's Most Beautiful

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Supremes To Consider Controversial Immigration Law Today MEDIA Rupert Murdoch At Leveson Inquiry: LIVE Updates POLITICS Blue Dog Democrats Lose Big In Pennsylvania Primary Races GREEN U.S. Cities Ranked By Air Pollution Levels BUSINESS Walmart Took Part In Lobbying Campaign To Amend Anti-Bribery Law CELEBRITY Beyonce Named People's 2012 World's Most Beautiful Woman BLOG POSTS Tony Blair: World Malaria Day 2012: A Critical Moment for Reversing Spread of Malaria Faith leaders through the authority they hold, and the outreach and networks of their communities, can be powerful influences for the good in public health. Emile Hirsch: "So, What Do You Do?" Is there really that much of a gap of conversation etiquette or philosophy between the East and West coast that one can't ask "What do you do?" to a new acquaintance in New York? Jim Wallis: Having the Sisters' Back Do most of us believe that the bishops are the only "authentic teachers of faith and morals?" The sisters may be the most positive face of the Catholic Church today, and they are keeping people in the Church who would have given up on the all-male hierarchy long ago. Kerry Kennedy: In Chicago: Nobel Laureates and Students Defending Human Rights, One Step at a Time I spent yesterday morning in the library of Chicago's Lincoln Park High School, listening to students talk about what the word "hero" means to them. This wasn't any normal school day. Rev. Al Sharpton: From Rodney King to Trayvon Martin: Let's Not Miss Another Opportunity to Progress In the case of Trayvon Martin, we have to unite and remember that it isn't about race, but rather justice for a dead teenage boy whose only crime was walking home with a bag of skittles and an iced tea.

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New Poll Shows Brutal Impact Of Super PACs

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter April 25, 2012 THE BIG STORY, BY GENE LYONS With Trayvon Martin Shooting, Truth Is Still Elusive Almost from the beginning, there were two aspects of the George Zimmerman as racist assassin story that made little sense. First, who calls the police, then murders a total stranger in cold blood knowing that they're minutes away? Second, how does a 28 year old man with a desk job catch a fleeing 17 year-old high school athlete anyway? READ MORE FEATURED AUTHOR: MICHAEL LIND What Will America Build Next? In the early twenty-first century, Paterson, New Jersey, is a troubled city in a troubled country. The city that traces its origins back to Alexander Hamilton's Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures has lost most of its manufacturing businesses to other countries and is plagued by poverty, crime, and urban decay. But 20 miles south, everything looks different. READ MORE BUDGETS New California Taxes Pay For Pensions, Not Schools Most Californians would be surprised to learn that 100 percent of education's share of the tax increase proposed by Governor Jerry Brown will go to pensions instead of classrooms. The problem wasn't caused by teachers, students, taxpayers or California residents. But who is responsible? READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: JIM HIGHTOWER Mitt Romney And The Private-Equity Hustle What are these phantasmagoric money machines that they call "private-equity firms?" They're much in the news because a fellow who was a private-equity magnate is presently running for president. Mitt Romney now claims that, because of his success in that business, he knows how to "fix" our economy. Before you cheer that, note that private equity whizzes are all about The Fix -- not necessarily a good thing. They start by borrowing big piles of cash at high interest rates from rich speculators to buy out XYZ Corp. READ MORE Super PACs Poll: Are SuperPACs Already Affecting November Vote? A national poll released Tuesday shows voters widely believe that Super PACs cause corruption and their predominance in the 2012 campaign is already affecting decisions by some voter groups about how -- and even whether -- to cast their ballots. READ MORE CAMPAIGN 2012 Romney Sweeps Five Primaries, Inches Toward General The Republican presidential nomination all but in hand, Mitt Romney is refocusing his efforts on challenging President Barack Obama, raising cash for the battle ahead and reconciling with onetime primary rival Rick Santorum. "Tonight is the start of a new campaign," the former Massachusetts governor said Tuesday night as he celebrated a sweep of five primaries. He blasted Obama as a man whose time in office has been marked by "false promises and weak leadership" in a time of economic struggle. READ MORE CARTOON OF THE DAY   (c) 2012 Eastern Harbor Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 28 West 27th Street, Suite 502 New York, NY 10001