Opinion

Editorial of Attack

Posted by Shemuses from New York Times

It is a sorry fact of American political life that campaigns get ugly, often in their final weeks. But Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember. They have gone far beyond the usual fare of quotes taken out of context and distortions of an opponent's record - into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia. Senator Barack Obama has taken some cheap shots at Mr. McCain, but there is no comparison.

Read comments (1)

Racism Without Racists

Posted by Shemuses from New York Times

One of the fallacies this election season is that if Barack Obama is paying an electoral price for his skin tone, it must be because of racists. On the contrary, the evidence is that Senator Obama is facing what scholars have dubbed "racism without racists." The racism is difficult to measure, but a careful survey completed last month by Stanford University, with The Associated Press and Yahoo, suggested that Mr. Obama's support would be about six percentage points higher if he were white. That's significant but surmountable.

Read comments (1)

Racism as Reflex: Reflections on Conservative Scapegoating

Posted by Shemuses

If hypocrisy were currency, conservatives would be able to single-handedly bail out the nation's free-falling financial system in less than a week, without the rest of us having to front so much as a penny. So on the one hand, folks like this always tell others--especially the poor and people of color--to take "personal responsibility" for their lives, and not to blame outside factors (like racism, or the economic system) for their problems. But on the other hand, these same persons then demonstrate that their own ability to blame others for their personal setbacks, or the nation's problems, knows no rival.

Post a comment

Green the Bailout

Posted by Shemuses from New York Times

Many things make me weep about the current economic crisis, but none more than this brief economic history: In the 19th century, America had a railroad boom, bubble and bust. Some people made money; many lost money. But even when that bubble burst, it left America with an infrastructure of railroads that made transcontinental travel and shipping dramatically easier and cheaper.

Post a comment

What Happens When We Forget To Diversify

Posted by Shemuses from Washington Post

If your stock portfolio has been hit hard because you are too heavily invested in the financial sector, sob.

If you acquired more debt than you can handle, holler.

Go ahead and get it out of your system. Then learn from all this mess.

What we are seeing was badly needed and inevitable. And really, where did it all start?

It began when just about everybody and her mama -- banks, brokerages and individual borrowers -- forgot one basic principle of money management: diversify.

Read comments (1)

Op-Ed Columnist - The Push to ‘Otherize’ Obama - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Posted by Damianmann from New York Times

In conservative Christian circles and on Christian radio stations, there are even widespread theories that Mr. Obama just may be the Antichrist. Seriously.

Read comments (1)

‘Dr. Doom’ Optimistic About U.S. Economy

Posted by Shemuses

What should the average American do to protect his or her assets in the current economy? How will the chaos on Wall Street affect political change in Washington? New America Media interviewed Dr. Ravi Batra, a.k.a. 'Dr. Doom,' about what the current economic upheaval means for the country. Batra is a professor of economics at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, and the author of five international best sellers. His latest book is: "The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos."

Read comments (3)