Cliff Schecter

When Will Culture Warriors Find Their Rainbow Connection?

Cliff Schecter | Posted 02.13.2012

Read More: Jerry Falwell, Al Jazeera English, Muppets, Media Research Center, Teletubbies, Cliff Schecter, James Dobson, Spongebob Squarepants, Dan Gainor, Tinky Winky, Cars 2, Culture, Culture Warriors, Culture News
Cliff Schecter

Too-big-to-fail corporations and their hand maidens in Congress (and the conservative echo chamber) most certainly pose a far greater danger to our children than a green frog-like puppet.

Read Post

Everybody Hates Newt Romney

Cliff Schecter | Posted 02.07.2012

Read More: President Obama, Washington, Ron Paul, Gulag Archipelago, Mitt Romney, US Presidency, Democratic National Committee, Newt Gingrich, Barack Obama, Republican Presdiential Primaries, Politics, Joe Scarborough, Unemployment, Neo-Confederacy, Obomneycare, Iowa Caucuses, Al Jazeera English, Cliff Schecter, Tim Pawlenty, Paul Ryan, Obamacare, Elections 2012, 2012 Election, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney -- the perfect dynamic duo for our times, if not end times. A Batman and Robin for the 1%. Defenders of truth, justice, and a Gulag Archipelago filled with child janitors and the fandango of the foreclosed.

Read Post

Conservatism Blew Up the Economy

Cliff Schecter | Posted 01.14.2012

Read More: President Obama, Lost Decade, Charles Blow, Jobs, Stimulus, Stan Litow, Japan, Infrastructure Spending, Hermain Cain, Susan Collins, Oecd, Unemployed, Credit Suisse, Allied Home Mortgage, Corporate Citizenship, Cliff Schecter, Housing Prices, Congressional Budget Office, Paul Krugman, Ibm, Pro-Market, Triple Dip Recession, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

So what do you do when financial analysts are warning that housing prices are headed for a "triple dip," the second largest Swiss Bank (Credit Suisse)...

Read Post

What Can Give You Economic Misery, an Embolism, and a Backyard Full of Elephants?

Cliff Schecter | Posted 01.09.2012

Read More: Yaz, Tea Party, Sec, Bayer, Exotic Animals, Al Jazeera English, Direct to Market Advertising, Cliff Schecter, John Kasich, Ohio, Big Pharma, Rick Perry, Fda, Mike Papantonio, Herman Cain, Occupy Wall Street, Phil Gramm, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Deregulation, Wall Street, Bob Rubin, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

Although when it comes to the specific date of our mass death, Harold Camping might as well be talking Chinese nuclear development with Herman Cain, i...

Read Post

Too Much Is at Stake in Virginia for a Blackout in Coverage

Cliff Schecter | Posted 01.01.2012

Read More: Blue Viginia, Abortion, Anthony Weiner, Bill Clinton, Tea Party, Teabaggers, State Senate, Karl Rove, Bob MdConnell, Dick Black, Cliff Schecter, Terry McAuliffe, Jim Webb, 2009 Elections, Lowell Feld, Barack Obama, Eric Cantor, Guns, Barbara Comstock, Virginia, Paul Hackett, Ken Cuccinelli, Far Right, Alec, Caren Merrick, George Allen, Tim Kaine, Anti-Immigrant, State House of Delegates, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

With just over a week to go, will we rise to the occasion and help Virginia Democrats keep control of the State Senate?

Read Post

Golden Calf Conservatives

Cliff Schecter | Posted 12.31.2011

Read More: Gop, Ben Nelson, Public Interest, Jobs Bill, Supply-Side Economics, Ronald Reagan, President Obama, Voodoo Economics, Golden Calf, Chris Christie, Conservatives, George H.W. Bush, Occupy Wall Street, Irving Kristol, Cliff Schecter, Neo-Conservatives, Jon Tester, Senate, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

Whether it's the bronze bull encountered by those occupying Wall Street, the fixation with a Chris Christie presidency not to be, or the ex post facto...

Read Post

Ghallery of Ghouls

Cliff Schecter | Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: Cliff Schecter, Gop, Tea Party, Rick Perry, Debate, Republicans, Daniel Bell, Ron Paul, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

Vampire movies and television programmes may be all the rage right now, but not one of them has anything on a good old-fashioned audience of Republican debate watchers.

Read Post

Chris Cox's Failed Argument for Forced Concealed Carry

Cliff Schecter | Posted 11.13.2011

Read More: Florida, Michael Leopold Phillips, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Chris Cox, Concealed Weapon, Florida Sun Sentinel, Congress, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Indianapolis Star, Nra, Tom Davis, Gun Regulations, Lobbyist, Nevada, National Rifle Association, Shelby County, H.R. 822, Concealed Carry, Cliff Schecter, Reciprocity, Live-Fire Instruction, Tennessee, Thune Amendment, Utah, Indiana, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

If you live in a state that has common-sense laws for the issuance of a carry permit, consider that only 35 states require some type of training, certification or time at the firing range to carry a loaded, concealed weapon.

Read Post

9/11 and Its Great Transformations

Cliff Schecter | Posted 11.11.2011

Read More: Al Qaeda, President Obama, Manhattan, Delancey Street, September 11, Al Jazeera English, Cliff Schecter, 9/11, World Trade Center, Rick Perry, North Tower, Eric Cantor, New York, Dick Cheney, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

On September 11th, 2001, on what was a perfect morning-right up until the very moment a Boeing 767-223-ER slammed into the North Tower of the World Tr...

Read Post

For God's Sake -- Stop Talking

Cliff Schecter | Posted 09.11.2011

Read More: Marcus Bachmann, Gop, David Tyree, Todd Akin, Blood Diamonds, Charles Taylor, United States, Liberia, Missouri, New York, Pat Robetson, Michele Bachmann, Al Qaeda, Gay Marriage, God, Cliff Schecter, New York State Legislature, John Quincy Adams, Sodom, Libertas LLC, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

Lately, there would seem to be a whole lot more people who have a direct channel to the Big Guy Upstairs than one could have humanly thought possible.

Read Post

I Don't Think "Life" Means What the Right Thinks It Means

Cliff Schecter | Posted 07.25.2011

Read More: Iraq War, Abortion, Environmental Protection Agency, Dominique Strauss Kahn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Jazeera English, Shawn Hawkins, Ohio Parole Board, Cliff Schecter, John Kasich, Obama, Death Penalty, Pro-Life, Rush Limbaugh, Torture, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

The truth is that those on the U.S. right are about as "pro-life" as Arnold Schwarzenegger is pro-wife. Or Dominique Strauss Kahn is pro-maid.

Read Post

Transparency Or Transparently Corrupt: What Kind Of Government Do We Want?

Cliff Schecter | Posted 07.18.2011

Read More: Taxpayers for Common Sense, Congress, Aan, New York, Ryan Alexander, paymentaccuracy.gov, Ibm, Olympics, Norm Coleman, Cliff Schecter, City Forward, Democracy, recovery.gov, Winston Churhill, Stimulus, Lobbyist, Exploration, Government, Transparency, Apps.gov, Onvia, data.gov, recovery.org, USAspending.Gov, The Sunlight Foundation, Chicago, The Obama Administration, San Francisco, Technology News
Cliff Schecter

I had a client a few years back named Onvia. Onvia provided better and more timely information than the federal government, regarding where stimulus d...

Read Post

Donald Trump's Not Running; But Trumpism Still Is

Cliff Schecter | Posted 07.16.2011

Read More: Public Policy Polling, Cnn, The Apprentice, Al Jazeera English, Bankruptcy, Birth Certificate, Barack Obama, Birtherism, Muammar Gaddafi, Dr. Zeus, Cliff Schecter, Donald Trump, Miley Cyrus, Media News
Cliff Schecter

Trump may have just "dropped out" of the Presidential race, but who he is and what he represents in our culture is as important as ever.

Read Post

The Terrorist and the Terror Watch List

Cliff Schecter | Posted 07.03.2011

Read More: David Ignatius, The Terror Gap, Cia, Cliff Schecter, Mumbai, Senator Frank Lautenberg, Washington Post, Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, Thom Hartmann, The Big Picture, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

It is perversely ironic that the same week we finally got our man in Pakistan, we learned that 90% of those on the Terror Watch List since 2005 have successfully purchased guns.

Read Post

How Much Is Enough for Big Pharma?

Cliff Schecter | Posted 06.06.2011

Read More: Charlie Sheen, David Sirota, Donald Trump, Bp, Merck, Hip Replacement, Drug Reimportation, Bulk Negotiation, Ed Blizzard, Johnson & Johnson, Congress, Big Pharma, Prescriptions, Depuy, Gordon Gekko, Larry Barnett, Mccarthy & Nabers, Cobalt Poisoning, Wall Street, Blizzard, Chromium Poisoning, Cliff Schecter, Vioxx, Deepwater Horizon, ASR Hip Replacement, Gulf of Mexico, Black Swan, David Floyd, Steve Lendman, Business News
Cliff Schecter

Nowhere is this greed more pervasive than among those companies responsible for the health of roughly 300 million of Americans: Big Pharma.

Read Post

The Impeachment of Clarence Thomas' Credibility

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: US Supreme Court, Al Jazeera English, American Bar Assocation, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Impeachment, Cliff Schecter, Joe Biden, Koch Brothers, Eeoc, George H.W. Bush, Guy Saperstein, Stephen Colbert, Citizens United, Common Cause, Clarence Thomas, Long Dong Silver, Dan Quayle, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

While he doesn't seem to even want to participate in his day job, Thomas certainly does engage in the kind of partisan politicking that is not only unseemly, but sets a terrible precedent.

Read Post

So You Say You Want A Revolution?

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Bill Clinton, Italy, Ronald Reagan, Tunisia, George W. Bush, 9/11, Yemen, Iraq, Obama, Bahrain, Paul O'Neill, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Iran-Contra, Middle East, Richard Clarke, Al Jazeera English, Cliff Schecter, Libya, Elliot Abrams, World News
Cliff Schecter

It was only a matter of time before someone would emerge from the shadows to proclaim President Bush was responsible for the sudden flowering of revolution and democratic potential across the Middle East.

Read Post

More Guns=Less Crime! You Know, Except at CPAC

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Arms Dealers, Media Matters, Donald Rumsfeld, Cliff Schecter, Cpac, More-Guns-Less-Crime, Mike Stark, John Thune, Nra, The National Rifle Assocation, Wayne LaPierre, Starkreports, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

As some visitors to the Conservative Political Action Conference made clear this weekend, they're not all that comfortable with more guns when the guns are going to surround them.

Read Post

NRA: It's Good to Live Like a King

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ronnie Barrett, Birch Bayh, National Youth Shooting Sports, Glock, Gun Control, American Institute of Philanthropy, Gun Guys, Midwayusa, Charity Rating Guide & Watchdog Report, Nra, High Capacity Magazine, Arms Dealers, Violence Policy Center, Robert A. Levy, Ar-15, Al Jazeera English, Cliff Schecter, Vpc, National Rifle Assocation, Tom Diaz, Brownells Inc., Cato Institute, Pete Brownell, Wayne LaPierre, Making a Killing, Second Amendment, Gun Manufacturers, Cincinnati Revolt, Freedom States Alliance, House Crime Subcommittee, Brenda Potterfield, Center for Public Integrity, .38 Special, Rec7, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

There is plenty of circumstantial evidence that the NRA's mission has nothing to do with its members, but everything to do with protecting the profits of the gun manufacturers who support the organization with big bucks.

Read Post

Get Progressively Trained

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Left, Msnbc, Right, Heritage Foundation, Sean Hannity, Progressive Talent Initiative, Cliff Schecter, Glenn Beck, Media Matters for America, Air America Radio, Tucker Carlson, Media News
Cliff Schecter

As someone who has been involved somewhat in the punditry circuit (for lack of a better term), I have been asked by progressive friends what I think i...

Read Post

Senator John McCain's Born Identity

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Wyatt Earp, David Corn, Gop, Hugh Hefner, John McCain, Yosemite Sam, Michael McMurray, George W. Bush, Doc Holliday, Led Zeppelin, Obama, Arizona, Edward Pattinson, Tombstone, Mcnasty, Rick Renzi, Judge Elihu Smails, Abe Simpson, Republican, Cliff Schecter, Vladamir Putin, Senate, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

Whether most journalists have been willing to see it or not, John McCain is not a statesman, nor has he ever been. He's a petulant bomb thrower. He's Simon Cowell in a suit.

Read Post

The 9/11 Nihilism of GOP Senators

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Al Qaeda, GOP Senate, Saddam Hussein, Mitch McConnell, Kim Kardashian, First Responders, John Boehner, Haley Barbour, 9/11, Cliff Schecter, World Trade Center, Republicans, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

Sometimes there are simply no words to describe the behavior of Mitch McConnell's band of merry misanthropes -- also known as much of the US Senate Re...

Read Post

How Did Donahue Score That Interview? And What Is the Newest Crony Capitalism Outrage?

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Leveraged Buyout, Giganticorp, Twas the Night Before Christmas, David Slavin, Cliff Schecter, Private Equity, Bruce Kluger, Books News
Cliff Schecter

In the tradition of others who have looked at the bleak social conditions that surround them and the corrupt institutions that seek not to improve things, I give you good satire.

Read Post

Barack Obama: Same as He Ever Was

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Jerry Nadler, Progressives, Cliff Schecter, Drew Westen, 2008 Presidential Campaign, Republicans, Secession Ball, Chuck Schumer, Barack Obama, Politics News
Cliff Schecter

In the wake of President Barack Obama's premature capitulation to the Republicans in the tax wars, a party who I might remind you controls neither Con...

Read Post

Palin Around with Terrorists' Pals: Sarah Speaks to the NRA

Cliff Schecter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Fort Hood, National Rifle Association, The Brady Campaign, Open Carry, Rush Limbaugh, Terrorism, Assault Weapons, Cliff Schecter, Terrorist Gap, Global Warming, Sarah Palin, Nra, Maig, Al Gore, Acp, Environment, Gun Safety, Comedy News
Cliff Schecter

I was truly honored to have the former demi-term Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, contact me and ask me to write her speech for today's family-friendly NRA event. Here is an advanced copy of what I came up with.

Read Post