Compromiser-in-Chief No Backstop for Women's Rights

Martha Burk, 11.09.2009

Political psychologist, co-founder, Center for Advancement of Public Policy

The House passed an "historic" health care bill Saturday night - there was much celebration on the Democratic side and the proverbial wailing and gnas...

The World's Original "Banana Republic" Strong-Arms the World's "Last Remaining Superpower?"

Bob Ostertag, 11.09.2009

Composer, historian, journalist, and Professor of Technocultural Studies and Music at UC Davis

The deal to reinstate Honduran President Manuel Zelaya unraveled this week, leaving the U.S. as the only government in the western hemisphere willing to let the recent military coup there stand.

Coughing Up Stupak's "Morning-After" Poison Pill

M.S. Bellows, Jr., 11.09.2009

Writer, mediator, proprietor of Warranted Wiretaps: Inside Info from Outside the Beltway

Bart Stupak (D-MI), the conservative Michigan backbencher who has suddenly injected abortion rights into the healthcare debate, may have been acting o...

Cracks in Obama's Coalition or Conventional Wisdom?

Jennifer Merolla Ph.D., 11.09.2009

Associate Professor, Chairwoman, Department of Politics and Policy, Claremont Graduate University

While some have made a fairly convincing case that there may be warning signals for the Democratic Party, I would caution against reading too deeply into the electoral tea leaves.

iPhone Application Enables Parents to Keep Track of Who's Sleeping With Their Slutty Daughter

Ben Berkon, 11.09.2009

Comedy Writer/Blogger, SomethingYouShouldRead.com

In technology news, the worlds of overbearing parents and their slutty offspring have finally collided with the release of the iSlut. The iSlut is an...

Interview: Hezbollah And Hamas on Obama, Netanyahu, Terrorism ... And Oprah

Sharmine Narwani, 11.09.2009

Sharmine Narwani is a Senior Associate at St. Anthony's College, Oxford University.

While both groups embrace Islamic values as their core ideology and driving principle, their political actions appear to be driven more by realpolitik than Quranic mandate.

First They Came

August J. Pollak, 11.09.2009

Progressives take another one for the "team." To see more of August J. Pollak's cartoon "Some Guy With a Website," check out the archive. ...

Bomb Appalachia (and Face the Music)

Michael Gould-Wartofsky, 11.09.2009

Theirs is a coast-to-coast campaign to save Appalachia's mountains and streams -- and Appalachians' homes, jobs, and culture -- from the devastating coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal.

How the Blue Dogs Raised My Insurance Premium by 14%

Michael Kieschnick, 11.09.2009

President of CREDO Mobile

Late Saturday night, the House narrowly passed a massive health care reform package. The President called the vote courageous and historic. And Anth...

Obama, Spidey, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Caitlin Kraft Buchman, 11.09.2009

Democratic National Committewoman, DNC Women''s Caucus Board

As we sit in our Democrats Abroad strategy sessions this weekend, the people of Berlin will celebrate their passionate victory bringing down a wall that no one ever imagined would fall.

How Sarah Palin and Tea Partiers Are Blowing Up the GOP

Susan J. Demas, 11.09.2009

Syndicated columnist, political analyst and mlive.com blogger

When extremists are a (vocal) minority, reasonable Republicans and independents come out of the woodwork. And the spoils go to the Democrats, who look comparatively sane.

The Pride of Precious Jones

Michael Henry Adams, 11.10.2009

Writer, Lecturer, Historian and Activist

Almost every African-American knows, is related to, or is acquainted with a Precious Jones or her mother, Mary.

Obama's Choice: Jobs Now or Republicans in November

Les Leopold, 11.09.2009

Author of "The Looting of America"

We face a true national emergency. More than 30 million Americans are without jobs or are working part-time because there are no full-time jobs to be found.

Kamala Harris & Asian Americans

Gautam Dutta, 11.09.2009

Harris is certainly the first African American woman to become a District Attorney in California. But she's also the first Asian American to accomplish that impressive feat.

The Night They Brought Old Dixie Back

Linda R. Monk, J.D., 11.09.2009

Constitutional scholar, Author of "The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution"

The Republicans are resurgent, at least for now. It's going to be a hard slog in 2010 and 2012 to keep the grassroots fervor alive -- and the funding to sustain it. In Virginia, we are just plain tired.

Barack's Not Honest Abe -- But Neither Was Abraham Lincoln

Lowell Thompson, 11.09.2009

We like to look back on past presidents and precedents to compare to current leaders. But when you actually know something about the real history, it seldom compares with our pop version.

Dennis Kucinich: The Lone Ranger

Jennifer Utz, 11.09.2009

Video-journalist covering Iraqi refugee crisis, former producer at "Democracy Now"

House lawmakers voted 220 to 215 to approve the plan. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the bill, one of whom was Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich. In a statement on his website, he explained why.

The Media Stovepipe

Matt Osborne, 11.09.2009

Blogs at osborneink.com.

We've seen this pattern before. A non-sourced, anonymous story enters the right-wing blogosphere and gets picked up by mainstream media, allowing the ...

Breaking the Pre-Nup

Will Durst, 11.08.2009

Political comic, former radio talk show host

For liberals, Election Day '08 was the marriage of hope and opportunity. Election Day '09: not so much. More like a summons from a partner's divorce lawyer to give a deposition.

The Audacity to Change

Robert Kuttner, 11.09.2009

Co-Founder and Co-Editor of The American Prospect

Obama, like Kennedy, needs to overcome the dubious counsel of his own advisers, this time both economic and military. The president needs to listen to other voices, including his own.

Towards the Next Victory on Health Care

Lincoln Mitchell, 11.09.2009

Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics, Columbia University

The House and Senate are different institutions which often do not take cues from each other. Success in one far from guarantees success in the other; and momentum is an elusive, and often nonexistent issue in legislation.