Watching the fallout of the so-called "ClimateGate" incident in recent weeks, one would think these revealed emails actually created a dent in the science of anthropogenic climate change. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

The leaked emails from many years ago show zero...

With innovations sprouting all over the web to make music distribution simpler and more user-friendly, the music industry is gradually coming to terms with the realities of the internet age.

There have been some interesting recent developments. One is a new alliance between record companies and MySpace wherein listeners...

A common indictment by conservatives against a public health insurance option is that it's a Trojan horse for a single-payer system. Providing people with a public option today, they say, will drive out private insurance companies tomorrow and lead to a purely government-run insurance program -- a la...

A Snowe storm has engulfed the media since last Tuesday. After becoming the lone Republican supporter of the Democratic health care reform effort, Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine has, to some, become the bill's raison d'etre. As the long, dramatic saga of reform approaches its final stretch, Snowe's decision has...

A new compromise has been floated for the public health insurance option: it's not co-ops, it's not a trigger; it's a provision that allows defiant states to opt out of offering the program to consumers. This idea has its problems (namely the millions who will be excluded)...

In the coming days the media will be abuzz speculating what Obama might say next Wednesday during his prime-time address to a joint session of Congress. Here's what he should say: this bill will pass, and it will pass with a public insurance option. No two ways; it's time...

In order to pass a robust health care bill, Democrats need to re-frame the debate with a strong, disciplined messaging campaign. They have the power, the truth, and public approval on their side, but they're slacking badly on messaging, and it's putting reform in jeopardy.

Republicans and industry groups, meanwhile,...

The most recent New York Times/CBS poll finds support for Democrats on health care reform declining for the first time in recent memory. According to the study, "Americans are concerned that overhauling the health care system would reduce the quality of their care, increase their out-of-pocket health costs...

After months of floundering as RNC chair, Michael Steele has found his calling card: kill President Obama's health care plan. That should help restore his credibility with the Republican party. To do this, Steele knows he can't afford to engage the issue honestly. And while he has a legendary arsenal...

President Obama has enjoyed remarkable popularity during his first year in office, but the true test of his presidency is yet to come. As his broad reforms on the economy, health care and climate change come together, he faces a major gut-check. The president's readiness to make compromise...

It was quite a sight Monday afternoon: President Obama pitching his health care agenda before the American Medical Association, frequently eliciting applause and cheers and laughs, happily chatting with members after the event. You would almost get a sense of solidarity between the two parties.

Students of history, however,...

Witnessing the recent blaze of right-wing propaganda on a public health care option has felt like watching a scene in a scary movie where the killer is creeping up on his victim with a knife. All I want to do is warn the victim he's about to...

For years we've heard conservatives label their liberal rivals "elitist." And who can blame them, considering how politically effective it has been. The electorate wants a president who is down to earth and in touch with their everyday lives -- someone who will fight for their interests. With this in...

Once upon a time, the Republican Party had ideas. Agree or disagree with them, they campaigned on convictions. Politics has always had its share of mudslinging, but elections once resembled contests between opposing beliefs -- small government versus active government; low taxes and deregulation versus a leadership invested in its...

President Obama is preparing to execute a major health care overhaul. After decades of a crumbling system, this is long overdue. Americans are hurting more than ever before and are eager for a change. But the many failed attempts at reform during the last century attest to how...

With skyrocketing costs and 47 million Americans uninsured, it's obvious that health care has become a serious domestic crisis. President Obama made it a centerpiece of his campaign and has since moved to amend the moldering system. But before reform legislation can pass, Americans must realize what...

We live in a complex era. Our problems are challenging and daunting. Finding the right solutions demands that we abandon dogma in favor of pragmatism. This underscores the current political debate between liberalism and conservatism. Crooks and Liars offers an interesting take on conservatism and 13-year-old CPAC speaker Jonathan...

Friday, February 20, 2009, marks the 42nd birthday of Nirvana rock legend Kurt Cobain. 15 years after Cobain's death, we know his memory continues to touch lives when a guitar he once smashed the hell out of recently sold for $100,000 at an auction.

I have to be honest,...

President Obama has announced his plan to deploy 17,000 additional US troops to Afghanistan this year, adding to the roughly 36,000 currently active in the region. He has long portrayed Afghanistan as "the right battlefield" in the fight against America's enemies. In Obama's recent press conference, he

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the tired state of the Republican Party and how it desperately needs to blow past the disastrous Bush years and rediscover its core values. But months after being overwhelmingly rejected by the American people, the Republican Party remains unable to recapture...