Obama's presidency is not a conservative presidency; it's not a liberal presidency; it's a nothing presidency. At most a caretaker presidency, the country treading water until the next presidency with an ideology behind it.
In Vietnam there's new horde of consumers with dispensable income and a penchant for luxury goods and real estates overseas. Small but growing in numb...
The sequester that took effect March 1 is a case in point. Some House Republicans have called it the Tea Party's biggest success to date. But a success for whom?
I still admire Rep. Ryan and hope that he continues to make strides toward making serious entitlement reform possible. But if he wants to govern then he needs to bow to reality and accept that elections have consequences -- even elections that he lost.
The most puzzling aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be that after 65 years of violence, enmity and suffering, it remains unresolved when coexistence is inevitable and a two-state solution remains the only viable option.
What does this mean for us? Well, it's both good and bad. It's good because the extreme ideology of the group likely contributed to its downfall in Mali. It's bad because calls for pragmatism -- which would moderate its more severe violence -- may fall short.
If "the people" does not, and cannot, mean all people, and if the Founders did not further specify which people -- then that is a question we are obligated to ask and answer. Which people? And, similarly, what arms?
Philosophical conservatism is not a panacea to our nation's problems -- it can be too stuffy, too trusting of tradition, and too attached to visions of a mythical past. But it is a vital component of a healthy political system.
While the entire political punditry world is caught up in yet another horserace, major tenets of the Republican party's faith seem to be crumbling. Their bedrock ideology is revealing itself, in multiple ways, of having been built on sand all along.
If I could retain one image of North Korea, it would not be the tacky décor or the outrageously enjoyable circus or the million and one monuments or the flashing neon everywhere. It would be the shabby apartment buildings with the little flowerpots on each balcony.
Extremism can have the appearance of populism, but rarely the numbers. It can be a blinding thought process that takes advantage of the disadvantaged, and is controlled by narrow minded leaders who are resolute in their mission
If Chicagoans fail to recognize the deeper systemic issues underlying their failing schools, the teachers' strike may play right into the hands of Emanuel, who stands to profit politically, and the charter school corporations, which stand to profit financially.
I was caught off guard by Zizek's lecture. This supposed Lacanian madman spent the better part of two hours talking about a rather old-fashioned though still important New Left category: ideology.
I have a confession to make. A while back, I was applying for an editing job with a fairly prominent Christian media company, and I was asked to sign a statement of faith. I needed the job, so even though I didn't actually agree with several points in the statement of faith, I signed it.
The lore and the legend of the horse whisperer honors a whisper heard, not spoken. That all of us could learn to hear and understand horses better might matter to some more than others. That we might all learn to hear and understand one another better matters to us all.
Every religion, every ideology and every construct of self implies a perspective on what constitutes the good life, as well as some kind of critique of the bad. But what are we to do when our ideals are in conflict?
Do we have traits that can be used to reliably predict whether someone is liberal or conservative in nature?
Is there some other way to adjudicate between the competing metanarratives that shape our lives and identities, determining how we think and act, what we hold to be true and good?
By targeting risk factors and having specific solutions, we can expect to prevent most crime before we have to punish it. Be wary when you hear politicians promoting one-step solutions to crime. The real world is complicated and so are the solutions.
How do we decide which stories are worthy of our affirmation and support? Which narratives have the power to convince, convert and transform? Which religion does one choose?
Sadly for America, there is far too much money, and far too little sunlight, in a government that most voters believe, correctly, is corrupted by money that buys democracy in the dark.
I'm a sports fan and I care about politics, so let's mash them together. It is likely that Barack Obama is the most knowledgeable US President ever when it comes to NCAA basketball. How can the remaining GOP candidates use that against him?
America does not have to choose between continuing to be the greatest nation on earth and being a compassionate, tolerant, inclusive and united society. It is the latter that has made America great.
Our faiths were not faltering; instead, our churches were failing to engage with young people in a way that is relevant for them.
