Stuart Whatley

Replace Vox Petrol With Vox Populi

Stuart Whatley | Posted 02.22.2012

Read More: Gas Prices, John Boehner, Budget, Oil Subsidies, Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Elections 2012, Public Subsidies, Subsidies, Barack Obama, 2012 Election, Stuart Whatley, Voter Turnout, Oil Prices, Government Subsidies, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

The salvaged billions from cutting federal gas industry subsidies should be redirected towards a "democracy subsidy" in the form of a tax deduction for everyone who votes in the next election cycles.

Read Post

Newt Gingrich's Campaign Blueprint

Stuart Whatley | Posted 01.12.2012

Read More: Newt Gingrich Obama, Newt Gingrich 2012, 2012 Election, Newt Gingrich 2012 Campaign, Elections 2012, Newt Gingrich Presidential Run, Newt Gingrich, Newt Gingrich Presidential Campaign, 2012, Stuart Whatley, Books News
Stuart Whatley

Fortuitously, if Newt Gingrich does indeed declare his presidential candidacy, we'll already have a blueprint for his campaign available, which he published last year as a direct challenge to Barack Obama.

Read Post

'War on Christmas' Comes to the Fore

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Judeo-Christian Nation, Holiday Season, Atheism, Christmas, Secularism, Christian Nation, Religious Right, Christianity, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

This year's holiday season has seen a notable influx in secular and atheist billboards and bus banners sarcastically challenging the veracity of the Christmas story. One in New Jersey reads: "You KNOW it's a myth. This season, celebrate reason."

Read Post

Obama and the English Language

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Taxes, White House, Class Warfare, Obama Economy, Capitalism, Barack Obama, Bush Tax Cuts, Obama White House, Sarah Palin, Health Care Reform, Tax Cuts, Glenn Beck, Socialism, Health Care, Tea Party, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

Rather than giving partisan responses to partisan rebukes, Democrats should shift the ideological rubric altogether. One can only wonder at a political environment where deregulation could be labeled as "anarchy".

Read Post

This Side of Democracy

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Campaign Finance Reform, Wall Street, Corporations, Third World America, 2010 Elections, Financial Reform, Supreme Court Campaign Finance, Free Speech, Health Care Reform, Citizens United, Health Care, Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, Elections 2010, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

Every American has the right to speak out, to express views, and to serve as an advocate for all manner of issues and prospective leaders. But having rights doesn't necessarily mean they're valuable, or even useful at all.

Read Post

Democratic Values, Islam and the Judeo-Christian Tradition Fallacy

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Islam, Ground Zero Mosque, Muslim American, Judeo-Christian, Mosques, Rules of Islamic Law, Christians Support Ground Zero Mosque, Mosque, New Roman History, Islamophobia, Religion, Tea Party Movement, Judeo-Christian Nation, Views on Mosque in New York, Christianity Philosophy, Christianity, Tea Party, Elena Kagan, Stuart Whatley, Religion News
Stuart Whatley

Models for pluralistic societies based on liberal democratic values exist throughout the historical landscape, independent of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It bodes well that they may be freely adopted by all cultures.

Read Post

The Tea Party Movement Is a National Embarrassment

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: What Is the Tea Party Movement, Dick Armey, Who Are Tea Party, Teabaggers, Tea Party Protests, Tea Party Movement Real Motivations, Tea Party Movement 2010, Iran, Against Tea Party Group, Teaparty, Tea Parties, The Tea Party, Tom Tancredo, Grassroots Political Movements, Tax Day Tea Party, Tea Party Movement, Tea Baggers, National Tea Party Convention White People, Tax Day Tea Parties, Sarah Palin, Tea Party Convention, Social Movements, Tea Party, Stuart Whatley, Books News
Stuart Whatley

The Tea Party movement is the latest installment in an old American tradition: the exploitation of mostly frustrated, desperate, and susceptible people by monied interests and profiteers.

Read Post

Civilizing Afghanistan While We Decivilize Ourselves

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama Afghanistan, 4th of July, U.S. Economy, Afghanistan, War in Afghanistan, Afghan War, July 4th, Economy, Economic Crisis, Casualty of War, Afghanistan War, Wall Street, Independence Day, Financial Crisis, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

America is not a colonial power, and its occupation of Afghanistan is not an outwardly colonial exercise, but an old warning from Aimé Césaire's may still carry wisdom.

Read Post

The Capitalist Hagiography Has Little Room for Saints

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bp, Massey Energy, Lobbying, Lobbyists, British Petroleum, Oil Spill Florida Keys, Gulf Oil Spill, Campaign Finance, Goldman Fraud, Goldman Sachs, Massey Coal Mine, Oil Spill, Oil Spill Gulf of Mexico 2010, Green News, Deepwater Horizon, Oil Spill Florida, Coal Mining, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

When a corporation falls short of regulatory standards it does not do so accidentally. Rather, it is a calculated choice based on risible enforcement efforts and piddling penalties passed by legislators on the take.

Read Post

Orrin Opens the Hatch

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Lobbying, 2010 Elections, Lobbyists, Kagan Confirmation, Citizens United, Campaign Finance, Elena Kagan Supreme Court, Senator Hatch, Corporations, Orrin Hatch, Kagan Citizens United, Special Interests, Elena Kagan, Senator Orrin Hatch, Elections 2010, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

It doesn't take much to see the irony in a politician simultaneously condemning waste in government while championing measures that further enable special interest participation in policy making.

Read Post

Iran Uprising: Is Mousavi Becoming Irrelevant?

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iran Revolution, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iran Uprising, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran Election, Iran Protests, Foreign Affairs, Iran Uprising 2009, Iran, Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran Protests 2009, Green Wave, Advocacy, Neda Agha Soltan, Neda Agha-Soltan, Neda, Stuart Whatley, World News
Stuart Whatley

Who is running the show? Is Mousavi really guiding the movement on the streets, or is the street guiding Mousavi?

Read Post

Educating for Democracy: Lessons for the Next Millennium

Joel Shatzky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Environmental, Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Stuart Whatley, Educating for the Future, Green News
Joel Shatzky

Teaching for the next millennium would mean would mean moving toward a self-sustaining environment, in which the simpler pleasures of life would become central to our existence.

Read Post

Financial Reform Won't Alter Capitalism's Icarus Trajectory

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Financial Reform Analysis, Wealth Inequality, Senate Finance Committee, Derivatives, Speculation, Financial Reform, Capitalism, What Is in Financial Reform?, Financial Reform Bill, Dodd Bill, Wall Street, Finance, Corporations, Financial Freform, Banks, Financial Crisis, Financial Reform Limited Liability, Corporate Greed, Financial Regulation, Stuart Whatley, Business News
Stuart Whatley

This era's troubling reality is that economics now dictates our cultural values. We no longer have a say in how resources, production, and mutual prosperity should be systematized to achieve the best society for all.

Read Post

The Fat Line Between Free Speech and Defamation

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Islam, Atheist, Culture Wars, Atheist Agenda Smut for Smut, Atheism, Atheist Agenda, Free Speech, University of Texas, Defamation, Porn, Freedom of Religion, Smut for Smut Campaign, Pornography, Freedom of Speech, Religion, Utsa Smut, Bill Maher, Smut for Smut, Agnostic, Freedom of Expression, Christianity, Religion and Politics, Stuart Whatley, College News
Stuart Whatley

When the religious response to ridicule moves from condemning a rhetorical tactic to condemning the very act of criticism itself, fair discourse is halted before it can even begin.

Read Post

Obama's State of the Union Falls Short on Correcting Citizens United

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Citizens United v. FEC, Campaign Finance Reform, Supreme Court Campaign Finance, Obama State of the Union, Citizens United, State of the Union, Barack Obama, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Campaign Finance, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

If the legislative efforts in Washington last year reveal anything, it's that politics and policymaking are corrupted overwhelmingly by perverse electoral incentives. Obama's goals depend on his leadership in fixing this.

Read Post

Palin And Twilight: American Pilgrimages

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Kristen Stewart, Sarah Palin Book, Relationships, Twilight Saga, Robert Pattinson, Going Rogue, Video, Sarah Palin Going Rogue, Sarah Palin, Twilight, Faith, Twilight New Moon, Palin Going Rogue, Film, Movies, Movie Reviews, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

We're in hard times, it's reasonable to expect that people will look for saviors and fantastical escapes -- be they in the form of vegetarian vampires or meat eating pseudo-author/pseudo-politicians.

Read Post

Executive Pay Cuts? Hold the Standing Ovation

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tarp, Wall Street Bailout, TARP Money, Aig Bonuses, Financial Reform, Bank of America, Aig, Barack Obama, Goldman Sachs, Bailout, Health Care Reform, Financial Crisis, Wall Street Bonuses, Kenneth Feinberg, Financial Regulation, Citigroup, Stuart Whatley, Business News
Stuart Whatley

Yes, a quick round of applause for Feinberg for cutting our financial wards' CEO pay. But hold off on the standing ovation; the Obama era does not need a "Mission Accomplished" moment.

Read Post

American Plutocracy: Corruption Is in the Eye of the Beholder

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Corruption, House of Representatives, Mike Ross, Congress, Afghanistan, Lobbying, Lobbyists, Bribery, Campaign Finance, Senate, Congressional Fundraising, Chuck Grassley, Health, Blue Dogs, Health Care Reform, Max Baucus, Political Corruption, Graft, Healthcare Lobbyists, Fundraising, Health Care, Healthcare, Blue Dog Democrats, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

Most police officers in America do not require greased-palms for their services. But if one wishes to attend a chicken cordon bleu dinner with Senator Max Baucus of Montana, it will cost him $10,000

Read Post

Obama's Agenda: Hope, Change and Lobby-Centricity

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama Cabinet, House of Representatives, Cap and Trade, Democratic Congress, Congress, Capitol Hill, Lobbying, Lobbyists, Progressives, President Obama, Obama Administration, Obama, Progressive Movement, Democrats, Banking Industry, Cramdown, Barack Obama, Lobbyist, Obama White House, Senate, Cap-and-Trade, David Brooks, Health Care Reform, Special Interests, K Street, Health Care, Obama Lobbyists, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

Obama's self-imposed rule against lobbyists in his administration, and the method whereby he is now implementing his progressive agenda, hews toward a rather perverse irony, if not hypocrisy.

Read Post

Iran Uprising: Why Do So Many Want Obama To Turn Iran's Protests Into A "Teabag Party"?

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iran Revolution, Teabagging, President Obama, Iran, Obama, Joe Biden, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran Protests 2009, Barack Obama, Iran Nuclear Weapons, Tax Day Tea Party, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iran Uprising, Iran Protests, Iran Uprising 2009, Hillary Clinton, Tea Party, Stuart Whatley, World News
Stuart Whatley

Those who wish for Obama to adopt a stronger tone ground their argument in the arrogant belief that our endorsement is the sine qua non of any successful democratic political movement.

Read Post

Iran Uprising: Experts Weigh In On What's Happened And What It Means

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran Demonstrations, Suzanne Maloney, Iran Election, Foreign Affairs, Iran Election 2009 Demonstrations, Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran Elections, Hooman Majd, Ahmadinejad, Trita Parsi, Mousavi, Newsweek, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iran Uprising, Iran Protests, Iran Election 2009, Ali Akbar Mahdi, Iran Election Riot, Advocacy, Stuart Whatley, World News
Stuart Whatley

With each new day of demonstrations comes an erosion of the Supreme Leader's power and moreover, an erosion of the system's legitimacy, which is partly based on the Supreme Leader's infallibility.

Read Post

Women's Rights In Afghanistan Depends On Where One Lives

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ann Jones, Foreign Aid, Usaid, Islam, Women's Rights, Women, Rotary International, Violence Against Women, Women's Issues, Afghanistan, Foreign Affairs, US Foreign Aid, Sharia Law, Taliban, Robert Greenwald, Barack Obama, Afghanistan War, Development Aid, Religion, Women for Afghan Women, Women and Politics, Women Education, Taliban Women's Rights, Afghan Taliban, Advocacy, Sharia, Stuart Whatley, World News
Stuart Whatley

Conditions in Afghanistan are acutely compartmentalized. Reports from one village can be bright and optimistic while another locale is rife with atrocities towards women and girls.

Read Post

Why North Korea's Antics Are Good For Obama

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama Russia, Russia, North Korea Nuclear Weapons, North Korea Missile Launch, Obama China, Russia North Korea, Hu Jintao, Foreign Affairs, United Nations Security Council, North Korea Satellite, Obama North Korea, UN Security Council, Obama Foreign Policy, Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, North Korea Missile Test, Hu Obama, Medvedev Obama, North Korea Missile, North Korea and UN Sanctions, North Korea Nuclear Program, China North Korea, Proliferation Security Initiative, Barack Obama Foreign Policy, China, Advocacy, North Korea, Stuart Whatley, World News
Stuart Whatley

Following its initial hullabaloo, the current standoff may be a foreign policy windfall for the Obama administration by uniting typically disparate regional players

Read Post

It's Not About North Korea

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: North Korea Nuclear Weapons, Peoples' Republic of China, Laura Ling, Hu Jintao, Foreign Affairs, Obama North Korea, Barack Obama, Kim Jong-Il, North Korea Missile Test, Kim Jong-Il Nuclear Test, North Korea Missile, North Korea Nuclear Program, North Korea Nuclear Test, Nancy Pelosi, China North Korea, Laura Ling North Korea, Euna Lee, Hillary Clinton, China Kim Jong Il, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, Wen Jiabao, China, Advocacy, North Korea, Richard Haass, Stuart Whatley, World News
Stuart Whatley

As North Korea closes itself off to the outside world even more, China's unique role as an interlocutor will become even more necessary.

Read Post

Moral Majority or Immoral Minority?

Stuart Whatley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Carrie Prejean, Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage, Same Sex Couples, California Same Sex Marriage, Barack Obama, Defense of Marriage Act, John Lynch, Same-Sex Marriage, Same Sex Marriage Ban, Miss California Gay Marriage, Ban on Gay Marriages, Same Sex Marriage, New Hampshire Gay Marriage, Gay Marriage Ban, Iowa Same Sex Marriage, Gay Marriage, Stuart Whatley, Politics News
Stuart Whatley

One wonders when Republicans are going to figure out how to appeal to people rather than traditions.

Read Post