Autiello: Will True Christianity Please Stand Up?
Nick Autiello, Contributor
The notion that homosexuality is a sin and un-Christian is one that is less than a hundred years old. It is wrong, and has no basis in scriptural or historical reality.
SASSO: The Coming New Year
James Sasso, Associate Editor
As the tumultuous 2011 comes down to its final day, this column could contain an obnoxious summary of the year’s extraordinary events. Rather than once again discussing the protests around the world, the death of Osama Bin Laden, Fukushima, America’s political ineptitude, Europe’s demise or the increasingly frightful weather patterns, here I attempt to predict what 2012 holds in store.
SASSO: Kicking the Can
James Sasso, Associate Editor
For one of the first times in his tenure as Speaker, John Boehner has made a statement with which every American, Republican or Democrat, should fully agree; the two-month Senate bipartisan extension of the payroll tax cut fails to fix the nation’s problems sufficiently. Providing a short-term band-aid to a long-term dilemma contradicts what a responsible government should accomplish, but fits the pattern of contemporary American politicking.
CIOCCI: A Foolish Consistency
Mitt Romney is guilty of serial hypocrisy, Newt Gingrich is guilty of being a public intellectual constantly scrutinized by the media and others, and Ron Paul never ceases to remind me about one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
AKMAN: Jon Huntsman’s Meaningless Campaign
Josh Akman, Columnist
Jon Huntsman did not participate in the CNN Debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Short of his family and small (and getting smaller) campaign staff, no one really noticed. In a bizarre and counterproductive effort to impress New Hampshire voters Huntsman skipped the debate to protest Nevada moving its caucus ahead of New Hampshire’s, which has always been the nation’s first primary. It’s bizarre because no one else skipped the debate. It’s counterproductive because right now, Jon Huntsman is polling 6% in New Hampshire.
SASSO: The 99% Rising
James Sasso
Associate Editor
For the past month a movement has grown out of Zuccoti Park in New York with the potential to grab at the very heart of America’s problems. “We are the 99%” is not simply a catchy phrase used by frustrated jobless Americans , but a commentary on the disgraceful economic inequality that has arisen in the United States since the 1970s.
HOLLINSHEAD: Religious Freedom Must Triumph Over Islamophobia
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
The proposed Muslim center near Ground Zero will ultimately help the U.S. recover from the wounds of 9/11. Some victims’ families are understandably uneasy about the proposed mosque, but allowing Islamophobic scare tactics dictate our interpretation of the First Amendment would mean “letting the terrorists win.”
HOLLINSHEAD: The Consequences of Congressional Term Limits
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
Proponents of term limits want to take the easy way out by essentially outsourcing their ability to oust incumbents (read: giving up power). Yet, every American eligible to vote has the opportunity to turn this system around. In the end, it’s on us.
HOLLINSHEAD: Michael Steele Puts RNC in a Bind
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
With his latest erroneous comments about the war in Afghanistan, RNC chair Michael Steele has put his party in a tight spot…again. How swiftly should the GOP give him the boot?
HOLLINSHEAD: Sizing up Two Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
On Monday, as the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court hopeful Elena Kagan began, the existing Court quietly issued two relatively significant decisions.
HOLLINSHEAD: Why the McChrystal Saga Is a Gift to Obama
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
Before he decided to relieve McChrystal of his command over U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, Obama essentially had three choices, all of which would have invoked the wrath of a large group of people.
HOLLINSHEAD: Helen Thomas Scandal Is Distracting Us from the Flotilla Issue
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
The Helen Thomas resignation is much more trivial than the media believes. Focusing on her comments – instead of the broader issues, such as blind support for Israel or Palestine because of cultural heritage, etc – prevents us from having a genuine national conversation about whether a military should be able to disrupt humanitarian aid missions in international waters.
HOLLINSHEAD: Another Day, Another One-Sided Compromise
Kevin Hollinshead, Contributor
President Obama understands that the only realistic solution to illegal immigration is a comprehensive overhaul that supplements border security measures with a crackdown on illegal hiring and exploitative employers, a requirement that illegal immigrants come forward and meet certain requirements in order to work towards citizenship, and reforms of our legal immigration system going forward. But why, then, does his administration keep following the same failed approach of making unmatched concessions to Republicans and expect a different result?
HOLLINSHEAD: The GOP’s Delusional Quest to Repeal Health Care Reform
Kevin Hollinshead, Progressive
Republicans seem convinced that health care reform, now law, is only temporary. They’re now trying to fire up their base with “plans” for repealing the bill should they regain majorities in both houses of Congress this fall. But such a dream is only a far-fetched fantasy.
HOLLINSHEAD: Dems Need Their Own Attack Machine
Kevin Hollinshead, Progressive
The Democrats need to go on the offensive on health care reform.
HOLLINSHEAD: Boy’s Health Insurance Company a Real ‘Death Panel’
Kevin Hollinshead, Progressive
Five year-old Kyler VanNocker of Edgewater Park, NJ has neuroblastoma, a rare and deadly type of childhood cancer that attacks the nervous system, leaving his body riddling his body with tumors. But Kyler’s health insurance company denied him the proven-effective treatment and decided to place their profits above a doctor’s opinion. To deny Kyler coverage was to prescribe his death.
HOLLINSHEAD: CBS’ “Super” Business Plan Favors the Religious Right
Kevin Hollinshead accuses CBS of pandering to right wing groups that support a pro-life movement by showing an advertisement at the Super Bowl.
HOLLINSHEAD: A To-Do List for Obama, Dems
Kevin Hollinshead, Progressive
If an anti-reform Republican was able to win the seat of universal health care’s greatest champion, what do this November and November of 2012 hold for Democrats? Unless the Obama administration shakes things up, they’re on thin ice.
HOLLINSHEAD: Apples and Oranges
Kevin Hollinshead, Progressive
The problem with our media’s coverage of potentially racist comments and actions is that people are too quick in calling for some kind of punishment similar to one handed out in the past, regardless of how dissimilar the two situations really are.
HOLLINSHEAD: Limbaugh Loves (Socialized) Medical Care in Hawaii
by Kevin Hollinshead, Progressive
Upon his discharge from the hospital after being admitted for chest pain, Rush remarked that “there is nothing wrong with the American health care system. I received no special treatment.” Here, he inadvertently stumbled upon the real point here—American medicine is indeed a godsend. At least, for those who can afford it. No one in Hawaii is given special treatment, because, yep, everyone can afford it.