Why Obama Should Put BP Under Temporary Receivership

It’s time for the federal government to put BP under temporary receivership, which gives the government authority to take over BP’s operations in the Gulf of Mexico until the gusher is stopped. This is the only way the public know what’s going on, be confident enough resources are being put to stopping the gusher, ensure BP’s strategy is correct, know the government has enough clout to force BP to use a different one if necessary, and be sure the President is ultimately in charge.

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George Lakoff: Obama’s Missing Moral Narrative

Barack Obama may be one of the best communicators of this generation, but he is not living up to his own talents. In a year of disasters, communication failure doubles the disasters.

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Obama's Foreign Policy Failures Are Clear Signs That the American Age of Dominance Is Ending

Irrespective of their politics, flawed leaders share a common trait. They generally remain remarkably oblivious to the harm they do to the nation they lead. George W. Bush is a salient recent example, as is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. When it comes to foreign policy, we are now witnessing a similar phenomenon at the Obama White House.

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The Buck Stops on Obama’s Desk

One of the hopeful promises Barack Obama made to the country in 2008 was that if elected, his administration would reinstitute science-based decision making. We had all heard the stories of how, under George W. Bush, science was regularly compromised in the interests of big business. The BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, and events in the aftermath of this epic catastrophe, demonstrates how little has changed.

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Liberated from Libertarianism: Rand Paul Runs and Hides from... Rand Paul

Maybe we can finally have a serious discussion in this country about the lunacies of libertarianism. I doubt it. This is, after all, America. I doubt we'd know an intelligent political discourse if it whacked us upside the haid.

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Chris Hedges: The Greeks Get It

Here’s to the Greeks. They know what to do when corporations pillage and loot their country. They know what to do when Goldman Sachs and international bankers collude with their power elite to falsify economic data and then make billions betting that the Greek economy will collapse.

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Obama’s USDA Less Transparent Than Bush’s

The Environmental Working Group has worked hard to track the billions lavished on the wealthiest and largest farm operations in the country, in the hope that releasing the information would spur public demand for a sane and sensible agriculture policy. By following the money, we’ve exposed the grossly inequitable federal farm spending that enables the biggest subsidy recipients to maximize their haul of taxpayer dollars while skirting tepid regulations.

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Coverup? Govt Denies Any Oil in Loop Current or Florida.

It's clear that the US government's usual and customary agencies that deal with offshore drilling are woefully unprepared for what we are, as a nation, as a planet, facing. It is time to go whole hog bottom-up.

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Fear Comes of Age

Elena Kagan is the perfect Supreme Court pick for Barack Obama.In fact, in so many ways, she is Barack Obama. Moreover, they both represent their generation well. They are the leading edge of Generation X, and they embody its character fully.

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Bill for Afghan War Could Run Into the Trillions

The U.S. Senate is moving forward with a 59-billion-dollar spending bill, of which 33.5 billion dollars would be allocated for the war in Afghanistan. However, some experts here in Washington are raising concerns that the war may be unwinnable and that the money being spent on military operations in Afghanistan could be better spent.

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