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POPSNonviolence As Their Weapon "It was 2001. Khatib watched in horror as Israeli soldiers shot an unarmed friend at a checkpoint. Two weeks later, the militant Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade made a revenge attack on the checkpoint, killing seven soldiers. "My first reaction was 'Good for Al Aqsa!' " Khatib said. Then he realized the dead soldiers belonged to a different unit, not the one on duty when his friend was shot. "It made me wonder: This cycle of death, of violent action and reaction, how we can break it?"
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POPSRussia Reconsiders "There's no question that Stalin is undergoing a sort of renaissance in Russia. Despite the many millions killed or sent to labor camps during his reign, many now view his rule with a sort of hazy nostalgia. "The cynical position of the Stalinphobes is that only innocent people were kept in the gulag," he said. "Criminals who violated the law were kept in the gulag. And let the Western reader ask himself, should criminals be kept in spas or resort hotels?" Meanwhile, Stalin's image and name, systematically bleached out as the waning Soviet empire began to grapple with its bloody past, are creeping back into Russian life. His name was restored this fall to a Moscow metro station. His unmistakable mustached face beams from the wall of Soviet Meatpies, a kitschy diner downtown."
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POPSGOP sees California as locus for party revival - but is this realistic? More: But veteran political observers say grassroots firepower and funding - even with a millionaire candidate - won't transform California into a Republican Party comeback engine in 2010. "Of all the places one could imagine ... if there is going to be a Republican renaissance, it's not going to be in California," Rosenberg said. "California's demographics have changed a great deal since the days of Ronald Reagan and Pat Brown," he noted, particularly with fast-growing Asian and Latino electorates both trending Democratic. "That shift has been a brand shift, ... and it will be difficult for any individual to reverse that tide," he said. In the previous gubernatorial election, "it took the Terminator for (the GOP) to win it - and this will be a harder climate."
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POPS80's Cartoons Those old cartoons are calling the people who grew up with them as nostalgia kicks in.
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POPSThe definition of fascio It cannot be stated too many times that Mussolini himself recognized the ideas and writings of Woodrow Wilson in support of his ideology. Everyone should read Wilson's writings and speeches about why he is a Progressive. It is startling. We have seen under GW Bush and now at hyper-speed under Obama the rise of Wilsonian Progressivism, which is fascism. People often make the mistake of assuming the hate of Hitler and the brutality of Mussolini and other fascists is the definitive nature of Fascism. They are not. As highlighted in this clip, fascism has a specific meaning. This is where we are today. America was fascist-light under Woodrow Wilson. We are heading that way again. More power to the Fed, General Electric, liberty being evaporated by government/corporate paradigms such as energy, general electric, healthcare, auto industry, the integration of compulsory service and more to come.
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POPSReinventing Reagan? All the 2008 Republican presidential candidates (except perhaps Ron Paul) tried to claim a Reagan legacy. John McCain said Reagan was one of his heroes. This is hardly surprising, since Reagan was unquestionably a great vote getter; he won two elections for governor of California and two for president, and not one of them was close. California's governor Reagan stood mainly for "tear gas and police." Anyone else remember this? According to his former chief of staff, many presidential activities were strongly affected by the advice of his wife's astrologer. A president should be judged not by his personal life or his "passionate convictions," but by what his administration actually does. His legacy includes: big tax cuts for the rich and record budget deficits, he tripled the national debt, distorted the Russian threat, and pushed for a “winnable” nuclear war that would “only” cost a few million US lives.
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POPS@davewiner on new vs. old baseball stadiums I love this line: "whether the Catholic Church would tear down the Vatican just to get some skyboxes." I'm a life long Yankees fan, but for some reason, i just don't much interest in the new stadium. Perhaps it's because the Steinbrenner sons often make me embarrassed to be a yankee fan, so some little part of me doesn't like supporting them. There really is nothing like tradition and nostalgia in sports - by moving to a new stadium, the feeling of being part of the past that you get when you're at Fenway is gone for now from Yankee stadium.
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POPSPaleofantasy about the future. I really don't get why people fantasize over an ideal past. was it easier, more interesting and stimulating 100 years ago? i don't think so. i would much rather live now and anticipate the now which is to come after... ;-)
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POPSBYE BYE BUSH more about Family of Secrets: "Russ Baker has the three most important attributes of any great investigative reporter: He is skeptical, he is fearless, and he is indefatigable. Whenever he examines anything-including the most allegedly well covered topics-he breaks important new ground." -David Margolick, author and contributing editor, Vanity Fair. "
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POPSAmerica's favorite bogeyman We all need a good enemy. As U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates once shrewdly pointed out, the talk of a new Cold War fills him “with nostalgia for a less complex time.” Indeed, the world made a glib sort of sense back then — communism vs. capitalism, good vs. evil empire.
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POPSNew Nixon Tapes The New York establishment? "They're done!" The press? "The enemy!" Professors? "The enemy!" Richard Nixon continues to spook the nation from beyond the grave with the latest eavesdrop on taped Oval Office conversations.
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