Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Debt ceiling debate: bad political theatre
Even more than the Eurozone crisis, the debt discussion in the US shines a harsh light on the dysfunctional nature of the modern political class. Read my spiked article in full here.
Debt ceiling talks: dysfunctional political class on display
There are two economic crises roiling the markets: the Eurozone rescue and the US debt ceiling negotiations. Although ostensibly economic in nature, both are essentially political crises as well. Of the two, it is more understandable why the European nations face difficulties: the Eurozone is a monetary union, not a fiscal or political union, and there are the […]
Weiner: what a rubbish sex scandal
The Anthony Weiner incident shows that politicians are now so lame that they don’t even do scandal well. Read my spiked article in full here.
Not the only Weiner
How to describe Anthony Weiner? Creepy, pathetic, cringe-inducing… but even those words seem too generous. For those outside the US who haven’t followed this story (or Americans who have been living in a cave), let me briefly provide some background. Anthony Weiner is a member of the House of Representatives for a district that covers parts […]
“Mediscare”: the US politics of fear
The debate over Medicare shows that both Republicans and Democrats now rely on panic over principle. Read my spiked article in full here.
The “Mediscare” election: both parties are running on fear
Last week the Democrats scored an upset victory in a special election in New York’s 26th district, which encompasses the upstate territory between Buffalo and Rochester. Republicans were supposed to be on the upswing since the midterm elections held just six months ago, and the seat has been Republican since the 1960s. But Democrat Kathy […]
The killing of bin Laden and the American response
The reaction in America to the news that Osama bin Laden was killed by US commandos is not what it seems from the media reports. The TV images have focused on the groups of people waving flags and shouting “USA-USA-USA” in Times Square in New York and in front of the White House in Washington. It is presented […]
The Birthers
I was in a diner in Scranton, Pennsylvania last night, when an older man in the booth two down from ours was speaking somewhat loudly to a woman who I guessed was his daughter. “I’ve decided to challenge his citizenship,” he said, with “his” referring to President Obama’s. “But I know it comes with risks. When I do, […]
US budget showdown: the politics of pantomime
For all the attempts to talk up the budget clash as a great historical drama, in truth it revealed the pathetic state of American politics. Read my spiked article in full here.
The problem with “immaculate intervention”
George Friedman, chief executive of STRATFOR, the geopolitical intelligence company, highlights the illogic of humanitarian wars in an article for Real Clear World. Friedman notes how defenders of humanitarian wars claim to be neutral, but they are not: The doctrine [of humanitarian war] becomes less coherent in a civil war in which one side is winning and […]