AltWeeklies Wire
Birth of a Blowhard: Glenn Beck in Connecticutnew
When Beck arrived at KC 101 in early 1992, he was a semi-failed, drug-and-alcohol addicted, Top-40s radio jock desperately looking for a route to stardom. By the time he left seven years later, he had figured out that talk radio was the future and conservative shtick could be revamped to serve as his escalator to fame and fortune.
Hartford Advocate |
Gregory B. Hladky |
10-21-2009 |
Media
Lessons from California's Political and Economic Disasternew
The tax revolts that started here under Gov. Ronald Reagan and continued to sweep the country and the world under President Reagan never abated. But now that California is showing signs of being the country's first failed state, it has become a cautionary tale for that anti-government ideology.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Steven T. Jones and Tim Redmond |
10-21-2009 |
Politics
Wallowing in Pessimismnew
Sometimes I feel as if we are starting to relive the narrative told in the pages of William Shirer's, The Rise and Fall of the The Third Reich.
Random Lengths News |
Lionel Rolfe |
10-09-2009 |
Commentary
For a Bogeyman, ACORN Sure is Smallnew
What's missing from the news media's ACORN stories is any sense of perspective or proportion. In North Carolina, the organization employs eight people, and it operates on a annual budget of between $400,000 and $450,000.
Anti-Obama Birthers Breaking Ties With Orly Taitznew
Lucas Smith isn't the first in the Obama-conspiracy world to quarrel with Taitz. In May, Pennsylvania lawyer Phil Berg teamed up with his assistant, Taitz's former webmaster and an online-talk-show host to sue Taitz for slander, harassment and privacy violations.
Why We Should Feel Sorry for Joe Wilsonnew
His priorities were these: With his numbers dropping, Joe wanted to make himself an instant hero to the far right -- something that is indeed starting to happen. He got to be on a Fox network talk show Sunday; last week, he probably would have had to buy a ticket to be in the studio audience.
Metro Times |
Jack Lessenberry |
09-22-2009 |
Commentary
Health Care Debate Suggests the U.S. Suffers from Delusions of Invincibilitynew
When it comes to health care reform, the U.S. reminds me of a relative I had who suffered paranoid delusions, likely due to brain tumours. Trying to help her led to accusations that I was trying to harm her.
NOW Magazine |
Jacob Scheier |
09-21-2009 |
Commentary
Meet Ohio Demagogue Dave Daubenmirenew
Though he has been "living his faith" over the airwaves and in the public square for the past decade, the attention of mass media broadcasters has come largely over the course of the past year, particularly during the past few months of Town Hall mayhem.
The Other Paper |
Kitty McConnell |
09-11-2009 |
Politics
Obama's Speech to Schools Sparks Discussion, Whether Aired or Notnew
Obama's address to the nation's school children was met with objections from conservative talk radio hosts, prompting schools in several states, including Idaho, to not air it. Kacey Schneidt, principal at Siena Elementary School in Meridian banned the president's speech on advice of about 15 calls to the school.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
09-09-2009 |
Education
Van Jones and the Right-Wing Attack Machinenew
The Oakland activist and Obama adviser resigned after critics tied him to an impolitic 9/11 petition. The affair again exposed the weakness of Democrats.
East Bay Express |
Robert Gammon |
09-09-2009 |
Commentary
Conservatives Need to Leave Afghanistan & the Neocons Behindnew
Now is the time to make the case that American soldiers shouldn't be the world's policeman, liberal utopianism is not sound foreign policy, and nation-building is not conservative. George Will has and serious conservatives should follow suit.
Charleston City Paper |
Jack Hunter |
09-09-2009 |
Commentary
New Hampshire Transplants Live Free -- or Die Tryingnew
They're digging up public squares. They're smoking pot and baring breasts. And they openly carry guns. New Hampshire residents are divided as to whether the Free State Project is a godsend or a nuisance.
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
08-27-2009 |
Civil Liberties
Shouting Down Debate at the Health Care Town Hallsnew
At a recent town hall meeting, Sen. Chris Dodd was cheered by supporters for shepherding a heath reform plan through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last month, but one protester instead decided to offer him a suggestion: suicide.
New Haven Advocate |
Chandra Niles Folsom |
08-18-2009 |
Politics
Try As He Might, Glenn Beck Can't Turn a Paperback Book into a Flat-Screen TVnew
Glenn Beck is great on TV; he shouts, he scoffs, and he cries. But when he writes, one thing becomes clear: The man has absolutely nothing of consequence to say. In Common Sense, Beck uses every trick in the book to cover this up.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Rick Lax |
08-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
Mark Sanford: The Conservative Hero That Could Have Beennew
When Gov. Mark Sanford went disappeared last week, I wasn't worried about it, knowing that he was one of the few politicians who would never let me down. Then Sanford was "found," and I was let down.
Charleston City Paper |
Jack Hunter |
07-01-2009 |
Commentary
