Journalism

How Sarah Palin Could Beat Obama: The Nation 11/22

Sarah Palin could win the presidency in 2012—that’s what Frank Rich [1] said in the New York Times on Sunday—but not in a two-person head-to-head race. For Palin to beat Obama, a third-party candidate would have to run, and take votes away from Obama.

And we have a potential third-party spoiler, Rich says: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
. . . continued at TheNation.com HERE

LENNONYC: PBS American Masters 11/22

“LENNONYC” tells the story of Lennon’s move to New York City in 1971 with Yoko Ono, his anti-war activism, the Nixon Administration’s effort to deport him, and the music he made in the last nine years of his life. It features interviews with musicians who worked with Lennon, plus immigration attorney Leon Wildes, photographer Bob Gruen, historian Jon Wiener, and Yoko Ono, who provided never-before-seen home movies. Director/writer: Michael Epstein.

My Doonesbury Favorite: Mr. Butts: The Nation 11/9

Of all the characters in the last 40 years of Doonesbury, my personal favorite is Mr. Butts—and not just because he appeared on the cover of The Nation (Jan. 1, 1996).  Garry Trudeau has had lots of more compelling characters, but Mr. Butts in his own way was perfect: the smiling cigarette-man who was unfailingly cheerful about how cool it was for kids to smoke.

Mr. Butts crossed over from the comics to real life in 1994, when University of California tobacco researcher Dr. Stanton Glantz received a big Fedex box with the return address “Mr. Butts.” The box, as I reported in The Nation . . .
. . .continued at TheNation.com HERE

Boxer Won More Votes than 10 Tea Party Candidates: Nation 11/3

California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer defeated challenger Carly Fiorina by a ten-point margin on Tuesday, winning a total of 3.8 million votes, more than the combined vote total of ten Tea Party senate candidates.

The Tea Party Senate candidates made big news, but they ran mostly in small states. Also, several lost.

. . . continued at TheNation.com HERE.

Legalizing Pot Fails in Calif.: The Nation 11/3

California’s initiative to legalize marijuana failed to win a majority at the polls Tuesday. Prop 19, which received 3.3 million votes but lost 54 percent to 46 percent, would have would have legalized possession and cultivation of marijuana and authorized cities and counties to regulate and tax commercial marijuana production and sales.
. . . continued at TheNation.com HERE

Why the Dems will win in Calif.: The Nation 11/1

When the votes are counted on Tuesday night in California, Democrats will easily sweep the top contests. Senator Barbara Boxer is likely to defeat challenger Carly Fiorina, 51-46 per cent (Nate Silver’s projection at 538.com), and last week’s California Field poll shows Democrat Jerry Brown ahead of Republican Meg Whitman in the gubernatorial race by 10 points.

Why are the Republicans doing so badly in California, when they are anticipating sweeping victories so many other places?

. . . Continued at TheNation.com HERE.

WikiLeaks and 9-11: The Nation 10/17

As WikiLeaks prepares to release 400,000 Iraq war documents, a former FBI agent argues that WikiLeaks could have prevented 9-11, if the website had been around in 2001.  . . . Continued at TheNation.com HERE.

Sarah Palin: Snubbed by Cal. GOP – The Nation 10/14

Sarah Palin is coming to California this weekend, but the state’s top Republican candidates, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, don’t want to bee sen with her.

. . .  The reason can be found in the new polls: most Californians don’t like Sarah Palin.  According to last week’s Field Poll, 69 percent of the state’s independent voters say they have an “unfavorable” impression of the former Alaska governor. . . . Continued at TheNation.com HERE.