Visual source:
Newseum
Paul Krugman writes that there are two common answers in opinion pieces about what ails Europe, the German narrative and the Republican narrative, both of which are wrong:
The Republican story — it’s one of the central themes of Mitt Romney’s campaign — is that Europe is in trouble because it has done too much to help the poor and unlucky, that we’re watching the death throes of the welfare state. This story is, by the way, a perennial right-wing favorite: back in 1991, when Sweden was suffering from a banking crisis brought on by deregulation (sound familiar?), the Cato Institute published a triumphant report on how this proved the failure of the whole welfare state model.
Did I mention that Sweden, which still has a very generous welfare state, is currently a star performer, with economic growth faster than that of any other wealthy nation.
Michael Gerson says bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. But only a little bit. And maybe pretend afterward that we don't know who did it.
Los Angeles Times:
Obviously, the Republican presidential candidates have the right to speak out on any issue they choose, and just as obviously, the escalation of hostility between Israel and Iran is a terribly important subject that should concern every American. But so far we haven't gleaned much wisdom from the GOP contenders, who, except for Ron Paul, are encouraging a reckless rush to war while unfairly portraying President Obama as an appeaser.
Steven Pinker, as part of
The New York Times series "Are People Getting Dumber," says "no":
In a culture that seems to be getting dumb and dumber, this claim needs a sanity check. Can we see the fruits of superior reasoning in the world around us? The answer is yes. [...]
It’s easy to focus on the idiocies of the present and forget those of the past. But a century ago our greatest writers extolled the beauty and holiness of war. Heroes like Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Woodrow Wilson avowed racist beliefs that today would make people’s flesh crawl. Women were barred from juries in rape trials because supposedly they would be embarrassed by the testimony. Homosexuality was a felony. At various times, contraception, anesthesia, vaccination, life insurance and blood transfusion were considered immoral.
Max Boot offers advice on Afghanistan that deserves the same amount of respect as the advice he and his fellow neo-conservatives have been offering on foreign policy for decades.
Colby I. King writes that, aside from the racism involved, what sets the venomous attacks on Barack Obama apart from attacks on Bush, Clinton and other past presidents is that those who make them include candidates for the presidency.
Jim Hightower:
The choices for our country's rising forces of economic and political democracy are not limited to corporate or government control. There's another, much better way of organizing America's economic strength: The Cooperative Way.
Cooperatives can (and do) provide a deeply democratic, locally controlled, highly productive, efficient percolate up capitalism.
Debra J. Saunders joins other conservatives unhappy with the remaining GOP presidential candidates, whom she labels has-beens.
Megan McArdle gives insipid a bad name again, this time in what apparently was meant to be a laugh riot about the Kochs and Barack Obama.
Christopher D. Cook:
It is time — now, not next year — to de-occupy Walmart. And Archer Daniels Midland. And Tyson Foods. And Monsanto. And Cargill. And Kraft Foods. And the other large corporations that decide what ends up on our plates. Take all our money out, public and personal, from our shopping dollars to school district lunch contracts to the corporate subsidies that uphold these firms' grip on our food supply, and invest it in a new system that's economically diverse and ecologically sustainable.