American troops officially withdrew from cities throughout Iraq today.  The event was declared a national holiday across the country, but many Iraqis stayed home, fearing violence in the absence of the security presence the American military has provided.  The urban pullout comes over six years after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  U.S. troops are currently on track with their scheduled full withdrawal of all combat personnel by the end of 2011.

Despite the fears that kept many Iraqis inside, many police officers and other ecstatic Iraqis took to the streets to celebrate the departure of American troops and return of Iraqi sovereignty over their own cities–more than half a dozen years after former Vice President Dick Cheney falsely predicted the Iraqi public would greet US soldiers as liberators with flowers in the streets.  Hopefully the Iraqi government will be able to govern effectively and respect the rights of the minority Sunni and Kurd populations in the troubled nation.  But the lessons of Iraq should never be forgotten.  War is rarely, if ever, a simple matter. Read the rest of this entry >>

The current push for health care reform in the United States is one of the most important legislative initiatives of the past 50 years.  By now most of us know how the stage is set.  The Democrats, lead by President Obama, are attempting to ram through a comprehensive reform package that will insure all Americans for the fist time in the nation’s history.  Single-payer health care - or essentially full on nationalization of the current system - was never even discussed by the Democrats, who hold control of the White House and have majorities in both the House and Senate. Instead the “public option” was floated, which would give the government the mandate to set up a coverage system for all those lacking insurance in our current system.  The Democratic plan taking shape would also require all Americans to have some form of health coverage.

On the other side, the usual foes of progress, the Republican party, are doing whatever they can to stop health care reform from happening.  They have presented some lame measures which offer the uninsured incentives to buy coverage from private carriers, but nobody thinks it would actually do much to change anything  - which is probably the point.  The GOP does have one weapon at its disposal to derail the Dems plan though, and one it has no qualms using as it has shown again and again and again: the filibuster.  Read the rest of this entry >>

The Government of Russia will be shutting down all legal casinos and slots parlors in the country on Wednesday.  The only survival option left to the gaming industry under new anti-gambling laws is to relocate to one of four special zones - some as many as 4,000 miles away from any urbanized area - Russian versions of Las Vegas essentially.  None of the zones are actually set up for an influx of gambling tourism and no casino is expected to reopen for years into the future, at the very least.

The Russian legal gambling industry is widespread, with more than 40 facilities in Moscow alone.  Shuttering the casinos will result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in an economy that is already expected to contract by almost 8% this year.  But Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have been unrelenting in their push to rid Russia of the casino industry and the shady characters associated with it. Read the rest of this entry >>

Kentucky Pastor Ken Pagano has a novel idea for his congregation at Louisville’s New Bethel Church: Guns in Church, an “open carry celebration.” You read right.  A church service is being planned for Saturday night where parishioners are being urged to come packing heat, and not the concealed kind either.  As told in this fascinating piece in The New York Times, Pagano is almost as passionate about guns as he is about Jesus.  “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist,” he told the Times.

I guess those are the denominations that ignore Matthew 5:38-39 - 38″You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”  Now, sure, I know there are 10,000,000 ways to interpret the bible to fit one’s own personal prerogative, but this particular stunt goes above and beyond.  The endless efforts by certain types of preachers across the country to fit the minds and beliefs of their congregations into simplistic, right wing political boxes is really a disservice to those people of faith.  It’s nice to think that if there is a God up there, his concerns go far beyond NRA talking points. Read the rest of this entry >>

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released today has found that three quarters of respondents support more regulations on fossil fuel emissions.  Majority support for more government control over greenhouse gases was found amongst Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

In the same poll,respondents supported the Cap & Trade approach to regulations by 52%.  However support dwindled when respondents were asked if Cap & Trade would cause their electricity bill to increase by $25, dropping to 44%.  When posed with the prospect of a $10 increase, support for the method increased to 56%.

So once again, it’s clear that the public is ahead of politicians on the issue of emissions regulation.  And not just liberals mind you, regular people from across the political spectrum realize this is something that needs to be done now, not later. Fortunately, the House is finally about to vote on a major climate change bill featuring cap and trade provisions.  But as usual, the challenge will be to get the bill passed in the Senate - the place where good policy ideas go to either die or get filibustered. Read the rest of this entry >>

Iran’s clerically appointed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today compared the democratically elected President of the United States, Barack Obama, to his predecessor, George W. Bush.  The victor (for the time being) of Iran’s recent virulently disputed Presidential election told the quasi-official Fars News Agency “Mr Obama made a mistake to say those things … our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously Bush used to say,”.  Ahmadinejad continued,”Do you want to speak with this tone? If that is your stance then what is left to talk about … I hope you avoid interfering in Iran’s affairs…,”

Linking Obama to Bush would be a PR dream come true at this point for Ahmadinejad.  Unfortunately for him, probably the majority of the Iranian people feel his election is a fraud and that Obama is on the right side of this issue.  Using violence in the streets to quell protests isn’t helping matters much either in winning Ahmadinejad new friends and admirers.  Obama, despite shortsighted domestic criticism, was wise to not to say much about Iran until its regime began using force, thus preventing the issue from being distracted by appearing as another episode of American imperialism to observers throughout the Middle East.   Instead he gave the Iranian authorities just enough rope before criticizing them, coming out on the right side of the issue, without making it another round of USA vs. Iran. Read the rest of this entry >>

President Obama took the gloves off yesterday over the health care reform issue of a government run public coverage option.  During a press conference held at the White House, Obama sharply rebuked the contradictory criticisms of the public option plan coming from Republicans/The Health Industry Lobby (it’s hard to tell the two apart), saying  “If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care … then why is it that the government, which they say can’t run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business?”

As reported here, the overwhelming majority of Americans want a public health care option to compete with private insurers in the marketplace, ensuring care standards stay high and costs don’t continue to spiral out of control.  “The public plan, I think, is an important tool to discipline insurance companies”, the President said.  If there was ever an industry to discipline, it is the private health insurance companies of the United States who have made our system the most expensive in the world, both overall and per capita, while putting 30% of health care costs in their own pockets. Read the rest of this entry >>

The Nightly Network Newscasts of CBS and ABC hit record low ratings last week.  The slump coincided with the regular anchors from both broadcasts, Katie Couric of CBS and Charles Gibson of ABC, taking the week off and being replaced by substitute anchors.  However CBS News’ previous record ratings low came a mere two weeks ago and was anchored by Couric.

With all the fuss being made over the decline of the newspaper, it looks as though the nightly newscast, at least in the format the networks are holding onto, is in hot water as well.  Why wait till 6:30 or 7:00 to get your news when it is available all day, every day on the Internet and 24 hour news channels?  I haven’t watched the network news since the early 90’s, mainly due to concerns over quality.  Although the act of sitting down and turning on the news after a long day is relaxing, I feel much better off watching the NewsHour on PBS where informed analysis of current events by real experts is the draw, rather than the simple recitation of the news by a “trusted voice” which is what the networks are still banking on. Read the rest of this entry >>

French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared in a speech today that the burqa is not welcome in France.  Saying “In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,” Sarkozy continued, “The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement.  I want to say it solemnly, it will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.”

Sarkozy’s comments highlight an ongoing attitude in France that treats overt religious symbols, particularly from other cultures, as an affront to the society. In 2004 a law was passed banning headscarves, yarmulkes and large Christian crosses from French public schools.

From one multicultural Western democracy to another, I caution Mr. Sarkozy that this is entirely the wrong approach to pluralism.  While the burqa is certainly disturbing to those of us who believe in full and equal rights for women, how one dresses needs to be up to the individual. A society cannot clamp down and tell people how to think on matters like this.  If a woman wants to wear a burqa, that’s up to her - and if  she wants to take it off, that’s her choice as well. Such micromanaging by politicians like Sarkozy will never bring true assimiliation of France’s Muslim community - the largest in Western Europe - and frankly seems as though it could be an attempt to score cheap political points at the expense of a minority. Read the rest of this entry >>

Americans overwhelmingly want a government-run public coverage option as part of health care reform, a new New York Times - CBS News poll has found.  The idea to create a public option coverage system that would compete with private insurance companies has been highly contentious throughout the halls of Congress but is not the least bit controversial to the public at large - which, as usual, is ahead of their “leaders” on the issue.

The poll numbers speak for themselves:

• 72% support a government administered health insurance plan being offered, while only 20% oppose it.
• 50% of Republicans support the public option, while 39% oppose it.  Compared with 87% in favor, 9% against amongst Democrats and 73% in favor, 22% against amongst Independents.
• 57% of respondents said they would be willing to pay higher taxes to fund such a government run plan, while 37% said they would not.   Read the rest of this entry >>