BY JOE CONASON If there is any subject that enrages those who now call themselves conservatives, it is federal spending – and especially the stimulus program enacted by the Democratic administration and Congress last year. The government can do nothing right, they say. The stimulus was pure waste that created no jobs at all. The […]

BY ALEXANDER COCKBURN The Pentagon is reeling after two lethal episodes uncovered by diligent journalism show trigger-happy U.S. Army helicopter pilots and U.S. Special Forces slaughtering civilians, then seeking to cover up their crimes. The World Wide Web was transfixed Monday when Wikileaks put up on YouTube a 38-minute video, along with a 17-minute edited […]

BY FROMA HARROP The tax code needs fixing to be fairer and less complex. But let’s set some rules for this debate. Here are the Five Commandments of Tax Reform: Thou shall simplify with care: Rep. Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, proposes a much simplified income-tax system. Gosh darn, you can do your taxes on […]

BY EDWIN E. VINEYARD A few doctors give the impression that they think they are gods. Nearly everyone has known one or two. It appears...

BY SUSAN ESTRICH The Rev. Al Sharpton says she must have “mystical powers” – or the best luck anyone has ever seen. But if you ask me, there’s nothing mystical about it. As for luck, if Kirsten Gillibrand has proved one thing during her brief tenure in the United States Senate, it is that you […]