Monday Open Thread [11.25.13]

Monday Open Thread [11.25.13]

The Iranian Agreement is the subject of today's open thread. I have a simple question to those who so vehemently support Israel that they are confused about which flag they are supposed to pledge allegiance to. Is there any deal with Iran that would garner your approval? Or is the only option that is good for Israel the complete destruction of Iran and its people? I suspect the answer to the first question, if you are a Netanyahu apologist, is no. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel's Dick Cheney or John McCain. There are never enough wars to fight, never enough Muslims and Arabs to kill. They are relics of a different time. I no longer listen to those who are always so reflexively pro-Israel that they always, without fail, reject peace. And those who I talk about will now say I am anti-semetic or anti-Israel. No, I am pro-peace. Peace in the Middle East is in the best interests of Israel. War in the Middle East is not. Ending Iran's capacity to make a nuclear bomb is in America's interests. It is also in Israel's interest. This deal has a chance of that goal. Yet Israel's government rejects the deal out of hand.
Friday Open Thread [11.22.13]

Friday Open Thread [11.22.13]

Republicans, like a bully punched in a nose for the first time after doing it to others for years, are really crying this morning. They are angry, vowing revenge like they are in some Shakespearean story. They think their threats about retaliation actually scare us.
50 Years

50 Years

In case you live under a rock and haven't heard, today marks the 50th anniversary of the murder of our President. Whether he was killed as a result of the rage of Lee Harvey Oswald or a wider conspiracy or coup d'etat, it is beyond dispute that the assassination of the President was a singular turning point moment in American history. If John F. Kennedy had lived, the world today might be unrecognizable to us. Think of a world without the Kennedy Assassination, the Assassinations of MLK and RFK, Vietnam and Watergate. This cascade of events began with that murder 50 years ago today. And all of those events combined to radically change America. Here are some of my favorite JFK speeches.
Wednesday Open Thread [11.20.13]

Wednesday Open Thread [11.20.13]

The U.S. Census Bureau has released a slew of data on state-to-state migration showing that Americans have become significantly less mobile than they used to be, with just 11.7 percent moving in the last year, near historic lows. But, among that nearly 12% of Americans, the interactive chart shows where they are going. Delawareans are moving to Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvanians are moving to Delaware. Delaware gained 34,757 people through migration, and lost 25,149, making it a gainer state.