Notorious A.I.G. to Sell Reputation Insurance to its Own Customers - Duly Noted. Love those great A.I.G. rates, but hate the stigma of buying insurance from one of the major culprits in the global financial crisis?
No problem. For just a few dollars more, A.I.G. will insure your reputation against the possible taint of doing busines with A.I.G.: Insurance providers are constantly coming up with new products to sell to policyholders. There is a catch: Burson-Marsteller's reputation leaves something to be desired. Over the years, B-M has distinguished itself as a one-stop-shop for dictators looking to put the best possible spin on genocide (East Timor, Biafra) and mass disappearances (Argentina), corporations seeking to squelch action on climate change, tobacco companies wanting to cast doubt on the harms of second-hand smoke, and the world's largest mercenary army.
Localism. Public Broadcasting. Isreal/Palestine. New Media. Sports. Citizenship. Public Address. Stewart/Colbert. Tea Partiers: The self-hating 99 per cent. I suppose it was inevitable that the burgeoning Occupy Wall Street movement would be compared with the Tea Party, but the level of misunderstanding and myth surrounding the latter's "populist" bona fides is surprising to even the most cynical observer.
There may be surface similarities between the two uprisings, but they actually represent two opposing populist worldviews, whose only philosophical resemblance to one another is their belief that they speak for "the people" against the elites. While both movements are mainly concerned with economic issues, their beliefs about the causes and solutions they propose couldn't be more different.
One of the central myths about the Tea Party is that it came about as a reaction against the Wall Street bailouts. Only one month into the Obama administration, Santelli called for a "new Tea Party" to be held on tax day, April 15, and it became an instant YouTube sensation and rallying cry for the right wing. Indifference of the rich A clueless revolt?
Immigration. Twelve Pretty Racist Or Just Crazy Quotes From Pat Buchanan’s New Book. Pundit and MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan's new book, "Suicide Of A Superpower," is a veritable treasure trove of eye-popping assertions about the decline of America at the hand of increased diversity and multiculturalism.
TPM went through and picked out some highlights, so that you really really don't have to. From the Preface: When the faith dies, the culture dies, the civilization dies, the people die. That is the progression. And as the faith that gave birth to the West is dying in the West, peoples of European descent from the steppes of Russia to the coast of California have begun to die out, as the Third World treks north to claim the estate.
From the chapter, "The Death Of Christian America": Obama's White House thus enlisted in the long and successful campaign to expel Christianity from the public square, diminish its presence in our public life, and reduce its role to that of just another religion. From the chapter, "The End Of White America":