Mystic Politics

Media Wars & Big Bluffs: Israel’s Huff and Puff Game

‘The air is full of dire warnings of an impending Israeli attack on Iran. Prophets of doom declare themselves full of forebodings and point fearfully to the meeting in the White House between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as crucial in making the decisions that will lead to peace or war.’

Scared of Anonymous? NSA chief says you should be

‘Anonymous has so far plied its trade in “hactivist” exploits. But according to the director of the National Security Agency, it might soon turn its focus to U.S. infrastructure.’

War on Religion or War on Democracy?

‘It is not a “war on religion” when 1st Amendment protections are employed to protect both freedom of religion and freedom from religion — because nobody has the right to write their theology into our Constitution.’

Ralph Nader at HLS: The constitutional crimes of Bush and Obama (video)

‘Ralph Nader and Bruce Fein visited Harvard Law School for a talk sponsored by the HLS Forum and the Harvard Law Record. At the event, “America’s Lawless Empire: The Constitutional Crimes of Bush and Obama,” both men discussed what they called lawless, violent practices by the White House and its agencies that have become institutionalized by both political parties.’

The Politics of Catholic Opposition to Birth Control

‘The confrontation between the bishops and the White House over coverage contraception in all health plans has not ended with the president’s announced resolution of the conflict on February 10th. The issue is both theological and political, but neither bishops nor politicians are usually adept at both. It is possible to be a great bishop in theological terms but also a lousy politician, just as good politicians can lack the basics of theology.’

War on Secularism: Five reasons why Obama is losing the contraception fight

1) It’s about religious freedom, not birth control. 2) Obama has lost even the support of his liberal Catholic allies. 3) It’s not just Catholics. 4) It gives Republicans a potent campaign wedge issue. 5) Obama needs the Catholic vote

How Deep Is the Republican Christian Right’s Connection to the Anti-Gay Bills Sweeping Sub-Saharan Africa?

‘Uganda’s notorious “kill-the-gays” bill, supported by some far-right Christian advocates in United States, was placed back on the Ugandan Parliament’s schedule for a vote yesterday. The proposed legislation punishes repeated instances of “homosexual behavior” – or sex – with the death penalty. Unless a member of Parliament releases the date and time to the public, it could be brought before the legislature’s Lower House for a vote at any moment. After that, it would need to pass the Upper House, and could become law very quickly.’

US Leak on Israeli Attack Weakened a Warning to Netanyahu

“When Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius this week that he believes Israel was likely to attack Iran between April and June, it was ostensibly yet another expression of alarm at the Israeli government’s threats of military action.

But even though the administration is undoubtedly concerned about that Israeli threat, the Panetta leak had a different objective. The White House was taking advantage of the current crisis atmosphere over that Israeli threat and even seeking to make it more urgent in order to put pressure on Iran to make diplomatic concessions to the United States and its allies on its nuclear programme in the coming months.”

The end of ‘compassionate conservatism’?

‘There’s no place for compassion in this race, which has featured debate audiences cheering the death penalty and booing the Golden Rule. Candidates have jostled to take the hardest line in opposing government-funded programs to help the poor, with Newt Gingrich calling Barack Obama a “food stamp president” and Rick Perry blasting “this big-government binge (that) began under the administration of George W. Bush.”

Just three years after Bush left the White House, compassionate conservatives are an endangered species. In the new Tea Party era, they’ve all but disappeared from Congress, and their philosophy is reviled within the GOP as big-government conservatism.’

When Power is Unaccountable: Why the NDAA is Unconstitutional

‘One popular myth surrounding this law (which has been marketed well by the White House and the mainstream media) is that it does not pertain to U.S. persons (citizens and resident aliens). While the law does not explicitly target U.S. persons, it neither excludes nor protects them. Section 1022 of the law covers U.S. persons. The section allows for open-ended executive judgment with regard to the handling of U.S. persons. In other words, the detention of U.S persons is optional, rather than a requirement as it is for non-U.S. persons. Jonathan Turley, legal scholar and professor at George Washington University, explains that “the provision merely states that nothing in the provisions could be construed to alter Americans’ legal rights. Since the Senate clearly views citizens are not just subject to indefinite detention but even execution without a trial, the change offers nothing but rhetoric to hide the harsh reality.”’