RAUCOUS CAUCUS
The Berkeley Bake-sale Blues
The world needs a Berkeley. From the Free Speech Movement (FSM) days of Mario Savio and many others, this Bay Area burg has been synonymous with Progressive politics. The camp... |
Tom Cushing |
837 |
14 |
on Oct 12, 2011 at 9:14 pm by Equality for all, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
The ACA passes muster (pass the mustard!)
July 4th week is great timing for a shout-out to a leader who may have put country before partisanship. Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding vote in the Supreme Court... |
Tom Cushing |
820 |
11 |
on Jul 19, 2012 at 8:16 am by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Thoughts About Iraq: Is there a way to feel good about it?
Like most Americans, I saw footage of the last Americans loading out of Iraq with relief and pride in our troops’ ability to fight a hostile enemy in a worse environment, half... |
Tom Cushing |
811 |
8 |
on Dec 28, 2011 at 12:04 pm by American, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Religion and Politics III: Foreign Policy.
Well, this may be a mercifully brief edition, as I’ve been basking in the green Sierra. My overheated synapses were gloriously sanctified in the restorative waters of Huntingt... |
Tom Cushing |
802 |
4 |
on Oct 12, 2011 at 10:05 pm by Normal mainstream republican, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Razing Cain?
The misbehaviors of politicians are the most predictable entertainments since the invention of comedy. Although the venal instincts of our would-be ruling class run a broad g... |
Tom Cushing |
795 |
8 |
on Dec 5, 2011 at 12:51 pm by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Is Violence Falling Out of Fashion?
As the global village binds itself ever more closely, it’s difficult to avoid media coverage of anything that “sells newspapers,” in whatever form you actually now get your cu... |
Tom Cushing |
784 |
3 |
on Dec 31, 2011 at 8:36 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Inclusion or Extraction?
This week’s column is late – for several reasons. (On) first, baseball intervened, and I spent four glorious days in the Arizona sun with my daughter. As we watched our belo... |
Tom Cushing |
780 |
4 |
on Mar 19, 2012 at 8:13 pm by underdog, a resident of another community |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
China’s Other Hobby
News that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has been seeking to liberate data from all manner of American computing systems has dominated the high-tech news this week. I’m... |
Tom Cushing |
777 |
16 |
on Mar 7, 2013 at 10:31 pm by Dave, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Kicking cans, or kicking cans?
Observing political jargon is a fascinating business, as lawmakers struggle to find ways to frame issues their way, and appeal to their respective bases. Pithy terms like “jo... |
Tom Cushing |
766 |
3 |
on Nov 22, 2011 at 12:18 am by Reaity, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Fiscal Cliff-diving: Play the Principles and Priorities Game (with Prizes!)
Okay, we all know that Congress is in disrepute with The Electorate -- otherwise, why would we have returned so many Incumbents to their seats in the Capitol? We also harbor ... |
Tom Cushing |
761 |
3 |
on Dec 3, 2012 at 11:24 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Of Petraeus and Portia
This has been a big week for empathy in my household -- starting with the elections, as we watched those who lost bear-up bravely under crushing disappointments. My week a... |
Tom Cushing |
734 |
5 |
on Nov 15, 2012 at 8:07 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Who’s minding the Fed?
You are invited this week to step into my way back machine, and, if you dare, listen-in on the Fed’s Open Market Committee deliberations, circa 2006. There, the best and brigh... |
Tom Cushing |
734 |
1 |
on Jan 18, 2012 at 4:43 pm by CDSI Research, a resident of another community |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Brill’s Pill, Distilled
I’ve admired Steven Brill since our much shaggier days; his early, spot-on exposee of the Teamsters was an act of journalistic courage. He has recently faced an even more form... |
Tom Cushing |
730 |
5 |
on Mar 28, 2013 at 5:17 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
The Rise of the Drones
If you had reliable intelligence on the location of an Al Qaeda lieutenant in remote Pakistan, and a Hellfire-equipped drone handy, would you kill him with it? What if he was... |
Tom Cushing |
725 |
8 |
on Feb 9, 2013 at 7:16 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Halftime
To paraphrase Clint Eastwood's raspy Super Bowl ad for an Italian car company: “It’s halftime in California.” As reported elsewhere hereabouts, the monumental struggle betwee... |
Tom Cushing |
705 |
8 |
on Feb 10, 2012 at 2:05 pm by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Squaring the Pentagon
I think we can all agree that the single most fundamental duty of government is to provide for the national defense, from which all else flows. It is a testament to the succe... |
Tom Cushing |
692 |
6 |
on Dec 12, 2012 at 1:31 pm by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Of Downers and Coddled Cattle
Lost behind yesterday’s sexier headlines about the Supreme Court’s unanimous privacy ruling on warrantless electronic surveillance, was the setback they dealt California’s unh... |
Tom Cushing |
682 |
0 |
on Jan 24, 2012 at 5:22 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Bringing up Bibi
I recall the foreboding I felt in 1967, at the prospect of a war between tiny Israel and its Arab neighbors. It seemed impossible for these latter-day Davids to defeat the Ar... |
Tom Cushing |
674 |
0 |
on Sep 20, 2011 at 11:39 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
The Place for Markets: every place?
As a young lobbyist for a big east coast company and a college Econ major, your scribe was once assigned to cover a public meeting in which the possibility of consolidating Ci... |
Tom Cushing |
673 |
0 |
on May 31, 2012 at 12:06 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
2012: The Year in Verse
-- with apologies all around.
'Tis more or less New Year's, and all 'round the 'Ville,
You will now be subjected to bad dogger-el.
The year just completed we'll stumbl... |
Tom Cushing |
672 |
11 |
on Jan 8, 2013 at 6:47 am by Anonymous, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Clear as Mud
If there is any principle upon which most members of the electorate can agree, at least part of the time, it’s that governmental funding and decisions ought, with few exceptio... |
Tom Cushing |
668 |
4 |
on Jul 13, 2012 at 8:33 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Valentine’s week: spit and vinegar?
Romantic that I am during this week devoted to love -- set between the birthday celebrations of our two greatest statesmen -- I was hoping for a thaw in the chilly conjugal re... |
Tom Cushing |
653 |
2 |
on Feb 20, 2013 at 7:00 am by Seuss Apologia, a resident of another community |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Stats or Stories?
"Human beings," a famous paleontologist once said, "are the primates who tell stories." Indeed, as we learn more about tool use and moral behavior as practiced by other specie... |
Tom Cushing |
640 |
4 |
on Feb 8, 2013 at 8:20 pm by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Food Stamps Food Fight
As I wandered the web a few days ago, this dust-up between CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien and Senator Jeff Sessions caught my ear: http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12... |
Tom Cushing |
632 |
3 |
on Dec 19, 2012 at 7:08 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Your Hopes for the Pope?
“May God forgive you!” were the first words spoken by Pope Francis, to the conclave of Cardinals that had just elected him Pontiff. Although that may not have been any more t... |
Tom Cushing |
621 |
2 |
on Mar 28, 2013 at 6:53 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
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