The Hollywood Liberal

‘Slumdog Millionaire’: The Tour

As “Slumdog Millionaire” continues to rack up critical accolades (not to mention awards-season promotional blitzes), the film has also drawn crowds to its setting in the slums of Mumbai, India. But does this kind of attention represent a welcome boon for tourism or a form of exploitation—“poverty porn”—for a city still recovering from last November’s terrorist attacks?

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• February 16, 2009 Rebutting the False Choice Between Security and Freedom
• February 13, 2009 Sri Lanka’s Civil War Takes a Toll
• February 12, 2009 Israel’s Lose-Lose Election

Bank Nationalization Would Pose Hurdles For Obama
The nationalization of even a handful of U.S. banks, which some analysts see as increasingly likely, would pose political problems for President Obama. Obama has…

Lawmakers Can Defy Governors To Get The Stimulus Money
For all the tough talk and media chatter about whether some (or one or two) of the nation’s governors will refuse to accept the billions…

Craig Crawford: DC Feels Like an Episode of ‘Lost’
As a dedicated fan of “Lost,” the ABC television thriller, I sometimes see the show’s weird island as a metaphor for the perplexing issues and…

Obama Lets Progressives In The Gate… Now What?
News that a cadre of progressive groups and leaders schmoozed with the president represents a symbolic end-note of sorts to eight years that saw the…

Tara L. Conley: Yo, Michael Steele, Whut Up Homie!
Dear Michael Steel – From one Hip Hop Head to, well, I guess another, do you mind if I address your latest call on the…

An ‘Impulsive’ America?
President Barack Obama’s first TV interview was with the Dubai-based, partly Saudi-funded Al Arabiya satellite channel. In passing, he faulted past American policy for too readily “dictating” in the Middle East. He had better things to say about Saudi King Abdullah’s “courage” in trying to solve the Middle East crisis. Vice President Joe Biden likewise has promised the world a sharp break from the prior Bush administration that, from his references, was apparently to blame for bouts of anti-Americanism abroad. He assured the Europeans at the Munich Security Conference that it was time to press the reset button in foreign policy, and pledged a new chapter in America’s overseas relations.

Tobin Phone-Jamming Case Dismissed
It’d be hard to blame GOP bigwig Ken Mehlman for breathing a sigh of relief this morning. The Bangor Daily News reports that a judge yesterday dismissed the case against James Tobin, the former GOP official who was accused of…

The Big Stone Wall: Nine Bush-Era Officials Refused To Cooperate With DOJ Probes
At least nine Bush administration officials refused to cooperate with various Justice Department investigations during the final days of the Bush presidency, according to public records and interviews with federal law enforcement officials and many of the officials and their…

NY Post Cartoon Stuns Executive Director of Center for Constitutional Rights
February 19, 2009, New York – Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), issued a statement today in response to yesterday’s New York Post editorial cartoon depicting two white police officers standing over a chimpanzee they had just shot making a comment that suggests the chimp is a stand-in for President Obama.

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No CEO Administration
Politico: “There are no former CEOs in the Obama Cabinet. And among the people who make up his daily inner circle, there is only a dollop or two of top-level private sector experience.”

“Whether it is a signifcant absence, however, is far more debatable. As it happens, only a small number of the business leaders in recent administrations were stand-outs. And several were ostentatious flops. It would be hard to argue that there is a close correlation between success in business and success in Washington.”

Perhaps Obama read my book, You Won, Now What?, where we make the case that you cannot run government like a business — unlike so many campaigners promise.

President Obama: Social Security Is Healthy — There’s No Need to "Save" It
Here’s a cheap and effective form of economic stimulus — tell America’s baby boomers that their welfare benefits are safe.

I Was Illegally Detained by the U.S. Government and Held in CIA-Run "Black Sites"
The American public needs to face what has happened to those of us who were disappeared and mistreated in the name of their national security.

Are Americans ‘Cowards’ About Race? Anti-NY Post Protesters Speak Out
As Eric Holder calls for "frank conversations" on race in the U.S., the NY Post cartoon controversy reveals how far we have to go.

Why Are Even Smart, Liberal Men Freaked Out by Abortion?
Even die-hard liberals who would wax on about a woman’s right to choose were uncomfortable when presented with a woman who chose.

Janet Napolitano Is Just Finessing Bush’s Crackdown on Migrant Workers
Napolitano doesn’t have the power to change immigration law. She’s there to administer the department, enforce the law, and keep the homeland secure.

Reagan and the March of Freedom
A number of the people in this discussion have commented on the importance of the disconnect between the rhetoric of freedom as promoted by Reagan in relation to the Soviet Union and other Communist nations and that of the…

The Reality-Based Reagan
Thanks to the folks at TPM for asking me participate this week in the TPM Book Club – and above all, thanks to Will Bunch for engaging in the long overdue process of unpacking the myth of Ronald Reagan….

What Will America Do If Israel Abandons Democracy?
Steven Walt, (co-author with John Mearsheimer of “The Israel Lobby” and a blogger at Foreign Policy) has been engaged with blogger Matt Yglesias about what happens if the two-state solution dies. The question is this: will the United States continue…

What are Kathleen Sebelius? views on health care?
Top advisers to President Obama are telling the New York Times that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) — the former insurance commissioner and two-term blue governor from a red state with a knack for bipartisanship — is Obama’s top choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services: It remained unclear whether the White House […]

Top advisers to President Obama are telling the New York Times that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) — the former insurance commissioner and two-term blue governor from a red state with a knack for bipartisanship — is Obama’s top choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services:

It remained unclear whether the White House would finish vetting Ms. Sebelius in time to nominate her by next week. Advisers described her as “the leading candidate,” although they said other names were still in discussion and emphasized that no final decision had been made.

The Wonk Room reviews Sebelius’ record on health care and concludes “her ability to reach health policy decisions by soliciting the views of a broad spectrum of stakeholders suggests that she’ll be an important player in promoting Obama’s health reform agenda and a strong consensus builder.”

Corker: Union workers are ?classless? for protesting his vote against the auto bailout with ?tacky? valentines.
Last year, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) was one of the staunchest opponents of the federal auto bailout, blaming the defeat of bailout legislation on the United Auto Workers (UAW). Last week, thousands of UAW members delivered valentines to Corker, protesting his anti-UAW positions. At a townhall in Columbia, TN yesterday, Corker lashed out at the […]

Last year, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) was one of the staunchest opponents of the federal auto bailout, blaming the defeat of bailout legislation on the United Auto Workers (UAW). Last week, thousands of UAW members delivered valentines to Corker, protesting his anti-UAW positions. At a townhall in Columbia, TN yesterday, Corker lashed out at the Valentine’s Day messages, calling them a “tacky” and “classless” thing to do. Watch it:

White House Urban Affairs Chief Picked ? Bronx Borough President Lays Out Vision for New Policy Office
NEW YORK, Feb. 19 — Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr., who was named Thursday to direct the new White House Office of Urban Affairs, said he wants cities to become economic centers that can pull the country out of a recession and improve American competitiveness in a global market.

Events Designed To Prepare Nation For Budget Plan
When President Obama rolls out his first budget proposal next week, it will contain some of the ugliest deficit numbers this nation has seen since the end of World War II. So the Obama administration is planning an entire week of budget-focused activities to prepare the country for the painful…

Lobbyist Vicki Iseman Settles Libel Suit Over N.Y. Times Story Linking Her to McCain
Vicki Iseman, the Washington lobbyist who sued the New York Times over an article about her relationship with Arizona Sen. John McCain, settled yesterday in exchange for a note to readers posted on the paper’s Web site.

Obama Arrives in Canada for First International Trip
OTTAWA, Feb. 19 — President Obama touched down Thursday morning in this snowy Canadian capital — his first foray outside the United States as president — and headed for discussion of trade and the environment with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

On Asia Trip, Clinton Shows How She’ll Try to Repair the U.S. Image Around the World
SEOUL, Feb. 20 — Hillary Rodham Clinton has a new campaign and message: The United States wants to listen.