The Hollywood Liberal

Obama vows to repair intelligence gaps behind Detroit airplane incident
President Obama said Tuesday that a “mix of human and systemic failures” allowed a Nigerian student allegedly carrying explosives to board an airplane en route to Detroit on Christmas Day, and he vowed to quickly fix flaws that could have doomed a flight carrying nearly 300 passengers and crew…

As standoff with Iran continues, U.S. prepares targeted sanctions
The Obama administration is readying sanctions against discrete elements of the Iranian government, including those involved in the deadly crackdown on Iranian protesters, marking a shift to a more aggressive U.S. posture toward the Islamic republic, U.S. officials said.

As defense agencies hire, other government workers get incentives to retire
Uncle Sam may be hiring, but he’s also trimming staff in some corners of the government, as agencies suffer through a budget squeeze or shift their focus.

The Tipping Point in Iran
Abbas Milani, Wall Street Journal
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Many Question ‘System Worked’ Comment
Jennifer Loven, Assoc. Press
The Obama administration claim that “the system worked” after a failed aircraft bombing wasn't quite as jolting as President George W. Bush's “Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job” when New Orleans was sinking under deadly Hurricane Katrina. But both raised disturbing questions about presidential response in a time of crisis.Bush's praise for his beleaguered FEMA director, Michael Brown, came while starving storm evacuees remained trapped in the Louisiana Superdome and victims' bodies bloated in the flooded streets. It became a clarion call for all…

TSA Must Get More Anti-Terrorist Tools

Iran’s War on Its People

Can Crist Survive Conservative Uprising in Florida?
Tim Padgett, Time

Peace Adapts

By Mr. Fish

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All You Can Eat

By Mr. Fish

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Supreme Court Prepares For Big Second Half
The Supreme Court entered its holiday intermission with the starkest drama put off until the second act. When justices return on Jan. 11 for their…

TSA Without Leader Thanks To Jim DeMint
An attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security…

Peter Connolly: Ideologues and Election Results
For Democrats who value their Congressional majority, the 2009 Election results might suggest a need for caution in pursuing major new liberal initiatives until the deficit is brought down.

Media On Palin’s ‘Banned List’ Ejected From Going Rogue Event
The woman who once called on the press to “quit makin’ things up” took it a step further yesterday by allegedly banning four members of the media from a book event in Wasilla, Alaska. TPMmuckraker talked to a blogger and videographer who made the list.

Blame It On Antigua! The Forbidden ‘Love’ Of Pete Sessions And Allen Stanford
The ties between Allen Stanford and Rep. Pete Sessions, the NRCC chair, go back years. In an email published last night and sent in February after charges were filed against the billionaire, Sessions wrote: “I love you.”

Alaska Journo: Palin’s Banned Media List Written By Todd Palin
Further details have emerged about the banning of undesirable reporters from the Sarah Palin book tour event in Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, after Alaska-based photojournalist and blogger Dennis Zaki found himself on the list.

The Tattlesnake – Why the GOP Hates ACORN and the Poor Edition
Remember those ACORN-office videos that a right-wing ringer named James O’Keefe, posing as a pimp, surreptitiously taped with Hannah Giles, a young woman pretending to be his prostitute, that were a media kerfluffle a few months back? Watching them gave me a familiar feeling – it was the same feeling I had back in 2003 […]

DeMint Blocks TSA Nominee
The Washington Post notes that an “alleged attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.”

“Instead, the post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has held up President Obama’s nominee in an effort to prevent TSA workers from joining a labor union.”

One Day We’ll All Be Terrorists
Our descent is the familiar disease of decaying empires. Dissent is starting to become defined as an act of terrorism.

Our descent is the familiar disease of decaying empires. Dissent is starting to become defined as an act of terrorism.

10 Reasons the U.S. Military Should (Officially) Use Pot
Medical marijuana may have a host of advantages over other treatments for traumatized vets, but the VA won’t even study its efficacy.

Medical marijuana may have a host of advantages over other treatments for traumatized vets, but the VA won't even study its efficacy.

It’s Time to Get to Work Fixing Our Economic and Political Problems
We must all recognize the terrible consequences of not coming up with real solutions to the issues facing us.

We must all recognize the terrible consequences of not coming up with real solutions to the issues facing us.