"...excuse me if I don’t join those who dismiss Sarah Palin or her Tea Party crowd or take consolation in the polls showing that 71% of Americans feel she is not qualified to be president. I’m frightened by the 26% who think she is qualified (including 42% of all Republicans). The crowds that cheer her on or respond with delight to the bigoted remarks of Tom Tancredo shouldn’t be dismissed. They are reason to be concerned, very concerned."

"If it’s wrong to win support for a campaign by exploiting anti-black bias, playing on fears of “crime and violence”, and if it is wrong to portray Jews as “controlling Hollywood and the banks” then it is equally wrong to try to sell your energy plan using anti-Arab sentiment."

"Last summer, I saw hundreds of children and other civilians at the Helmand Refugee Camp District 5, a miserable makeshift encampment in Kabul. The U.S. government had ample resources for bombing their neighborhoods in the Helmand Valley -- but was doing nothing to help the desperate refugees to survive after they fled to Afghanistan’s capital city."

Oratory can be nice, but budget numbers tell us where an administration is headed. In 2010, this one is marching up a steep military escalator, under the banner of “defense.”

"...the wind is out of the President’s sails, the situation on the ground is more troubled and complicated, and the Israelis, though facing some international pressure, are feeling that they have regained the upper hand in the U.S. What can be done? The answer to this question is, most certainly, not to wait for “magic” from Obama or Mitchell. There are concrete steps Arabs can take during this period. First and foremost on the agenda should be to follow the Saudi lead to achieve a broader Arab consensus that will both restore some degree of Palestinian unity, pressing and helping them to rebuild their house and support an institution-building effort, like that laid down by Salam Fayyed. It will also be important for the Palestinians to lay out an agenda for confronting the occupation and activating and mobilizing their base in non-violent direct action."

"The only recourse for the President is to go on the offensive as he did last week in pushing for a more populist agenda. If Democrats cower after losing Massachusetts and muddy their reform agenda, there will be more losses in November, but if they fight back and project a clearer message, they might get something done between now and the mid-term elections."

"Hollywood churns out an insipid diet of zombies, vampires, cartoonish action, angels, devils, torture, comic books, teen sex farces, sequels, prequels, remakes and bastardizations of TV shows. Recycling may be good for the planet, but in a creative medium like movies, it's an admission of intellectual bankruptcy." -- Miriam Kale, movie critic

"At the end of the day, Robertson should be free to say or believe whatever he wants, however vile his views may be. That is not the issue. Rather it is that his political influence and power should be exposed and challenged, and those who accept his support should be held accountable."