The Debt Ceiling Crisis

This is a manufactured crisis precipitated by a Republican Party and its leadership held hostage by eighty some House freshmen beholden to the lunatic Tea Party and held bent on sticking to principles even at the expense of national interests. The truth of the matter is that Speaker John Boehner cannot control his caucus and therefore whatever concessions and compromises he has been successfully wrung from the White House and Senate Democrats are never enough to placate or satisfy his membership. Just where all this ends up is anybody's guess but one thing is certain: serious harm has already been done to the reputation and standing of the United States in the international community.

Strange Bedfellows

Among those Americans who count themselves part of the Tea Party Movement, 52% of respondents to The New York Times/CBS News Poll said that in recent years far too much attention has been made of the problems confronting black folks. In contrast, Tavis Smiley, the irrepressible bloviator and self-appointed black leader, has been severely critical of the Obama administration for not paying sufficient attention to what Smiley terms the black agenda.