- Maine. When I applauded Maine for the diversity of its political system, I noted that its GOP governor had been a disaster. He is not alone. Tea Party Republicans have at least one more loon: party chairman Charlie Webster announced that Obama’s victory was a fraud because “in some parts of the state, there were dozens of black people who came into vote. Nobody in town knew them.” While it is certainly true that African Americans, who compose 1.3% of Maine’s population, would have stood out in rural towns, there must have been a lot of them trucked in to swing the election. Obama beat Romney by over 100,000 votes of the 700,000 cast. The Obama election team may be ruthless, but it isn’t stupid, and the image of busloads of Blacks heading north on the Maine Turnpike defies reason. Webster’s claims have never been validated, nor has the question of how he became GOP chairman ever been adequately answered.
- Global Warming doubters. 2012 has proved (again) to be one of the hottest years on record, and Arctic icecap melting outpaced both 2011’s rate and predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- Common Sense. By a vote of 138 to 9 (with 41 abstentions) the UN granted Palestine nonmember observer status. If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, why did the U.S. vote against the resolution, which isolates Hamas and reaffirms the two-state solution? Do Israel and the US think they can choose the Palestinians’ negotiating team? When elections were last held, Hamas won. It’s time to get real.