Carter and the Elders attempt to broaden the Peace Farce discourse and a look at the current breakdown between Hamas and Fatah…

Former President Bill Clinton — a favorite both in Israel, and amongst pro-Israel supporters here in the US — recently made an abrupt shift in his public statements on Israel, breaking completely from the dominant ‘neo-conservative, inner-beltway’ narrative on US foreign policy in the Middle East.

It’s been nearly 35 years since we’ve had a “tax and spend” political party. During the 1970s, the Democrats gave up fighting the Republicans about the “tax and spend” label, and the Carter Administration tried to escape from that charge by making very serious attempts to balance the budget. During the 1980s, more and more Democrats emphasized their concern for reducing deficits and balancing budgets as a way of distinguishing themselves from the Reagan Administration’s unprecedented peacetime deficits. This didn’t work for them during Reagan’s time, but they finally were able to use the balanced budget old-time religion game to get George Bush to violate his no new taxes pledge, which both contributed to the Bush recession and, as a further consequence, was a big reason why Bill Clinton was elected.

Weekly Mulch: Would You Eat Bugs to Fight Climate Change?

North Korea’s got another U.S. citizen being held captive in their closed off state. Last year around this time, we remember that Bill Clinton came to the rescue for two American journalists who were being held hostage. This time around, another former president is ready to venture into the country and hopes to come out with another imprisoned U.S. Citizen

The Left finally makes an effort to debunk the historic “successes” of the Supply Side Economic theory.

In America, wind turbines echo the almost melodic taunt of a schoolyard victor — Neh-neh-neh-neh-neh-neh: You can’t get me. That’s because American wind turbines are the manifestation of freedom from foreign oil. The more American wind turbines, the fewer barrels of oil America must import to meet its energy needs. And American-built wind turbines help propel the nation out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression by generating good-paying American jobs.

New decade and it is the same old flim flam going on with new buzz phrases. Back in the 1980s during merger mania, Carl C. Icahn said of layoffs “that the layoffs that do occur are really getting rid of the fat that is not productive for society.”

Some Americans may be surprised to see Turkey playing a more independent role. Liz Cheney says Turkey is part of a new axis of evil that wants to destroy Israel. It’s quite opportune that Stephen Kinzer has a new book out this week that argues the opposite case: Turkey’s more independent policy is good for America.

The Obama Administration is putting together a presidential commission to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster. It is expected to be similar to past presidential commissions like the space shuttle Challenger disaster and the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. Will it make recommendations and conclusions about this deadly form of energy that are necessary? Or will it seek to re-brand and legitimize an industry?