At what point does a political party descend from mere tragic extremism into dangerous farce?

For the Texas GOP, it appears that point was reached this week, when the party released its official election platform.

Candidates for the party must now defend plans to reintroduce laws banning sodomy - defined as oral or anal sex. The platform also insists on legislation to make gay marriage a felony.

Nevermind that in 2003, the United States Supreme Court struck down a similar anti-sodomy law in the case... READ MORE

Only in Washington, D.C. could a law designed to increase voter awareness and access to information actually be labeled an affront to democracy.

And yet that is the ridiculously asinine spectacle currently unfolding in Congress.

But don't get too eager about taking sides - for while this story involves a toxic cocktail of selfishness and greed, it is a bi-partisan one.

Full disclosure: back in January, the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission that corporate... READ MORE

Nativism creeps up in US politics every generation in one form or another. Ironically, for a country built by immigrants, fears of large numbers of foreigners entering the country remain as palpable as ever.

But in Arizona, things have just taken an unprecedented turn for the worse.

There is no denying illegal immigration continues to occur in the United States in record numbers. Primarily the result of people crossing the border with Mexico, it is estimated that there were at least 11 million illegal... READ MORE

Today, 16 Afghan girls are recuperating in a hospital after they were poisoned and lost consciousness at their school.

This atrocity comes on the heels of similar incidents in April. 88 schoolgirls and teachers were poisoned in three separate incidents during that month as well.

The Taliban is the primary suspect for all these offences.

As the doctor treating the girls in one of the April incidents stated , these were "terrorist activities against education in the country."

To call these events... READ MORE

British Petroleum has finally given in to pressure to provide a live link to the oil spill , allowing scientists to get a better estimate as to how much is being released into the Gulf of Mexico. Their initial reluctance and slow response has been troublesome. The CEO recently came out and made a comment so full of ignorance you wonder how he could be the head of a major oil company, and furthermore, just how motivated he is to solving the problem. But it's part of a larger issue--our society's dependence... READ MORE

Here's an intellectual exercise for you: What common theme runs through the following series of recent events in the United States?

On November 5, 2009, US Army Major Nadil Hassan opens fire at a military base on Fort Hood, Texas and kills 13 people. Before he begins shooting, witnesses hear him shouting "Allahu Akhbar!" - "God is Great", in Arabic. Investigators also discover emails between Hassan and a known Islamic radical pre-dating the murders.

On Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab ... READ MORE

It's 1866, the Civil War is over and The United States has passed the Thirteenth Amendment making slavery illegal. Several Catholic plantation owners refuse to let their slaves go free. They are eventually arrested and brought before a court. They claim they are being discriminated against as Catholics, who are a minority religion in a predominantly Protestant America. Protected by the First Amendment, they have a freedom to religion, and this religion requires that they continue to practice slavery. They... READ MORE

Florida voters go to the polls this November to choose their next US Senator. The choice, emblematic of politics across the nation, is one between an experienced moderate and a neophyte "Tea Party" lunatic.

Sadly, the outcome is far from certain.

Governor Charlie Crist , for a long time considered the Republican Party's inevitable candidate, recently quit the party in the face of Marco Rubio's insurgent campaign for the Senatorial nomination. The implications of his move are nothing short of... READ MORE

Politics is a narcissist's game.

Rife with unctuous creeps, each one more full of himself than the next, it's hard to know sometimes who to hate the most. So many are just begging to be exposed as the liars and fraudsters they inevitably are. But it seems to rarely happen, no matter how much they deserve it.

Rarely, but not never.

This past week saw the release of The Politician , an insider's account of John Edwards' quest for the presidency and the scandal that ultimately brought his career to an... READ MORE

When did everyone in America apparently lose their minds?

Politics is often referred to as the art of compromise. The US government, much like other Western democracies, relies of a system of checks and balances to ensure no one branch of the government has unlimited power. When different parties share power, it should encourage cooperation.

You wouldn't know it from the Tea Party movement, a group that brings new meaning to the term lunatic fringe.

The Tea Party movement - which takes its name... READ MORE