The Sunday Liberal Reader

Many of you out there have often wondered just what goes on in the twisted mind of a Liberal blogger. We're often accused of spouting Liberal “talking points” which is funny because I've always thought that was much more of a Republican Party thing (see Frank Luntz). Liberals tend to be more "free range."

I wasn't always this way. For much of my adult life I blindly followed the conventional wisdom of my peers. I voted for Reagan twice and was an early listener of both Rush Limbaugh and Neil Boortz. This began to change for me during the Bush years as I realized that Republicans had become expert at using religion and patriotism to fool middle class voters into supporting policies that were not in their best interest; tax cuts for millionaires, the deregulation of financial markets, phony wars, etc. So I turned off FOX News and talk radio and reverted to the rebelliousness of my youth.

Today I follow a wide range of pundits, environmentalist, humorists, politicians and journalists on Twitter and other social media that often expose me to news and opinion that I might otherwise miss. I've always been somewhat of a news junkie so I typically read dozens of articles each week from all corners of the internet.

With that in mind I've been meaning to put together a semi-regular column to share some of the best finds from my ramblings, so this week I'm introducing The Sunday Liberal Reader. Hope you enjoy:

• Retired Maj. Gen. Roger R. Blunt sets the record straight on the UN's arms trade treaty.
• Are genetically modified mosquitoes in your future? Former Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope sounds a warning.
• The Koch brothers have vowed to spend $400 million of their vast fortune electing this year's Republican nominee for President. Here's a Mother Jones piece from 2011 introducing you to the folks who intend to buy this years election. Many of the names have already popped up during the Republican primary race.
• This week the Republican controlled House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act...for the 33rd time. No fooling. Ezra Klein gives us 14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever.
• If you've not heard of Libor, you soon will. Bill Moyer digs into the unfolding financial scandal that promises to topple some of our biggest banks and the banksters who use them as their personal ATMs.
• When the economy hit the fan in 2008 as the mortgage bubble burst, The Republican spin machine was quick to pin it on greedy home buyers and the villains at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac absolving the people who profited the most from artificially inflated home prices from their share of responsibility. Recent reporting shows that alibi is starting to unravel. It seems the National Community Reinvestment Coalition was sounding the alarm about inflated real estate appraisals as early as 2005. The NCRC's recent testimony before congress sheds even more light on this issue.
• If you love fresh sweet corn as much as I do, you're in for some bad news. Unprecedented high temperatures and drought have taken their toll on this year's crop. Reminds me of a song.
• A funny love story from Janey Godley's blog, written in tweets from a London train.
• And just so you'll know I'm a fair and balanced kind of guy I'll close this week with a rather disturbing piece from the American Enterprise Institute. Grab your muskets folks. The poor folks are coming! The poor folks are coming!

Always remember: stay informed, read liberally. As a friend of mine likes to say, "educate yourself and vote!"