Free Republic

One of the most vexing questions animating observers and analysts of Iranian politics is: why despite being extremely unpopular and incompetent, are the fundamentalists still in power? One factor that may provide a partial explanation is the huge change of the dominant ethos among large sectors of the population. In the 1970s and 1980s, the dominant ethos among large sectors of the Iranian people was idealistic, altruistic, and celebrated sacrifice for the greater good. Today, on the contrary, the predominant ethos have become excessive selfishness, acquisitiveness, cynicism, and lack of willingness to make the smallest sacrifice to protect the common...

This revolution is so fake that even the poster of their adoring crowds are sometimes faked. Below the picture of the poster being published in the papers as advertising for Governor of Anzoategui Tarek William Saab, where he is shown surrounded by a crowd of admirers, supposedly on the celebration of the success of his first 1000 days in office. Except that the picture is simply fake as shown in the three blowups, where one can see that the people in the picture "repeat" as the whole thing is simply acollage of the same people repeated in the picture. If...

LONDON, Feb 12 (IranMania) - German police banned Thursday's rally by Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO) in Berlin, fearing possible violent acts by the Iraq-based terrorist group, a police spokeswoman told IRNA. "The demonstration was cancelled by police because they had doubts about the peaceful slogans of the rally which was supposed to be about Iran's human rights situation and its nuclear program," she said. The MKO organizers wanted to begin the gathering at noon in downtown Berlin. She pointed out that MKO supporters were told via police loudspeakers that the rally has been banned and that they should leave the...

<p>Borrowing money is one of the least desirable ways to deal with the state budget deficit, according to Orange County residents in a poll response that underlines the difficulty Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces with his proposed $15 billion bond.</p> <p>The November poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 39 percent of county voters prefer a mix of budget cuts and tax increases to bridge the deficits, while 36 percent would like to rely mostly on cuts. Just 8 percent named borrowing.</p>

When he first ran for the state's top job, Gray Davis called himself the "best-trained governor-in-waiting" the state had ever seen, and today his resume boasts five elections to statewide office, two terms in the Assembly, and chief of staff to a governor. So how did Gray Davis become so unpopular? Recall backers say it's a failure of leadership as crisis after crisis rocked California. The economy, energy, state finances, workers' compensation -- just about everything went wrong -- and instead of providing solutions, they say, Davis was looking after special interests. Nonsense, Davis responded, recall is part of a...

It was a string of events, not one by itself, that prompted conservatives to launch the recall petition drive that has brought a historic election on the fate of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis to California, political analysts say. But some of those events ---- among them, the rolling blackouts of 2001, Davis' negative campaign tactics of 2002 and his aggressive fund raising ---- were outweighed by what analysts say was the single biggest factor: the state budget crisis. "The budget crisis wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back, it was more like a 100-pound sack of cement," said Ted...

<p>Sacramento -- Approval ratings for the Legislature have dipped below those for embattled Gov. Gray Davis, in a new poll that shows voters unhappy with the way elected officials from both political parties have handled the budget crisis.</p> <p>Only 19 percent of California voters said they approve of the job the Legislature is doing, according to a Field Poll released today. The previous low was a 23 percent show of approval in 1992 when the state was bogged down by recession and budget gridlock.</p>

<p>Does Gray Davis ever lie awake at night wondering why he's the most disliked and mistrusted California governor in recorded history and is facing a potential recall election?</p> <p>And if he does, does he have the intellectual honesty to admit to himself that his own passivity and penchant for taking what he considers to be the easy way out of problems are at the root of his poor public standing? Or does he really believe the propaganda his minions disgorge about his being the victim of wretched fate and the shortcomings of others?</p>

Nativo Lopez may be a bad omen for Gov. Gray Davis. Last month, Lopez, a little-known school board candidate in Santa Ana, was recalled by local voters, who accused him of fiscal mismanagement and failure to enforce California's Proposition 227, which limits bilingual education in our schools. A landslide 71 percent of the populace -- less than the 75 percent of Californians who disapprove of the job Davis is doing -- voted him out. And Lopez' malfeasance was minor compared to what many people believe Davis is guilty of. Historically, Californians have tried to recall their governor 31 times. Each...