Top of the Ticket - latimes.com http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/?track=rss Headlines from latimes.com en ©2014, latimes.com Fri, 7 Mar 2014 05:00:00 -0800 Conservatives harbor an odd admiration for Vladimir Putin By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-conservatives-admiration-for-putin-20140306,0,2492223.story?track=rss It is rather curious, given the American conservative movement’s long and dramatic history of anti-Communism and anti-Russian saber-rattling, that many leading voices on the right are speaking about Russian President Vladimir Putin with varying degrees of admiration.  Fri, 7 Mar 2014 05:00:00 PST Putin's Crimea grab shows he misunderstands 21st century power By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-putins-crimea-grab-20140303,0,357565.story?track=rss Russia seems to have learned little in the 160 years since the Crimean War. Launching ships and sending armies to grab land may work in the short term, but there are always negative consequences that bring big regrets later. Tue, 4 Mar 2014 05:00:00 PST Academy Awards acceptance speeches should be more than thank-yous By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-academy-awards-speeches-20140227,0,5126710.story?track=rss Sunday night, a happy cohort of entertainment folks will have their careers sprinkled with fairy dust at the 86thAcademy Awards. And, as happens every year, too many of them will clutch their Oscars and bore an audience of many millions with totally lame acceptance speeches. Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:00:00 PST Ukrainians steal their future back from Yanukovich and Putin By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-ukrainians-future-20140225,0,3906936.story?track=rss Watching the dramatic events in Ukraine unfold, I have harbored the hope that one or two of the thousands of people protesting in Kiev's Independence Square might have been encouraged to act on their dreams of liberty by words I spoke during a week in the city in September 2012.  Tue, 25 Feb 2014 05:00:00 PST A cartoon history of the Obama/tea party years http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-cartoon-history-20140221,0,4272568.story?track=rss Barack Obama was first sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2009, and, from that day to this, a battle for the soul of America has been waged. The half-decade since has been one of the most politically polarized periods in U.S. history as conservative talk radio hosts, Fox News commentators, secretive billionaire campaign financiers, the NRA, the tea party movement and right wing celebrities such as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck have all tried to delegitimize the first non-white president of the United States. Fri, 21 Feb 2014 15:00:00 PST Economic stimulus was too small from the start, thanks to GOP By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-economic-stimulus-20140219,0,2802032.story?track=rss This week marks five years since passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- President Obama’s economic stimulus plan -- and it has been either a great success or an abject failure, depending on who is doing the assessment. Thu, 20 Feb 2014 05:00:00 PST Nick Hanauer explodes the myth of the capitalist 'job creator' By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-job-creator-20140216,0,5524681.story?track=rss Especially when it comes to economic policy, too many politicians are motivated by myths more than by facts. A prime example: the myth of the job creators. Mon, 17 Feb 2014 05:00:00 PST Ice storm paradox: It's colder because the Earth is warmer By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-ice-storm-paradox-20140212,0,7056061.story?track=rss With the American South locked in a deep freeze, you can be sure that plenty of the folks suffering through the snow and ice storms are interpreting the big chill as more proof that global warming is a hoax. “Warming?” they scoff. “How can the planet be warming when it’s so darn cold?” Thu, 13 Feb 2014 05:00:00 PST Sochi Olympic Games are Russia's newest Potemkin village By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-potemkin-village-20140211,0,7970143.story?track=rss The Sochi Winter Olympic Games are the latest incarnation of Russia’s Potemkin villages. Tue, 11 Feb 2014 05:00:00 PST Corruption has already won the gold at the Sochi Winter Olympics By David Horsey http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-corruption-at-sochi-olympics-20140207,0,2525813.story?track=rss Ready or not, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi have begun and, if reports from the scene are accurate, Russia is not nearly ready for its big debut on the world stage. Fri, 7 Feb 2014 15:30:00 PST