Archive
One Montana County’s Medicare-for-All Coverage
Back when he presided over the Senate’s health care reform debate, Max Baucus, chairman of the all-powerful Senate Finance Committee, had said everything was on the table — except for single-payer universal health care. When doctors, nurses, and others rose in his hearing to insist that single payer be included in the debate, the Montana Democrat had them arrested. As more stood up, Baucus could be heard on his open microphone saying, “We need more police.”
Tell the People about the People’s Budget
If you listen to the pundits and TV commentators, the federal budget problem has a simple solution: cuts, cuts, and more cuts. They cheer politicians for making “tough choices,” which usually entails taking money away from schools, stiffing public workers, and telling the poor and the elderly they need to make do with even less. Tough choices, indeed — but for whom?
America the Vulnerable
This March, federal prosecutors charged six members of an antigovernment group called the Alaska Peacemakers Militia with plotting to wage a campaign of murder and kidnapping against court officials and state troopers. They had already amassed an arsenal of weapons, including hand grenades, assault rifles, and a .50-caliber machine gun.
My Favorite Fourth of July Speech
I like the Fourth of July. Almost everyone does. Friends and neighbors gathered in parks and back yards throughout the nation, sharing food and drink and happy thoughts in a festive atmosphere. What’s not to like?
Perry’s Prayer-Palooza
When Texas became a republic in 1836, its constitution banned “ministers of the gospel” from holding any political office.
Think Indifferent
Pay Attention to Climate Change, Even if It’s Bad for Business
If a meteor were headed for Earth, there would be saturation media coverage. Little else would occupy the headlines. Schemes to deflect the collision would dominate the news.
The Lineup: Week of June 20-26, 2011
John Feffer says that Sen. Jim Webb would make a great Secretary of Defense, and Donald Kaul explains why Michele Bachmann isn’t a serious presidential candidate.
A Politician Who Distinguishes Fact from Fiction
I’d like to propose a new electoral law that would require all Senate candidates to be novelists. If we had 100 novelists in the Senate, the body might finally be able, like Sen. Jim Webb, to distinguish fact from fiction.
Paving the Road to a Hungrier, Unhealthier, and Less-Educated Nation
The number of poor children had already grown by 2.1 million in 2009, over pre-recession levels, with continuing high joblessness among parents raising concerns that poverty will continue to worsen for some time. Since kids who spend more than half their childhood in poverty earn on average 39 percent less than median income as adults, we can expect lasting costs that will hurt the nation’s future economic growth.
And yet, a majority of House lawmakers want to narrow the deficit by making things worse for today’s kids.
