Archive
Meet the New Media Monopoly
For more than a century, American law has recognized the destructive power of corporate monopolies. When one company controls an entire resource, means of production, or delivery system for products, it gets an unfair advantage over competitors. It can overcharge them out of existence or drive them into bankruptcy. Since Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, our government has tried to ensure that monopolistic business practices don’t destroy fair pricing and consumer choice.
Wanted: 21st-Century Gun Laws for 21st-Century Weapons
Before the Tucson shootings are lost forever in the mists of time (which, given this country’s attention span, figures to be two weeks from now), we might do well to ponder the various reactions to the outrage.
Dumping on Texas for Fun and Profit
Thank you, California. And you, too, Florida, Maine, Missouri, and the 32 other states that intend to send a very special gift to Texas–namely, their radioactive waste. Now there’s a gift that truly keeps on giving!
Second Amendment Solutions
The Eternal Drug War
The Afghanistan War sometimes seems interminable. It just became the longest hot war in U.S. history. The Cold War was longer; Now Pentagon officials dream of holding Kabul longer than that. Europe’s Hundred Years War remains the record holder, but things moved slower back then.
Oh, Brother
Perhaps by now we are accustomed to the annual right-wing co-opting of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. Over at FPIF, Mark Engler offers an instructive example from the Pentagon. He quotes DoD’s general counsel Jeh C. Johnson: “I believe that if Dr. King were alive today, he would recognize that we live in a complicated world, and that our nation’s military should not and cannot lay down its arms and leave the American people vulnerable to terrorist attack.”
The Lineup: Week of January 17-23, 2011
Donald Kaul and John Feffer reflect on the insane national context for the tragic attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson.
Ruled by Rifles
The Pentagon and the National Rifle Association have a lot in common these days. They’re in love with guns. They maintain powerful lobbies. They refuse to acknowledge the dangerous consequences of their policies.
The Tragic U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan
Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If that doesn’t accurately describe the more than nine-year-old U.S. war in Afghanistan, I don’t know what does.
Baby Scapegoats
Named for the former lead singer in the band Genesis, little Peter Gabriel weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Congratulations, kid! Now, after your next diaper change, some politicians from Arizona, Georgia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina would like to check your papers.
