Archive
No Message on the Bottle
There’s plenty to look at on bottled water labels: claims of purity, images of mountain springs, and fine print on filtering processes. The problem is, amidst all the clutter, consumers can seldom find information to verify the marketing claims being made.
Multinational Shell Game Hurts Local Business
As a small business owner, I pay my taxes and give charitable contributions to ensure that my community is a healthy and vibrant place. My company is dedicated to making technology, communications, and the Internet in line with federal disability laws and accessible to everyone–including wounded veterans and people with all types of disabilities. The success of my business is tied to my community’s health.
Our Grandchildren Deserve Better Politicians
We live in grim times, which is why you have to take your laughs where you can get them. For example, in Washington, where Republican congresspeople keep talking about their concern for their grandchildren as an excuse for voting against…well, practically everything: economic stimulus packages, financial reform, immigration reform, etc.
Last Call for Ethanol
Like a sailor on a late night bender, corn ethanol boosters are trying to cajole another drink from the subsidy tap before the lights come on. Some members of Congress seem all too ready to give in, costing taxpayers billions in the process. But in light of the yawning budget deficit and the failed promise, ethanol should be forced to make its own way in the marketplace.
GOP Goes ‘Grassroots,’ Washington-Style
Congressional Republicans have spent the first two years of the Obama administration as the rock-solid party of “no,” “uh-uh,” “no way,” “forget about it,” “nothing doing,” “we’re-agin-it-and-we’ll-kill-it.” This is one reason their job approval rating is in the ditch.
Our Prisons Don’t do us Justice
Prison numbers are tough to pin down. There is the federal system, there are 50 state systems, and no one is just sure how many local jails or military brigs. All told, professionals estimate that one in every 100 Americans resides in one of them.
Plugging WikiLeaks
Corporate Negligence by any Other Name
The BP oil disaster is wrecking many things, including company’s brand. Americans don’t seem to be losing interest in driving their cars, but many of us aren’t willing to refuel at a BP pump any more. “Some BP-branded gas stations reported sales declines of 10 to 40 percent from Florida to Illinois,” the Associated Press reports.
Wikileaks’ Afghan War Diary
Wikileaks released the Afghan War Diary this week, a compilation of 91,370 war documents that reveals what the Guardian calls “a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan.”
Beware of the Cowardly Deficit Vulture
There’s an invasive species in our national discourse, a recent arrival in our civic forest. It’s the “yellow-bellied deficit vulture,” recently spotted circling the Capitol building and heard squawking on syndicated talk shows.
