Archive
Spilling Subsidies to BP
BP’s catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrates how risky oil and gas drilling really is. For the 11 crew members killed in the Deepwater Horizon explosion, Gulf communities, ocean water and wildlife, the impacts were immediate. The long-term repercussions will also be devastating. Stopping the leak, cleaning up the mess, and restoring the economic viability to the Gulf’s many industries that rely on clean, healthy water is going to be an enormous challenge.
Running on Hot Air
Here’s my advice to you people upset with the way things are going: Run for public office (preferably the U.S. Senate, where you only have to fool the voters once every six years). Remember, whether you’re part of the problem or part of the solution, you can extort a ton of money from corporations that want to buy your vote.
Rigging the Rules against Unions
There’s one direct, grassroots way that workaday folks can create more fairness in our country’s plutocratic, corporate-controlled economy: unite in unions. Indeed, some 60 million workers say they’d join a union today if they could.
Downplaying the Mess of War
The best part of America’s wars is that, except for limited attacks during WWII, all our conflicts have been fought on somebody else’s soil since the battle of Appomattox. This represents good and careful planning. You certainly don’t want your own constituents grousing about residual Agent Orange, depleted uranium, unexploded ordnance, blown-up bridges, or torn-down homes.
Segregation Ghost
New Thinking on Cutting the Deficit
The Hill reported Friday on a congressional panel, commissioned by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), which proposed a new mindset toward defense.
Fresh Thinking on National Security
Everyone wants America to be safe and secure. And our government has a wide array of tools for accomplishing that.
It’s Time to End our Dependence on Oil
What I have seen during my visits to the Gulf of Mexico is shocking, horrifying, and heartbreaking. One bird, covered in oil, struggled again and again to take off from the water. It’s the kind of image you want to share, not because it’s beautiful, but because you want so badly for people to understand.
Banks Profit While Our Farmers Fail
A recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago indicated that 11 percent of Wisconsin farmers with existing lines of credit may not have credit extended next year; this is especially significant because of the a 56 percent decline in net farm income in 2009. Dairy farmers have received prices far below their costs of production for nearly two years. With eroding equity, many are in immediate danger of losing their farms.
Our Choice: Tune out Washington or Help Rebuild
Way back in the 1960s, I held that my body was “a temple of God.” Thanks to my Christian beliefs, I wouldn’t corrupt it with mind-altering drugs. As a citizen, I saw my responsibility as finding a way to drop into government, not out of it. I made a choice to be part of a solution to the problems of war, misspent tax dollars, and racism.
