Author Archive
Working People in Poverty at the University of California
Author: RobbieThe University of California employs thousands of people to keep the business of educating California’s young people running smoothly. These people work every day to keep the ten campuses that make up the UC system clean and safe. They are also responsible for feeding students, faculty, administrators and campus visitors. These people work hard every [...]
Read moreRyan Lizza Should Spend Less Time Worshipping Larry Summers’ Tumescent Brain and More Time Asking Hard Questions About Obama’s Economic Policy
Author: RobbieNote: The original version of this post has been censored. If you would like to see the original version, go here. I’m working on a longer post about the current status of the U.S. economy, but I want to quickly note that Ryan Lizza’s article for the New Yorker, though impeccably written, is really quite [...]
Read moreWe’re Not the Only State with a Budget Crisis…
Author: Robbie…but we are the only state held hostage by minority rule that refuses to consider any measure to raise some revenue in order to close the budget gap and thereby prevent teachers from being laid off, health services from being cut, criminals from being released early and parks from closing (as well as myriad other [...]
Read moreA Thoughtful Conservative Critique of the Obama Administration (!!!)
Author: RobbieI know, it’s hard to believe. But contrary to what you may have presumed from constantly hearing about the hijinks of Glenn Beck, Michael Steele and Michelle “I only stopped ranting against the US Census after a census worker was murdered for doing his job in Kentucky” Bachmann, there are still serious conservatives out there [...]
Read moreOne Step Closer to Peace in Afghanistan
Author: RobbieAntiwar activists, foreign policy realists and fans of Woodrow Wilson’s principle of national self-determination should celebrate as the New York Times reports that many within both the Obama Administration and the military are skeptical of General Stanley McChrystal’s plan to escalate the eight-year-old war in Afghanistan with a massive new commitment of additional troops and [...]
Read moreWhy the Public Option Is Central to Health Care Reform
Author: RobbieImagine your ideal health insurance plan. First of all, it’s there when you need it; so when you get sick, you get care. It can’t be cancelled because of a loophole. It allows you to make your own health care decisions with consultation from your doctor and no interference from insurance company bureaucrats. It won’t [...]
Read moreOde to Former Nixon Speechwriter
Author: RobbieWilliam Safire died today. Many have memorialized him as an oracle of language and a Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist, but I will always remember him as the man who wrote speeches for a president who committed war crimes against millions of people in Vietnam and Cambodia while simultaneously abusing executive power to [...]
Read moreWashington Post Worries About World’s Wealthiest People So You Don’t Have To
Author: RobbieAside from the indispensable Ezra Klein, I don’t usually read the Washington Post because it seems to have adopted a policy of deliberately misleading its readers on its editorial page while its news section…well, the less said, the better. But the other day as I was walking into Moffitt Library, a WaPo headline caught my [...]
Read moreCoal and Oil Companies Should Clean Up Their Own Mess
Author: RobbieEarlier this year, President Obama asked Congress to send him legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. Democratic leaders in Congress have been quick to respond. The House of Representatives has already passed a major climate and energy bill that will transform our [...]
Read moreAn Argument for the Public Option
Author: RobbiePresident Obama has set a clear goal of comprehensive health care reform before the end of this year. He has boldly determined that deferring urgent changes to the American health care system cannot wait another year. But in accomplishing this goal, Congress has a responsibility to make sure health care reform serves the public interest [...]
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