Author Archive
We’re Not the Only State with a Budget Crisis…
…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 (!!!)
I 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
Antiwar 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
Imagine 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
William 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
Aside 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
Earlier 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
President 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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