Blog Archive: December, 2011

Our lives are defined by invisible wars, wars whose theater of combat is the human imagination. These economic and political wars are waged year in and year out, decade after decade, century after century.

Words are the weapons of choice in these wars, and the corporate-backed radical right adds new ones to its arsenal every year. This year was no different. From "entitlement reform" to "triggers," the corporate oligarchs couched their aggression in decoy language that made it possible for Democrats as well as Republicans to launch them on an unsuspecting public.

But something was different this year. This was the year that the people came up with some words of their own, outside the corporate- and billionaire-funded think tanks of conservatism. For the first time in many years, the right-wing warriors of language ran into heavy resistance. That's an important development that should be celebrated -- and repeated.

War of the Words

The corporatists own the Republican Party, and large swathes of the Democratic Party too. Most Americans disagree with their ambitions, but they've been so good at designing and using these linguistic weapons that the public hasn't had a chance. Major media journalists have used these words as mantras, while too many Democrats have embraced them for their own selfish purposes.

That's why they keep winning so many battles, no matter who's in power.

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I heard one of my favorite holiday songs on the radio yesterday — John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." I've always loved it, but this year it holds special meaning for me — especially the children of the Harlem Community Choir singing "War is over, if you want it." on the chorus .

This holiday season, I'm getting something that — as a progressive — I have wanted for years: an end of the war in Iraq. As it happens, this "gift" is like many given and received this time of year. You never really know what you're getting until you unwrap it. Once unwrapped, it's not to be quite what you thought or hoped it would be. And, even with price tag removed, you know it cost way too much.

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You may have heard that Verizon is going to charge customers a $2 "convenience fee" to pay their bills online. You may not have heard that Verizon is asking its workers to take cuts in their pensions, sick pay, health insurance, even disability for employees injured on the job. These examples of corporate greed are cut from the same cloth. more »

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See if you can spot the big mistake (giving them the benefit of the doubt) in this Washington Post story: Payroll tax cut raises worries about Social Security’s future funding: more »

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As New Year's Day approaches, here's wishing you a Happy New Year 2001! That's right, 2001:

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In November President Obama said, "enough is enough" to China's currency manipulations. Today the Treasury Department said it hasn't seen enough to call China a currency manipulator. more »

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In the iconic Christmas film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” an angel offers the beleaguered main character, George Bailey, the stark choice between a hometown named for a cruel banker or one created by and for the middle class.

The banker’s town, Pottersville, is filled with bars, gambling dens and despair. more »

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For a ten-year stretch in my life I was fortunate to spend every Christmas in Jamaica. In Jamaica, Christmas is a far more modest affair than it is here in the US. For sure, during the days leading up to “the Christmas,” the markets are packed with shoppers and the transports whizzing up and down the coastal road are stuffed to over-flowing with passengers. more »

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Who is our economy for, anyway? In the United States We, the People are supposedly in charge and our country and economy are supposed to be managed for the public good. But that isn't how things have been working out, is it?

Let's take a quick look at America over the last few decades. more »

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