by Eric Lotke | Sep 22, 2015 | Democracy
People are excited by Pope Francis's visit to America. Crowds will be huge and a privileged few will meet him in person. On Sunday the Pope will visit a prison in Philadelphia. Why is Francis spending precious papal time behind bars? The answer is in a statement...
by Jim Hightower | Sep 22, 2015 | Blog, Democracy
Once upon a time, presidential contenders and their political parties raised the funds needed to pay for the campaigns. How quaint. For the 2016 elections, thanks to the Supreme Court’s malicious meddling in the democratic process, corporations and billionaires have...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 22, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
There used to be something called "the HP Way." This was the description of the way Hewlett-Packard (HP) conducted its business and treated its employees and customers. Management was informal, and the majority of the company’s engineers worked in an open environment,...
by Leo Gerard | Sep 22, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Jobs and Growth, Progressive Vision, This Is The GOP
Last week, Scott Walker one-upped the gang of GOP presidential candidates all jostling for the coveted Republican title of Best Billionaire Bootlicker. He accomplished that by announcing with pomp and fanfare that, unlike those other Republican pansies, a President...
by Bill Scher | Sep 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
Senate Makes First Move Senate GOP leadership will move first to keep government open. W. Post: "...the Senate would first vote on a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that would include language blocking funds from going to Planned Parenthood ... [After a...
by Richard Eskow | Sep 22, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
Pope Francis’ first visit to the United States begins with his arrival in Washington D.C. on Tuesday afternoon. From the nation’s capital he goes to its economic capital, New York City, before concluding his trip with a visit to the nation’s birthplace in...
by Robert Reich | Sep 21, 2015 | Conservatism, Gender Justice
The Republican assault on Planned Parenthood is filled with lies and distortions, and may even lead to a government shutdown.The only thing we can say for sure about it is it’s already harming women’s health.For distortions, start with presidential candidate Carly...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 21, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
Last week Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tried to give his faltering presidential campaign a boost by proposing to essentially get rid of unions in the U.S. His proposals included banning government-employee unions, abolishing the National Labor Relations Board, creating...
by Bernie Horn | Sep 21, 2015 | Blog
Recently, The New York Times published a front-page story headlined “Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many U.S. Cities.” Much of the media have run similar reports, including USA Today, Reuters and Time. First we must consider whether the storyline is entirely true....
by Bill Scher | Sep 21, 2015 | Uncategorized
Pressure For More Dem Debates NH Democratic Party convention heckles DNC chair. The Hill: "Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz repeatedly attempted on Saturday to quiet an audience of 4,000 ... she interrupted her prepared remarks on at...
by Bill Scher | Sep 21, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Progressive Vision
"We don't know what he's going to say until he says it," a White House aide says of Pope Francis. Pope Francis arrives in America on Tuesday, meets with President Obama on Wednesday, addresses Congress on Thursday and then the United Nations on Friday. But no one...
by Terrance Heath | Sep 18, 2015 | Conservatism, This Is The GOP
A 14-year-old high school freshman and budding scientist build his own clock, and brought it to school to show his teacher. Instead, he got arrested, and wingnuts lost their minds. Because he was Muslim, of course. When 14-year-old freshman Ahmed Mohamed arrived at...
by Jeff Bryant | Sep 18, 2015 | Blog, Education
Teachers unions are routinely vilified by pundits and politicians on the right and left these days. So when schoolteachers in Seattle began the school year by going on strike, the editorial board of The Seattle Times was quick to accuse the teachers of “demanding too...
by Bill Scher | Sep 18, 2015 | Blog, Election 2016
After Carly Fiorina said at the Republican debate, "If you want to stump a Democrat, ask them to name an accomplishment of Mrs. Clinton," Politico Magazine tested the proposition and asked 20 Democrats. I was asked, and I was not stumped. Here is my contribution:...
by Bill Scher | Sep 18, 2015 | Uncategorized
Fiorina Gets a Closer Look Carly Fiorina would be a worse candidate than Romney, says NYT's Timothy Egan: "...she’s a terrible candidate in the age of income inequality and a battered middle class. Mitt Romney was pummeled for investing in companies that close...
by Robert Borosage | Sep 18, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
Before turning on the Republican debate on Wednesday night, I had begun writing an article on Hillary Clinton’s alarmingly bellicose foreign policy ideas. But Hillary’s hawkish stance is a portrait of restraint in contrast to the adolescent muscle flexing and locker...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Sep 17, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
Hours before the Federal Reserve was to announce whether it would increase interest rates, several dozen protesters gathered outside Federal Reserve offices in downtown Washington to demand that the Fed keep interest rates where they are, arguing that the economy as...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 17, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
Private prisons with a profit incentive to put more and more people in jail? Lobbyists exerting influence against releasing prisoners so their companies can make more money? Contracts requiring governments to imprison a certain number of people for a minimum amount of...
by Bill Scher | Sep 17, 2015 | Uncategorized
Fiorina Trumps Trump Carly Fiorina seen as winner of GOP debate, despite numerous falsehoods. Vox's Ezra Klein: "Her answer on Russia, for instance, was bizarre. The Sixth Fleet is already huge ... President Obama is already conducting military exercises in the...
by Bill Scher | Sep 17, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
You might think that three hours is enough time for a presidential debate to offer up ideas on how to grow the economy. You might think that a group of 11 people with such varied backgrounds – two CEOs, three senators, five current and former governors and one doctor...
by Richard Eskow | Sep 16, 2015 | Blog, Economy
As of midday today, it remains unclear whether or not the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates on Thursday. If it does, it will be the first time rates have been raised since June 2006. Why is this even a matter of debate? For one thing, it appears that the Fed...
by Donald Kaul | Sep 16, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
To hear Republican presidential candidates tell it, you’d think the most important issue facing the nation is Hillary Clinton’s old emails. Not climate change, not the growing gap between the filthy rich and the deserving poor, and not our crumbling roads, declining...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 16, 2015 | Blog, Democracy, Progressive Vision
The second Republican Presidential candidate debate is tonight. The ratings for the first one were through the roof and tonight's is also expected to be a ratings blockbuster. People are interested and tuning in to the campaign and the Republicans are getting all the...
by Dean Baker | Sep 16, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth, Progressive Vision
NPR had a bizarre piece on the Labor Department's new overtime rules which seemed intended to undermine support for them. These rules would increase from $23,660 to $50,440, the floor under which salaried workers would automatically qualify for overtime regardless of...
by Bill Scher | Sep 16, 2015 | Uncategorized
Target Trump Candidates prepare to take on Trump in second GOP debate tonight. Time: "'We kept waiting for him to do himself in. That hasn’t happened, so it’s time to help that process along,' one adviser to a Trump rival said. Added a second campaign’s strategist:...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 16, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
When "Jeb!" Bush started campaigning for president, people starting asking, "Wait, was W the smart one?" Now the rest of the Republican candidates are causing people to ask, "Wait, is Trump the reasonable one?" Wednesday night we will all get a chance to see the next...
by James A. Haught | Sep 15, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
One of my history-minded friends has a long-range political view summed up in three words: Liberals always win. Complex social struggles may take centuries or decades, he says, but they eventually bring victory for human rights, more democratic liberties and other...
by Terrance Heath | Sep 15, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
Anti-gay Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis has gone back to work, and back to square one. Although she shows no signs of going away, conservatives want Davis’ saga to be over — and soon. Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who went to jail rather than issue — or...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 15, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
Should the U.S. enter into special trade relationships with countries that violate basic principles of human dignity? Will our country prioritize people, human rights, and morality — or corporate profits? Pride@Work hopes our country will prioritize human rights in...
by Leo Gerard | Sep 15, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Jobs and Growth
Jeff Smisek, the guy forced by scandal to resign last week as CEO of the world’s fourth-largest airline, is a major reason American workers can’t get a raise. Smisek and his overpaid boardroom buddies nationwide have swindled American workers and American communities...
by Bill Scher | Sep 15, 2015 | Uncategorized
Progressives Ready To Greet Pope Moral Action on Climate Justice Rally to coincide with Pope Francis' Sept 24th congressional address: Join the Moral Action for Climate Justice Rally to demand urgent action on the climate crisis – and a strong response to the cry of...
by Robert Borosage | Sep 15, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
Jeremy Corbyn, a sexagenarian socialist and vegetarian teetotaler, and for 32 years a prickly, independent backbencher in the British parliament, has been elected in a landslide to lead the British Labour Party. The victory of the “British Bernie Sanders” raises the...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Sep 14, 2015 | Economy, Election 2016, Progressive Vision
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Monday went to a pillar of the religious right – Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. – to make the case that fighting for economic justice is as moral an undertaking as such cornerstone issues for Christian...
by Jeff Bryant | Sep 14, 2015 | Blog, Education
"We're making decisions just based on the money.” That’s Rosemarie Jensen talking, a tone of exasperation creeping into her voice as she describes the influence of money on education policy in South Florida. “Some things should be run like a business," she tells me in...
by Bill Scher | Sep 14, 2015 | Blog, Climate
Two years ago, Australia delivered a warning to American climate activists, when voters threw out the ruling Labor Party and installed right-wing Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott, who pledged to repeal Labor's carbon tax. It was a reminder how treacherous energy...
by Bill Scher | Sep 14, 2015 | Uncategorized
Bernie Goes To Heart Of Red America Bernie Sanders speaks at Liberty University today. NYT: "Mr. Sanders has acknowledged that his views on social issues, especially on same-sex marriage, are at odds with most of the Liberty students, but he says he hopes to find...
by Roger Hickey | Sep 13, 2015 | Blog, Education
MaryGreenSwig Steven L.Swig RogerHickey The student debt many Americans took on in their youth is following them to the grave. Now many of these student debtors are seniors whose Social Security benefits are being garnished to continue to pay those loans they took out...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 11, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
In the 2008 campaign President Obama promised workers he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that had cost so many jobs and wages, and devastated so many communities. When he took office, he didn't. Recently, the administration declared...
by Terrance Heath | Sep 11, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
Things got ugly this week, when Fox News anchor Shep Smith told the truth about Kentucky county clerk, and anti-gay theocrat, Kim Davis. The truth hurts, and wingnuts didn’t like it one bit. Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Sep 11, 2015 | Education
[fve]https://youtu.be/4kzDSDBkFB8[/fve] A new study released by Brookings this week offers new context for the debate on the student loan crisis by shining a light on the outsized role of for-profit colleges in increasing debt and loan defaults. "The so-called student...
