Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz. PHOTO BY OLIVIER DOULIERY/TNS For presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, Feb. 1 was a good day. Not only did the Republican from Texas top presumed front-runner Donald Trump to win the influential Republican primary in Iowa that day, but Cruz also won a favorable ruling in Illinois saying he’s […]
Barack Obama
Posted inOpinion
Thieves get richer the old-fashioned way
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE With the 2016 presidential campaigns in full swing, the burdens of the working middle class have taken center stage. And believe it or not, there is bipartisan support from the front-runners on a key issue brought up over and over again. Donnie Trump is for it. Hillary Clinton […]
Posted inOpinion
Thanksgiving: from the White House to Wal-Mart
Thanksgiving – a time of grace and family sharing – will start with an extra-graceful act from the White House this year. Just as every president since Lincoln has done, Barack Obama will grant clemency to two turkeys that otherwise could’ve become the main entree for the first family’s holiday dinner. This traditional, presidential pardon […]
Posted inOpinion
Dumb and dumber: Political fearmongers
One thing you can say about Rick Perry is that he sticks to his guns. If one of his policy proposals turns out to be dumb, by golly, he will double down on dumb. For example, in his current re-run for the GOP presidential nomination, the “Oops” governor has repositioned himself as an expert on […]
Posted inNews
Does FutureGen have a future?
With U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois looking on, Ken Humphreys, CEO of the FutureGen Alliance, signs a labor agreement on Monday to provide union labor for the FutureGen project planned in a rural area outside Jacksonville. The agreement may signal that the long-delayed project is moving forward. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Illinois is one […]
Posted inNews
Davis roundtable criticizes ‘Obamacare’
Congressman Rodney Davis, R-Ill. (at right), opposes the federal health reforms known as “Obamacare.” Photo BY PATRICK YEAGLE Although the 2010 federal health insurance reforms have survived nearly 50 repeal attempts and a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court, the law remains controversial. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contains a variety of provisions […]
Posted inNews
The new American
With eyes wide open, I traveled to the District of Columbia during inauguration weekend hoping to experience what our country has to offer. I never was patriotic or felt like I could identify with other Americans. So celebrating America was something I was hesitant to be a part of but my thoughts would later change. […]
Posted inOpinion
Ballot-measure democracy a notable success in 2012
This being the season of giving, it’s worth looking back at some special gifts from November’s election that received little acknowledgement at the time. These victories came in campaigns that had no candidates – no Democrats, Republicans or other party designations. Rather, they were ballot initiatives – policy ideas put to a vote of people […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Softly a metaphor for our times
More like The Sopranos in tone and feel than Pulp Fiction, what with its lack of self-aware irony, Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly has more than a few axes to grind. Intent on throwing the last two administrations under the bus for their causing and mishandling of the 2008 economic collapse, the writer/director uses the […]
Posted inOpinion
Lord help us – bosses gone berserk
The sky is falling! The end times are upon us! It’s all over for America! And it’s all because of you execrable voters. This is the wretched wail of a few corporate chieftains who claim to be somewhere between flummoxed and furious that Barack Obama is back in the White House. With his diabolical Obamacare […]
Posted inOpinion
Obama must get going on jobs
Five days before taking the oath of office, Barack Obama called on the millions of people who had actively campaigned for him to be the engine for real change in America: “I don’t want them to just sit around and wait for me to do something. I want them to be pushing their agendas.” He […]
