Some people have a myriad of recurring nightmares about being publicly embarrassed, such as rising to give a speech and realizing you know nothing about the topic – then realizing you’re naked. You might be surprised to learn though, that corporations also have such nightmares. OK, corporations aren’t really people, no matter what the Supreme […]
Common Sense
Posted inOpinion
Wall Street walls off young farmers
We know from the childhood song that Old McDonald had a farm – but e-i-e-i-o – look who’s got his farm now! It’s groups like American Farmland and Farmland Partners. These aren’t dirt farmers wearing overalls and brogans, but Wall Street hucksters in Armani suits and Gucci loafers. The latest fast-buck fad for high-roller investment […]
Posted inOpinion
America’s natural politics
My father, W.F. “High” Hightower, was a populist. Only, he didn’t know it. Didn’t know the word, much less the history or anything about populism’s democratic ethos. My father was not philosophical, but he had a phrase that he used to express the gist of his political beliefs: “Everybody does better when everybody does better.” […]
Posted inOpinion
Help wash formaldehyde out of baby’s hair
In the U.S. alone, the cosmetics industry pulls in some $70 billion a year in sales of what’s commonly called “makeup.” But lipstick, blush, mascara, etc. are not the only kind of makeup the cosmetic giants are peddling. For years, their lobbyists, lawyers and PR agents have been making up facts, stories, half-truths and whole […]
Posted inOpinion
Sound advice to the Billionaire’s Club
I’ve noticed several CEOs, political pundits and so-called economic experts saying they’re confused as to why Americans are so down. Consumers should be out buying stuff, they say, for the economy is humming again. Just look at the key indicators: GDP is growing, corporate profits are high, the stock market is soaring, jobs are being […]
Posted inOpinion
What we’ve paid for war
War is hell. Major General Harold Greene could certainly tell you all about that – but, sadly, he’s dead. On Aug. 5, General Green became the highest-ranking American soldier to die in our unfathomable, 13-year war in Afghanistan, joining 2,339 other service members who’ve paid the ultimate price for being sent by warmongering politicians into […]
Posted inOpinion
GOP’s ‘hell no’ faction
Ah, August – that time of year when the going gets tough … and Congress gets going. On vacation that is. And, to be fair, maybe Congress needs a vacation. All the stress of not passing laws and constantly thwarting any attempt by President Obama to fix America’s problems seems to be straining their sanity. […]
Posted inOpinion
Post office is a money-making operation
One public service that people really like and count on is the post office – which literally delivers for us. Antigovernment ideologues and privatization dogmatists, however, hate the very word “public,” and they’ve long sought to demonize the U.S. Postal Service, undercut its popular support and, finally, dismantle it. Their main line of attack has […]
Posted inOpinion
Do-nothing Congress takes a vacation
Gosh, has it already been three weeks since Congress took a vacation? Those poor stiffs must be pooped from trying to catch up on all the heavy lifting that piled up while they were away from their lawmaking duties. And – gosh, again – in just a few days, Congress will go back on vacation, […]
Posted inOpinion
Can a $7 billion penalty be a good deal?
Media outlets across the country trumpeted the stunning news with headlines like this: “Citigroup Punished.” At last, went the storyline, the Justice Department brought down the hammer on one of the greed-headed Wall Street giants that are guilty of massive mortgage frauds that crashed our economy six years ago. While millions of ordinary Americans lost […]
Posted inOpinion
History is calling
Most of us celebrated July Fourth by barbecuing and setting off some fireworks. Some of us might have paused for a moment to reflect on that thing Jefferson wrote about 238 years ago: The Declaration of Independence. “We the People” are faced – right now – with another of those “when in the course of […]
Posted inOpinion
Walgreens ploy to tax dodge
How would you react if one of your neighbors announced that while he obviously benefits from having clean water, highways, Medicare, police protection, parks, schools, and other public services, he was no longer going to pay his part of the taxes that make them available? And what if this neighbor also said he was renouncing […]
