The Koch boys, Charles and David, live in their own little world. It’s a special world, enshrouded in a rarefied atmosphere created by the fumes emanating from their family’s enormous stockpiles of wealth. Thus, the two brothers have always felt very special, and they also expect those of us in the down-to-Earth world to treat […]
Common Sense
Posted inOpinion
The militarization of ‘Officer Friendly’
Let’s check our weaponry: 93,000 machine guns – check! – 533 planes and helicopters – check! 180,000 magazine cartridges – check! 44,000 night-vision goggles – check! 432 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles – check! OK, let’s roll! Only, this is not the U.S. military getting ready to head into battle in a foreign land. It’s our local […]
Posted inOpinion
A bold shift in America’s minimum wage debate
At last, our political leaders in Washington are taking action for low-wage workers and the middle class, striking a bold blow for America’s historic values of economic fairness and common good. Gosh, I hope you don’t think I meant Washington, D.C.! No, no – the same old corporate mentality of stiffing workers and stripping any […]
Posted inOpinion
Wall street rewards Ben and Tim for stiffing you
Not only has the Wall Street bailout restored the banksters who wrecked (and are still wrecking) our economy to full prosperity but it’s also paying off very handsomely for the bank overseers who orchestrated the bailout. Perhaps you’ve been wondering: How are good ol’ Ben and Little Timmy doing these days? Extremely well – thank […]
Posted inOpinion
Has America gone crazy?
It might appear that the U-S-of-A has gone bonkers. So let me clear up any confusion that you might have: Yes, it has! Yet, it hasn’t. More on that in a moment. First, though – whether looking at the “tea party” congress critters who’ve swerved our nation’s political debate to the hard right, or at […]
Posted inOpinion
Koch brothers demand more
Hypothetical conundrums can provide some valuable learning experiences for students of corporate management and ethics, so let’s study one. Suppose you’re a corporate chieftain who’s an adamant acolyte of Ayn Randian, free-enterprise fundamentalism, despising government regulation, compulsory taxation and government intervention in the purity of the holy marketplace. But – whoopsie daisy – suddenly a […]
Posted inOpinion
The power of organizing
Hard work, we’re told, always pays off. Sure it does – ask a farmworker, a roofer or a home health aide. In our economy, those doing the hardest work get the worst pay, the weakest job protections, the least respect and zero say in the way things work. Such laborers are the downest and outest […]
Posted inOpinion
Growing ‘populist lobby’
Imagine a bold headline blaring, “An Army of 1,500 Lobbyists Swarms Capitol Hill.” But that wouldn’t be news, since it happens every day. In fact, an occupying army of Gucci-clad corporate lobbyists is permanently encamped in Washington, numbering not a mere 1,500 – but more than 12,000. Yes, that works out to nearly 22 lobbyists […]
Posted inOpinion
Rick Perry’s bespectacled mess
He’s back. And, this time, he has eyeglasses. Yes, Rick “Oops” Perry, is back, pitching himself for another presidential run. What fun! Who can forget the Texas governor’s nationally televised pratfall during a 2011 presidential debate, when he couldn’t remember the third federal agency he intended to ax? Well, he later sniffed on “Fox & […]
Posted inOpinion
From farm workers to cheerleaders
It doesn’t take an IQ much higher than room temperature to realize that it’s way past time to raise America’s sub-poverty minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. But let’s also pay attention to the millions of people trying to make ends meet on – believe it or not – America’s sub-minimum wage. Some of our […]
Posted inOpinion
NSA spying is here to stay
On Monday, April 14, the Washington Post and the Guardian U.S. newspapers received the Pulitzer for Journalism Public Service for their reports on NSA spying. In light of their hard work, let’s recap events of the last year. Embarrassed and irritated by Edward Snowden’s leaks, Obama charged last year at a press conference that Snowden […]
