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Malcolm Bull reviews ‘A Perfect Moral Storm’ by Stephen Gardiner · LRB 24 May 2012

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The London Review of Books - By Malcolm Bull - May. 24 (Review) - For the benefit of anyone who has spent the past decade or so on a different planet, the most frequently asked questions about climate change on this one are as follows. Is it getting warmer? Yes, surface temperatures have risen by 0.8°C from pre-industrial levels. Are humans causing it? Almost certainly.

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This week in the War on Women: Damn broads are greedy, lying whores

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Daily Kos - By rss@dailykos.com (Kaili Joy Gray) - May. 20 (Opinion) - Praise great Gaia for the awesome perks of being a woman! Sure, we women may have once been second-class citizens, but ever since the radical feminists destroyed the patriarchal structure of our society and totally ended sexism forever, usurping all the levers of power in the public and private sector, it's been a non-stop gravy train of government handouts and free rides, as we enjoy our superior status in society by lording it over the oppressed menfolk. Am I right? No, of course not, but that's the mindset of the Republican Party, as it continues to wage war against women's rights and privileges. Damn broads have too many rights nowadays, and those excessive rights infringe on the more-important-rights of Catholic bishops who think women's health care restricts their religious liberty; the rights of men who abuse their wives and girlfriends because sometimes that's the only way to keep them in line; and the rights of Republican taxpayers to ensure that their money is not spent on ...

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"End This Depression Now"

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Paul Krugman, Amy Goodman - May. 17 (Interview) - Right now, there just is not enough spending, and we need the government, which can do it, to step in and provide the demand we need. ... We’ve had austerity in the face of a recession, in a way that we have never had before since the 1930s. ... And the results are clear: it’s disastrous."

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"We Need to Make a Ruckus": Robert Reich Hails Occupy for Exposing Concentration of Wealth and Power

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 08 (Interview) - In his new book, "Beyond Outrage," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich opens with a dedication to the Occupy Wall Street movement. He writes: "To the Occupiers, and all others committed to taking back our economy and our democracy." We speak to Reich about the success of Occupy in reshaping the national dialogue on the economy and why strong grassroots movements are needed to push elected leaders in Washington to enact a progressive agenda. Reich also discusses why austerity is not the answer to the economic crisis at home or in Europe. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Austerity Is So Wrong!

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Paul Krugman - May. 06 (Opinion) - In a new book, End This Depression Now!, Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman says the current economic problems can be fixed both more easily and more quickly than anyone imagines. But politicians’ desire to slash spending is deeply destructive, and he details why austerity is so appealing even to Very Serious People—and why it’s such a bad idea.

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The Other Americas.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democratic Left - By Maurice Isserman - Apr. 30 (Opinion) - This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Michael Harrington’s The Other America: Poverty in the United States, the book credited with inspiring Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” in the 1960s. There will be events throughout 2012 celebrating that anniversary, an occasion all the more meaningful for taking place in a time of economic distress and a renewed debate over income inequality in the United States.

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3 Corporate Myths that Threaten the Wealth of the Nation

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By William Lazonick, Ken Jacobson, Lynn Parramore - Apr. 06 (Opinion) - We need to confront some powerful myths of corporate governance as part of a movement to make corporations work for the 99%. To start, we have to recognize these corporations for what they are not. • They are not “private enterprise.” • They should not be run to “maximize shareholder value.” • The mega-millions in remuneration paid to top corporate executives are not determined by the “market forces” of supply and demand.

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How the Young Are Indoctrinated to Obey

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Noam Chomsky - Apr. 06 (Opinion) - many measures have been taken to restore discipline. One is the crusade for privatization – placing control in reliable hands. Another is sharp increases in tuition, up nearly 600 percent since 1980. These produce a higher education system with "far more economic stratification than is true of any other country," according to Jane Wellman, former director of the Delta Cost Project, which monitors these issues. Tuition increases trap students into long-term debt and hence subordination to private power.

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Social Darwinism or a Decent Society

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Robert Reich - Apr. 05 (Opinion) - We are likely to hear a lot more about social Darwinism in the months ahead. It was the conservative creed during the late 19th century - legitimizing a politics in which the lackeys of robber barons deposited sacks of money on legislators' desks, and justifying an economy in which sweat shops were common, urban slums festered, and a significant portion of America was impoverished.

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Capitalism's Dirty Secret: Corporations Don't Create Jobs, They Destroy Them

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Lynn Parramore - Apr. 03 (Opinion) - For the last four decades, U.S. corporations have been sinking our economy through the off-shoring of jobs, the squeezing of wages, and a magician’s hat full of bluffs and tricks designed to extort subsidies and sweetheart deals from local and state governments that often result in mass layoffs and empty treasuries.

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NYC Needs Paid Sick Days, Not Lame Excuses - City Conversations - CityLimits.org

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

City Limits - Apr. 03 (Opinion) -

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Industry Whistleblower Wendell Potter: However Court Rules on Healthcare, Solution is Single Payer

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Mar. 28 (Interview) - As the Supreme Court examines whether Americans can be penalized if they lack medical coverage, we're joined by health industry whistleblower, Wendell Potter. A former spokesperson for CIGNA and Humana Insurance, Potter is the author of "Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans." "I, myself, am somewhat agnostic and detached from the outcome of what the justices decide," Potter says. "We eventually have to get the for-profit insurance companies out of providing coverage, and need to move toward a system or systems like in the other developed countries, that don't permit for-profit companies to run their healthcare systems." [includes rush transcript]

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In Possible Gaffe, Romney Says Poor People ‘Taste Like Chicken’

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

borowitzreport.com - By Andy Borowitz - Mar. 11 (Comedy News) - In what some political observers are calling a possible gaffe on the part of the former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney told a crowd gathered for a World Wrestling Entertainment event in Ohio today, “I love poor people. They taste like chicken.”

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Moochers Against Welfare

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Economist's View - By Paul Krugman: - Feb. 17 (Opinion) - many beneficiaries of government programs seem confused about their own place in the system. She tells us that 44 percent of Social Security recipients, 43 percent of those receiving unemployment benefits, and 40 percent of those on Medicare say that they “have not used a government program.” Presumably, then, voters imagine that pledges to slash government spending mean cutting programs for the idle poor, not things they themselves count on. And this is a confusion politicians deliberately encourage. For example, when Mr. Romney responded to the new Obama budget, he condemned Mr. Obama for not taking on entitlement spending — and, in the very next breath, attacked him for cutting Medicare.

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Bill Maher Mocks Newt Gingrich Attack On New York 'Elites' (VIDEO)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Bill Maher - Feb. 13 (Comedy News) - The current primary race has heard its fair share of pro-"Real America" and anti-"Liberal Elite" talk thus far, but nothing stood out to comedian Bill Maher quite like Newt Gingrich's recent remarks about New Yorkers.

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Bill Maher Compares Mitt Romney To Rappers: 'Straight Outta Salt Lake' (VIDEO)

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Bill Maher - Jan. 21 (Comedy News) - "No matter how clear Jay-Z makes it that the hot tub is only for the coolest and most beautiful people, somehow when the song ends we think, 'That is us,'" Maher said. "That's how Romney rolls -- straight outta Salt Lake. Get equity or die tryin'." Mitt

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U.S. Focus on China, India Emissions Burdens World's Poor, Skirts Own Responsibility - Praful Bidwai

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 06 (Interview) - We speak with Indian writer and analyst Praful Bidwai, author of the new book, "The Politics of Climate Change and the Global Crisis: Mortgaging Our Future." While the U.S. has cited China’s emissions as an excuse to slow negotiations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the COP 17 talks, Bidwai says that "we cannot forget historical responsibility. Three-fourths of all the greenhouse gases that have accumulated in the atmosphere and will stay there warming us up for thousands of years come from developed countries of the global north led by the United States, which is responsible for more than one-quarter of all emissions accumulated in the atmosphere.” Bidwai also addresses the fallout from the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, which he calls "a turning point" for nuclear power, adding: "I don’t see nuclear power surviving in the developed world at all after this. This is the worst crisis of credibility the nuclear energy has ever faced."

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Eurozone Catastrophe: How Saving the Euro Could Mean Blood on the Streets

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Marshall Auerback, AlterNet - Dec. 02 - The whole future shape of Europe must be resolved in a week or so. Itâ€™s a high-stakes game of poker that the Germans are determined to win--at the expense of misery for many.

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Democrats, Stop Caving In

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Bernie Sanders - Nov. 19 (Opinion) - 'This is a pivotal moment in American history. The rich and large corporations are doing phenomenally well while the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing. Now is the time to answer the question that the Woody Guthrie song poignantly asked, 'Which side are you on?' The Democrats must answer boldly that they are on the side of working families and the middle class and that they will fight to protect their interests.' Sen. Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News

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How Christian Fundamentalism Helped Empower the Top 1% to Exploit the 99%

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Frank Schaeffer - Oct. 16 (Opinion) - As the Occupy Wall street movement spreads across the country and the world, we must bring attention to the enablers of the top 1 percent exploiting the 99. Fundamentalist religion made this exploitation possible.

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Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Business Insider - By Henry Blodget - Oct. 15 (Editorial) - The "Occupy Wall Street" protests are gaining momentum, having spread from a small park in New York to marches to other cities across the country. So far, the protests seem fueled by a collective sense that things in our economy are not fair or right. But the protesters have not done a good job of focusing their complaints—and thus have been skewered as malcontents who don't know what they stand for or want. (An early list of "grievances" included some legitimate beefs, but was otherwise just a vague attack on "corporations." Given that these are the same corporations that employ more than 100 million Americans and make the products we all use every day, this broadside did not resonate with most Americans). So, what are the protesters so upset about, really? Do they have legitimate gripes? To answer the latter question first, yes, they have very legitimate gripes.

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An Open Letter to Wall Street

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

truth-out.org - By William Rivers Pitt - Oct. 04 (Editorial) - ...Really, why don't they just go home? Don't these people have jobs? I hate to be the Irony Police, but that's pretty much the whole point. They can't, and they don't. Have homes and jobs, I mean.

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How we slice the pie in the USA

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

seattlepi.com - By David Horsey - Sep. 21 (Cartoon) - And how about some whipped cream with that?!

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David Graeber: The Debt of the American Poor Should Be Forgiven

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 19 (Opinion) - As President Obama prepares to outline a deficit-reduction plan that includes tax increases, as well as cuts to programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, anthropologist David Graeber proposes a radical solution: cancel the debt of the nation’s poor. “Debts between the very wealthy or between governments can always be renegotiated and always have been throughout world history. They are not anything set in stone,” says Graeber, author of "Debt: The First 5,000 Years.” “It's generally speaking when you have debts owed by the poor to the rich, debts becomes a sacred situation, more important than anything else. The idea of renegotiating them becomes unthinkable.” [Check back soon for complete transcript.]

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'People Are Close to Revolt'

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By James Fallows - Sep. 12 (Opinion) - I've never actually written to a journalist before, but I was one of the 1,252 people arrested this weekend in front of the White House. I also live in the rural Midwest and your source is right. People are close to revolt. I think it will be a five year process of movement building, but even my very conservative staff of library assistants all cheered me on when I told them what I was doing. The people I interact with here and the ones I met in DC are all fed-up at a deep and fundamental level.

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