How very far America has fallen was brought home to me in stunning fashion when I read a New York Times article on how the poisoning of Flint, Michigan was uncovered.

"...Joyce Zhu, a doctoral student, went to collect samples at a Flint hospital, looking for signs...

Too big to fail companies are not limited to the financial sector. Entire swaths of the economy are dominated by large corporate entities encountering very little competition. Three forces drive voter rage.

1. Private Sector Misfeasance

Corporate consolidations coupled with heavy legislative lobbying at state and federal level force...

Just because the devil has a new playmate is no reason to prevent the Supreme Court from functioning properly. Before Justice Scalia's body was even cold, Republicans started obstructionism and pledged to block any Obama appointment. Apparently, a dying conservatism cares not a fig about the constitution -- just clinging...

Little different from Middle Eastern extremists, the Bundy militias and their ilk confabulate an alternate world to justify their rage at loss of status and a feeling of societal betrayal. Times are changing and the old men and their older power structures are collapsing, crushed by new ideas and youth.

Paris was attacked; leading conservative politicians leaped to shamelessly pander to their fearful and timid base. However, the comments of Donald Trump provoked my suspicion that Americans' love affair with the gun and war (with other people's skin in the game) creates cowards. The Donald said:

You...

With another senate vote on the Iran deal promised for this week. I received a letter from Senator Toomey. Recently, I contacted Senator Toomey concerning the Iran Agreement. The Senator's response by mail was to parrot the one-sided, Republican Party...

Nuclear weapons are far more dangerous than most people alive realize. My generation was the one hiding under our school desks. My generation perfected mutually assured destruction (MAD), which guaranteed destruction of our nation and the attacker. My generation of military personnel was committed to destruction on a global scale....

Recently, Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) held a conference call stating his opposition to a senate bill that, for all practical purposes, allows the Federal Government to impose transportation company mandates on all states. The New York Times shares the senator's concerns...

Once again in our long history, U.S. economic and political processes are being sidetracked by proven fallacies. Most have been around far too long.

1. Government is the...

The politicians look stern. The old veterans preen. The young soldiers wonder why they had to give up a holiday weekend to march with some old guys. In my last blog post, I mentioned Hillary and politicians doing right by the troops when no one is watching. Memorial...

The "character war" -- trashing the reputation of candidates and creating pseudoscandals in a lazy attempt to win elections without effective policies, ideas and even candidates -- has begun. However, candidates are more than ideas and policies: They are people, and voters want...

The U.S. fails to educate many of its best and brightest. This is a threat to U.S. security. A Times-Tribune editorial indicates part of the problem:

Nationally, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, students in the poorest school districts receive 15.6 percent less state and...

Are Republicans and many conservatives in a cult? The thought arose from a letter to the editor of the Scranton Times-Tribune by Mr. William Lewis, an 89-year-old World War II veteran:

The situation in our country right now makes me...

Last year was not a kind year. Deadly serious issues confronted the nation. It did not go well. Several arenas epitomized these issues more than most.

Healthcare

Cancer in the extended family was our introduction to the US civilian healthcare system and...

Recent attacks from the right wing on the success of Bill and Hillary Clinton since leaving the White House are absurd. If Republicans are looking for someone who is out of touch and does not reflect middle-class values at heart, they only need to look in the mirror.

These...

Timid mice in Congress cringe in fear and bluster with outrage at Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. Seldom known for bravery and nearly always known for outraged bluster, Congress better find a spine. The United States, especially Congress, requires a reality check. Even at the height of the Cold War,...

Fallujah, Iraq, fell to Sunni fighters waving an Al Qaeda banner. Military veterans are voicing shock, sadness and hostility. My fellow veterans and families, the fault is not yours. The blood and wealth of many nations cover the battlefields of history. We serve America while hoping that she...

House Republicans shut down the federal government in a last-ditch effort to deny health care insurance to millions of Americans. Defunding Obamacare was the only reason -- not the deficit, not government spending -- only denying healthcare insurance to millions. The blow back from the people was immediate and intense....

The Washington Post is reporting that FreedomWorks is having younger people compare Obamacare to a military draft, and like the peaceniks they are (ahem), organizing them to burn "Obamacare Draft Cards."

I admit that I am old, and oft-times cantankerous, but this nonsense angered me far more than...

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said it best. He is quoted as saying: "Sequestration is a mindless, irresponsible process," he said. "You know it, I know it."

The Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel quotes Hagel explaining further:

"To implement the steep and abrupt reductions that have been...