If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Rhetoric is no substitute for reality, and given the president's unfortunate extension of the Bush-Cheney assault on civil liberties, his administration deserves criticism.
Beyonce has been under attack for her performance at the President's Inaugural Ceremony. Questioned is whether or not she lip synced her version of "T...
President Obama surprised a lot of people by elevating the climate threat into the top tier of his second-term priorities during his recent inaugural address. Words are no substitute for action, but this could be the beginning of what many of us have been demanding for years.
Just as Kennedy will forever be the president that inspired a nation to accomplish the impossible, President Obama has the opportunity to be one to usher the world into the Energy Age.
Obama did, however, ground his inclusive conception of our national identity and, yes, his progressive political philosophy securely in our American traditions and history going back two centuries. Mr. Hazelwood takes umbrage? Fine.
Most importantly, your conduct with a polarized Congress will be studied for years to come. I hope that you will strive to draw on your background as a grassroots organizer and continue to govern by consensus rather than whim.
The services of Medicare and Medicaid "do not make us a nation of takers, but enable us to be free... We will respond to the threat of climate change...
Like many LGBT Americans, I was profoundly moved by President Obama's recognition of gays and lesbians in his inaugural speech.
Have you ever wondered why it's become almost a hobby of billionaires to scapegoat our public schools for the widening inequality of our society? The answer is that if the problem is schools, then we don't have to think about all the other drivers of inequality. And if we can weaken a public institution along the way, so much the better. The fact is that in the late 1990s, when we had full employment, inequality narrowed and people at the bottom made the biggest gains. And we had the same schools; in fact, the test scores and graduation rates were worse back then than the ones we have today. In the 1950s and 1960s, when we had strong unions and near-full employment, the society became more equal. Face it, we could improve our test scores, and send everyone to college, but until we address the other sources of inequality, we will just have more frustrated graduates.
Varied commentators think the Inaugural showed a "Democratic Reagan." So we ask an actual Democratic Reagan -- Ron -- and Nicolle Wallace their view and whether Obama was paradoxically Reaganesque in ending Reaganism. And will "Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall" be this era's "Ask not..."?
Here's hoping Sandburg's poem can inspire some sensible debate about addressing gun violence. At least, in a week of new beginnings, it's a good place to start.
President Barack Hussein Obama's second inauguration pretty much dominated the political news this week. Oh, wait, I meant to say "a lip-synching scandal" was what dominated the airwaves in what passes for "journalism" in America these days. Sigh.
President Obama's second inaugural may well be most remembered for the words he said rather than the policies he promoted. To friend and foe alike, the President has announced the new terms of the 21st century political discourse.
While thousands of people watched President Obama's speech from the steps of the capitol, I listened to it from inside the newsroom. It wasn't until I heard loud cannons outside the window, and then two seconds later on television, that I truly realized how close I was to the action.
Why not exchange the GOP (The Grand "Old" Party) from the 20th century and instead build one for the 21st? That is a question that only the Republican Party can answer: To cheat or not to cheat?
The beauty of our democracy is that through all the ugliness of the presidential campaign and the election, the people persisted and they prevailed. The same is true of the president. He and all those who defied the obstacles in support of him are memorably intertwined.
