In the poodle skirt days of Pleasantville, the outrageous gyrations of Elvis distracted the public from acknowledging darker, more sinister threats to a seemingly perfect world. Today, we've all but abandoned that chipper delusion of perfection, but not the steady diet of petty outrages still consuming our attention.

Suffering...

These are interesting and difficult times for all Americans, though the predicament of our Republican brothers and sisters bears special reflection. Economic philosophies establishing corporate personhood, privatizing profits, and socializing losses have proven disastrous. Surrendering vigilance over our integrity, we sold the...

In 2006, my dear, beautiful sister died of misdiagnosis and insurance profiteering... plain, simple, and everlasting. My Huffington Post blog entry, "Gayle's Death: Lovelace Insurance Profit #1067678-00", inspired complete strangers to send me their stories.

They are the stories of health consumers who are insured... stories of doggedly...

In these economic times, the reddening numbers amid American family ledgers cry out for relief. Whether we find our indulgences among debt related to credit cards, health care, vacations, mortgages, businesses, sporting interests, or shoes, we all want our red to go away. Everyone wants "theirs." Where's my stimulus? Why...

At her fortieth birthday party, my sister basked in the warm glow of loving friends, candlelight and good cheer.  She laughed her big beautiful smile, and we marveled at her vibrancy.  An effervescent children’s librarian and comedienne, Gayle cherished her pint-sized audiences, her friends and her family, and she was...

RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICO. Last week the local Oktoberfest organizer denied a booth to the local chapter of the Democratic Women.

By his own admission, the director "hates everything the Democratic Party stands for” and won’t consider their participation."

For many years, our softly-lit park in the pines hosted a carousel...

RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICO.  I write from a small mountain town in Lincoln County, New Mexico where, not just for the sake of tourism, we revere America’s most colorful good-natured juvenile delinquent, Billy the Kid.   Offering a weak hero-energy to this dubious mascot, Sheriff Pat Garrett hardly provides a...

As the Republicans unfolded their presentation of Governor Sarah Palin as candidate for Vice President, I immediately realized that political candidates are NOT "vetted" by a crack team of FBI investigators. Who knew? I had imagined a meticulous scrutiny of the contender's computers amid a flurry of file folders, personal...