I’ve been asked this many times over the years. The answer is this: I don’t know how to consistently write things that AREN’T about injustice. I’m driven to right the wrongs around the world, like the fire drives a locomotive. I’m, at my core, an activist for social justice; and I run a blog about … Continue reading ““Why Is Your Blog So Depressing?””
New York City’s hospitals, already strained and overcrowded, are experiencing a spree of closings, felled by the economic crisis. St. John’s Queens Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital have gone bankrupt and boarded up the entrances. This leaves Queens-dwellers with few options, and those few options in an awful overcrowding situation. “It’s a real failure of … Continue reading “More NYC Hospitals Lost To Economic Crisis”
Americans are fed up with banks double dipping off them, pulling down billions in bailouts from taxpayers, while also squeezing us with increased fees and interest. The backlash is now being expressed in Congress: BAILED OUT BANKS U.S. banks that issue credit cards have received more than $120 billion in taxpayer funds since October, money … Continue reading “Public Rage At Banks And Bailout Expressed in New Laws”
I like Barack Obama; I voted for him because I wanted a fresh start beyond the stale 1960s debates, Olbermann vs. O’Reilly daily “hot button issue” and endless socialism vs. capitalism rock ‘em-sock ‘em robots that lead us nowhere and accomplish nothing. We can’t afford that crap in times like these. And I wanted a serious … Continue reading “Obama’s Blunder: Hiring Too Many Cooks”
How is Obama’s Afghanistan plan supposed to work, when similar plans were EPIC FAIL for the Soviets, British, Alexander the Great and others? Former CIA Mideast operative Robert Baer (played by George Clooney in Syriana) writes in TIME Magazine: The Pashtun are a big, sprawling, insulated tribal people. There are some 40 million of them, … Continue reading “Understanding Pashtuns Critical To Avoiding Afghanistan Quagmire”
Over the years, I’ve had gay friends and family and seen them struggle. It never seemed to me a path someone would “choose,” but what do I know? But this quote from TIME Magazine proves to me, it’s NOT a choice: I don’t care about the militias anymore because they’re going to kill me anyway … Continue reading “Proof It’s Not A Choice: The Gays Of Iraq”
…to “World Trade Center.” Yep, they are reclaiming the old name. Since I’ll soon be living near the WTC site, I felt obligated to blog about this. Personally, I don’t really care what they name it (“a rose by any other name…”) but I am interested in the outcry the change has precipitated, and am … Continue reading “Changing The Name Of The New World Trade Center…”
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is one the worst war criminals in recent history. His Janjaweed thugs have killed 300,000 people in Darfur, raped untold numbers, and caused over 2.5 million Darfuris to flee to perilous existences as refugees. Bashir makes Slobodan Milosovic (with an estimated 10,000 killed) look like small potatoes. Most recently, in response … Continue reading “Arab League Embraces Sudan’s Genocidal Dictator”
I’ve had an email and a few message board posts asking me “what the…” is going on with the economy. I’m not an economist (I was an English major) but I’m incredibly curious, and I read a lot. Here’s my take: A big part of this whole Wall Street collapse are something called “adjustable-rate mortgages” … Continue reading “What Went Wrong In The Economy”
From everything I see in the media, it looks grim, like we’re deep into a Great Recession. There are bread lines of sorts forming at food banks, and charities send 18-wheelers to small towns whose sole employers have closed shop. At the same time, states like Georgia have all but ended assistance to the poor … Continue reading “Observing The Economic Crisis First Hand”
Today, March 24, the Community Choice Act was re-introduced in Congress by Senator Tom Harkin (D – Iowa) and Representative Danny Davis (D – Chicago)! It’s way past time for this legislation. Medicaid was passed in 1965, when medical technology was not advanced enough to allow severely disabled people to live at home, so institutionalization, … Continue reading “Community Choice Act (CCA) Re-introduced!!”
Wow! What an amazing night. When NBC News abruptly announced that Barack Obama had become the 44th President of the United States, I was watching with my girlfriend. We were yelling with joy. I yelled “VIRGINIA IS BLUE!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! VIRGINIA!! IS! BLUUUUE!!!!!!” Outside the hospital room door, we could hear the staff … Continue reading “Obama Victory A Great Moment, Now The Hard Work Begins”
Today, November 4th is the big General Election in the United States. Last week I mailed in my absentee ballot and voted for Barack Obama for president. Why? Here’s why: While it’s always a bit difficult for me to vote for one of the two dominant parties (whose incompetence, lack of principle or outright corruption … Continue reading “Why I Voted For Obama”
AP: Economists see financial bailout as necessary O RLY?? It’s hardly the soup kitchen for people at the very top. The chairman of Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld, still has his mansion in Greenwich, CT, his oceanfront estate on Jupiter Island in FL, and his Park Avenue co-op in Manhattan. Many at Lehman blame Fuld for … Continue reading “Providing A Soft, Pillowy Landing For Stupid CEOs?”
I don’t live in Alabama anymore. I live in New York City in a rehab hospital now. This song, “City of Immigrants” really captures the heart of this city (and I love folk music). Hat tip to Mark for pointing out this video! This is a great city, and probably the most diverse on Earth. … Continue reading “Living In A City of Immigrants: Dismantling Anti-Immigrant Ideas”
Good news…I managed to get my “Medicaid: Why It’s Broken and How To Fix It” post in the hands of Obama’s disability vote director. He sent me an email saying “Got it. Thanks.” I’m really glad my message got through to the Obama camp (I wish I could get an email to the McCain people … Continue reading “Will Obama Listen to the Disability Community?”
In my last post, I mentioned various politicians who are co-sponsoring and supporting the Community Choice Act: New England has already caught on–MA and NY passed similar legislation years ago. Congressmen from both parties have signed on to the bill, which was formerly named MiCASSA; how can you argue citizens shouldn’t be able to choose … Continue reading “McCain Not Supporting The Community Choice Act”
The point of this post is to explain what the Medicaid system is to the uninitiated, and describe the vast inequalities between states, and the gangrenous corruption that undergirds the system. First off, before I begin, Medicaid is NOT the same as Medicare. And if you talk like you don’t know the difference (o hai … Continue reading “Medicaid: Why It’s Broken and How To Fix It”
Justices Shield Medical Devices From Lawsuits Ok, basically, thanks to this Supreme Court ruling, corporations can make products that kill your mom, and can do this with total impunity and have no “Personal Responsibility” whatsoever. They are invincible. You have no recourse as long as the product was rubberstamped by the all-too-fallible, all-too-bribable FDA. Of … Continue reading “No "Personal Responsibility" For Corporations?”
The whole State of the Union has grown way too “cult of personality” for me. Like the General Secretary’s Annual Address to the Supreme Soviet, you see “spontaneous” 10-minute standing ovations after Comrade President introduces the next Five Year Plan (only in our case, it’s “here’s platitudes about stuff I want to do this year.”) … Continue reading “The State Of Our Union”
“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” — John F. Kennedy Let’s take this idea “viral.”
Will The Blob Devour Us All? From this charming piece in Slate, Dispatch from Blob Fest: Though Phillips might not have intended The Blob to have a political message, she did accidentally insert an environmental warning, which was reflected in the Blob Fest’s 2007 theme: “An Inconvenient Blob.” I thought it was just an attempt … Continue reading “An Inconvenient Blob”
I saw this story the other day: By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 22, 8:58 AM ET DAMASCUS, Syria – Iraq’s prime minister lashed out Wednesday at U.S. criticism, saying no one has the right to impose timetables on his elected government and that his country “can find friends elsewhere.” Prime Minister Nouri … Continue reading “U.S. Prepares to Jettison Al-Maliki”
On this day, August 19, in 1953, the Americans and British overthrew the democratically-elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadegh. Mossadegh ended (BP) British Petroleum’s monopoly over Iranian oil, and *gasp* nationalized their oil fields so that Iranians would benefit from their own resources. The Western powers, angry at being cut out of the oil … Continue reading “This Day In History, U.S. Overthrows Iran Gov’t”
Dick Cheney in 1994: Invading Iraq Would Create Quagmire WOW. He made the exact same arguments the Dems made. He couldn’t have been more right. I wonder what caused his 180 degree turn after he became CEO of Halliburton then VP….
“People have access to health care in America. After all, just go to an emergency room.” — President Bush That’s what Bush said (as an aside) at a recent event where he discussed why he is going to veto a funding boost for the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP). Basically he said the “federalization … Continue reading “George W. Bush’s Health Care Plan”
Let’s revisit the whole point I’m aiming for with this blog. These quotes from Paul Wellstone sum it up well. “Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives. It’s about advancing the cause of peace … Continue reading “The Purpose of This Blog”
Bush is acting president; Cheney in hospital for battery rechargeBy Nick Dupree CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Satire) — Vice President Cheney transferred the powers of the presidency to George W. Bush on Saturday just before having minor surgery to receive a new battery for an implanted device that monitors his heart rhythms, his spokeswoman said. “The … Continue reading “GWB Will Be Briefly In Charge of the Presidency”
Obama, Richardson, Biden and Kucinich, prior to the CNN / YouTube debate Monday night. The Democratic party has become so rotted out and ineffectual that I watched the CNN / YouTube debate not from a position of sympathy but from the perspective of wanting to see them pinned down and held to account. I want … Continue reading “Nick’s Analysis of the CNN / YouTube Debate”
Does it bother anyone else that the vice president is always rubbing his hands like a supervillain scheming your demise? Every time you see him he’s clasping his hands like an evil genius, like a cartoon villain. Why does no one notice? Nick P.S. Part 4 and 5 of my five-part “Are We Rome?” series … Continue reading “Vice President Cheney Is A Supervillain”