‘Commentary on the News’ Archives
Inequality as Usual »
Ross Douthat takes on the income inequality issue in a NY Times op-ed piece. The issue of income inequality is at the very heart of liberal thought development. It stems from the early 1800's, when the excesses of capitalism (long hours, low wages, child labor, etc) demanded reform. Britain passed the Poor Law to provide subsistence [...]
Ending Minority Rule in California: One Sentence Can »
California's 2/3 supermajority rule for spending legislation is addressed in an article for truthout.org by George Lakoff, Professor of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. To paraphrase George Tenet, this should be a slam dunk. As a simple principle of democratic rule, legislation should be enacted by majority vote. [...]
Beyond Left and Right »
David Brooks contributes to the case for obsoleting Left/Right labels. When democracy was an infant there was much discussion about the ability of an electorate to self-govern. Would the voters have sufficient 'virtue', in the vernacular of the times, to govern themselves? Would democracy replace tyrants, or become a new tyranny of [...]
What does your moral compass say? »
I believe we have to figure out our imigration problems, but we also have to take care of people (old, young, whatever) who are sick and or/ broken. Is the ER the only recourse? All of us end up paying for that, too. What does your moral compass say?
Rapping Joe’s knuckles »
Maureen Dowd's NYT column about Joe Wilson... In August, Clyburn picked up a newspaper to see that Wilson was holding his first town hall meeting in Clyburn’s district, three minutes from his house, at the high school Clyburn’s children went to — an “in your face” breach of Congressional protocol. “He [...]
8 of 10 wealthiest Members of Congress are Democrats »
Huffington Post published top 10 wealthiest members of Congress, 8 are Dems, 2 Republican. Interesting comments from readers include this: "Capitalism -- A brain-power dictatorship Brains like handsome good looks pass from father to son, those with excessive wealth run things and until we reach the ultimate conclusion of evil they always [...]
Majority Whip Clyburn dismisses Constitution »
This from the WSJ... "Last week, I asked...Congressman James Clyburn...where in the Constitution it authorizes the federal government to regulate the delivery of health care. He replied: "There's nothing in the Constitution that says that the federal government has anything to do with most of the stuff we do." Then he shot back: "How [...]
20 years of Indentured Servitude »
Tessie's birthday is today; she's 5. Using current 'Tax Freedom Day' calculations, Tessie can expect to spend the first 20 years* of her working life as a slave to a 'just' society. 20 years. Social welfare is a huge burden on our freedom and our children's future. In Tessie's case it means 20 years of indentured servitude. 20 years of [...]
Does Hate & Fear bother you? »
Does it bother anyone that the Republican Party, with Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh as standard bearers, so eagerly traffics in hate and fear and not much else? This strategy is of course effective, because hate and fear are easily packaged into sound bites for media consumption. Still, I should think thoughtful Republicans would be dismayed [...]
Rush Limbaugh on last night’s speech »
Ok, I was curious. Article is here.
Identify the not so hidden bias »
Ok, I know everyone is busy, swamped, but read this article . It's short. Tell me why we would ever listen to CNN again?
A Call to Think »
Well, actually Camille Paglia's piece is something of a liberal on liberal rant, but it does contain a call to think... But affluent middle-class Democrats now seem to be complacently servile toward authority and automatically believe everything party leaders tell them. Why? Is it because the new professional class is a glossy product of [...]
Age 50+ in Europe double odds of dying »
Odds of dying calculator found here. Not surprisingly, if you enter age 50-59, all causes, and compare US and Europe, you’re twice as likely to die in the next year if you live in Europe vs the US.
Noonan on Reagan and Kennedy(s) »
Great column here...
What gives value to life? »
Regarding abortion I have alway been pro-choice. While researching liberal thought, quite by accident came across this idea... "the worth of a human fetus, whether it is allowed to live or to be extinguished, is entirely based on the feelings of the mother. If the mother wants to give birth, the fetus is of incomparable worth; if the mother [...]
