Fed Up With Corporate Politics, Progressive Democrats Are Organizing — And Winning
Last June, after Democratic candidates had lost four straight special Congressional elections (Rob Quist in Montana, James Thompson in Kansas, Archie Parnell in South Carolina, and Jon Ossoff in Georgia), America’s purveyors of conventional political wisdom simultaneously jumped to the conclusion that the policies and message of Democrats were just too progressive for our nation […]
What Can You Possibly Buy For 47 Cents These Days?
Although most of us take it for granted, America’s postal service is an amazing bargain. For only 47 cents, you can purchase A “Forever” postage stamp. Buy one 47-cent stamp, and postal workers will deliver your envelope to any address in the country by plane, train, bus, boat, truck, car, bike, pushcart, mule, on-foot or all of the above.
Dear Media Elites, Here’s How You Have Trump Completely Wrong
Populism — a luminous term denoting both an uplifting doctrine of egalitarianism and a political-economic-cultural movement with deep roots in America’s progressive history — has been routinely sullied throughout 2016 by elites misusing it as synonym for ignorance and bigotry.
How Can A CEO Feel Good About Being Vile?
Corporate price gouging is never nice. But gouging people on the price of medicines they rely on to stay alive is worse than not nice — it’s predaceously evil. And if you think corporate morality can’t go lower than that, how about gouging people on the price of a life-saving medicine in order to jack up the personal pay of a drug maker’s CEO?
Why Can’t Our Economy Promote Equality And Shared Prosperity?
You don’t have to be in “Who’s Who” to know what’s what. For example, if tiny groups of Wall Street bankers, billionaires and their political puppets are allowed to write the rules that govern our economy and elections, guess what? Only bankers, billionaires and puppets will profit from those rules.
Donnie’s Little Lies are Huuuuuge
An old saying asserts that falsehoods come in three escalating levels: “Lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Now, however, we’ve been given an even-higher level of intentional deception: Policy speeches by Donald Trump.
Rampaging Debt Collectors Are Committing Highway Robbery
Susan Macharia, a California administrative employee, is one of thousands of middle-income and low-wage workers each year who get robbed by these relentless money grabbers. Out of the blue, she got a rude call in January from a collector demanding she pay $10,000 for a credit card debt she ran up in 2003.
The Populist Insurgency Is Ratcheting Up
What an amazing Democratic primary season it was! And we now have this happy result: WE WON! “We” being the millions of young people, mad-as-hell working stiffs, independents, deep-rooted progressives, and other “outsiders” who felt The Bern and forged a new, game-changing, populist force of, by, and for grassroots Americans.
Campaigns End On Election Day. Revolutions Don’t.
The fervent prayer of old-line Democratic operatives and corporate funders is that the Sanders Storm will dissipate now that Hillary Clinton will get the nomination, thus allowing politics-as-usual to reestablish its grip on the system. They’re dead wrong,
What’s Next For The Bernie Sanders Revolution?
Most Bernie Sanders backers were enthusiastic precisely because his campaign’s purpose was far bigger than the usual personality politics. Supporters were signing up for a revolution against corporate rule. Achieving this is much harder than one presidential run.
How To Make A Political Platform Progressive
Bernie Sanders’ 40-percent minority of platform members (of which I was one) managed to “Bern” the platform with more than two dozen big and very important amendments. As a result, Democrats and their nominee, Hillary Clinton, are now on public record in support of the most progressive policy agenda in decades.
Why Was The Brexit Vote So Shocking to Global Elites?
The most shocking thing about “Brexit” — the British people’s resounding vote to pull their country out of the European Union — is that it came as such a shock to the British establishment. After all, say the flummoxed elites, everyone who is anyone in Great Britain was opposed to exiting.
Souring Chicago’s Sweet Treat
Nabisco intends to move the iconic Oreo brand — and the jobs of 600 top-quality bakery workers — from Chicago to Mexico, where the minimum wage is a bit more than $4. Not per hour, but per day.
Pent Up Fury Beneath The Bernie And Donnie Phenomena
Instead of comprehending the public rage from the above injustices, the established powers have repeated the conventional wisdom that the hordes of blue-collar voters, young people, independents, and others surging into the two outsiders presidential campaigns have been naive, unrealistic, selfish, stupid, ignorant, racist, misogynistic, anti-immigrant, fascist or some combination of the above.
Introducing Glencore, Rapacious Global Lord
Never heard of Glencore? Neither had I. Not merely big, it’s colossal — the tenth largest corporation in the world — with 160,000 employees in more than 50 countries on six continents. It produces and trades coal, oil, gas, metals, minerals, foodstuffs, and other commodities.
What Does It Mean To “Gig” American Workers?
Two internet-based ride-hiring brats, Uber and Lyft, have swaggered into
cities all across our country, insisting that they’re innovative,
tech-driven geniuses. As such, they consider themselves above the old laws
that other transportation companies, like taxis, follow. And they’ve made
it a corporate policy to throw hissy fits when cities — from Los Angeles
to Atlanta, Houston to Portland — have dared even to propose that they
obey rules too.
Who Says Crime Doesn’t Pay?
Goldman Sachs’ CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, just awarded himself a $23 million paycheck for his work last year. That work essentially amounted to negotiating the deal with the government that makes shareholders pay for the bankers’ wrongdoings — while he and other top executives keep their jobs and pocket millions.
Why Bernie Will, Should And Must Stay In The Race
Bernie and the mass movement he’s fostering aren’t about to quit — they’ll organize in every primary still to come, be a major force at the Democratic convention, and keep pushing their ideals and policies in the general election… and beyond.
How Do You Make Change Happen? Show Up
What should we do!?! How do we make Washington govern for all the people? What specific things can my group or I do now? Thanks for asking.
The Clueless GOP Establishment Is Fueling Hurricane Donnie Trump
Today’s Republican establishment now finds that it is so out of touch with regular voters that it now faces a howling, Category-5 hurricane that’s threatening to implode the Grand Old Party.
Who Are Our Rescuers? Us!
There’s no need to convince the American people that they’ve been stiffed. As they reveal in poll after poll, they know it, for they’re experiencing it personally, and they’re furious at the business-as-usual establishment that has done it to them.
How to Make Billboards Uglier
It’s “a bit creepy,” says Andy Stevens. And he works for Clear Channel!
To Get America Moving, Tax Financial Transactions
Rather than asking the Wall Street crowd to join us in paying a 6 to 12 percent sales tax, the major FTT proposal gaining support in the U.S. calls for a 0.5 percent assessment on stock transactions.
Why Should You And I Have To Keep Paying Mitch McConnell’s Salary?
We’re paying this guy a salary of $174,000 a year, plus another $19,400 for his “service” as majority leader. It’s insulting that he won’t even go through the motions of doing his job.
Why The GOP’s Fence Fantasy Is A Farce
A proper wall, we’re told, makes good neighbors. But an 18-foot high, 2,000-mile-long wall goes way beyond proper, and it both antagonizes your neighbor and screams out your own pitiful fear and weakness.