By George Lakoff – Freedom in a free society is supposed to be for all. Therefore, freedom rules out imposing on the freedom of others. You are free to walk down the street, but not to keep others from doing so. The imposition on the freedom of others can come in overt, immediate physical form…
The Big Picture By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – So far key politicians in Virginia have not learned the lesson of Charlottesville. There is no public evidence that Governor Terry McAuliffe, Senators Tim Kaine or Mark Warner have noticed that there is a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol,…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – We need a new term to describe Donald Trump’s leadership style, modeled on his idol Vladimir Putin of Russia. People in the United States probably still think of Russia as a Socialist-Communist country. But it’s not. Not since the breakup of the Soviet Union…
“Be it life or death, we crave only reality.” — Henry David Thoreau, Walden The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oh how things have changed since Henry David Thoreau’s 1854, when he first published Walden. How things have changed since 1896, when Adolph Ochs purchased and began transforming the New…
By Ken Levy – Many commentators are suggesting that both right and left are equally to blame for all the polarization between them. They’re wrong. The reason for all the bitterness between left and right is entirely the right’s fault. Right-wingers who suggest otherwise are self-deluded – and usually projecting. Exhibit A: Newt Gingrich. On…
By James Rhodes – BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Victoria Siciliano, communications coordinator for the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, recently hosted a community informational forum at the Civil Rights Institute downtown. The primary purpose of the gathering was to raise awareness regarding the plight of the resident immigrants as well as to showcase their personal stories…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — What happens when you have a United States Attorney General who is just as much of a liar as the president, only one who has been in Washington much longer and understands the practice of dissembling in answering questions and claiming a faulty memory?…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — While it may seem easy to be lulled into a spring stupor with the fine cool weather in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, it is hard to avoid going into shock with all the strange news coming out of the Trump administration. Around here they…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Are you sick and tired of living in a land of idiocy and mediocrity? What if I told you there is a way to escape it and see excellence rise to the top? The answers are right in front of our faces, like a long pass for…
By Robert Reich – The question is no longer whether there are grounds to impeach Donald Trump. It is when enough Republicans will put their loyalty to America ahead of their loyalty to their party. Trump’s statements last week about his firing of former FBI director James Comey provide ample evidence that Trump engaged in…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — The political intrigue surrounding President Donald J. Trump and his fascination with Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian money hit a new benchmark on Tuesday when the president announced the firing of F.B.I. director James B. Comey. The comparisons to President Richard M. Nixon’s…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – CAMP DAVID, Ala. — Let me paint a picture for you of where we are this Sunday morning, on day 108 of the Tragic Era of Trump. We were sitting around last night on the back yard deck waiting on the chicken thighs to cook (no we…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Not since George W. Bush’s 100 day losing war with Iraq based on bad intel has America suffered such days of grief as the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency. For those who are too young to remember or who somehow rode out the Bush years…
By George Lakoff – The enormous role played by science — especially government-sponsored science — in our everyday lives is barely appreciated. Start with modern medicine. We, the public, paid for it through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and research universities where the medical researchers, surgeons, doctors and nurses were trained, and where tools…
By Norman Solomon – After Hillary Clinton’s devastating loss nearly six months ago, her most powerful Democratic allies feared losing control of the party. Efforts to lip-sync economic populism while remaining closely tied to Wall Street had led to a catastrophic defeat. In the aftermath, the party’s progressive base — personified by Bernie Sanders —…
By Joe Romm – Amidst backlash and subscription cancellations for hiring extreme climate science denier, colunnist Bret Stephens, the New York Times offered a stunning defense: There are “millions of people who agree with him.” With that ‘logic’, the Times could hire as a columnist former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke — or…
By Robert Reich – The starkest difference between dictatorships and democracies is that democracies are ruled by laws, and dictatorships are ruled by dictators. The “rule of law,” as it’s often referred to, stands for laws that emerge from a process responsive to the majority, that are consistently applied, and are applicable to everyone regardless…
By Robert Reich – By my count, there are now four grounds to impeach Donald Trump. The fifth appears to be on its way. First, in taking the oath of office, a president promises to “faithfully execute the laws and the constitution.” That’s Article II Section 2. But Trump is unfaithfully executing his duties as…
By Robert Reich – When Donald Trump was running for president, he talked a lot about putting people back to work. And one of the industries he focused on most was the coal industry. He even put on a hard hat and waved around a pick axe to show how much he loved coal. But…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Do you wake up in the morning, make the coffee, crank up your computer and look at your Facebook news feed and ever feel confused about what’s really going on in the world? Don’t feel bad. You are not alone. Rapid changes in technology over the past…
