By Robert Reich – In a new Pew poll, more than three quarters of self-described conservatives believe “poor people have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything.” In reality, most of America’s poor work hard, often in two or more jobs. The real non-workers are the wealthy who inherit their fortunes.…
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Eschew Obfuscation – By Michael Douglass – What special…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Rumors of my mother’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. But not without causing great harm. She’s not Mark Twain. Every time someone loads up their guns and goes on a shooting rampage in an office building, a school or a church, national broadcast news anchors like Brian…
By Robert Reich – Dozens of big U.S. corporations are considering leaving the United States in order to reduce their tax bills. But they’ll be leaving the country only on paper. They’ll still do as much business in the U.S. as they were doing before. The only difference is they’ll no longer be “American,” and…
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize. – Voltaire, 1694-1778 – By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – Newly captured Africans bound for slavery in the Americas often didn’t arrive directly. They stopped in the Caribbean islands for “seasoning.” There they lost their culture, language, religion.…
By Joe Womack – To commemorate the 155th anniversary of the beginning of the Africatown saga and the 154th anniversary of the landing of the last recorded shipment of slaves to this country, here is a summary of the “Africatown Story” from 1859 to today. (As told to me by Mr. Henry Williams as he…
Coming Clean – By Michael Brune – Everyone has an occasional bad day at work, but it’s tough to top the one that Rep. Eric Cantor had last month in Virginia. Overnight, he went from being one of the most powerful figures in Congress to a trivia question: Name the first House majority leader in…
By Robert Reich – A number of billionaires are flooding our democracy with their money, drowning out the voices of the rest of us. But Charles and David Koch are in a class by themselves. They’re using their fortune – they’re the fifth and sixth richest people in the world — to create their own…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – When Scotsman John Muir first started the Sierra Club in 1892 with the three purposes to promote recreation in nature to help save it through conservation activism and public education, I think he grasped something about how human nature works that we seem to have lost in…
Coming Clean – By Michael Brune – In his 19th-century curmudgeon’s classic, The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defined a plan as “the best method of accomplishing an accidental result.” When the EPA released its “Clean Power Plan” this month for reducing carbon pollution from power plants, the agency was clear about the results it expects…
To: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From: Tomas Young I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq. I write this letter on behalf of the hundreds…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala – From the agenda for the Mobile County Commission meeting on June 19, 2014: resolution authorizing the public display of the national motto “In God We Trust” in Government Plaza A campaign is underway to mount the words In God We Trust prominently on city halls and other public…
Amending the Constitution may sound audacious, but it’s not impossible – By Leo Gerard, USW – All of this has so emboldened billionaires that one of them, Tom Perkins, said earlier this year that citizens should get one vote for each tax dollar they pay. No more one person one vote. Ketchup king H.J. Heinz…
By Robert Reich – Rather than confront poverty by extending jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed, endorsing a higher minimum wage, or supporting jobs programs, conservative Republicans are taking a different tack. They’re peddling three big lies about poverty. To wit: Lie No. 1: Economic growth reduces poverty “The best anti-poverty program,” wrote Paul Ryan,…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – If former Southern Baptist preacher and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee can float trial balloons and turn his attention to the presidential election of 2016 before the 2014 midterm elections are in the bag, what the heck? It’s about time we started talking about it anyway. Every other…
By Robert Reich – Mississippi used its new voter-identification law for the first time Tuesday — requiring voters to show a driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID at the polls. The official reason given for the new law is alleged voter fraud, although the state hasn’t been able to provide any evidence that voter…
Coming Clean – By Michael Brune – I was honored to be invited to speak to the United Auto Workers in Detroit at their convention this week. Even though the Sierra Club and the UAW have been working together for years, some people don’t know we’re natural allies. Here are some other things you might…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – If you follow me on Facebook, you may have noticed that I have been really busy of late organizing, promoting and holding a huge garage sale and selling a house in the post-Bush Great Recession world. I won’t bore you with the details of that, but the…
A Menace to Us and CreationBy David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – Opposites appear at opposite ends of Alabama on June 5. At the upper extreme a rally in Florence is calling for tar sands mining to stop before it begins. Geologists have long known that gummy crude oil is locked into sandstone strata underlying…
By Joe Womack – Most of you have heard of “Fats Domino” and “Minnesota Fats” but have you ever heard of “Africatown Fats”? Probably not. That’s because “Fats Domino” is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is the pride of New Orleans. “Fats Domino” and his music were popular throughout the world…
