‘Voices & Thoughts’ Archives
Woman Gets Jail For Food-Stamp Fraud
This is what "justice" is coming to in the United States. The laws seem to exist to protect the wealthy and punish the poor. This is a sad comment on our society. One can only suppose that the conservative attendees at the the Republican Presidential Debate who booed the gay soldier and cheered the hypothetical death of an uninsured man probably condone these inequalities and will push to see them grow if their candidate becomes president. While we do not condone fraud of any kind, ... Full Story
Saif Qaddafi and Me
On the ethics of helping a despotic government With the capture of Saif al-islam Gaddaffi, it is a good time to reflect on the ethics of those who assisted the repressive regime of Libya and enabled it to stay in power. Dani Rodrik, Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard University penned his thoughts earlier this year. It first appeared in Project Syndicate and was reprinted at Al Jazeera English. Saif Qaddafi and ... Full Story
Plan B for Afghanistan
U.S. Senator Mark Udall The hard truth is that it is time for the United States to adopt more realistic goals in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We must acknowledge that there will not be a military solution to the Afghanistan conflict – there can only be a political one – and that requires Pakistan to take responsibility and be held accountable for its actions. If peace can’t be achieved by 2014 when our combat troops are set to leave, we need a Plan B that leaves Afghanistan ... Full Story
Obituary: Norma Shirlene “Betty” Jordan
Noma Shirlene “Betty” Jordan May 30, 1926 – November 17, 2011 Betty Jordan was born in Clearmont, Missouri, May 30,1926, and passed away November 17, 2011 at Pathways Hospice, McKee Medical Center in Loveland. At age 16, Betty moved with her family to Loveland, Colorado, where she met her future husband, Loyd Jordan. They were married May 28, 1944, after only three months of dating. They committed their lives to each other, to God and to their family, and were ... Full Story
Our Monster
By Winslow Myers In the Republican presidential debate on November 12 focusing upon issues of foreign policy, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, speaking of Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear capability, said, “We should be working with Israel right now to do what they did in Syria, what they did in Iraq, which is to take out that nuclear capability before the next explosion we hear in Iran is a nuclear one, and then the world changes.” With all respect, Mr. Santorum, ... Full Story
Message: Bake a bigger Occu(pie)
By Carlo Filice With the various Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, talk of economic and social fairness is in the air. Demonstrators are complaining about the vast inequalities in wealth and political influence between the rich 1 percent or so and the remaining 99 percent. Are the complaints morally legitimate? A key point must be made. Wealth (and influence) inequality per se does not mean unfairness. One analogy is the classroom. Inequality of grades does not ... Full Story
I think it should be wider
Response to “I think it should be wider.” — U.S. Senate candidate Clark Durant, a Michigan Republican, sharing his thoughts on the wealth gap and why Occupy Wall Street protesters should “go find a job.” I find it ironic that Republicans have such disdain for the lazy, and yet their solution to everything is do nothing. Their answer to wealth inequality? Do nothing. Healthcare? Do nothing. Climate change? Nothing. Racism? ... Full Story
Why defense spending should be cut
Why defense spending should be cut By Fareed Zakaria Published: August 3 The scary aspect of the debt deal meant to force all of Washington to its senses is the threatened cut to defense spending. If the congressional “super-committee” cannot agree on cutbacks of $1.5 trillion, the guillotine will fall and half of those cuts will have to come from expenditures on national security. As with so much Washington accounting, there is lots of ... Full Story
Rick Perry, God and Me: When I Got the Call
Political satire by Katha Pollitt, Trying to find humor in politics Rick Perry, God and Me: When I Got the Call By Katha Pollitt God called me a couple of months ago and told me to run for president. It was late at night, and he had this weird voice. It sounded like he’d been drinking, so I hung up on him He called me back a few nights later. He explained that he’d been experimenting with a new voice—instead of deep and gravelly, nudgy and insinuating, ... Full Story
Texas executes, and executes and …
The following article looks at the emotional involvement of Texas prosecutors in the executions of their defendants. The next to the last paragraph compares their commitment to getting the execution over to Calaphas, the prosecutor of Christ. Oddly, the prosecutors in this state display similar properties. Calaphas is no hero to Christians, yet, ironically, Bible-belt Texans would condemn Calaphas behavior while apparently approving it in their state prosecutors. It appears that they ... Full Story
