‘Voices & Thoughts’ Archives
Occupy America and Friendly Fascism
Occupy America and Friendly Fascism: Life in the Corporate Police State October 31, 2011 By John Whitehead "Law is no longer what it was intended to be - a set of rules equally binding everyone to ensure that outcome inequalities are at least legitimate - and instead has become the opposite: a tool used by the politically and financially powerful to entrench their own power and control the society. That's how and why the law now destroys equality and protects the ... Full Story
Why I Am A Teacher
By Daris Howard It was summer graduation day at the university where I work and a beautiful day it was, unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. That one was in April and the cold south wind had swirled the snow around us. On that day, as we watched the students file past, one of my more seasoned colleagues, who was also my mentor, turned to me and said, “Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest times of your life.” When I asked him why it was ... Full Story
Obituary: Timothy Allan Eisenbraun
Timothy Allan Eisenbraun, 48, passed away Oct 26 at his home in Berthoud. He was born Sept 9, 1963 in Hot Springs, South Dakota to Allan and Nancy Eisenbraun, welcomed home by a sister Annette. Tim grew up in Custer, South Dakota and Loveland, Colorado. He graduated from High School in Loveland. Tim worked various jobs for years before becoming disabled from heart disease. Tim loved the outdoors, cars, dogs, and his greatest love, fishing. Tim was preceded in death by both his parents. Left ... Full Story
Corporations manufacture scientific doubt
Corporate campaigns manufacture scientific doubt by David Michaels From the September 27, 2008 issue of Science News In Doubt Is Their Product, published in April, epidemiologist David Michaels describes the growing corporate practice of “manufacturing” scientific uncertainty to thwart regulation of products that appear to pose risks. Michaels encountered the practice firsthand with beryllium, a metal used at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities, while he was the Energy ... Full Story
The Vatican meets the Wall Street occupiers
The Vatican meets the Wall Street occupiers By E.J. Dionne Jr. Opinion Writer Will we soon see a distinguished-looking older man in long, white robes walking among the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in New York’s Zuccotti Park? Is Pope Benedict XVI joining the protest movement? Well, yes and no. Yes, the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a strong and thoughtful critique of the global financial system this week that ... Full Story
The wealthy’s rewards
The study that shows why Occupy Wall Street struck a nerve By Eugene Robinson Opinion writer The hard-right conservatives who dominate the Republican Party claim to despise the redistribution of wealth, but secretly they love it — as long as the process involves depriving the poor and middle class to benefit the rich, not the other way around. That is precisely what has been happening, as a jaw-dropping new report by the nonpartisan Congressional ... Full Story
Jobs
Politics generates some really bizarre ideas. We’re told that government jobs are not “real” jobs. That’s absurd. Police, firefighters, teachers, social workers, road maintenance crews, border patrol officers, and the military all do jobs that are necessary for our health, welfare, and freedom, and we need them. They also contribute to our economy by shopping at private business and paying taxes -- just like other workers. When they’re laid off, ... Full Story
“Puppies are nice, but who paid for the ad?”
Politicians in the United States are diverse. They are tall, short, young, old, Republican, Democrat. But they all have one thing in common. They want to be reelected. That is why the vast majority of them sell us out for special interest campaign contributions. They think that the only way they can get elected is to buy expensive television time in order to get mindless name-recognition or poison their opponent with vicious, negative ads. In exchange for this money, they are willing to ... Full Story
When Romney helped Perry evade the law
Lawsuit reveals contradictory stories about an illicit $1 million campaign contribution from “Swift Boat” funder By Mark Hertsgaar “Follow the money” is an elementary rule for understanding American politics, and in the case of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the money trail leads to a case of apparent money laundering that involves his Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney and a $1 million contribution from the same Texas tycoon who bankrolled the ... Full Story
Infrastructure? Don’t you mean Union?
We hear the repeated and resounding call by the President to invest more money on "infrastructure" (roads, bridges, school construction, etc.) Didn't we try this two years ago? Remember "shovel ready projects" that turned out to not quite be "...as shovel ready as we thought"? Let's look at what this is REALLY all about. Unless I am sadly mistaken, the Davis-Bacon labor laws prevent non-union construction companies from even submitting bids for such federal contracts. Is this ... Full Story
