‘Guest column’ Archives
What We Owe to Bertha von Suttner
What We Owe to Bertha von Suttner By David Swanson Just saying her name sounds like a joke: Baroness Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner, Gräfin, née Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. And when she began talking about ending war in mid-nineteenth century Austria it wasn't her name that was treated as a joke. Yet by the turn of the century, her idea seemed to be one whose time had come. Bertha von Suttner's novel "Ground Arms," or "Lay Down Your Arms," was widely described as ... Full Story
The 14 Biggest Lies of 2011
The 14 Biggest Lies of 2011 By David J Rothkopf I live in Washington where lying is an art form. Actually, that suggests an artist's intent and here in D.C., lying is more reflexive, like breathing or taking cash from fat cats. But when you live in a place like this -- if you can call it living -- where somehow we have managed to train moral mice to produce the shit of bulls, you really get an appreciation for a fine lie. Some stand out ... Full Story
Springtime for Toxics
Springtime for Toxics By Paul Krugman Here’s what I wanted for Christmas: something that would make us both healthier and richer. And since I was just making a wish, why not ask that Americans get smarter, too? Surprise: I got my wish, in the form of new Environmental Protection Agency standards on mercury and air toxics for power plants. These rules are long overdue: we were supposed to start regulating mercury more than 20 years ago. But the rules are ... Full Story
Who Would Jesus Vote For?
Should Christians Ask: Who Would Jesus Vote For? By Doug Bandow Evangelical churches long have been called the Republican Party at prayer. The observation might be close to true in Iowa. And that should make American Christians nervous about their future in politics. The relationship of religion and politics has been fraught with controversy since America's founding. In Europe a brutal mixture of church and state harmed both institutions: faith was perverted by power, ... Full Story
Hurt Obama, don’t hire
Tea Party Group Urges Small Businesses ‘Not To Hire A Single Person’ To Hurt Obama By Marie Diamond Congressional Republicans have acted shocked and offended at Democrats’ suggestions that they are intentionally sabotaging the economy to try to win back the White House in 2012. Republicans have refused to pass President Obama’s jobs plan — which experts estimate will create at least 1.9 million jobs — and proposed an alternative plan that ... Full Story
Life’s Outtakes: A Relative Disaster
A Relative Disaster By Daris Howard The church bulletin carried a notice for a genealogy class that was going to be offered in our local community. A friend of mine joked that I ought to take it to help me find out why I’m so nutty. “Maybe you will learn that you have had squirrels in your family tree.” “Very funny,” I replied. But I must admit that the thought intrigued me. I have some old aunts that work on this kind of thing all of the time. They can tell me who my ... Full Story
Senator Udall on Balanced Budget Amendment
A Common-sense Approach to Balancing the Federal Budget U.S. Senator Mark Udall The recent failure of the supercommittee to reach a deal on federal spending cuts is just the latest example of how ill-equipped Congress is to address our nation's gravest challenge: our ballooning $15 trillion national debt. Democrats and Republicans are still stuck in the same rhetorical trenches. Democrats are reluctant to cut entitlements, while Republicans claim we can both cut taxes and balance our ... Full Story
Mt. Rushmore After Dark, a conversation of patriots
By Kurt Stone (about the author) opednews.com (The following "conversation" is only partly a product of my imagination; all of the italicized lines represent actual quotes from the four men looking out from Mt. Rushmore . . . ) T. Roosevelt: "Psst . . . Mr. Lincoln . . . Are you awake? In the mood for a chat? I've got a horrific case of insomnia and just know that I'm going to be up all night. I've got a lot on ... Full Story
The War that will kill the dollar
From The Gold Report Richard Maybury: The War that Will Kill the Dollar Interview by JT Long A war-mongering U.S. government could be less than 18 months away from decimating the last 5% of value left in the dollar, says Richard Maybury, the author of the U.S. & World Early Warning Report. Until some new exchange-traded-fund-like basket of natural resources provides a store of value, this "juris naturalist" has some advice about how to protect your wealth during the coming ... Full Story
Is the US becoming a Nazi state
Are the Nazi-linked Backgrounds of Some of America's Biggest Corporations a Clue to the Direction We Are Headed? By Richard Clark (about the author) Did IBM knowingly assist the Nazis in rounding up the Jews and are big American corporations now helping our government prepare for the next roundup of scapegoats, trouble makers, and dissidents?Why are war profiteers who play both sides of the fence not prosecuted as ... Full Story
