Always Positive, Sometimes Right

Many devout, sincere and decent people on the Right continue to be manipulated by a few cynical groups and individuals in search of money, with a touch of racism.

Over the last few years there have been many instances where spokesmen of the Rabid Right have created controversies out of whole cloth in order to energize the GOP base or to increase ratings and income for themselves.  A few examples will suffice.

Several years ago, Fox’s Bill O’Reilly began a fall tradition. In November each year, he (more. . .)

These are books to be read on the beach, gin and tonic in hand.

Seymour Hersh in the New York Times has written about secret plans of the Central Intelligence Agency to establish and train teams of agents who would be entering foreign countries for the purpose of killing al Qaeda leaders, followers and sympathizers. The proposed program, started in 2001 following the attack on the World Trade Center, was “officially” terminated in 2009 according to statements by the present Director of the agency, Leon Panetta.  (more. . .)

I, and many others, have written about the willingness of the Bush-Cheney administration to expand the authority of the president to beyond the imagination and fears ever before imagined.  We witnessed torture, extraordinary rendition whereunder a person would be secretly transported to foreign countries with even fewer scruples against brutality than Mr. Cheney possessed and warrantless wiretaps of conversations of United States citizens, warrantless because there was nothing to present to a Court that would justify them.  We have witnessed the willingness — no, the (more. . .)

There is a class of employees that may be unaware of unemployment compensation benefits [UCB] to which they may be entitled.

Take a few examples:

Jane is employed as a cashier at a pari-mutuel racetrack that has racing dates established by state law.  She works full time during the racing seasons at the track but when the racing stops, she is laid off.  While she anticipates that she will be rehired when the races resume, she has no contract guaranteeing that hope.  Jane is willing and able (more. . .)

GOP: cut taxes on wealthy, give government operations to private industry and make people afraid – and everything will be perfect, again.

In an previous article, I discussed the failure of the United States health care delivery system to provide affordable medical care to our citizens at a cost comparable to that available to those living in other industrial nations and, at the same time, have results no more favorable.

The reaction of the Republicans, with respect to health care reform and all other proposals of the (more. . .)