2022 Archives

Seniors not getting eyeglasses or diabetics getting price gouged on insulin are all bad, but won’t signal the death of our republic: the failure to pass meaningful voting rights certainly will. Remember when the Biden presidency was brand new and Democrats in the House and Senate proposed a sweeping, $6 trillion package to rebuild our social safety net, cut drug prices, upgrade our infrastructure, rescue our students and elderly, and save the environment? As it was moving forward, a small group of Republicans and Democrats who call themselves the “corporate problem solvers caucus,” told us that if they could just peel off the parts that involved actual physical construction of infrastructure into a separate bill, they’d get it going right away without having to worry about the filibuster.

Is our “reality TV” media up to the task of comparing and contrasting the two political parties, and judging the most likely outcomes of the directions they’ve chosen? With the Republican Party turning to Trumpism, and the Democratic Party returning to their progressive roots, will we have an honest debate this election year in our media? “What you see is what you get” is an old cliche, but it’s endured all these centuries because there’s so much truth in it. “Don’t listen to what people say, instead look at what they do” is another truism we can apply to inform us about today’s politics.

If an arsonist lit your house on fire, in addition to sending him to jail you could also sue his estate for damages - Isn't lighting the planet on fire worse? Most recently, 100 mph winds swept grass-fires through Colorado, leaving thousands homeless. It was 116 degrees here in Portland last summer, as wildfires and drought ravage the West. The Gulf Coast, South and Eastern Seaboard are now annually torn apart by superstorms, while the Midwest faces mile-wide tornadoes never before seen with this ferocity and frequency. Climate change has gone from the theoretical to slapping us in the face.