Bush's war on health insurance

A couple of choice quotes from More relief for struggling millionaires, by Salon.com's Michelle Goldberg:

"If you thought the current Bush tax rate rewarded the wealthy, wait until you get a load of his administration's latest plan."

Bush's proposal "would do away with the tax deduction granted to employers for providing health insurance, would likely throw millions of people out of group plans, forcing them to buy far more expensive individual insurance."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/11/20/tax/index.html

Is Wal-Mart Good for America?

I know where I stand on this question, but here is an in-depth look at the world's largest retailer. I'm glad to see PBS looking at this company critically, as Wal-Mart has begun underwriting NPR, and you may not be hearing anything like this on the radio for awhile.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

A culture of death?

Once again, Arianna is just what the doctor ordered. I confess that I didn't realize just how bad the situation with Vioxx was, but she puts it all into context. Looks like another case of corporate power run amok in America:

http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/column.php?id=745

Jeffersonian inspiration

"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt. If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."
—Thomas Jefferson, in a letter of 1798, after the passage of the Sedition Act

What to do with your Kerry stickers

Cover 'em up with one of these:

http://www.cafepress.com/airamericaradio.14500836

for a less crude option, try:

http://www.cafepress.com/beatbushgear.14455516

Satan's Liberal Media

First of all, I reject the idea that the media are liberal. As for the idea that it is controlled by the Evil One, find out how the other half thinks (though I'm not sure this is the right word) here:

http://www.raptureready.com/rr-liberal-media.html

Robert Fisk and countercurrents

Robert Fisk is one of the most provocative jounalists/media critics I know of. He normally writes for the Independent in Britain, with a focus on Middle East politics. I would not imagine that he is well liked at the Pentagon, which makes him all the more endearing to me. An archive of his work is available at:

http://www.countercurrents.org/fiskarchive040803.htm

The site that hosts the Fisk archive is one my friend Aaron just sent to me today. It looks intriguing.
http://www.countercurrents.org/index.htm

"the downward spiral toward theocracy"

I think Barbara Ehrenreich rightly exhorts us to "Act Like Christians" in her latest piece for Alternet. This fascinating commentary goes behind the church walls and uncovers a world few of us blue-staters are acquainted with. We're up against the wall here, and we need to fight for what we believe in; Lord knows the right wing is doing just that.

"For the next four years and well beyond, liberals and progressives will need to emulate the original Christians, who stood against imperial Rome with their bodies, their hearts and their souls."
http://www.alternet.org/election04/20507/

NPR alternatives

We're going to fight Fox TV, we're going to fight CNBC, we're gonna fight CNN you see...
-Red Pill

Here are a few of my favorite news radio sources. You can stream any of them for free online:

Air America Radio - the new kid on the block. Some good shows, some I'm not that fond of. At this point, Morning Sedition from 6-9 a.m. is my top pick. Depending on my mood, I'll also listen to Unfiltered from 9 to 12, and then the Al Franken show from 12 to 3. After that, I can't get excited about any of the shows. If you do tune in, you may want to mute the commercials, which are frequent, and with the exception of the odd progressive spot, every bit as annoying as you'd expect from the AM dial.
http://www.airamericaradio.com/

Democracy Now!
A decidedly left-wing perspective on the day's news. Same basic political orientation as Air America, but completely humorless. Given how depressing the world situation can be, this can be little tough to take. But their hearts are in the right place.
http://www.democracynow.org/

KPFK
A progressive, mostly talk station out of the LA area. Lot of interesting things here, though I haven't listened in awhile. Democracy Now! is played on this station daily.
http://www.kpfk.org/

Send more links if you know of them.

The wisdom of H.L. Mencken

How could I resist?

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

A really easy way to help save the planet (really)

This message was forwarded to me from my friend, Yasmin:

"The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has set up a great (if somewhat cheesy) action center for priority environmental action issues... Basically, you sign up with your personal details, and then you can just log into the http://www.savebiogems.org/ website and send letters to Congresspeople and other authority figures with just one click. It's so easy that there isn't really an excuse not to - it's an incredibly easy way to help support critical environmental issues. I'm not affiliated with NRDC, but I know they have managed to do some really great work by mobilizing a huge number of people to respond rapidly on proposed legislation, etc.

Please sign up - just visit http://www.savebiogems.org/

If you thought you were alone out there

in your dislike of the Bush administration, this may brighten your spirits:

http://www.sorryeverybody.com

Reading is fundamental

"Why are your libraries full of tears?"
- Allen Ginsberg

"The illiteracy level of our children are appalling."
- George W. Bush

Great books each liberal should have on his or her bookshelf:
1. Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot to Print, edited by David Wallis
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3. What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank
4. 1984 by George Orwell
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
7. The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz
8. Investing with Your Values: Making Money and Making a Difference by Hal Brill, Jack A. Brill, and Cliff Feigenbaum
9. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
10. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
11. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
12. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
13. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
14. Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John De Graaf
15. Too Darn Hot: Writing About Sex Since Kinsey by Judy Bloomfield

Special thanks to Sarah Pascarella for compiling this list.

Find out why Harry Potter, James & The Giant Peach, and other works of evil have been banned: http://title.forbiddenlibrary.com/

Mapquest, Chapter 2

The more things change, the more they stay the same?
http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog10/maps/

Mapping the election, more accurately

Great page on alternative graphic interpretations of our recent election. There are so many, many ways to tell a story:
http://www.cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/election/

The future of the Democratic Party?

I wholeheartedly agree with Arianna's assertion here. Yes, Democrats must embrace "moral values." And no, such values are not defined by stopping gay rights and controlling women's bodies.

A choice quote: "If the Democratic Party is not about bringing focus and urgency to the creation of a more fair, just — and, yes, moral — society, it might as well cease to exist."

http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/column.php?id=743

Eerily similar to a regime I know

Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism:
http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm

Maureen Dowd rips Karl Rove

"We're entering another dark age, more creationist than cutting edge, more premodern than postmodern. Instead of leading America to an exciting new reality, the Bushies cocoon in a scary, paranoid, regressive reality. Their new health care plan will probably be a return to leeches."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/opinion/07dowd.html?8hpib

Is American liberalism on life support?

What really burns me about last Tuesday's debacle is that it underscores how dysfunctional our electoral system is. Because it's winner-take-all, a candidate can get almost 56 million votes and his supporters have virtually no say in how they are governed. This Guardian editorial does an excellent job of showing how the U.S. has been hijacked by the religious right.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/comment/story/0,14259,1346207,00.html