Blogs
Another Feeble-Headed Nuke Drops Dead
As
the "reactor renaissance" desperately demands new billions from a lame
duck Congress, one of its shining stars has dropped dead. Other
much-hyped "new generation" plans may soon die with it.
For
years "expert" reactor backers have touted the "Pebble Bed" design as
an "inherently safe" alternative to traditional domed light water
models. Now its South African developers say they're done pouring money
into it.
Why Mitchell Said ‘No’ to Hamas
Russ Feingold, the Senate's True Maverick
When Russ Feingold jogs onto the stage of the Barrymore Theatre on a Friday night in Madison, Wisconsin, a thousand old-school progressives—not liberals avoiding the L-word but heart-and-soul believers in a political ethic that traces back to the trustbusters and anti-imperialists of a century ago—rise to cheer the living embodiment of their faith.
Houston, We Have a (Voting) Problem
"The voting system is under attack now. The movements that are focused on voter fraud and the integrity of elections are crucial at this point.
Making Sense of Poverty Numbers
The Great Recession has hit those on the bottom most heavily, adding six million Americans to the ranks of the officially poor.
The number of officially poor is now higher, at nearly 44 million, than at any time in the 51 years of this count. Yet these recent Census numbers hide as much as they reveal.
Coal Speaks for Itself
Appalachia Rising is a movement led by the people of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. People from all over America will come together on September 27th 2010 to demand the abolition of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal extraction in Appalachia. We are not visiting DC to attack coal as its supporters would have you believe. We are a non-violent movement; I don’t see any of us attacking anything or anyone. Coal speaks its own truth and I believe that truth is spoken in catastrophes such as the April 5th
America Is Suffering a Power Outage (and the Rest of the World Knows It)
“Make poverty history!” A catchy slogan, and an admirable aim, it was adopted by world leaders at the United Nations summit in New York on the eve of the New Millennium. A decade later, it is America which has made history -- even if in the opposite direction. The latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that, in 2009, one in seven Americans was living below the poverty line, the highest figure in half a century. Last month’s 95,000-plus home foreclosures broke all records.
More Questions Than Answers in FBI Spy Case
A Writers' Workshop graduate would have a hard time writing a story more Orwellian than this: A few dozen student and community peace organizers, known in Iowa City for their theatrical — if sometimes confrontational — direct-action street protests, become the subject of a nine-month criminal investigation by the FBI, and they were followed around for hundreds of hours by government agents as they went grocery shopping
You Can Change Your School’s Food
Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
So, how much time do you have to change the food your school serves?
No, Higher Consciousness Won’t Save Us
US Poverty Data Tells Only Half the Story...
In April this year, Fortune magazine published an insightful analytical piece Fortune 500: Profits bounce back. Two days ago as I went back to the Fortune website to read the piece again, I found something very interesting: sitting right next to it was the story Poverty in the US Spikes. I took a screen-shot right away.
It's Election Season, Time To Talk About Nothing Important
As
the November election approaches, the White House seems to be ending
its Rip Van Winkle-like slumber and has begun crawling out of the bubble
of its own making. Many fear it’s a bit late.
Bleeding-Heart Republicans
The focus of the GOP's generosity is a true American minority: the richest one-tenth of one percent of our people.
Stoned on Righteousness
It’s not just about us. If Californians legalize marijuana on Nov. 2, maybe Mexico will end its horrific drug war.
Good Riddance, Larry Summers!
Good riddance, Larry Summers.
Obama’s top economic adviser is going back to Harvard by the end of the year, and Harvard can have him.
Summers has a resume of disaster.
As chief economist at the World Bank, he proposed dumping the West’s toxic waste on the Third World.
As Clinton’s Treasury undersecretary, he forced privatization on the Russian people, who experienced enormous poverty as a result. (See Naomi Klein’s “The Shock Doctrine.”)
Howard Zinn's Last Testament to the Immorality of War
Howard Zinn died this year. He is perhaps best known for his People's History of the United States, a book that has featured in The Simpsons and was recommended by Matt Damon's character in the film Good Will Hunting. This book, which offered a view of US history in terms of 500 years of imperialism, colonisation and racism, was less well received academically, with critics calling it polemical and revisionist.
Replacing Summers: Think Policy, Not Politico
Larry Summers is out, and President Barack Obama now faces a critical decision. He can focus on policy, naming a replacement who wants to ease the economic strains on American households, or he can focus on politics, naming a candidate who appeases the corporate executive class and their backers in the Republican Party. The choice should be obvious. On the economy, good policy is also good politics.
The 'Rightwing Backlash' That Never Was
Is America in the grip of a rightwing backlash that will hit the November elections like a hurricane?
This narrative is gathering steam. It is fed not only by the minority partisan rightwing media, but also its majority "liberal" counterpart, which loves a horse race and is fascinated with the Tea Party, even if it isn't so eager for the Republicans to take congress.
Paying Teachers for Student Performance Didn’t Raise Scores in Study
Offering middle-school math teachers bonuses up to $15,000 did not produce gains in student test scores, Vanderbilt University researchers reported Tuesday in what they said was the first scientifically rigorous test of merit pay.
The results could amount to a cautionary flag about paying teachers for the performance of their students, a reform strategy the Obama administration and many states and school districts have favored despite lukewarm support or outright opposition from teachers’ unions.
Echoing at the Extremes
This weekend, at a panel on the U.S./Mexico border in Marfa, Texas,
GRITv friend, reporter Mark Danner discussed the "thinning out" and
hardening of politics.
When there's insecurity, violence and threat, he noted, people flock
to those who promise to deliver security and stability even at the cost
of their personal liberties. Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico—whomever offers
protection attracts popular support.