Afghanistan or Social Security? Boehner Says We Have to Choose

Peace activists and progressives are the only people that I’ve heard connect war spending in Afghanistan and Pakistan with our financial security at home – until now, that is. Yesterday House Minority Leader made the connection explicit, telling reporters and editors for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that we need to cut Social Security benefits to pay […]

What I Saw at “AmericaSpeaks”: A Mind Control Experiment Gone Horribly Right

After much hype and buildup, the AmericaSpeaks “national town meeting” on cutting the deficit was held on Saturday. I watched the proceedings via webcast for much of the morning, knowing that Digby was liveblogging it and David Dayen was on the scene here in Southern California, so that I could take part in a radio […]

“AmericaSpeaks”/Social Security Radio Interview: Saturday, June 25

I was on Hannah-Beth Jackson’s radio show this Saturday discussing two topics:  Social Security and the “AmericaSpeaks” events, and the financial reform bill.  Here’s Part I of the discussion, on Social Security.  I’ll get the financial reform piece up as soon as I have time to clean up the audio. Download Hannah Beth 0626 SS […]

Dear Dylan Ratigan: Let’s Rage Against the Machine … but Tactically

I’m a big Dylan Ratigan fan, and I’m glad we have his voice on the airwaves. That’s why it was unexpected to find myself presented as the voice of accommodation in contrast to his angrier tone, when The Huffington Post placed his post on the financial reform bill back to back with mine on Friday. […]

Myths & Facts About “Myth & Facts About AmericaSpeaks”

The organizers of AmericaSpeaks, tomorrow’s “town hall meeting”/media event designed to focus attention on budget-cutting, have issued a document called “Myths & Facts About AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our Economy.” A number of excellent pieces have already been written about the slanted point of view in their materials, which are d

Gen. Petraeus Goes to War, Mrs. Petraeus Loses to Car Salesman in Congress

This pretty much says it all: General Petraeus is returning to Afghanistan at the President’s request to lead the war effort there, but his wife Holly’s struggle to defend our troops against the predatory lending practices of car dealers has been lost. Holly will become another military spouse who lost a battle with car dealers […]

America “Speaks” On Saturday, But There’s An Anti-Social Security Script

This Saturday an organization called AmericaSpeaks is sponsoring a “National Town Meeting” on the budget deficit in twenty cities. Although organizers claim to be non-partisan, a review of their materials shows a strong ideological bias and a thinly disguised goal: to manipulate attendees into “spontaneously” deciding that the social safety net must be cut (with […]

Help Ensure House & Senate Managers “Aren’t in a Good Mood” About Shady Auto Deals

“What do I have to do to get you into this car?” How much can you afford to pay every month?” ” “My manager’s in a good mood.” These are the car salesman cliches everybody knows. Now they’re trying to add a couple more to the repertoire: “When you take out a car loan – […]

Interview on Financial Reform, Santa Barbara Talk Radio

Did an interview this morning on Hannah-Beth Jackson’s radio show, Progressive Talk Radio in Santa Barbara.  The topic was the current state of financial reform in Washington.    Click on the “download” link and it will start playing. (There’s a burst of static a few seconds in – sorry about that!). Here it is: Download […]