CATO'S WONKS GET WONKY ON HEALTH CARE August 2009There’s nothing particularly distinctive about the Cato Institute, one of several corporate-funded holding tanks for right-wing policy wonks – except...
BUILDING NEIGHBORLINESS WITH FREE FRUIT July 2009Some years ago, a young, sorta-hippyish couple knocked on my front door. They had noticed that I had fig trees...
SMALL SHIFTS IN THE DIRECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY July 2009Having wandered without hope in the arid desert of George W’s environmental policies for the past eight years, even small...
SHOULD CHARITY HOSPITALS BE CHARITABLE? July 2009As Lily Tomlin says, “No matter how cynical you get, it’s almost impossible to keep up.” The truth of Tomlin’s...
REAL COMPETITION CAN STOP HEALTH INSURANCE GOUGING July 2009Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama is all for Congressional efforts to produce health care reform – as long as they...
WHY SUPPORT CORPORATIONS THAT DON'T SUPPORT US? July 2009Yes, our overall economy is a wreck – but you’ll be glad to know that one business sector is booming:...
GAMES THAT GUBERNATORIAL GOOBERS PLAY July 2009The word “glitch” apparently is derived from a Yiddish term meaning “a slippery place.” We Texans know right where that...
THE GREAT AMERICAN DEBIT CARD BANK HEIST July 2009Our world has turned topsy turvy. Instead of people robbing banks, banks are robbing people. Even more bizarre is the...
IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL ON WALL STREET July 2009Here’s some great economic news, folks: America is back on the financial upswing, and happy days are here again! What’s...
DOG-SNIFF JURISPRUDENCE July 2009Two criminal cases in Texas have raised quite a stench about a smell test that prosecutors nationwide have been using...
THE NUMBERS BEHIND WASHINGTON'S BANKER BAILOUT July 2009You’d think that Wall Street bankers – who have caused a national economic collapse and cost taxpayers $12 trillion just...
WALL STREET'S FLIM-FLAM FEE SCAMMERS July 2009How’s this for gratitude? Wall Street bankers, whom we’ve propped up with a $12-trillion bailout, are quietly slipping offensive little...
HOOSIERS DISCOVER THE COST OF PRIVATIZATION July 2009It was a proud day for the governor. In December 2006, he stepped to the lectern, full of confidence: “No...
YES WE CAN RE-MAKE TRADE POLICY July 2009Well now, here’s some change you can believe in. It doesn’t come from Barack Obama, who campaigned as the “change”...
WHAT'S WITH WELLS FARGO? July 2009Remember when the name “Wells Fargo” conjured up something positive? It was the fast express service of the 1800s, delivering...
THE INTERMINABLE PRICE OF WAR July 2009Well, we finally got that Iraq thing done, right? On the last day of June, the U.S. commander in Iraq...
BUSHITES STILL WORKING THE GOVERNMENT July 2009On January 20th, the Bushites were shown the door and sent packing – right? Yes, but many of them didn’t...
MADOFF IS NOT THE PROBLEM July 2009Well, they sure nailed Bernie Madoff, didn’t they? The 71-year-old Ponzi schemer was sentenced to 65 years in the federal...
CORPORATE CONTROL OF FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS July 2009E. coli 0157: H7 sounds like a character in an international spy thriller. And, in fact, 0157: H7 is an...
BANKERS BEHAVING BADLY July 2009What is it that makes bankers behave badly? Is it genetics? Or is it just that no one ever taught...
THE GOVERNOR IS OUT July 2009It’s Monday – do you know where your governor is? The recent outbreak of hot and heavy gubernatorial hanky-panky by...
A SOFT LANDING IN ROUGH TIMES July 2009These are rough times. How rough, you ask? So rough that even the relative roughness of toilet tissue has arisen...
SPREADING THE ORGANIC MOVEMENT COAST TO COAST July 2009What’s the number one outdoor activity in America? Not baseball, soccer, jogging or golf. Instead, it’s gardening! I happen to...
REINING IN CORPORATE TAX DODGERS July 2009The British Virgin Islands – the very name conjures up a Caribbean paradise of soft sand beaches, tropical breezes, and...
FINDING WAYS TO PERK UP CEO PAY June 2009As we’re learning the hard way, CEOs are not quite the brilliant cockadoodledoos they wanted you and me to think...
