Carl Bloice

Progressives must be resolute in defending such critical things as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.By the time these words go out into the internet there will be about 10 days left before the election. So, it doesn’t seem worthwhile taking the time to address the proverbial question on the Left: who to vote for or…

They are determined to reshape politics in the interest of the one-percent. Quiet as it’s kept while the nation’s attention is focused on the November 6 Presidential election, a ballot box battle is underway in California, the implications of which extend far beyond the borders of the country’s largest state. Here, rightwing big business operative…

Some good ideas endure for centuries. In her superb new historical novel, Bring Up the Bodies, shortlisted last week for the Man Booker prize, Hilary Mantel has Thomas Cromwell musing about how “… England needs better roads, and bridges that don’t collapse.” The narrator says the aide to Henry VIII “is preparing a bill for…

Like a lot of people, I often wonder: Do these people meet? The words of a party’s platform and the declarations of its candidate don’t mean much in the real world of political wheeling and dealing. Serendipity does not quite describe what happened the day the Democratic Party convention opened. It looked more like collusion…

The real losers would be seniors, sick poor people, the unemployed, and people with disabilities. A highly placed journalist spoke up boldly over the weekend on behalf of the country’s serious people, “those of us who crave a little common sense,” who are feeling a bit of “despair,” right now because the nation’s capital has…

The Conservative Party head of the British government, Prime Minister David Cameron, condemned the “spivvy and probably illegal” activity of Barclays and other banks involved in fixing interest rates. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, (treasury secretary) George Osborne, called the Barclays affair “symptomatic of a financial system that elevated greed above all” and “brought economy…

It never ceases to amaze me how some people who are rich and famous – especially those with access to major newspaper opinion pages – are so quick to declare that others, who are neither, should have to suffer pain. Take, for instance, the ubiquitous David Brooks. Back at the start of the year when…

Quite often, media reports and commentaries about the rising tide of unemployment – especially amongst young people – in other parts of the world are accompanied by warning of dire consequences if the trend continues. Images of major social protests and even acts of violence are evoked. Take, for instance, Europe. The highest youth jobless…