(1 comments) SHARE        Thursday, February 11, 2010
Aiding and abetting the enemy: a response to Hendrik Hertzberg A response to Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker, who criticized leftists and blog sites like OpEdNews. Hertzberg thinks the "system" is to blame, not Obama and the Democrats. Here's why he's wrong.

(10 comments) SHARE        Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Battle for Good Government: Why I canceled my Seattle Times subscription The conservative plan to drown government in a bathtub of debt, mismanagement, and corruption is nearing completion. In this context, I have canceled my subscription to the Seattle Times, and I encourage others to do the same.

(21 comments) SHARE        Thursday, November 12, 2009
Understanding political anger Why are people so angry about politics? How has anger affected your life?

SHARE        Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Good news from the (upper) left coast In Washington State, voters expanded gay rights, rejected an anti-tax initiative, and elected a progressive to be King County executive.

(28 comments) SHARE        Wednesday, October 14, 2009
"They're out to get us!" On trust, distrust, and organizing for change People have lost trust in the institutions of society. Like libertarians, many progressives no longer trust government. What can we trust? How can we rebuild trust? (Plus, some cool fractal images that demonstrate self-similarity needed in politics.)

(3 comments) SHARE        Sunday, October 4, 2009
White House spurns Mad As Hell Docs, invites "friendlier" docs On September 30th, the Mad As Hell Docs arrived in Washington, D.C., and held a rally in Lafayette Park in front of the White House. Doctors from across the country attended. They told the crowd why they believed, based on their years of practicing medicine and the stories Their voices were not heard in the White House. Or were they?

(4 comments) SHARE        Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Real Meaning of Accountability: Reflections on Obama's UN Speech Accountability is not just a matter of throwing a few Bush Administration officials in jail. Not at all. The real meaning of accountability is this: will America face the past and repudiate the ideologies, policies, and individuals who brought the nation to the brink of disaster? Torture and lying about war are just the tip of the iceberg. Many of the people responsible for crimes and for mismanagement remain in office.

(4 comments) SHARE        Sunday, September 20, 2009
Do protest marches and rallies do much good? What are the alternatives? Stories and reflections about the role of protest marches and rallies in achieving progressive ends. A discussion of the slow, tedious, unfun alternatives.

(18 comments) SHARE        Saturday, September 19, 2009
Arguing with conservatives about health care My response to a conservative's call for more "market-based competition" in health care. Market-based competition is unlikely to work, and Singapore is a poor example. This article summarizes the case against Big Insurance and Big Pharma.

SHARE        Monday, September 14, 2009
Book review: Mark Buchanan's The Social Atom Mark Buchanan's The Social Atom has insightful things to say about politics, economics, and human cooperation.

SHARE        Sunday, September 13, 2009
Market-based competition in medical care? Some conservatives think that the way to control medical costs is to have market-based competition between health care providers. I don't think so, and this one-minute animation shows why.

(1 comments) SHARE        Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Mad as Hell Doctors stop in Seattle The Mad As Hell Doctors are touring the country. They stopped in Seattle this afternoon. Impressive people and energy. Will the American people learn the truth? Please check out a great video they produced: OurAilingHealthcare.com .

(4 comments) SHARE        Saturday, September 5, 2009
Shouting conservative accused of assaulting elderly woman at health care rally At a health care rally on Mercer Island, WA, a shouting conservative woman disrupted a speech and is alleged to have assaulted a 74 year old woman. I tell the story and make comments on nonprofessional journalism on a blog like OpEdNews. I also identify at least one valid point made by the angry conservative.

(3 comments) SHARE        Friday, September 4, 2009
Close friendships: why so few? Many Americans have trouble maintaining close non-romantic friendships. Why is that?

(38 comments) SHARE        Saturday, August 29, 2009
Failure to prosecute: why Obama is having trouble passing health care reform President Obama apparently believes that prosecuting Bush Administration officials for torture and other crimes would be a "distraction" from more important matters, such as health care reform. Nothing could be further from the truth.

(1 comments) SHARE        Thursday, August 27, 2009
Conservative bullies, progressive wimps? No more! Some ways in which progressives can kick conservative butt. True bipartisanship means: opposition to conservatives whether they're Democrats or Republicans.

(10 comments) SHARE        Thursday, August 20, 2009
Where are the religious protesters? Abolitionism and the civil rights movement benefited from the support of religious folks. Where are the religious folks in the anti-war, accountability, and health care reform movements? Is their absence one reason why current progressive movements have failed?

(22 comments) SHARE        Friday, August 14, 2009
Where's the music? In the 1960s protest songs inspired the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. Where are the popular protest songs for the current progressive movements?

(1 comments) SHARE        Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thoughts on the White House chain letter I got the White House chain letter on health care reform. What it proposes is very unsatisfactory, but it is a step forward.

(5 comments) SHARE        Monday, August 10, 2009
Song for Rahm Emanuel Song for Rahm Emanuel (to the tune of the Christmas carol "O Come, O Come, Emannuel")