We wrote about the effects of laying off long-time employees and of outsourcing jobs to "maximize profits." But until Americans realize that "cheaper" doesn't necessarily mean "better," we'll continue to have to write why exploitation knows no geographical boundaries.
We wrote in support of the rights of workers, for better working conditions and benefits at least equal to their managers. We didn't expect to see anything change, but we were hopeful that a small minority of business owners who do respect the worker would influence the rest. Until that happens, we'll still have to write about labor issues.
We wrote in support of helping the unemployed, the homeless, those without adequate health coverage--and against the political lunatics who continue to deny the disenfranchised and marginalized the basics of human life. Unfortunately, not much has changed over the past few years.
For many years, we had written about the need for health reform. At the end of last year, Americans got a partial victory, but there is still much more that needs to be done.
We wrote against the media's fixation with celebrity skanks and scandals. We doubt anything will change this year, but we'll still comment upon the media's neglect of what's important--and their fascination with what isn't.
We wrote about why newspapers and magazines died, why the rest have downsized their staffs and the quality of their news product. We doubt anything will change this year, but we still have to bring the issues to the public.
We wrote about problems in the nation's educational system, especially the failure to encourage intellectual curiosity and respect the tenets of academic integrity. But there are still those who believe education is best served by a program manacled by teaching-to-the-test mentality.
We had written forcefully against the previous president and vice-president when they strapped on their six-shooters and sent the nation into war in a country that posed no threat to us, while failing to adequately attack a country that housed the core of the al-Qaeda movement. We wrote about the Administration's failure to provide adequate protection for the soldiers they sent into war or adequate and sustained mental and medical care when they returned home. We wrote about the Administration's belief in the use of torture and why it thought it was necessary to shred parts of the Constitution. Fortunately, last year, we saw a new administration that recognizes that torture is not only wrong but counter-productive to acquiring good information, and that the Constitutional fabric of the United States must be preserved, no many how many threats are made upon it. Unfortunately, at all levels of government, Constitutional violations still exist, and a new year won't change our determination to bring to light these violations wherever and whenever they occur.
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