No Wonder They are Protesting Do you wonder why the Occupy Wall-Streeters continue their protest? Well, here is just one possible cause: in a time of growing disparity between the rich and the poor; a time when millions of people have lost their homes to foreclosure (2.7 million in 2010, and up 20% this year); a time when more and more Americans are falling into poverty and struggling to feed their children; a time that Bank of America is laying off 30,000 workers in an [...]

A Doctor Visit In a forum on the subject of child poverty in Asheville, North Carolina, a low income mother said” I don’t want to take my children to Disney World. I just want to be able to take them to the doctor.” It is Time, Democrats It is time for the Democratic Party to show the same fervor for protecting the poor and vulnerable as the Republicans do for protecting oil companies, financial institutions and their ultra-rich benefactors. Hypocritical House Speaker John Boehner has [...]

Right on Governor Patrick In response to  “Imagine the America Your Grandchildren Will Inherit” (see above) a friend sent me a Washington Post op-ed piece by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. It follows the same theme: “If the deficit is reduced by spending cuts alone and there is no deal to raise the debt ceiling, here is a sample of what happens: We stop paying our soldiers or supporting our veterans. We stop feeding the neediest children and families. We stop providing nursing-home care to seniors. [...]

John Edwards: Criminal or Cad John Edwards’ behavior has been despicable. He betrayed his wife and children, his staff and contributors, his followers and basic standards of decency. Edward’s lofty campaign rhetoric about lifting up the downtrodden and restoring integrity to our government has been shown to be the hollow ranting of a political phony. But is he a criminal? Should our Justice Department spend millions of dollars to prosecute this man whose crime was more against morality than the law? I think not. I [...]

I have a deeply felt theological view that the conception of a child is an act of God. I also have a deeply engrained political view that no one has the right to legislate their theology and force their religious beliefs on others through the law. I also know that I (a 67-year old white man) can never even begin to understand the complex and deeply personal issues and emotions faced by a woman who must make a decision about whether or not to bear [...]