Working Life

Thirteen years ago today, Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash while he was campaigning for re-election. Each year, on this day, I write something about Paul as a small way to remember an astonishingly great Senator–besides Bernie Sanders, he’s the only politician in the last 30-40 years I’d walk over hot coals to help. […]

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It is either ironic or karmic that just as Iraq is interrupting into yet another spasm of civil war, Hillary Clinton steps into the public arena to promote her book–and her presidential campaign (be my guest if you want to believe that she is really deeply weighing this or not). A lot of attention has been paid to her interview yesterday on NPR, mostly because of her (dissembling) explanation of her views on gay marriage. But, far less attention is being paid to an entirely dishonest attempt to wash away the blood she helped spill in Iraq–a tragedy generations will pay for in many ways.

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This is no surprise. It reminds us what a despicable group of immoral people were in high office for many years. But, to take away the emotion, the more important question is: when will those people be held accountable? And what does this mean about the legality of the on-going drone war?

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   A few months ago, I spent 5-6 hours interviewing Paul Krugman for Playboy magazine. It’s now on-line here. He speaks candidly–surprise–about the economic misdeeds of Wall Street, the foolishness of the current austerity obsession and focus on the non-existent debt crisis, and a whole range of topics including his view that the Obama Administration […]

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    Each year, on this day, I try to write something about the late Paul Wellstone who was one of the few elected politicians who really had a deep soul and compass when it came to representing the people. Nine years ago, Paul died in a plane crash, along with his wife, Sheila, daughter Marcia, […]

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   Math is a pretty simple thing–except if you are an elected member of Congress engaging in misdirection, blaming the wrong people and a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance (which requires that you reconcile conflicting realities by blaming, justifying or denying the truth). Which brings us to: why do we have deficits? Well, at least […]

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Admittedly, I’ve never been into the bi-partisan meme. Maybe it’s because I’m a labor movement person and the mission of the Republican party, and its allies, is to destroy the labor movement. But, I still remain mystified: why exactly, given the Republican party’s record, is the new Administration working so hard to win it over? […]

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  The dictionary defines "travesty" as "a debased, distorted, or grossly inferior imitation". That is what I think of when I think of Norm Coleman on the anniversary of the death of Paul Wellstone. This is a personal feeling but, in my mind, there is no Senate seat I want taken from the Republicans more […]

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    I was going to write about the UAW picking GM as a target but, then, I gagged on my morning newspaper. If you pick up The New York Times this morning (I’ve got the national edition as I’m on the road) there is a picture of a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery where three […]

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    This is so typical that it’s hardly surprising–From UPI: Iraq’s oil minister said Iraq’s oil unions are not legitimate and have no more standing in the debate over the oil law than an ordinary citizen. “There are no legal unions in Iraq,” Hussein al-Shahristani said Wednesday in response to a question about various factions’ […]

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