Author Archives: Thorne Dreyer

Danny Schechter : The Obama Defection

Obama under fire. Image from PressTV.The Obama defection:Former supporters lambaste the President Just this week he reportedly begged his supporters to send more money as donations fall off. He may be panicking. By Danny Schechter | The Rag Blog | … Continue reading

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Ted McLaughlin : Are We Moving Towards Single-Payer?

Photo by Glyn Lowe Photoworks / Flickr. Image from OtherWords.The pressures moving the U.S. closerto a single-payer health care system There will be a huge pressure to reform Medicaid — and the only way to reform it adequately is to … Continue reading

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Harvey Wasserman : DOE and the Southern Company’s Nuclear Sweetheart Deal

Two new nuclear reactors are being constructed at Plant Vogtle near Augusta. Image from EcoWatch.The Southern Company’snuclear sweetheart deal Why should nuke guarantees cost less than home or student loans? By Harvey Wasserman | The Rag Blog | July 3, … Continue reading

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Philip L. Russell : The PRI and the Mexican Spring

Frontrunner Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico’s PRI on the campaign trail. Image from The Washington Post.The Return of the PRI and the Mexican Spring The big surprise of the first debate was how well Peña Nieto was able to respond … Continue reading

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Don Swift : Cultural Cognition and Today’s Politics

Cartoon by Bennett / Chattanooga Times Free Press. Image from Picasa. Fact and fiction: Cultural cognition and today’s politics The scholars have noted a tendency for people to ‘conform their beliefs about disputed matters of fact… to values that define … Continue reading

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RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Gay Marriage and Social Justice with Gail and Betsy Leondar-Wright

Betsy, left, and Gail Leondar-Wright, were Thorne Dreyer’s guests on Rag Radio, Friday, June 22, 2012.Rag Radio:Gail and Betsy Leondar-Wrighton gay marriage and social justice By Rag Radio | The Rag Blog | June 28, 2012 Gail and Betsy Leondar-Wright, … Continue reading

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Marc Estrin : Worstward Ho!

Fail worse What is absolutely clear is that the performance of the United States at the recent Rio+20 conference was intended as an energetic worsening thrust. By Marc Estrin | The Rag Blog | June 27, 2012 In his penultimate … Continue reading

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Richard Raznikov : Keep the ‘Change,’ Barack

Label this! Image from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.Label this!Keep the ‘change,’ Barack I wonder whether the writer knew that Obama has appointed Monsanto’s chief lobbyist and a corporate vice president to serve as the ‘food safety czar’ of the Food … Continue reading

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Danny Schechter : South Africa’s Political Wars

South African President Jacob Zuma was caught up in a personal corruption scandal that he “narrowly slithered out of.” Photo by Reuters.South Africa’s political warsbegin to resemble our own The African National Congress is riven by factions, ambitious politicians, and … Continue reading

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IDEAS / Bill Meacham : Ways of Knowing

Cartoon by Piraro. Image from Sandwalk.Ways of Knowing The whole thing is about life perpetuating itself, about what we will do, how we will act, in different situations. By Bill Meacham | The Rag Blog | June 27, 2012 Each … Continue reading

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Travis Waldron : Texas Republican Platform: Whoa Doggies!

Texas Republicans. Image from Republican Liberty Caucus.The five craziest policies inTexas Republicans’ 2012 platform The Texas GOP supports ‘repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment,’ which instituted a national income tax, and instead favors a wildly regressive national sales tax that would … Continue reading

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BOOKS / Ron Jacobs : ‘The People’s Pension’ and the War Against Social Security

‘The People’s Pension’:The war against social security The opponents of this program are not interested in saving money, a fairer distribution of benefits, or helping the elderly. They are serving an ideological agenda of social Darwinism. By Ron Jacobs | … Continue reading

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