Opinion Forum

Pros and Cons of the U.S. Higher Education System

January 20th, 2012

By Justin Herbert American education and higher education has taken a hit in the media in recent years. Education professionals continue to flood our news reports saying that America has fallen behind and that our education system needs to be radically reformed. The fact is, however, that higher education in the U.S. is actually gaining [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: funding, higher education, improvement, online, rankings, U.S., world
Categories: Education, Media | Comments (0) | Home

Texas Toast: Rick Perry, Ted Kennedy, Roger Mudd and 1979 Redux

September 28th, 2011

By Richard D. Bailey “Why do you want to be President?” It was the question that killed a candidacy the national media had conceived, created and cajoled. Ted Kennedy’s famous flub of a simple question asked by Roger Mudd on a national broadcast in November 1979 accomplished two things. First, it paved the path for [...]

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Tags: Carter, Christie, debates, Kennedy, Perry, primaries, reporters, Texas Toast
Categories: Media, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Throw the Woodstock Generation off the Stage

September 25th, 2011

By Richard D. Bailey They famously said, “If it feels good, do it.” Well…here goes. We need three simple rules to return common sense to the common good. Here they are: Never vote for anyone in government who was old enough to drive themselves to Woodstock but too young to fight in Korea. Never vote [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: bums, experience, politicians, qualifications, satire, skills, spending, taxes
Categories: Economics, Life, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

He Promised Change

September 17th, 2011

By Richard D. Bailey He promised “Change.” In 2008, with a brilliant strategy, Clinton/Bush fatigue, an aspirational biography and a natural grace and eloquence before adoring crowds that brought the media world and popular culture to wistful, teary longings for the time of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Barack Obama mastered the moment and [...]

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Tags: change, defeat, eloquence, failure, hope, Obama, promises, slogan
Categories: Media, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

A Simple Fix for Our Economic Mess … Really

September 13th, 2011

By Richard D. Bailey It’s very simple. The economic crisis will not end until the marketplace redresses the problem that caused it in the first place — housing. Fix the housing crisis and you fix the economy. Fix the economy and you fix the deficit. Fix the deficit and you fix … the economy. Fix [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: banks, economy, mark-to-market, mortgages, recession, recovery, stimulus
Categories: Economics | Comments (1) | Home

Activist or Egotist? Choosing Darfur over Dorchester

September 12th, 2011

by Richard D. Bailey I parked cars in the middle of Yale University when I was in graduate school. I was going to Fairfield University some 30 miles away. But I lived in New Haven and had worked in the Mayor’s office after college so I was friendly with and knew a lot of political [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: activists, Apartheid, Darfur, demonstrations, Dorchester, radicals, Yale
Categories: Life, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Why Is the Libya War a Wrong War?

August 8th, 2011

by John H.M. Smith I have been arguing with those who support NATO action in Libya for quite a long time. Now let’s try a different approach, applying a little logic, asking three questions about the origin of this war: 1. Did the rebels have a choice? The answer is “no.” From the beginning of [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: democracy, Libya, Muslim, NATO, rebels, Syria, war
Categories: Military, News, Politics | Comments (0) | Home

Gaddafi Is Our Ally and Friend, Not Our Enemy

June 26th, 2011

by John H.M. Smith This is an urgent appeal for saving Gaddafi’s life. Since 2004 Gaddafi has actually defected to the West, compensating all Lockerbie victims’ families and genuinely giving up all his WMD. He also confessed his nuclear providers, i.e., North Korea and China; that’s why China didn’t veto U.N. sanctions. When Gaddafi was [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: enemies, friends, Gaddafi, Islam, Libya, Muslims, NATO, UK, US, war
Categories: Military, News, Politics | Comments (6) | Home

Who Deserves Credit for the Arab Spring? Not Obama

May 19th, 2011

By Kevin Frei I will agree with Amir Taheri’s assertion in a column in the New York Post that the Obama Administration should receive no credit for the Arab Spring, but he overlooks giving credit to the Administration deserving of much of the credit for creating the conditions which allowed the “Arab Spring movements” to [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: Arab Spring, Bush, democracy, foreign policy, Iraq, Middle East, monarchy
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

Observations from the Kitchen Table

February 23rd, 2011

by Jane Thomas Maybe it is time to think more creatively about ways to make our government more responsive to the people. Observation #1 Countries run on two simultaneous tracks: an economic track and a political track. On the economic track the two extremes are capitalism, where everything is privately owned, and communism, where everything [...]

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Tags: business, capitalism, debt, deficit, federal, interests, perceptions, unions
Categories: Economics, Politics | Comments (9) | Home

Is Obama an Apologist?

January 27th, 2011

by Joy Paley In a word, yes, in that apology has become an important part of the way he conducts his foreign policy, even with countries who currently harbor a deep-seated hatred towards America. The right has taken up arms and decided that the word “apologist” will become their newest focus of attack on Obama. [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: apologies, Chavez, dictator, foreign policy, Latin America, oppression
Categories: Politics | Comments (1) | Home

Duke and Scottsboro: Crystal Mangum and Victoria Price

December 19th, 2010

by R.B. Parrish In the 1930s, two white prostitutes falsely accused nine black men of gang-rape, in order to avoid facing other police charges. Before the ensuing Scottsboro trials were over, the main accuser, Victoria Price (the second accuser had recanted) was transformed by the white public into a woman of the purest virtue, the [...]

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Tags: Crystal Mangum, Duke, lacrosse, race, rape, Scottsboro trials, Victoria Price
Categories: History, Law, Media, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Justice to Appease

December 1st, 2010

By R.B. Parrish We usually depict Justice as blindfolded, but we never show her as deaf; we know that she — and prosecutors — sometimes dance to the tune of the mob. A few years ago in an eastern city activists demanded action after police had been unable to stop a rash of assaults against [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: assault, DNA, Duke lacrosse, false charge, intimidation, justice, Nifong, rape
Categories: Law, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

Hutaree

March 31st, 2010

by Jane Thomas The recent activities and arrests of members of the Hutaree militia movement have launched a reflection on terrorism and militias in the US. It took two scotch and sodas to prep me to read the website of this group, which, interestingly enough, has whole sections that are temporarily not available. Oh, well. [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: arrests, domestic terrorism, Hutaree, militia
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Redundant Idiocy

March 22nd, 2010

by Jane Thomas My husband prefers to go fishing rather than listen to my Sunday morning TV programs dealing with political activities. His special pet peeve is Washington Journal when general public calls are taken, calls which he deems range from incredibly ignorant to purposefully stupid statements. Yesterday, I spent the entire day watching the [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: democracy, Democrat, health care, House, legislation, republic, Republican
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

Words of Wisdom

March 6th, 2010

by Jane Thomas I’ve been reading Zell Miller’s book, A National Party No More, and, although I think he is a conflicted man in his approach to politics, he makes some very interesting comments on the process in the Senate. This book was published in 2003, but his comments resonate even more today. He tells [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: Biden, democracy, filibuster, government, process, Senate, Zell Miller
Categories: Politics | Comments (6) | Home

State of the Union from the Kitchen Table 2010

February 13th, 2010

by Jane Thomas Each year I write a State of the Union from the Kitchen Table. As a general rule, I do not share it with others; however, I have been encouraged by my friends and family to do so this year. It has become a rare experience in American politics to elect a President [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: campaign financing, capitalism, democracy, freedom, health care
Categories: Economics, History, Life, Politics | Comments (8) | Home

Supreme Court Justice Clinton

February 11th, 2010

by Jason Gallimore Sources in Washington are saying that lawyers for the Obama administration are working behind the scenes to make plans for any possible US Supreme Court vacancies in the coming year. Justices Stevens and Ginsburg are rumored to be considering retirement, with age certainly being a factor. Progressives will be happy to see [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: Ginsburg, Hillary Clinton, nomination, Stevens, Supreme Court
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

Israel and the Holocaust

February 2nd, 2010

by Edith Shaked Israel and the Holocaust – Is there an authentic historical perspective? Jacques and Isabelle silently left the compound of Yad Vashem (YV), Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the world center for documentation, research, and education about the Holocaust. It was noon and they went for lunch. As [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: Final Solution, Holocaust, Israel, survivors, Tunisia, USHMM, Yad Vashem
Categories: History, Politics | Comments (33) | Home

Mandates and Penalties

November 19th, 2009

By Mary Jones Please read this press release from the Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee. One of the many things a lot of people don’t know is that if the House health care bill becomes law, you will not be able to opt out of health care or make your own [...]

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: freedom of choice, health care, penalties, taxes
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (16) | Home

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