Category: Uncategorized
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When Leaders Lead, the People Have Sorrow
Many are familiar with the adage, "When the people lead, the leaders will follow." But what happens when people enable leaders to follow the dictates of the powerful? These days, the answers are arriving in the form of a news drumbeat that's apt to seem like a dirge. From Afghanistan to Wall Street to the…
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Kagan in Context: Shafting Progressive Values
by Norman Solomon If President Obama has his way, Elena Kagan will replace John Paul Stevens — and the Supreme Court will move rightward. The nomination is very disturbing, especially because it's part of a pattern. The White House is in the grip of conventional centrist wisdom. Grim results stretch from Afghanistan to the…
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On My Mind — The Supreme Court at Risk
"In literature, cosmetics are very harmful," the Russian novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn said. The same is true in politics. So, I think it's important that we get a clear look at what happened two days ago when the president nominated Elena Kagan to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, a stalwart defender of civil liberties on the…
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Who Let the Blue Dogs Out?
By Norman Solomon This is a grim story about the care and feeding of a Blue Dog. Right now, Congresswoman Jane Harman is facing a serious primary challenge from a genuine progressive, Marcy Winograd, in Southern California's 36th congressional district. Last Saturday afternoon, I sat on stage with both candidates and other panelists at…
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Going Beyond the Conventional Politics
Some good things happened at the California Democratic Party convention last weekend — including the solid endorsement of Prop 15, the California Fair Elections Act. And the state party was equally firm with a kick in the corporate pants of Prop 16, the anti-democratic ballot measure that PG&E is pushing with many millions of dollars.…