The blending of two cultures in a wedding is a beautiful thing, there is no question about that. It becomes that much more stunning when all the details are carefully planned by Carrie Sartor of Lyndsey Hamilton Events, and we can catch a glimpse of it all through the lens of Kathi Littwin Photography. I am looovvvinnnggg all the...
WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY
Here’s why America can’t meet most of its challenges: we don’t have enough public money. But it’s about much more than the federal deficit. It’s an assertion about America’s collective self-image that I believe will determine our future.
The lingering wake of the Almost Depression of 2008 is a nation desperately short on meeting what it perceives to be its accepted public standards. In other words – Social Security...
THE LEGACY OF LIBERALISM
I waited to write anything about Senator Ted Kennedy because nothing I could say would belong in the company of those painful but majestic five days last week.
But ten days after his death, I want to contribute one thought about what his life and achievements teach us: we are right, and Americans are grateful for it.
Think about the accomplishments that were celebrated last week. Civil rights. Special education. Health care. Minimum wage....
The White House dance over whether there should be a public health insurance provision should be surprising only to those who thought we elected a truly progressive president. We didn’t. He’s a good Democrat and a good man but not someone inclined to take bold steps based on philosophy.
But there’s...
Immigration Reform and the 2010 Mid-Term elections
In Mexico earlier this week, President Obama asserted that comprehensive immigration reform would be addressed legislatively in 2010. That marker sets the table for a fascinating political gambit that involves two core questions:
1) How hard, in late 2009, will progressives push the Administration to make immigration reform its top 2010 agenda?
2) How hard will the right try to make immigration the...
When the Grassroots Calls
Though this blogpost will often deal with national themes, today I want to take it down to mundane core of progressive communications.
With right-wing zealots self-immolating in town hall meetings, I thought it was a good time to offer progressives some practical advice on how to actually communicate during a congressional recess.
First, grassroots organizing and grassroots communication are very different. With the former, you are trying to...
It Was Fifty Years Ago Today …
Enjoy 2009. Savor every last day on the calendar.
Why? Because starting January 1, 2010, we will be bombarded for 10 years with an endless parade of 50 year anniversaries of everything 1960’s. My stomach hurts just thinking about it.
The Kennedys. The Beatles. Interesting rock bands. The moon landing. Vietnam. The first Super Bowl. Medicare. The Summer of Love. The Weather Underground. The Bay of Pigs. And on...
As Socrates once said, “As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.”
White people (like me) should remember that sentiment as they think about the Henry Louis Gates / Cambridge PD conflict. What white people know about being black in America is very little. Our approach to racial situations should be guided by that core premise.
Every single second of every single day being black could mean that you get treated differently. I literally can’t imagine what that’s...
Today’s poll news that President Obama’s personal popularity far outpaces his agenda’s should come as no surprise. First, complicated policy is always a tough sell to Americans who don’t care about Medicare reimbursement rates, and second, elected Barack Obama largely because he was a celebrity.
That last, disturbing point will be revisited soon. But for today my focus is on what this paradox means for progressives. It means we have a long way to go.
Let’s start by...
