By Robert Reich – “We renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country,” Donald Trump said recently. Someone should alert him that America is now a hotbed of socialism. But it’s socialism for the rich. Everyone else is treated to harsh capitalism. In the conservative mind, socialism means getting something for doing…
By Robert Reich – Most Americans still cling to the meritocratic notion that people are rewarded according to their efforts and abilities. But meritocracy is becoming a cruel joke. The Justice Department recently announced indictments of dozens of wealthy parents for using bribery and fraud to get their children into prestigious colleges. But the real…
By Glynn Wilson – As farmers and victims of floods, tornadoes and hurricanes desperately await financial aid from the federal government, members of Congress took off for a two week Spring Break this week without passing a disaster relief package, stymied in a compromise by a threatened presidential veto over more funding to help the…
By Glynn Wilson – The Trump administration’s partisan war on the environment is taking its toll not only on public lands and the planet. A new Gallup poll shows that and the booming economy due to the Obama administration’s policies are driving public opinion away from unregulated economic growth and toward more environmental protection. By…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Everybody who is anybody knows by now that Donald Trump is a liar, a cheat and a bad president. Even the Republicans who are afraid of Trump and his friends in the Russian Mob know this, even if they won’t admit it in public. The 200 million…
By Glynn Wilson – As the Trump administration prepares to fight in court to gut existing health care for millions of Americans by invalidating the Affordable Care Act, and Democrats prepare to campaign in 2020 on health care as a key priority, Gallup’s annual survey of the chief problems of concern to Americans shows once…
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” – Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1971 Fear and Loathing – By Glynn Wilson – Sorry straight news fans. I woke up in the middle of an acid flashback this morning and there’s nothing I can do but tell the story. The…
By Glynn Wilson – President Donald J. Trump didn’t waste any time in showing his true priorities just a day after he and the country learned of his apparent exoneration in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of his involvement in conspiring with Russia to win the 2016 election. Trump and his Department of Justice reversed…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Let’s be clear. Mueller punted. Mueller failed. Scream all you want to the high heavens for the release of the full Mueller report. It won’t matter. We know the key findings. I’ve been biting my lip, so to speak, for days, weeks and months, refusing to engage…
Mueller Report Delivered to Congress, Attorney General Barr Releases Summary Letter – By Glynn Wilson – In one of the most disappointing moments in the history of American democracy and jurisprudence, Attorney General William Barr released a short, four-page letter to Congress on Sunday summarizing the key findings in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report after…
By Glynn Wilson – In typical Washington fashion, word leaked out on Friday afternoon that Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller delivered his final report to Attorney General William P. Barr on the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The House Judiciary Committee was notified to expect the report’s delivery Friday…
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the future of any proposed Green New Deal in Congress may be somewhat politically controversial, a significant majority of Americans, 60 percent, support dramatically reducing the nation’s use of fossil fuels over the next two decades as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the growing…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — It’s the last day of winter on Wednesday, March 20, and the blue sky is finally visible here after months of foggy, rainy weather and overcast skies. Mobile has taken over from Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon as the rainiest city in America. I’m…
By Robert Reich – What does a megalomaniacal president of the United States do when he’s cornered? We’ll soon find out. House Democrats are beginning a series of investigations and hearings into Donald Trump. Senate Republicans have begun to desert him: Twelve defected on the wall; seven refused to back Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Is it time, or past time, to add the president of the United States to the terrorism watch list? According to an op-ed posted on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate Watch website: The atrocity in New Zealand shows us, once again, that we’re dealing with an…
Guest Column – By Senator Doug Jones – As Americans, we all appreciate and support our troops and their families. Right? Of course we do. We fly the flag, hold parades in their honor, and praise these brave Americans – and their spouses and children – for their sacrifices on our behalf. We commit to…
By Glynn Wilson – Like many a fellow traveler before him inspired by the American landscape, Missouri country boy turned middle-aged Alabama forester Mark J. Hainds grew impatient with his life of teaching, raising a family, and conducting research to conserve and propagate the return of the longleaf pine forest in the South, long ago…
By Glynn Wilson – A dozen Republican Senators turned against President Donald Trump on Thursday by joining Senate Democrats in a vote to overturn Trump’s national emergency declaration, the latest move in his ongoing effort to build a wall on the southern border of the U.S. Some Republicans who otherwise support the president on border…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – While the bloggers in Birmingham think they are having a field day on Twitter by making fun of Donald Watkins, the lawyer and businessman convicted for defrauding investors in federal court this week, it seems more like a cautionary tale of a favorite son who got greedy…
Editor’s Note: It may not be crystal clear where the Federal Bureau of Investigation stands in credibility these days considering the tensions with the Trump White House related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian tampering with the 2016 presidential election. But the agency and its new director, Christopher Wray, are going out of…
