President Barack Obama set an ambitious goal two years ago to attract 100 million international visitors to the United States each year by the end of 2021. More than 70 million travelers from around the world visited the U.S. in the last year alone — and they spent more than $180 billion. “That’s huge, and…
By Robert Reich – For years Americans have assumed that our hard-charging capitalism is better than the soft-hearted version found in Canada and Europe. American capitalism might be a bit crueler but it generates faster growth and higher living standards overall. Canada’s and Europe’s “welfare-state socialism” is doomed. It was a questionable assumption to begin…
Coming Clean – By Michael Brune – For more than a century, presidents have been using the Antiquities Act to save our national treasures, and President Obama’s just-announced designation of the Organ Mountains — Desert Peaks National Monument in southern New Mexico — shows exactly why this law is so indispensable. At nearly 500,000 acres…
A special ceremony on the National Mall was held this week to mark the reopening of the Washington Monument, which was damaged in the East Coast earthquake of 2011. Secretary if the Interior Sally Jewell thanked the workers for getting the monument work done on time and under budget and philanthropist David Rubenstein for a…
By Glynn Wilson – More Americans view the Democratic Party favorably than the Republican Party, although neither party is viewed favorably by a majority of the American people. According to the latest Gallup poll, 44 percent of Americans give the Democratic Party a favorability rating, while only 34 percent of those surveyed view the Republican…
Only 22 Percent of American Voters Say Members of Congress Deserve Re-election – By Glynn Wilson – With just six months to go before the midterm elections, 72 percent of registered voters in the U.S. say most members of the 113th Congress do not deserve to be re-elected, while only 22 percent say they do.…
Competitive Capitalism is the Answer, Not Socialism – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – If the film Reds is even close to an accurate historical portrayal of the relationship between Louise Bryant and Jack Reed, then there is a lesson here we can all use to plan the next phase of American democracy…
Alabama is No. 10 and Louisiana is Not Listed At All? – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – A new online celebrity tabloid is getting traffic from Facebook and Twitter for a story making the rounds claiming to rank the 10 most corrupt state governments in the United States based on “a national…
By Glynn Wilson – The Obama Administration released the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment report on Tuesday, May 6, calling it “the most authoritative and comprehensive source of scientific information to date about climate-change impacts across all U.S. regions and on critical sectors of the economy.” The report, a key part of President Obama’s so-called…
Birmingham Company Agrees to Sell Property to Alabama State Docks – By Glynn Wilson – In an unusual turnaround from its ambition to build a new coal handling export terminal along the riverfront in Mobile, Alabama, Walter Energy has reached an agreement “in principle” with the State Port Authority to sell both the Blue Creek…
By Glynn Wilson – The United States Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the air pollution from coal-fired power plants on Tuesday in a ruling that is being hailed as a major victory for the environment but a political setback for the Obama administration. The 6-to-2 ruling upholds the…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — While many local and state governments across the country are joining the federal government in turning away from the development of fossil fuel production in favor of clean, renewable energy to fight climate change due to global warming and create the good, high paying jobs of the future,…
Delays Vote for Two More Weeks – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobile City Council heard debate for three hours at Government Plaza on Earth Day about whether to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval of Walter Energy’s Blue Creek Coal handling terminal along the city’s riverfront, but the only vote was to…
By Glynn Wilson – Now that the Alabama Legislative Session of 2014 is safely over and Governor Robert Bentley is virtually assured of winning the Republican Party’s primary in June without any tea party opposition from the far right, Bentley’s office finally released the water management plan report being sought by environmental groups for the…
By Robert Reich – We’re in a new gilded age of wealth and power similar to the first gilded age when the nation’s antitrust laws were enacted. Those laws should prevent or bust up concentrations of economic power that not only harm consumers but also undermine our democracy — such as the pending Comcast acquisition…
The uninsured rate among adults aged 18 and older in the states across the country that have chosen to expand Medicaid and set up their own exchanges in the health insurance marketplace has declined significantly this year, meaning more U.S. citizens are being covered by private health care insurance than ever before, improving the economy…
Editorial Analysis – The United States Supreme Court continued the pro-Big Business conservative Republican majority’s drive to remove Legislative Branch limits on political money, effectively granting unlimited rights to rich people and corporations to continue polluting American politics with their vast riches built up mainly during the Bush years. The high court struck down the…
National Labor Relations Board to Begin Hearings on Workers Complaint Against Mercedes April 7 – By Glynn Wilson – BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Union workers and members of the public who understand the important role organized labor plays in public affairs across America will be watching to see what happens when the National Labor Relations Board…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Watching a brain unravel is a terrible thing. So is watching a state and a country go down the drain, along with the ideals that created it. It is torture not only for the person who experiences the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease but also the…
By Glynn Wilson – America’s youth are running from the radical conservatism of the Republican Party and choosing to call themselves Democrats in greater numbers than ever before, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject. Young adults — those between the ages of 18 and 29 — have typically aligned themselves with the…
