workers

(By Peter van Buren via Tomdispatch.com) As America’s new economy starts to look more like the old economy of the Great Depression, the divide between rich and poor, those who have made it and those who never will, seems to grow ever starker. I know. I’ve seen it firsthand. Once upon a time, I worked […]

Crime

Why Oklahoma’s Botched Execution is an Argument for ending Death Penalty

Juan Cole

Yet more evidence that the death penalty is cruel and inhumane arrived today at 8:00PM from the state of Oklahoma. Charles Warner, convicted of raping and murdering an 11-month-old girl, found his execution stayed today after the attempted execution…

Dissent

The Cost of Whistleblowing: Being consigned to the Minimum-Wage Underclass

Juan Cole

(By Peter van Buren via Tomdispatch) There are many sides to whistleblowing. The one that most people don’t know about is the very personal cost, prison aside, including the high cost of lawyers and the strain on family relations, that follows the decision to risk it all in an act of conscience. Here’s a part […]

Economy

9 Maps that Show How The GOP is Destroying Southern States

Juan Cole

Whenever we need a perfect example of Americans who have no clue what is in their best interest, we need only look to the south. Yes, there are some great people there–and no, not everyone is ignorant. However, red state voters regularly eschew logic…

Economy

8 Plutocrats out-earned 3.6 mn Working Poor & 7 Other Headlines You won’t see in MSM

Juan Cole

(By Paul Buchheit) The following are all relevant, fact-based issues, the "hard news" stories that the media has a responsibility to report. But the business-oriented press generally avoids them. 1. U.S. Wealth Up $34 Trillion Since Recession. 93% of You Got Almost None of It. That's an average of $100,000 for every American. But the […]

Inequality

Colbert’s Send-up of O’Reilly on “Inequality” makes Bill Squawk

Juan Cole

Colbert Report: Bill O’Reilly’s Defense of Inequality The Colbert ReportGet More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive Raw Story reports on O’Reilly’s hysterical response: Bill O’Reilly lashes out at ‘ideological fanatic’ Stephen Colbert and his fellow ‘believers’ (via Raw Story ) Fox News host Bill O’Reilly fired back at Comedy Central counterpart Stephen Colbert […]

Barack Obama

Ted Cruz Pwned by own Facebook Poll on Obamacare (Young Turks)

Juan Cole

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks: “Facebook Poll Hilariously Backfires On Senator” Crooks & Liars writes: Ted Cruz, Don’t Ask The Question If You Don’t Want To Know The Answer (via http://crooksandliars.com) Ted Cruz thought he could rile up his followers on Facebook by posting the following “straw poll”: Quick poll: Obamacare was signed into […]

Economy

Obamacare Enrolls 7.1 Million: But Will the haters ever stop hating?

Juan Cole

LAST week, while watching videos on YouTube, I was repeatedly served with an advertisement in which a mournful woman informed me that unfortunately, Obamacare “just doesn’t work.” This left me bemused, since I live in a country where a variety of Obamacare…

Economy

Walmart Admits that its Business Model Requires Employees to Depend on Food Stamps

contributors

Critics cite irony of annual report filing: ‘This is a company that everywhere it goes it creates poverty’ (By Lauren McCauley) [ Walmart employees are known to be among biggest Medicaid and Food Stamp recipients in over half of the states. – JRIC] Although a notorious recipient of "corporate welfare," Walmart has now admitted that […]