Dan Bluemel: Activists concluded Black Friday with a demonstration at the Israeli consulate Friday night to express their support for the Palestinians, who suffered a week-long Israeli attack on Gaza.
Obama Makes Strong Case for Second Term
By
Randy Shaw: President Barack Obama came out of the box breathing fire last night, offering the strongest debate performance of his political career.
Progressives Must Move Beyond Occupy
By
Cynthia Alvarez: Occupy is actually impeding Progressives’ outreach to the general public. Progressives need new organizations based on the successful planning and leadership strategies of the civil rights movement to create an army of volunteers.
Jobs: An Angry Dissent
By
Brent Budowsky: Never before in American history has unemployment been so high, yet neither the president nor Congress pushes for a major jobs bill.
Origins of the Enthusiasm Gap
By
Robert Reich: Whatever the outcome of the upcoming midterm elections, the activist phase of the Obama administration has likely come to a close. The President may have a fight on his hands even to hold on to what he’s already achieved because his legislative successes have been large enough to fuel strong opposition but not big enough to strengthen his support. The result could be disastrous for him and congressional Democrats.
SEIU-UNITE HERE Settlement Reached
By
Randy Shaw: After an 18-month battle that began with SEIU believing it could affect a hostile takeover of its once close union ally, the two unions reached a settlement yesterday almost entirely on UNITE HERE’s terms.
Empathy for ‘Adversaries’
By
There are notorious dictatorships and terrorists in the world, but their threat to the United States has been exaggerated as an excuse to fulfill the foreign policy agendas of certain politicians, bureaucracies, or interest groups.
A Progressive Dream: Obama’s Poker Game on Healthcare
By
Once upon a time, in a land far closer than we care to admit, a leader was elected, not selected, by a majority of those who voted, based on a dream of hope. The hope was that he was smarter than the last leader, willing to make us less fearful, safer, and better than we [...]
Progressives Shouldn’t Mimic Teabaggers In Promoting Health Reform
By
Activists often make the mistake of fighting battles on their opponent’s turf. Small town hall meetings are so easy to disrupt that they offer a perfect forum for the passionate Rush Limbaugh crowd that lacks a broad base
Blending Empathy and Justice
By
President Obama praised Sonia Sotomayor’s “empathy” when he nominated her for the Supreme Court. Some have argued that empathy has no place in jurisprudence, but legal scholar Joel K. Goldstein finds historical precedents to the contrary.
Will It Remain Business as Usual in the Middle East?
By
One of the most glaring ironies of the Middle East conflict is the righteous indignation displayed by the region’s leaders towards each other’s policies. In a region where violent and oppressive rule is the norm, leaders have no trouble pointing out each other’s flaws, often menacingly. And so Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government [...]
Obama’s Surprising First 100 Days
By
Barack Obama is the first candidate I have supported at any level of government whose first 100 days greatly exceeded my expectations. What has Obama done differently from the rest? First, he did not spend three months learning how to get things done in his new job. Second, he did not follow his swearing in [...]
Lessons of President Obama’s First Two Weeks
By
It’s been less than two weeks, but patterns have emerged that are likely to continue throughout Barack Obama’s presidency. First, Obama understands how to use the media. Examples are detailed below, but the best is the widespread media story last Thursday about how the usually cool Obama “lost it” — in front of cameras and [...]
PCL offers monthly Open House Events on the 2nd Saturday at 2pm and 3rd Thursday at 6pm. Click here to learn more.
Recent Comments