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No shouting, just good sense on health care reform in Illinois' Congressional District 7
Health care reform has the whole country talking and not everybody’s shouting and making fools of themselves at town hall meetings. In Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, several hundred voters/taxpayers turned out last Saturday morning for our congressman’s “State of the District 2009″ meeting. The crowd was civil, orderly and respectful. Imagine that. Well, I... »
The past is not the present
One thing that drives me batty is when historians talk, or write, about their subject matter in the present tense. And I go completely bonkers when they mix their tenses — especially when they do it in the same sentence. Then I become homicidal! Telling a historical narrative in the present tense is a... »
That's the U.S. for you: Fund wars but not health care
Can anyone explain why American taxpayers are more willing to fund wars in far-off places than spend their money on health care at home? And why Americans can tolerate so much death and destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan but show so little interest in saving thousands of citizens’ lives? This Christian nation’s priorities are... »
Grow your own food
A Chicago friend delves into her urban garden and discovers the pleasures of growing her own salads… »
Time to keep that Whole Paycheck from Whole Fools?
Whole Foods Market Inc. CEO John Mackey’s op-ed in The Wall Street Journal has ignited a movement, it seems. In the last several hours e-mails calling for a boycott of the high-priced retail food chain have been flooding in from ChicagolandforObama’s listserv. Also, a lot of Twitter users are calling for a boycott, I... »
Somewhere in Kansas
A non-productive conversation I dreamed I had somewhere in Kansas: Kansan: I want my old America back A visitor: Which old America is that? Kansan: The one where there are no taxes and everything is cheap, of free, for real Americans, and where the government does not interfere with my life. Visitor: Well what about... »
What do economists know? Not enough apparently.
Holy Cash for Clunkers, Batman, economists were surprised that retail sales didn’t rise last month! What planet are they living on? What are they smoking? Just because Wall Street is on a roll doesn’t mean Americans are flocking to the malls once again. Even Wal-Mart, temple of Joe Six-Pack discounts, saw its revenues decline... »
C'mon, people, can we be civil when talking about health care reform?
What happened to Change We Can Believe In? What happened to all the euphoria that erupted the night of Nov. 4, 2008, when our jaws were dropping (Obama won!) even as our hearts were rising in the incredible hope that the U.S was really turning a corner? Weren’t we serious about turning a major... »