Predictable Topic- Politics: Well, we can't help it. Beside the Super Bowl, the economy, and the war, what else is there? Join us as we wander through the forest, commenting on and wondering about delegates, the super delegates, the candidates, the polls and pundits. We refer to Sunday's Meet the Press and Face the Nation in the process. Additionally, we think you will be interested in MoveOn.org's endorsement of Obama, Jay Newton-Small's "Why Edwards Never Caught On", published Wednesday in Time, and Jeff Cohen's "Stepford Republicans: All Caught on Tape!", published Friday in
www.CommonDreams.org.
Economy: We love Naomi Klein's "Why the Right Loves a Disaster", published January 27 in the L.A. Times, because Klein tells it like it really is, not like we'd like it to be. Her subject matter is disaster populism, and how crisis, real or perceived, becomes an opportunity for someone to exploit it. This is most definitely a listen and learn segment.
Waste and Fraud: We cover this topic with two specific examples: Stephanie Mencimer's "Crayons Down!", published in the current issue of Mother Jones, exposes a little-known Head Start testing program that, four years and $100 million later, has proven to be worthless. As a bonus, Mencimer outlines the very shady dealings of the woman selected to run Head Start, not to mention where she is today. Then there is "Pay No Attention to that Clinical Data or Squandered Tax Payer Dollars for Medicaid Drugs" by Martha Rosenberg, published January 29 in Common Dreams. We're talking outrageous on both the clinical data and squandered tax payer dollars aspects, and we say do not even consider that drug makers aren't rotten to the core. Listen up!
We cap off with "Super Bowl of Shame", by Jamie Menutis, published Tuesday in Foreign Policy in Focus. It's all about Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, sponsor of both this year's Super Bowl halftime and next. Once you hear more, you'll understand why it wants us to be left with warm-fuzzies as opposed to reality with respect to its employment policies.
We should return Thursday February 4. Until then, let us hear from you with comments, suggestions, and praises, of course!
