« December 2006 | Main | February 2007 »
I've written two articles about John Edwards' presidential campaign, focusing on his pledge to reduce inequality and poverty, and the chances of his winning the Democratic Party nomination.
The first (shorter) version appeared yesterday in the British daily newspaper, The Guardian: "The New War on Poverty."
The second, longer version of this piece appears on the website of Tikkun magazine: "John Edwards War on Poverty."
The California Air Resources Board announced today that the chemical perchloroethylene, a solvent used in drycleaning, will be phased out in the State of California by 2008. Says UEPI's Peter Sinsheimer of the ban, "It's an historic day. Perc has nev
er been phased out in a state before,
and that is an amazing thing. This is not as green as it should be, but
it's greener than it was before." Read the full article about the ban in today's LA Times.
The AP also covered the ban, and you can learn more about the growing popularity of Professional Wet Cleaning, an environmentally-friendly alternative to dry cleaning, on UEPI's Pollution Prevention Center web pages.
Are you a Californian who doesn't want to wait until 2008 for healthier dry cleaning? Click here to find a greener cleaner near you!
Most Americans today know that Dr. King was killed in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, but fewer know (or remember) why he was there -- to support African American garbage workers, who were on strike to protest unsafe conditions, abusive white supervisors, and low wages -- and to gain recognition for their union. My article in yesterday's American Prospect, "Why He Was in Memphis," recounts King's growing ties with the labor movement his understanding about the importance of forging close links between the civil rights and labor movements, and his role in the Memphis struggle. If he were alive today, he'd surely be on the front lines of many labor struggles, the fight for a living wage, universal health care, and withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
William Jones has a piece on a similar theme in The Nation this week.
Also, a new book about the news media's coverage of the civil rights movement offers great insights into both the movement and the media. It is called: The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, and it recounts both the strengths and weaknesses of press coverage of the freedom struggle. Here are Eric Alterman's review of the book in The Nation and Jon Wiener's review in the Los Angeles Times.
My article last year in Dissent, "Rose Parks: Angry, Not Tired," examines some of the myths about the Montgomery bus boycott, when Dr. King first came to national prominence, and the lessons of that battle for organizing.
Keep your eyes on the prize.
Happy new year. Will 2007 be the year for health care reform -- or at least the beginning of a debate over a single-payer system? It looks like America might be ready for a real public dicussion about health care reform, as several recent articles, including one in yesterday's (December 31) New York Times indicate.
The last time we had a debate about health care was in 1993, when Bill Clinton proposed, but bungled, a universal health insurance plan. The insurance, drug, and HMO industries waged an all-out campaign to kill any effort to regulate costs (and, of course, profits). Remember the "Harry and Louise" ads? The Democrats, who back then controlled both the Senate and House, were too divided to agree on a common approach, killing any chance for reform. Clinton was unwilling to challenge the insurance and drug companies, who eventually persuaded other big businesses (represented by the Business Roundtable, which initially was favorable toward reform) to oppose the Clinton plan.
Continue reading "Are we ready for a real health care debate?" »
Recent Comments