To Comfort The Afflicted
And Afflict The Comfortable
The GOP’s Mixed Medicare Message
BY JOE CONASON For voters listening to the Republican leadership over the past year, the most startling surprise was the shift in their attitude toward Medicare. Where faithfulness to true conservatism was once measured by fierce hostility to the popular insurance program for the elderly, as articulated by Ronald Reagan at the birth of Medicare […]
Valentine’s Blues
BY SUSAN ESTRICH At least it’s on a Sunday. Friday and Saturday are the worst. Second only to New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day is a surefire downer for those of us who find ourselves alone on a day when it seems that everyone else is happily in love. Of course, it’s all silliness. Compared to […]
Slobs And The American Civilization
BY FROMA HARROP Had George Washington joined me outside a Chili’s at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport recently, he would have shuddered at the sight. There, a nation of slobs paraded through the crossroads of America. Frayed denim hems swept the filthy floor. Cleavage poured out of T-shirts bearing vulgar messages. Big bellies flowed over the waists […]
The GOP’s Double Standard On Terror Trials
BY JOE CONASON Preparing for what they hope will be their return to power in Washington, Republican congressional leaders have revived the fear-mongering and flag-flapping used by Karl Rove to win the 2002 midterm elections. Like the former White House deputy, forever known to his boss as “turd blossom,” the right-wing strategists on Capitol Hill […]
A Health Care Plague On Both Their Houses
BY SUSAN ESTRICH My friend Ethel is mad as hell, but she has no choice but to keep taking it. She’s mad at her health insurance company, and she’s mad at the administration and Congress. She’s equally mad at Democrats and Republicans. It’s not partisan; it’s personal. Ethel had breast cancer five years ago. Knock […]