Fairness - The Commentary

Eighteen U.S. veterans, on average, commit suicide every day. Eighteen. Every day That’s the latest statistic of one of the most under-reported costs of our wars. It adds up to more than are actually being killed in our on-going wars themselves. There is still debate about how many Vietnam veterans have committed suicide on top of the more than 58,000 who died in that war. The number might be as low as the 1987 Centers for Disease Control estimate of 9,000 or as high as 200,000. One retired VA doctor who supports the latter figure wrote that: “the reason the official suicide statistics were so much lower was that in many cases the suicides were documented as accidents, primarily single-car drunk driving accidents and self inflicted gunshot wounds that were not accompanied by a suicide note or statement.” There are many messages one can take away from these grim statistics, but few as moving as the one that hit me as I watched a “60 Minutes” interview a while back with a young...

The world watched as younger generations in Egypt rose up against the old guard represented by 82-year-old Hosni Mubarak, who had been their President as long as most could remember. On February 11, his Vice President, Omar Suleiman, announced that Mubarak had resigned, transferring authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces following 18 days of protests challenging his nearly 30 years of rule. Most mainstream American media tried to get us to understand what was happening in corporate media’s terms. Run by major multinational conglomerates and funded by huge corporate advertisers, they did their best to keep our eyes glued to their screens and our minds interpreting the events in ways they could understand. The White House reportedly watched events on the English version of independent Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera, which scares American politicians to death. American cable censored their reporting of Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Egypt from American eyes. C...

Peter Montgomery, a senior fellow at the People for the American Way Foundation,  is closely following the current courting of the religious right-wing by the Koch-funded astroturf group, Americans for Prosperity. The Koch brothers see to it through this grassroots Tea Party front group that their anti-workers agenda moves forward by provoking its very victims to cover for them. Meanwhile, fresh from the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal, Ralph Reed is back to promote his Faith and Freedom Coalition, a partnership of the religious right-wing and the ostensibly secular Tea Party for a get-out-the-vote operation aimed at the 2012 elections. Reed is again promising to turn out the religious right-wing vote for the GOP. In March, Reed’s organization hosted the over-hyped Iowa gathering of GOP presidential contenders. And Tim Phillips, the president of Koch’s Americans for Prosperity, was a panelist for the religious right’s “Awakening Conference” in April at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty U...

There’s so much happening politically that looks like a war on democracy that I haven’t been able to focus on the status of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” since it was “ended,” or the progress, or lack thereof, of civil unions and marriage equality. I have faith that others are doing so. I do care. I’ve always advocated that LGBT people have the right to every sick institution straight people “enjoy.” What’s going on beyond the politics of marriage equality and military service really concerns me because of its direct effect on the success and health of everything in which LGBT people want their share. I want a nation where human beings, health, families, communities, children, adults, and peace on earth flourish. I want people to see that we’re all in this together and not about getting my own piece of the pie and letting others fight for any crumbs. I was hoping that it wasn’t even a Freudian slip, when popular CNBC business commentator Larry Kudlow said of the Japanese disaster:...

The world watched as younger generations in Egypt rose up against the old guard represented by 82-year-old Hosni Mubarak, who had been their President as long as most could remember. On February 11, his Vice President, Omar Suleiman, announced that Mubarak had resigned, transferring authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces following 18 days of protests challenging his nearly 30 years of rule. Most mainstream American media tried to get us to understand what was happening in corporate media’s terms. Run by major multinational conglomerates and funded by huge corporate advertisers, they did their best to keep our eyes glued to their screens and our minds interpreting the events in ways they could understand. The White House reportedly watched events on the English version of independent Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera, which scares American politicians to death. American cable censored their reporting of Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Egypt from American eyes. Co...

When gay-bashers around the country torture, torment, and kill lesbians, gay men, transgender people, and those perceived to be, they often are repeating words spoken from pulpits. While sitting on a panel of religious types, that was the response I gave when asked if I blamed anti-LGBTQ ministers for persecutions and deaths that take place around the country – after I said: “Yes, I do.” I added: “If you want to prove otherwise, tell me how often you’ve joined a march or rally, or spoken from the pulpit telling people it’s a sin to treat LGBTQ as less than human.” The response: silence, and acting as if they were the victims of my words. Anyone who’s studied these things knows that words matter. The right-wing talkers, including FOX News and Republican Party operatives like Frank Luntz, know they do because they craft their talking-points to move people to action, to make their words matter. Religious leaders know that, too. Otherwise why even give a sermon, spend hours...

Some are calling right-wing Ohio Republican John Boehner “The Weeper of the House,” as he strengthens his control over the US House of Representative’s agenda. New Speaker Boehner openly tears-up when he talks of his own working class background and his personal success in achieving “the American Dream.” Speculators say he’s mentally unstable or that this reflects trouble with alcoholism. I wouldn’t be surprised if both were true. But there’s a larger issue too. John Boehner has to navigate its waters as carefully as any other male. What he’s doing when he sobs in public is pushing the boundaries of an exacting and complicated code of masculinity regarding the expression of emotions other than anger and “righteous” indignation. How can a man get away with this without being put down as weak, feminine, or gay? Imagine the chorus of criticism if Nancy Pelosi reacted with tears. There’d be little pity. Her ability to lead would be suspect. She’d be labeled a hysterical woman u...

The election returns are in. There are many ways to look back at them as we look forward to a new Congress characterized by even more Republican bullying. For many of us, the country took a step backward. It looks like a real mess, at least in the short-run. But there are clues for the long-term. Future success is possible for those of us who find the Tea Party and the old Republican solutions regressive, stale, and destructive. The Democratic loss was affected by turnout. And the age of those who turned out speaks volumes about long-term issues. In the 2008 presidential election, 18-to-29-year-olds made up 18% of the electorate while those 65 and over made up 16%. Young people actually outvoted those 65 and over in 2008, and that 18-29 age group was the only one where white voters preferred Obama. This year, the 18-29 year-old vote was down to 11% of the electorate and seniors were up to 23%. Exit polls indicate that the 18-29 demographic was the only age group won by Demo...

Back in November 2008 we saw the perfect storm for the religiously addicted whom I described in  When Religion Is an Addiction . Their “Christian” president who was dealing their high of being right was ending his eight-year term. He hadn’t dealt the ultimate fix they’d needed. The economic and military conservatives who took advantage of these needy religious conservatives had no interest in doing any more than using them to further their corporate take-over of America. Yet, the 20% of Americans who make up the addicted could not dump their dealer. Even at the lowest in Bush’s approval, that number always kept believing, no matter what he really dealt them. The 2008 elections were their hope for a stronger fix. Then the Republicans nominated John McCain – far from the religious right-wing’s champion. In January 2007, fundamentalist kingpin James Dobson said: "Speaking as a private individual, I would not vote for  John McCain  under any circumstances." ...