Recently in Progressives Category

I got a safety inspection and emissions check today. The State of Texas mandates that cars get a safety inspection and that cars in high pollution counties get an emissions test.Government has the right to mandate people to do things in order to serve the public good. Government has that right even in Texas.Liberals and progressives should not be hesitant to assert this fact.A few fearful people will tell you that stuff like this starts...

Thanks to Shortstuff for the inspiration! Unlike many of the talking heads who now appear on various "news" shows, Edward R. Murrow was a journalist with integrity who not only fought for free speech, but for TRUTH in journalism as well. He once said at the RTNDA Convention in Chicago in 1958 to a group of fellow journalists: "It is not necessary to remind you that the fact that your voice is amplified to...

What is America? How should America be defined?America is the idea and the fact of a strong federal government over the lesser powers of the states as written in our United States Constitution. The Constitution was in many ways a response to the corruption and incompetence of state legislatures during the years of the Articles of Confederation. America is Emancipation and the victory of freedom over states rights treason in our Civil War.America is the expanded economic freedoms and...

As usual a response of mine has created some stir. I would love to respond with a pithy comeback, but I thought I should explore some things point by point in a respectful manner. The issue before was the issue of prosecuting an ex-president, but could just as easily be levied on another issue. A phrase was used in one of the letter responses that didn't anger me so much as it made me chuckle....

Any time anything passes in the Senate by a vote of 96-0 I'm suspicious. Those numbers are usually reserved for meaningless proclamations declaring 'National Be Kind to Puppies and Kitties Day.' But such a vote took place yesterday on Sen. Bernie Sanders' amendment to audit the Federal Reserve. Sanders' original amendment would have required the Fed to submit to regular audits, but the watered-down version passed yesterday is for a one-time audit with a specific...

Marcy Kaptur, Congresswoman from Ohio's 9th District, sent a letter to Attorney General Holder which reads in part:Dear Attorney General Holder:The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday, April 16, 2010, that it had filed a securities fraud action against the Wall Street company Goldman Sachs & Co (GS& Co.) and one of its employees for making materially misleading statements and omissions in connection with a synthetic collateralized debt obligation ("CDO") that GS...

My good friend, Susan Bankston, fellow founding member of the OFPBAOT (Old Farts Progressive Bloggers Association of Texas) has returned to her roots!  Those of you who are fans of Kiss My Big Blue Butt remember that Susan ran the World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon for some time previous, the only sane voice in Tom DeLay Triple ZZZ Crazzzy Country.  She changed it to KMBBB after the '06 election, but we at the Hurricane are...

From a press release yesterday by Marcy Winograd, candidate for Congress in the 36th district of California:"If the President wants to appease the neo-conservatives, the deficit hawks, I would encourage him to cut our bloated military budget, which is now paying for multiple perpetual wars that create new enemies."...

Pundits all over the political spectrum continue to turn the election of Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy's senate seat into this weird notion that Democrats should somehow start working with Republicans in a bipartisan manner. This rationale is irritating at best, because it implies that a) the Democrats weren't trying to be bipartisan in the first place and b) the Republicans would acquiesce to bipartisan efforts if the Democrats tried harder. Both are untrue....

Over the holidays right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh suffered sharp chest pains and was admitted to Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu.  Rush despite his record for clean living (sarcasm intended) did not suffer any real medical emergency and was released a couple of days later.  Upon his release from the hospital, Rush never one to waste an opportunity to look ignorant stated to the press:  "Based on what happened to me here, I don't think...