Author Archives: Jake White

The Reagan that Never Was

Republicans worship the legacy of Ronald Reagan. His name is mentioned frequently as the ideal conservative (sometimes by Democrats). Anti-tax advocate, Grover Norquist, has successfully promoted the Reagan legacy as something worthy of numerous big-city streets being named after the former president; and he has pushed for coins and Mount Rushmore engravings on top of […]

The Sequester

Here is the President’s budgets savings plan meant to avoid to the sequester.http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/sequester/the-presidents-plan Most Americans agree with the President’s balanced approach to deficit reduction: Speaker of the House, Republican John Boehner lied about the President not having a plan: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/mar/04/john-boehner/house-speaker-john-boehner-says-obama-democrats-ha/ Again, you can be a great leader, but when the opposition refuses to even consider […]

Understanding the Debt Ceiling

The debt ceiling is now being used as a tool to hold the economy hostage in exchange for minority rule of the government. This approach has created a Federal Government in unprecedented gridlock. But this approach to the debt ceiling is a recent trend, and should not be used as a way to rule from a minority position.

Highlights from Obama’s Second Inaugural Speech

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity…we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm.

The Liberal Message of Les Miserables

The message of this film, at its core, is one of forgiveness, charity, and democracy. In a word, it can be called liberal. This makes me wonder why so many conservatives celebrate this musical. Yes, there is a spiritual theme that many on the religious right may find appealing. Yet I can’t understand how they miss the overwhelming liberal message in this story.

Why are Christmas villains always conservative?

Why are Christmas villains so often conservative businessmen? I suppose nothing could be a better contrast to the message that Christ preached than someone who thinks only of their own needs. For a person who not only fails to consider the needs of others, but whose greed causes them to harm others for their own benefit, this is the ultimate antagonist to the message of giving that we celebrate at Christmas.