Sign up for email alerts, from breaking news to weekly commentary:
The spark that ignited tea party wrath in 2008 was not such right-wing bugaboos as "Obamacare," the federal deficit, or states' rights, which were added on later by Koch-created front groups. Rather, the uprising sprang directly from the public's raw outrage over Washington's flagrant coddling of Wall Street banksters.
Who checks the "fact" checkers?
By 
Wow, so many "facts," so little insight.
I've been factoided! As might be the case with your newspaper, the Austin daily uses a feature that's quite the fad in revenue-strained papers, especially the chain operations (ours is a Cox product, based in Atlanta). The feature is called PolitiFact, which immodestly claims to be "sorting out the truth in politics."
HARD TIMES, SOFT HEADS
Monday, November 8, 2010 | Posted by Jim Hightower
A recent New York Times headline used the word "soft" to describe today's economy. On what planet does that wordsmith live? Soft implies cushions and comfort, while the economic reality that most Americans are experiencing... [read more]
EMBRACING THE WORLD WITH OUR ARMS
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 | Posted by Jim Hightower
The good news is that America is Number One! Once again, the US of A is at the top of the heap, not only besting every other nation on the globe, but beating out all... [read more]
LOBBYISTS TAKE A SOAK
Friday, November 27, 2009 | Posted by Jim Hightower
Here's a startling number: 13,000.
That's the number of corporate lobbyists in Washington, DC. Adding to their clout are the thousands of corporate executives who jet into our nation's... [read more]
ECONOMIC INDICATORS FOR REAL PEOPLE
Friday, November 13, 2009 | Posted by Jim Hightower
How's our economy doing?
Most economists, media outlets, and politicos judge economic performance by such statistical indicators as the Dow Jones Average. Aren't there better indicators than stock prices?
... [read more]
TRY SOME REAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 | Posted by Jim Hightower
The Almighty Ben hath spoken. And he bringeth glad tidings to fill all hearts with great joy!
Ben Bernanke, that is, chairman of the Federal Reserve. As America's banker-in-chief, Bernanke periodically... [read more]
ECONOMIC LESSONS FROM AMERICA'S "BOOZE INDICATORS"
Friday, September 25, 2009 | Posted by Jim Hightower
Jack Welch, what a guy! The former-CEO of General Electric – who paid himself a fortune while slashing jobs and busting the wages of GE's workers – had an epiphany in 1995. Actually, what he... [read more]
ALL THE WINE THAT'S FIT TO DRINK
Friday, September 4, 2009 | Posted by Jim Hightower
Newspapers are dead, we're told. Dinosaurs in a twittering world.
Well, try telling that to The New York Times. The Brontosaurus of American journalism, the largest newspaper in all the land,... [read more]
GAMES THAT GUBERNATORIAL GOOBERS PLAY
Friday, July 24, 2009 | Posted by Jim Hightower
The word "glitch" apparently is derived from a Yiddish term meaning "a slippery place." We Texans know right where that place is: our governor's office
Gov. Rick Perry, a rather low-watt... [read more]
You are causing America's depression!
You know what's wrong with the American economy, Bucko? You, that’s what.
Yeah, yeah, it's true that the reckless global gambling schemes of Wall Street bankers are what wrecked our economy... [read more]