Author: Aaron

Where Did All That Debt Come From?

I’ve intended since the spring to write about our country’s current fiscal situation and how we arrived here. For months, Congressional Republicans have been asserting that our federal government does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem, and have argued for draconian spending cuts largely aimed at programs that benefit the middle… Continue reading Where Did All That Debt Come From?

Warren Buffet Paid a Lower Tax Rate Than His Secretary in 2010

In today’s New York Times, billionaire investor Warren Buffett pointed out that he pays a lower federal income tax rate than his staff. His effective tax rate last year? 17.4 percent! His is not a unique case. Our tax code is written so that the wealthiest have the best tax breaks. As the President has… Continue reading Warren Buffet Paid a Lower Tax Rate Than His Secretary in 2010

Reagan a Supporter of Collective Bargaining Rights

It has seemed apparent for some time that Ronald Reagan, the greatest icon of the conservative movement, would not be conservative enough for today’s Republican Party. Attempts by Republicans in several state legislatures across the country to eliminate collective bargaining rights of public employee unions has truly been explosive– the equivalent of the “nuclear option”… Continue reading Reagan a Supporter of Collective Bargaining Rights

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Categorized as Unions

Let’s Tone it Down Several Notches

So far, it appears that the person who targeted Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona for assassination, in Saturday’s shooting rampage that left 6 people dead and many others seriously wounded, was not directly inspired by the virulent and violent political rhetoric that has been dominating the public discourse over the past 2 years and… Continue reading Let’s Tone it Down Several Notches

Are We Headed for Single Payer Health Care?

It’s been interesting to listen to the debate rage over what will happen to the individual health insurance mandate in President Obama’s health care reform bill as the issue moves its way up through federal courts. The mandate was recently ruled unconstitutional by one (Bush-appointed) federal judge in Virginia, but was ruled constitutional by a… Continue reading Are We Headed for Single Payer Health Care?

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Categorized as Healthcare

They Were For It Before They Were Against It

During the early 1990s, when President Bill Clinton tasked First Lady Hillary Clinton to lead the effort to overhaul the nation’s health care system, Republicans proposed an alternate idea to Hillary’s proposal, which envisioned a larger role for government in health care than what President Obama signed into law last March. That Republican proposal was… Continue reading They Were For It Before They Were Against It

Ill 9/11 First Responders and Broken U.S. Healthcare

The following interview conducted by Jon Stewart of four 9/11 first responders clearly exemplifies the health care crisis that so many working class Americans currently face or are at risk of facing. At about 3:55 in the clip, the panelists discuss the fact that they lost their health insurance coverage after they had to stop… Continue reading Ill 9/11 First Responders and Broken U.S. Healthcare

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Categorized as Healthcare

Morality and the Health Care Crisis in America

I’ve been meaning to do a post about health care ever since the health care reform bill was debated and passed last year. I’ll approach health care in two posts, first by discussing American health care (pre-reform) and the immorality of the status quo. In my next post, I’ll compare the varying types of universal… Continue reading Morality and the Health Care Crisis in America

The Church Supports Common Sense Principles of Immigration Reform

Unfortunately, I’m still mired in a ridiculous amount of school work, so this will be a short post. I wanted to highlight the following press release from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which demonstrates the Church’s support for principles of reasonable immigration reform in the “Utah Compact.” As you will notice, the… Continue reading The Church Supports Common Sense Principles of Immigration Reform

Go Cougars!

According to a recent Wall Street Journal post, BYU ranked 11th in the eyes of recruiters, even ahead of prestigious schools like Cornell, MIT, and UCLA. (Harvard and Yale were not even on the top 25!) I’ve always felt that BYU was underrated in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, in part because of… Continue reading Go Cougars!

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Categorized as General

Seven Percent of Republicans Are Not Completely Out of Their Minds

A recent nationwide survey found that a majority of Republicans believe that Obama “sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world.” According to the poll, 14 percent of Republicans said that from what they knew of Obama, they thought such allegations were “definitely true”; 38 percent thought… Continue reading Seven Percent of Republicans Are Not Completely Out of Their Minds

An Act with a Vision for the Future

Even prior to its enactment, there has been much heated opposition to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a.k.a. President Obama’s economic stimulus plan. Opponents have tried to smear it as a bill laden with earmarks (which is not true) that wasted money on pointless projects. Opponents have also (correctly) pointed out that… Continue reading An Act with a Vision for the Future

“Ground Zero” Mosque

The Eleventh Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints states, “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” [emphasis added] It is frankly shocking and disappointing… Continue reading “Ground Zero” Mosque

Climate Change is Happening

Last February, I experienced “snowmageddon” on the East Coast. I recall during that time reading a news article about some conservative politicians’ gleeful mocking of former Vice President Al Gore and the concept of global warming; they claimed that the blizzards and record snowfalls were evidence that global warming does not exist. Sen. Jim Inhofe… Continue reading Climate Change is Happening

Illegals Offer Their Jobs Back to Real Americans

I’m sure we’ve all heard conservatives lament about how illegal immigrants are stealing American jobs. Well here is an incredible opportunity for real Americans to take back the jobs illegals have taken from us. According to United Farm Workers, a labor union for agricultural laborers, over 50% of farm laborers in the US are undocumented… Continue reading Illegals Offer Their Jobs Back to Real Americans

Pregnant Rape Victims Should Turn Lemons into Lemonade- Sharron Angle

Tea Party extraordinaire and Nevada Republican candidate for US Senate Sharron Angle recently told a reporter that she thinks teenage rape victims should make “a lemon situation into lemonade” by carrying their pregnancies to term. This radical does not think that there should be a legal abortion exception for rape or incest. Instead, she thinks… Continue reading Pregnant Rape Victims Should Turn Lemons into Lemonade- Sharron Angle

“No Matter What Happens to Obama…There’s the Perfect Bush Screw Up for the Occasion”

Over the past 16 months, I have thoroughly enjoyed conservatives’ attempts to pin every one of our country’s problems on President Barack Obama. Of late, they’ve been calling the BP gulf oil spill “Obama’s Katrina.” This is such a non-sequitur that I can’t help letting out a little laugh each time I hear it. Oh… Continue reading “No Matter What Happens to Obama…There’s the Perfect Bush Screw Up for the Occasion”