Monthly Archives: August 2011

No Revolt on this Poverty Tour

Cornel West and Tavis Smiley ended their national poverty tour in August without a stop in Portland or Oregon. Too bad. Apparently they haven’t heard that Oregon is becoming the Mississippi of the West. And Portland — where better to see how the Democratic Party has failed the poor. They could have seen why there […]

Guilty, But Who Cares?

Three men admit they killed three 8-year-old boys and walk free, cheered on by celebrities and well-wishers. President Barack Obama’s administration announces that it will allow illegal immigrants facing deportation the chance to stay here and apply for a work permit. Two separate events in the same week that carry a similar message: Laws don’t […]

The Appeal of Insanity

For a prison inmate, transferring to a mental hospital is a step up. As a convicted murderer in California explained it to me – in language too blunt for most newspapers – a mental hospital offers two big advantages over prison: “Better drugs and a shot at some pussy.” What he didn’t mention is that […]

Our Imperial Public Servants

There’s a story about the wife of Mark Hatfield being stopped by an Oregon police officer for a traffic violation. “I hate to pull rank on you, but I’m Mrs. Hatfield,” she supposedly told the officer. It was one of those stories that my working-class parents in Medford, Ore., readily believed because, well, isn’t that […]

America’s House of Pain

Given the events of the past several days (with a lead-up from the last several years), it’s time to retire that empty phrase, “The American Dream.” It only encourages people to get their hopes up for something that is not going to happen. And when they realize it isn’t going to happen, they turn to […]