Category Archives: 2012 issues

Cornell West, a very smart man and vehement critic of politicians and governments said he would vote for Obama in November and protest his policies in February. I agree — and here are three issues that are at the top of my list. Continue reading →

We have suffered through years of this presidential campaign. The country is divided. Families are divided. Every day’s news (and Facebook posts) bring a river of vitriol as wide as the Mississippi. Why? That’s the dirty little secret of this prolonged, bitter, nasty campaign.

On November 7, almost half the country is going to lose. They will be bitterly disappointed in the outcome. Even the victors will feel battered, as many in both camps believe that their candidate has betrayed his own party, legacy and principles. Will there be fighting in the streets? Will Democrats flee in fear from Eagan, and Republicans move out of St. Paul before they are attacked?

Won’t happen — because we will all be so relieved that the campaign and election are over that we will just head back to our daily lives. And that might be the most useful purpose of this expensive, prolonged exercise in lies and hatemongering.

Our political campaigns, and especially the presidential campaign, are like beating your head against the wall: it feels so good to stop. When we wake up on November 7, our shared relief  that the campaign is finally over will be even bigger than the pain of defeat or the joy of victory.

The Voter ID amendment is billed as a way to stop vote fraud, but it will actually prevent lots of legally eligible voters from voting — and it won’t stop vote fraud. How does that work? Let’s take a look at the language of the amendment, and at how it would work. Continue reading →

I flat out do not understand the arguments about gay marriage and about the marriage amendment. So, instead of answering them one by one, I’m going to share parts of four of the stories of same-sex Minnesota couples that are on the Minnesotans United for All Families website. (If you are interested in the arguments, scroll down past the stories for links to information.) Continue reading →

Poverty is real, and it’s not caused by laziness and moral weakness.

Now I hear one of my sisters and at least three of my nieces screaming at me, “Yes, it is! I know this guy who just drinks and won’t work! My friend at work has a next door neighbor who just keeps having one kid after another and doesn’t even try to get a job.” Okay — there are some people who screw up, and some of them are poor because they screw up, but the fact is that poverty is mostly not caused by laziness and moral weakness.  Continue reading →

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 has been reviled as “Obamacare” by Republicans, including the Romney-Ryan ticket, who pledge to repeal it if they are elected.

Now President Obama embraces the name and proudly claims the law as part of his legacy: Continue reading →

Is Social Security going broke? Not really. I’ve been hearing this since I was in high school. Social Security was going to go busy in 1970, 1990, 2010, and so on. Hasn’t happened yet, and it isn’t going to happen. Continue reading →