Bill Moyers's Blog, page 9

Bill Moyers & Michael Winship - Ask the Chamber of Commerce: Why Is Too Much Not Enough?

Living in these United States, there comes a point at which you throw your hands up in exasperation and despair and ask a fundamental question or two: how much excess profit does corporate America really need? How much bigger do executive salaries and bonuses have to be, how many houses or jets or artworks can be crammed into a life?

After all, as billionaire movie director Steven Spielberg is reported to have said, when all is said and done, "How much better can lunch get?"

But since greed...

Is the President's Health Bill Worth Supporting?

(Photos by Robin Holland)

In January, when Republican Scott Brown won the special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy, Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority and the fate of their health reform legislation plunged into uncertainty.

After weeks of strategizing and negotiation, President Obama made headlines Wednesday by encouraging Democratic members of Congress to pass the Senate's version of the health bill through the controversial tactic known as...

Michael Winship - Campaign 2010: Déjà Vu All Over Again

(Photo by Robin Holland)

Below is an article by JOURNAL senior writer Michael Winship. We welcome your comments below.

"Campaign 2010: Déjà Vu All Over Again"

By Michael Winship

Comparisons are odious, the old saying goes, and certainly Democrats are dealing with some smelly, stinky realities as they stare down the next eight months until Election Day 2010 and pundits galore compare the party's prospects to debacles of the past.

For a long time parallels were being made with 1994 and the...

Debating Same-Sex Marriage

(Photos by Robin Holland)

This week on the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers spoke with prominent lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies about their legal challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriages. Olson, a conservative, and Boies, a liberal, are best known for facing off before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore following the disputed 2000 election. Now, they've joined forces to argue that gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry.

Though a decision of the California Supreme Court...

Michael Winship: Two Legal Foes Unite to Fight -- for Same-Sex Marriage

(Photo by Robin Holland)

Below is an article by JOURNAL senior writer Michael Winship. We welcome your comments below.

"Two Legal Foes Unite to Fight -- for Same-Sex Marriage"

By Michael Winship

Watching this week's "health summit" in Washington, with both sides barely repressing the urge to turn the Blair House event into the Potomac version of mixed martial arts cage fighting, was discouraging. To get a little peace and quiet I was tempted to switch to ESPN and search for an hour of the...

Justice For Sale?

(Photo by Robin Holland)

Citizens and experts alike have been hotly debating last month's Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, which struck down laws limiting political spending by corporations and unions. In one recent poll, 80% of respondents suggested that they opposed the Court's ruling.

While many have discussed the decision's potential impact on presidential and congressional elections, few have addressed how increased political spending could change the dynamic of...

Bill Moyers & Michael Winship: What Are We Bid For American Justice?

That famous definition of a cynic as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing has come to define this present moment of American politics.

No wonder people have lost faith in politicians, parties and in our leadership. The power of money drives cynicism deep into the heart of every level of government. Everything – and everyone – comes with a price tag attached: from a seat at the table in the White House to a seat in Congress to the fate of health care reform, our e...

The Expressive Power of Dance

(Photo by Robin Holland)

This week on THE JOURNAL, Bill Moyers spoke with renowned choreographer and dance artist Bill T. Jones about his art form and his recent work about the life of Abraham Lincoln.



Moyers asked Jones a question that might be asked about more than just the late President:

"Abraham Lincoln may be the most scrutinized figure in American history. What can a dance tell us that a thousand, five thousand, ten thousand...

Michael Winship: From the Annals of Sno-Cone Science

(Photo by Robin Holland)

Below is an article by JOURNAL senior writer Michael Winship. We welcome your comments below.

"From the Annals of Sno-Cone Science"

By Michael Winship

There's a vintage Bob and Ray radio sketch in which Bob plays "Mr. Science," a parody of TV's "Mr. Wizard." He's trying to explain to his young protégé Sandy "the miracle of gas refrigeration."

"Doesn't it seem paradoxical to you that a refrigerator is made cold by a flame?" Mr. Science asks.

Sandy exclaims, "Holy cats...

Can Democracy Withstand The Power of Big Money?

(Photos by Robin Holland)

This week on the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers spoke with libertarian journalist Nick Gillespie and progressive legal scholar Lawrence Lessig about the impact of last month's controversial Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited funds from their general treasuries on political communications in periods shortly before elections and primaries.

While many have argued that the Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission