David Sirota's Blog, page 3

Key Investors Tout Immelt as Vehicle for Corporations to Sculpt Obama's Economic Policy

For Obama, appointing the CEO of General Electric to a top administration postion isn't about creating jobs. No, this is about cold hard cash -- and campaign contributions in specific.

'A Sharp, Dizzying History Lesson That Packs a Punch'

And now this from Publishers Weekly this morning: I'm about seven weeks away from the launch of my third book, which is entitled

Rahm Emanuel and the Triumph of Feudalism

In the saga of longtime D.C. resident Rahm Emanuel trying to use a truckload of financial industry money to buy the mayoralty of Chicago, columnist John Kass of the Chicago Tribune really nails what the debate over Emanuel's residency is really all about: The rule of law. Here's an excerpt of this must-read column:

The law is dry, without personality. And whether it fits your politics, whether it hurts your favorite mayoral candidate, it is the law. It is the law even if it helps those other...

GOP Mantra: For Me, but Not for Thee

"For me, but not for thee" -- this could be the motto of 21st-century elitists, or Republican politicians (which are more or less the same thing) and two stories this week show how that mantra works in practice.

The first comes from ThinkProgress about how 97 percent of Republican congresspeople are keeping their taxpayer subsidized health insurance while voting to deny that kind of health insurance to other Americans... because, you know, government health care is great for Republican politic...

Maddow Shows How the 'National' Media Isn't National at All

Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow rightly asked a taboo question of our "national" media: Why has it largely ignored what the FBI says is a major terrorist bombing attempt on Spokane, Washington? In the segment, you can see she cites examples of the "national" media hyperventilating about bomb scares that ended up being false alarms. She cites these examples to wonder why, in the face of a bomb scare that's actually real, the same "national" media has ignored the Spokane story?

I have an answe...

What the U.S.-China Summit Is Really All About (Hint: It's Not About Preserving American Jobs)

No, it isn't about getting tough on trade and currency manipulation. And no, it isn't about anything to do with human rights or the environment. As Bloomberg News suggests, it's all about serving the multinational corporate class that underwrite America's politicians:

Chief executive officers from Microsoft Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will be among the corporate leaders the Obama administration is bringing together today for a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao aimed at expanding ...

What "Santa Clausifying" Dr. King Looks Like in Practice

The esteemed Cornel West has previously noted that America has "Santa Clausified" Martin Luther King, Jr., effectively removing what the man clearly stood for from our psychological memory of him. We have, in other words, turned him into a cartoon -- one that teaches us to ignore much of what he stood for, because what he stood for remains such a threat to the political establishment in this conservative country.

But, then, what does "Santa Clausifying" really look like in practice in 2011? On...

What "Santa Clausifying" Dr. King Looks Like In Practice

The esteemed Cornel West has previously noted that America has "Santa Clausified" Martin Luther King, Jr., effectively removing what the man clearly stood for from our psychological memory of him. We have, in other words, turned him into a cartoon - one that teaches us to ignore much of what he stood for, because what he stood for remains such a threat to the political establishment in this conservative country.

But, then, what does "Santa Clausifying" really look like in practice in 2011? On ...

In Wake of Arizona Shooting, Media Needs to Find the Forgotten Majority

"There is a need for some reflection here: What is too far now? What was too far when Oklahoma City happened is accepted now. There's been a desensitizing. These town halls and cable TV and talk radio, everybody's trying to outdo each other."

Those were the words of an unnamed Republican senator after America's latest shooting rampage, this one a political assassination attempt in Tucson, Ariz. How sad--and telling--that the lawmaker refused to attach his or her name to such an important truis...

The Democratic Party Elite's General Attitude About Organized Labor

Over the last few years, we've learned a great deal about the Democratic Party's attitude toward the labor movement. Through the Employee Free Choice Act debate (or lack thereof), we've learned that Democrats are happy to rely on union workers hard-earned money to get elected, and then happy to block major pieces of legislation that would help workers join a union. Through the Obama administration's push for a new NAFTA-style trade deal, we've learned that Democratic presidential candidates a...