Everyone paying close attention to the campaigns for the presidency being waged by Barack Obama and John McCain is aware that they are studiously avoiding all references to endemic poverty and homelessness. On a daily basis, the two of them, and their legions of on-message surrogates, assail us with words intended to convey the intensity [...]
Sunday, October 12, 2008
As was the case with most African Americans, I was initially ambivalent regarding Barack Obama’s campaign to become President of the United States. On the one hand, I believed he was qualified, and would probably make a good to outstanding President if he managed to get elected. On the other hand, I understood that his [...]
Monday, September 29, 2008
John McCain’s admission during the first presidential debate that the U.S. government is engaged in torture was probably the most notable aspect of his fractious exhibition with Barack Obama.But one would not know this by the responses of the television commentators who provided instant analysis at the debate’s conclusion, nor the plethora of articles and [...]
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
These are broadly unsettling times here in the United States. The war in Iraq is unresolved, and the one in Afghanistan is quickly and ominously going from bad to worse. Hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs. The national debt is growing like an untreated cancer. The economy is [...]
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I am watching the Republican National Convention with a sense of incredulity and dismay. Amid the military salutes, cowboy hats, imperial hubris and tributes to inequitable policies that systematically ravage the lives of average Americans, the tawdry spectacle is deeply disturbing. These are the people who enthusiastically support torture, military assaults, capital punishment, assassinations, secret prisons, extraordinary [...]
Thursday, August 28, 2008
An op-ed piece by Bob Herbert in a recent issue of the New York Times moved me to make the following observations about the racial dynamic in this nation, and the manner in which it is influencing dialogue pertinent to the current presidential campaign. Herbert refers to the issue at hand as “the dog that [...]
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Homeless Court, which San Francisco’s municipal officials have recently been touting as an important, new component in their effort to eliminate chronic homelessness, provides an excellent focal point for discussing overall civic philosophy regarding endemic social problems.
The Homeless Court will primarily address indigents accused of so-called “quality of life crimes.” in the Tenderloin and [...]
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I have been patiently waiting since the beginning of the current presidential campaign for the dialogue to focus on homelessness. Unfortunately, with the passage of each stage of the campaign, it has become abundantly clear to me that unless something untoward occurs homelessness will remain “off the table” with regard to the primary priorities of the [...]
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
U.S. television screens are filled these days with images of President Bush making the rounds in Beijing. Given the xenophobic perspectives of those who control the flow of images, every effort is being made to present him in a positive light. Nonetheless, he appears to be a lost man in search of a real mission.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Given his youth and relative inexperience, it is not surprising that Senator Barack Obama is a work in progress. This is a significant source of his infectious appeal to many U.S. citizens, and the impressive number of foreigners who are following the current U.S. presidential contest with the same level of excitement and [...]
Everyone Has The Right (GPAP)
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Saturday, October 25, 2008
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