VOICES

THE DC DANCE - New federal disclosures reveal that major corporations poured donations into West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's political action committee in the weeks leading up to his pivotal announcement Sunday that he would oppose the Build Back Better Act, a stance that progressives argue is motivated by the senator's deference to special interests.

DC DIVIDED - Come on, Senators. First you haggle endlessly over a “human infrastructure” bill (Build Back Better Act) that would fund actual needs of real people—too expensive, not enough money for those “Democrats’ wish list” items.

LEGISLATIVE WATCH - “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,” Mr. Manchin said on “Fox News Sunday, “I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there. This is a no.”

THE COUP - The first time many Americans learned that a large pro-Donald Trump protest in Washington was planned for January 6 was 18 days earlier when the 45th president tweeted about it—"Will be wild!"

EXTREME POLITICS - The late Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical in 1996 condemning Western societies for creating and maintaining a “culture of death.”

 POETIC INJUSTICE - ’Twas the night before Christmas

TWO PERCENT FACTOR - Wherever and whenever obscenely rich people existed, they always protected their wealth and the privileges that come with it from the majority of non-wealthy people working for them and around them.

POLITICAL WATCH - I work hard to make ends meet for my family. But as an educator in West Virginia, that’s hard sometimes — especially with child care to pay for.

TRUMPLICANS - I grew up in canoe country, becoming a guide in the Minnesota Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness as a young man.

THE EASTSIDER - I would not care about Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) except for the fact that he’s personally basking in the glory of screwing the entire United States as he plays around selling his vote.  Two recent articles explain what he really is, and it ain’t pretty. 

DEFENSE SPENDING - Perennial claims about precision "smart bombs" by the Pentagon and its boosters have been proven false again and again around the world, by the corpses of civilians—dehumanized as "collateral damage"—killed by U.S. weaponry. 

VOICES - Chris Wallace stepped down from the network on December 12.

COMMENTARY - Imagine what would happen if all power, phones, and the internet go down, if roads become impassable. 

UNION MEMBERS - A handful of workers at the Dollar General In the small Connecticut town of Barkhamsted had grown frustrated last September at being poorly treated by a district manager, amid allegations that sexual harassment was ignored.

MARC'S ANGLE - A few years ago, I didn’t even know who Jussie Smollett was.

THE DOCTOR IS IN - You and I must cannot, nor must not, ignore the era in which we now find ourselves: in contrast to the true "Great Awakening" of the Renaissance that brought Western civilization out of the Dark Ages to combat the Great Enemy of political, religious, artistic ignorance... 

ABORTION - As the US teeters on the brink of outlawing abortion, an expert from Poland explains the practical and emotional consequences of such a ban. 

ABORTION RIGHTS - What exactly is the motivation behind abolishing the right to have an abortion?

WORK FORCE - Throughout history, work has been the common lot of humanity—at least, outside of the idle rich and those who could not find any.

CORPORATE SPORTS - ‘Tis the season, right? Traditionally, this time of year celebrates spirituality and festivities —  including Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.

PARENTS AND GUN VIOLENCE - We need parents and families to teach values and reinforce behavior that challenges the gun-slinger culture.