The Free Market Has Spoken, And It Had Nothing To Say About Economic Inequality

One of the tenets of free market ideology is consumer choice. The idea goes like this. Empower citizens to make their own decisions and they will have greater freedom, greater prosperity, and businesses will live or die at the will of the consumer. Therefore, corporations and executives are in effect beholden to the consumer. Sounds good right? Who could be against that?

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Hey Republicans, What Happened To Obamacare Repeal?

I’ll tell you what happened. Millions of Americans now have health care coverage because of the Affordable Care Act. Millions more will gain coverage over the coming months and years. If Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare were unsuccessful before anyone was officially covered (and let me tell you, they tried many times), then how will future repeal efforts fair? That is, if there are any future repeal efforts.

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Yes Uncle Bob, Despite Winter, Global Warming Is Still Real

Well, it’s that time of year again. The time when Fox News viewers and your Uncle Bob dispense the usual liberal goading climate change denialism. You know, it’s snowing, it’s cold, therefore global warming is a hoax. There’s a blizzard, so time to make fun of Al Gore. It’s winter, hence no greenhouse effect.

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The Stock Market Soared In 2013, So Where Are The Jobs?

Free-market capitalists, which apparently is just about any Republican these days, tell us government is too burdensome to businesses and we need to cut taxes. Their standard message for how to get the economy moving is to cut taxes and get government out of the way. There’s just one problem, the economy, at least as measured by the major stock indexes, finished 2013 with tremendous gains, and that means the personal economy of so-called “job creators” is doing quite well. How’s your personal economy coming along?

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The Christian Right Wishes To Protect Intolerant ‘Religious’ Beliefs

There is great absurdity in calling “the left” intolerant, as it relates to the Duck Dynasty / Phil Robertson “story,” when the Christian right is masterful at employing intolerance by masquerading it as a protected religious belief. They wish to portray “the left” as being intolerant when liberals criticize hateful religious beliefs. If these religious beliefs were harmless, and if these religious beliefs were not discriminatory, then maybe, just maybe the Christian right would have a point. But if a Christian conservative vocally condemns an entire group of people based on sexual preference, or race, or anything else that is part of what makes them human, that is true intolerance, and they will rightfully be labeled a bigot.

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Some Conservatives Believe It’s A Bigger Crime To Be Labeled A Bigot, Than To Be A Bigot

Judging by all the crazy right-wing Facebook posts after A&E suspended Phil Robertson from “Duck Dynasty” (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about I say good for you!), it has become apparent there are many people who don’t understand that freedom of speech works both ways. You can say whatever you want, and anyone can say whatever they want in response. If you are criticized for comments you make, this criticism is not an infringement of your freedom of speech. And if the company you work for believes your comments are harmful to their business, they can suspend you or fire you unless they are explicitly doing so on religious or racial grounds. Sadly, they could legally fire you just for being gay or lesbian, but that’s for another day and another article.

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Does Speeding Cause Accidents?

Two simple words: Speed kills. That’s what we are told. But is speeding really the root cause of many traffic accidents? I argue speeding is rarely the root cause of an accident, but is instead a contributing factor in many cases. I think driver distraction coupled with an unhealthy dose of both entitlement and presumption play much larger roles in most traffic accidents.

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The REAL Problem With The Obamacare Website

I’ve figured it out. I’ve cracked the code. Do you want to know the REAL problem with the Obamacare website? It’s the name. It confuses conservatives. For decades conservatives have admonished government health care, calling it all sorts of names and characterizing the people who advocate for true universal health care as un-American.

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