Tag Archives: infrastructure

Celebrating the anniversary of FDR’s Civil Works Administration

By Mark | November 8, 2011

According to PBS, it was on this day in 1933 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the Civil Works Administration, “a component of his New Deal that helped America pull through the Great Depression of the 1930s by creating millions of construction jobs for unemployed Americans.” If you have a drink in your hand, please […]

Posted in History | Also tagged 1933, American Experience, Civil Works Administration, Congress, Ezra Klein, FDR, Great Depression, jobs, jobs bill, New Deal, November 8 | 4 Comments

So, what’s the Washtenaw Community Action Team?

By Mark | October 17, 2011

I’d heard mention of the Washtenaw Community Action Team over the past several months or so, but I never really took the time to figure out how they fit into the local ecosystem of left-leaning political organizations, or what their objectives were. Fortunately, however, I had the occasion this past weekend to exchange a few […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Corporate Crime, History, Michigan, Politics, Ypsilanti | Also tagged 40 hour work week, AAUP, Adam Warner, AFL-CIO, America Votes Labor Unity Fund, astroturf, banks, bridges, child labor, civil disobedience, collective bargaining, commencement, corporatocracy, Flint, Graduate Employees Organization, Great Flint Sit Down Strike, Gregg Barak, Howard Bunsis, Ian Robinson, Inside Job, Jane Slaughter, Koch brothers, labor, labor history, Martin Luther King, Maureen Taylor, Mehmet Yaya, Occupy Ann Arbor, Occupy Detroit, Occupy Wall Street, OWS, protests, Public Act 4, Right to Teach, right-to-work, Solidarity Forever, Stadium Bridge, Stand Against Snyder, Tom Weisskopf, UM Graduate Research Assistants, UMHS nurses, unions, Wall Street, Washtenaw Community Action Team, WCAT, We Are One, We Are The People, Wisconsin, With Babies and Banners: A Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade | 10 Comments

Elizabeth Warren… populism, class warfare, and what’s shaping up to be the most interesting race in the country

By Mark | September 21, 2011

When Elizabeth Warren announced her candidacy for Senate last week, polls showed her trailing Scott Brown by a wide margin. Remarkably, in just one week’s time, though, she’s not only closed the gap, but surpassed the incumbent Republican. I’m sure some of it has to do with the fact that it’s a historically Democratic seat, […]

Posted in Politics | Also tagged class warfare, Elizabeth Warren, fair taxation, middle class, no one got rich on their own, populism, Scott Brown, Senate, social contract, tax the rich | 31 Comments

Thomas Friedman to America: “We can’t learn anything from China”

By Mark | September 13, 2011

Generally speaking, I don’t consider myself a huge Thomas Friedman fan. I caught a minute of him speaking on MSNBC this morning, though, and what he said really blew me away. It was extremely simple, but packed a wallop. As I can’t find the exact quote anywhere online, here’s the essence of what he said… […]

Posted in History, Media, Politics | Also tagged 2010 census, 2012 Presidential election, Bush tax cuts, census data, China, deregulation, education reform, immigration, Joe Scarborough, Michael Bloomberg, Michele Bachmann, minimum wage, poverty, tax the rich, That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back, the plight of the overtaxed rich, Thomas Friedman, Trudi Renwick | 11 Comments

Robert Reich speaks out on Reddit

By Mark | September 3, 2011

Economist and Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich showed up on Reddit today… I believe at the behest of his son, who works for CollegeHumor.com. I’d encourage you to read the whole thing, but here are some highlights: evasilev: What is the top priority policy change you would like to see outlined in Obama’s upcoming […]