This article has the dubious distinction of both overstating and oversimplifying the case. The author seems to believe that Republican legislators would somehow speak honestly to their constituents about the offered Public Option without resorting to claims of encroaching Socialism and the impending total collapse of health care provision to our grandmothers in order to provide abortions for illegal immigrants. Okay, it probably wouldn't go that far. But the likelihood of ... More »

This is to good journalism what the Ford Falcon or the Chevy Bel Air are to good cars. Sufficient for the task, but little more. These are the same simple answers to the same simple questions. What we're talking about here is something akin to the creation of Social Security or Medicare or the EPA or food stamps or welfare or...well you get the picture. This is a big, capital BIG deal. This is one of the most important issues in American legislative history, yet journalists act as if ... More »

Minimalist Journalism in the extreme. Says little quickly with few words.

Again the lie that "the WH handed out white coats. And the focus on Tort reform...less than %1 of health care excess costs. While talking about solutions one of their Doctors said that "Medicare could start covering people at age 55" but they are against a government run program? Excuse me? And of course, the final point, take care of yourself. Duh.

It wasn't the WH that handed out the jackets but a medical association that coordinated the gathering. As for Tom Price, let him list just 100 of the "thousands of...colleagues" he has spoken to who oppose the Democrats'legislation and this might be more cogent. And of course there is no questioning of Rep. Boehner's mention of a "government takeover" of healthcare. One more badly "Post-ed" report.

What seems to be missing in all these health care articles are explanations, in depth, of all the different "whys." Why do they want to maintain the doughnut hole. Even 50% of it. Why does this or that "undermine the essence of this agreement?" Why couldn't they move forward? Why do any of these folks get to have anything to do with this issue if they receive even one penney from the insurance or pharmacy industry? Why do these people seem more concerned with the feelings of drug ... More »

Well written, simple, factual and objective, though fairly narrow in scope. Probably as much information as the average American is capable of handling these days without screaming or holding up some inane sign protesting some unconnected irrelevancy.

My sense of this article is that it is aimed at a specific target audience. Some parts, the tips suggested toward the end, are good information for anyone. Other parts are a bit too "new age" for some, a bit complicated for others. For a rural audience with not much education, traversing the various levels of conscieousness presented here just might lead some readers to wonder if we're all on the same mountain. I suspect the author knows the audience this article will reach, ... More »

Scott Ritter continues to be a voice of sanity standing tall amidst the mass of journalistic lemmings all headed over the same cliff. Again. Had a few Journalists paid more attention to Ritter in 2002, the lies about Iraq's WMDs may never have gotten a toehold in the ever-ready-for-war minds of Americans, though that image doesn't account for the contortions of the Bush Administration bent on capturing the Iraq gamepiece.

This article reminds me of Judith Miller's crafting of reality before the Iraq invasion. The authors seem to accept without equivocation that Iran is lying and is bent on deceiving the world in its mad rush to build a nuclear weapon. They also have decided that, per their lead paragraph, "TEHRAN’S disclosure...has derailed the Obama administration’s already faltering efforts to engage with Iran." That's the gist of their article. Their crumb of peace at the end is that if ... More »

A well written, well crafted story. But because it is in "The Nation," it probably won't hold sway witn anyone to the right of Barney Frank. Some of the best reporting these days shows up in "Rolling Stone," or "Harpers," or "The Nation." Like "Ramparts" of years past these magazines cover the news as if it were the complex and unruly beast that it is. A good Journalist like Ann Jones knows when to let the beast off the leash and simply, and vividly, tell us where it goes. If ... More »

Shafer provides a fair, if not somewhat bland overview of the suddenly everywhere story of ACORN's fall from grace, a fall that, following many months of relentless bashing from the Right, was a mere stepstool from the hard, cold ground. While the story appears factual, this is the stuff of screen plays and made for TV Monday night specials, opposite footbal. I would have liked to see a little bit more about why, while under such intense scrutiny, the ACORN management didn't. ... More »

It's clear from the start that Daphne Bramham is passionate about the subject. Sadly, the writing does not do the subject, or Daphne, credit. I can't comment on factual errors but the grammatical errors doom the piece and lessen its credibility significantly. For example: "...by plain-clothes police officer" should read "by a" or "officers." A quote selected: "The right to be one's self through words is a pillar of a civil and democratic society," sounds lofty but I haven't any ... More »

This is certainly one of the fairest assessments I've yet read on the health care debate. Unusually, for me, I wish it were longer and included more background. I would like to see more on just why the people with the power are just that, the people with the power. They represent some of the least populous states, and therefore a tiny fraction of the country, yet wield inordinate control over the outcome of one of our nation's most important policy decisions. That aside, the ... More »

Journalists who cover this sort of story should find a better day job. It is nothing but sensationalism and slam, bam, make the headlines and run newscopy. It is a bone thrown out by the right wing and the idiotic press grabs it and runs for home. They should stay at home and play tiddly-winks against a wall and we'd all be better served.

It's not really journalism at all. It is basically a review of the Glenn Beck show and tells how much money he makes and that a lot of people watch his show. A real journalistic review would look at some of his statements and compare them to reality. An actual journalist might broaden the story to include the money behind the mouth, the reason behind the rat fest, the constant attacks, the continual negativity. But that would be work. That would take the efforts of a real journalist.

The presentation is novel: The reporter as TV viewer, commenting on a program, Morning Joe, that the reporter routinely watches. This approach fits well with the American palate when it comes to digesting news. In this context the premise of a single payer system for health care comes off as a simple and logical program. While this is not completely factual, it is credible and worthy of discussion. People who read Truthout and The Nation are part of the Choir regarding the single ... More »

The article is on par with what passes for journalism these days. Facts are stated and quotes quoted. But there is no in-depth reporting. Again standard fare. For example: Grassley says: "...you have every right to fear," but no one evidently takes time to ask him "Fear what?" The final paragraph is a bit obtuse, closing with a whimper. There is also very little in the way of discovery or explanation, i.e., what exactly, or even remotely, does the provision mean. What would be ... More »

This is quality journalism in much the same way that a sheep is quality clothing. Some of the ingredients are there, but it would take some imagination to call it whole cloth. Calling Rick Scott a "...former hospital executive" is like calling Bernie Madoff "an investor's friend." Scott's company, Columbia/HCA was fined $1.7 billion for rampant fraud, a fact conveniently omitted. Not to appear unfair the A.P. ended the article with a quote by David Axelrod that they must have ... More »

To begin with the article is boring. A fifth grader with a pencil and notepad could have most likely gotten not only better quotes, but provided more in-depth coverage in the process. This whole piece could have been, and probably was, compiled by using nothing but press releases, barring the one Grassley quote: "Most of our caucus feels that just simmering for people's reflections would be a good thing to do," which makes no sense at all. The only other highlight was the ... More »

The article is well written though a bit flat. It somehow just misses capturing that sense of hard outrage lying simmering just below the factual surface. This may not have been the best style, a fairly standard AP type of construction, for this story. "Just the facts" is okay for wire stories but this needed a more personal touch to connect on an emotional level.

The best thing to say about this article is: "Well, that's one view." This is not surprising, coming as it does from the pen of one of the convicted Iran-Contra players. Elliott Abrams' integrity is so compromised that it is difficult to read anything he writes without instinctively covering certain vulnerable body parts from his all-expected pokes and jabs and kicks. Abrams inevitably throws those punches like some mad puppet in the hands of a crazed speed freak during a Punch ... More »

Sparse and to the point this article stays on topic, provides context, and, not surprisingly, doesn't preach. More could have been added about the concerns of our founders regarding separation of church and state, having fought against religious repression as a significant aspect of the formation of our nation . Then again, these facts are known to most and the point, that McHugh doesn't seem inclined to abide by our Bill of Rights should, and is, enough said. Well put.

Wow. Reading this article is like a drug trip in itself. As I drifted and floated down some two thirds of the way through the article I realized I had completely forgotten what the original discussion was about. I think the author eventually brought us back on topic, though five minutes later I couldn't remember any of it and ten minutes later I was scrounging around the kitchen looking for munchies. At least it was entertaining. Mildly.

I have a few issues with certain aspects of this article. Regarding the story of the woman with kidney cancer, I don't see where her "living on food stamps" adds anything to the story. I found several other problems. Twice in the story the authors mention things that President Obama did not say. He did not promise (as he has in the past) not to tax those who make less than $250,000, and he did not promise (as he has in the past) that people could keep their present coverage if they ... More »

There is almost a "letter from home" style to this story that I found compelling. The author writes in a very straight-forward fashion, a sort of day-in-the-life presentation, and is clearly knowledgable and well connected both in and to Iran. This is certainly factual from the authors' point of view and presents well the opinions and viewpoints of those Iranians the author knows and has a connection with.

As a snippet of news analysis this seems fine. It is what it is.

Not exactly. The article focus on the issues behind the lawsuits mentioned, not on the issue before the court, the issue actually ruled on. In Ricci v. Destefano, the court was asked to determine whether the city was within its legal right to not certify the test. The court drew on precedent to rule that it was. In Maloney v. Cuomo the court again ruled using precedent. To do otherwise would have been the dreaded judicial activism. A little more research would have ferreted out this ... More »

This article borders on slander and is not acceptable coming from a "journalist." Look at the lead paragraph: "President Barack Obama on Friday personally sought to deflect criticism of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who finds herself under intensifying scrutiny for saying in 2001 that a female Hispanic judge would often reach a better decision than a white male judge." First, Judge Sotomayor never said ..."a female Hispanic judge would often reach a better decision ... More »

Silverstein makes a compelling case, though I come away not quite convinced. It seems that the problem with the court today is too much politics. At least when it comes to choosing justices. The push has been to place ideologues on the court, justices who view the court as a means of securing social, moral or ethical beliefs in a paradigm backed by law. This does little to benefit the whole, and does more to curb the evolution of law than promote it.

This article is confusing. I don't understand the gist of it, where it's coming from and where it's going. And what does: "the economic and environmental hassles and costs we may have avoided--by being energy dependent" mean. What economic and environmental hassles? While it may not be possible for the U.S. to become "energy independent," it certainly wouldn't hurt to raise that as a goal. We could start by looking at what we can do, cutting our use through conservation, ... More »

This is very well done, sourced and researched and presented in a reasonable tone.

This is good coverage of one side, a fairly neglected side, of this story. The presentation is simple and covers the Cernter for Contitutional Rights perspective well.

This is a rational piece. It doesn't raise any alarms on my "moan" meter, you know, that involuntary response that escapes from deep in your being as you're reading along and some blatant journalistic failure pokes your belly and jangles your literary complacency.just enough to start the teeth grinding. This did none of that and is a solid though sketchy piece.

This piece is fairly innocuous, but does contain one "moan" canard toward the end, the sort of thing I've come to associate with NPR of late. They throw out this conservative talking point about Obama being "perceived as weak," in a quote by Josef Joffe. They mention that Joffe is a senior fellow at Stanford and pub-editor of Die Zeit, a German weekly, but fail to mention his Hoover Institution ties, the same group that gave rise to the likes of Ed Meece and Condi. (Nor do they ... More »