On "The New York Times' Frank Rich: Obama is right—the people are to blame"
The columnists at the New York Times say nothing when hundreds of thousands of jobs are shipped to Mexico or China. They remain stone silent when unemployment threatens the lower classes. However, when their IRAs or 401(k) accounts drop 38 percent because they had much of their stock in the banking sectors... well, then it's an emergency and no amount of money is too large to be thrown at the problem.
Now, with newspaper circulations in freefall, we may once again have people in the news media who can report firsthand, on the plight of the working class and the length of the soup line. Welcome to the party.
PK
26 January 2009
On "Letters on WSWS coverage of the incoming Obama administration"
I think at least 50 percent of the people who celebrated the inauguration of Barrack Obama were actually celebrating the departure of Bush. I am guilty. I was thrilled to see the end of George W Bush—the worst president ever.
Like those of us who champion peace, those of us who champion socialism do a lot of hard work and don't get many in the "win" column. I had to take the departure of Bush as a win. Of course, there's still so much work to be done that I won't see the end of it in my lifetime... that's part of the struggle... but yeah I was glad to see the Bush go.
Mary C.
Arlington, Virginia, USA
24 January 2009
On "Obama administration stokes up trade tensions with China"
Great article. Thank you very much.
Michael S
24 January 2009
On "Obama's libel against the American people"
With all the millions of dollars being wasted on Barack Obama's inauguration celebrations, two things immediately come to mind. The first one is—I wonder how Obama has been able to keep a straight face when telling ordinary citizens that we all need to sacrifice. The second (to paraphrase a John Lennon song)—how does he sleep at night?
Stanley H
Smithfield, Pennsylvania, USA
23 January 2009
* * *
The head of Merrill Lynch issues billions in payouts to his cronies with our tax dollars and it's our fault? Is this the United States or some backwater African dictatorship? I would expect someone to funnel billions to underlings in some upstart country and not the US of A. How sad. As one New York Times poster stated, "I caught the hope- am waiting for the audacity".
PK
23 January 2009
On "US: Economic crisis forces families to cut back on healthcare"
There is another distinguishable group that you did not mention.
Medicaid, for the poor, has an asset test for liquid assets that eliminates many honest people.
While some state asset tests exclude housing, for renters, the threshold can be as low as three or four thousand dollars. There are many people—who have $10,000, $20,000 in savings with no income—who cannot get on Medicaid honestly. Do they spend $4,000 or more on medical services knowing that money might have been the money that would have kept them off the street? The media says nothing about these people.
This is another dilemma that many people must face.
It should be recognized by health care writers.
LS
26 January 2009
On "The crisis in Eastern Europe and the lessons of 1989"
Your fine article noting the economic hemorrhaging—of what seems to be other weak links besides Iceland, Ireland, England, Spain and Portugal—led me to recall the breakdown of these East European states 20 years ago. You write; "The international financial and economic crisis has massive implications for eastern Europe. It is shattering not only its national economies, but also the ideological conceptions bound up with the restoration of capitalism in these countries."
Could you please summarize the causes of the beginning of the rupturing of these Stalinist nation states, at that time that is continuing again at a deeper and more critical stage? I especially would like to understand what economic forces led to the crisis and reorganization of Eastern Europe and the USSR and the difference between then and now regarding the specific nationalist restrictions on economic life.
B.L.
26 January 2009
On "Little Audrey by Ruth White: a family in post-war Virginia"
I want to thank Jane Stimmen for her very thorough and thoughtful review of my book, Little Audrey. I found it only today—January 24—on the Internet, and I was very pleased. I also wondered why my publisher never brought it to my attention. Anyway, thank you so much, Jane.
At one point you questioned why mining strikes were not mentioned in my book. The truth is I was writing purely from memory with a little help from my sisters, and I don't remember any mining strikes during the three years we lived at Jewell Valley. Of course, I was only three when we moved there and six when we left, so it could have happened without my knowledge.
I am particularly pleased to have my book reviewed by the World Socialist Web Site. Thank you once again.
Ruth White
24 January 2009
On the WSWS
Thank you for your fresh and objective analysis of world events, especially in these times of great upheaval. For Americans who care to remove the straitjacket imposed by its two-party system and echoed in its media, WSWS is an invaluable source of perspective; and one that upholds human and moral standards which all but have been abandoned elsewhere.
MB
26 January 2009