Don’t miss the political point of Trump’s attack on food stamps

The Trump administration is clear that it wants to make it harder for "able-bodied" adults with no kids to get Supplemental Nutrition program benefits (aka "food stamps").  Trump's proposed budget cuts to the program haven't a prayer in Congress, but no matter; much the same purpose can be achieved through changes to how the program … Continue reading Don’t miss the political point of Trump’s attack on food stamps

One thing I can agree with Trump about – Bring the troops home

President Trump has taken a serious drubbing from both the political right and left for his decision to pull troops out of Syria and Afghanistan.  I am not pleased.  This is perhaps the one issue on which I'm inclined to support the president, against the united warmongering front presented by the military-industrial-corporate media-Congressional complex.  Social … Continue reading One thing I can agree with Trump about – Bring the troops home

Does Mississippi like being last in health rankings?

Does Mississippi covet being at the bottom of the national health heap?  You would think as much, given how we never stray too far from it. In fact, the most recent United Health Foundation ranking has Mississippi moving up a notch overall - over its "rival" for last place, Louisiana.  But no worries, there's still … Continue reading Does Mississippi like being last in health rankings?

Yellow Vests movement in France deserves attention from U.S. social workers

This is what a democratic uprising can look like - https://www.facebook.com/nytvideo/videos/frances-yellow-vests-protests-understanding-the-collective-rage/261768511159947/ - and it scares the hell out of neoliberal elites everywhere, in the U.S. as well as Europe.  Which no doubt helps to explain why four weeks of Gilets Jaunes ("yellow vests") protest in France has been largely ignored by the American corporate media. French … Continue reading Yellow Vests movement in France deserves attention from U.S. social workers

How will social work respond to the impacts of climate disruption?

Increasingly, even the "optimists" among climate change realists are concluding that massive disruptions to both the natural and social worlds are a certainty.  Even if rapid and effective government action somehow manages to avert the very worst effects (whatever those might be, but we can't rule out runaway climate feedback loops spelling the extinction of … Continue reading How will social work respond to the impacts of climate disruption?

Might Mississippi be finally waking up to the climate crisis?

You'd be hard pressed to find much major media discussion of the climate crisis in Mississippi.  (Let's stop talking about climate "change," by the way; it's already a crisis that can only intensify with time).  So imagine my surprise at seeing the Clarion-Ledger today run a front-page story on the failure of both senatorial candidates, … Continue reading Might Mississippi be finally waking up to the climate crisis?

Does Trump’s bellicose style prompt violent assaults on his critics?

What?! Why would anyone make that ridiculous conjunction?  Sure, President Trump praises “body slammers,” but he’s never told anyone to make a pipe bomb!   Jeez.  You might as well try to connect the unrestrained proliferation of guns to the repeated massacres of innocent people, the growing ferocity of hurricanes to global warming, or fast-flowing rivers … Continue reading Does Trump’s bellicose style prompt violent assaults on his critics?

What’s really at stake with the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court?

What's at stake?  A lot, obviously, and the punditry press is literally choked with words trying to capture one or another piece of the total picture.  Center stage in recent days has been, with good reason, the way women victims of sexual assault are heard (or not) by men of power.  Just off in the … Continue reading What’s really at stake with the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court?