One on One With Rep. Lynn Woolsey: "US Family Law Is Stuck in the 'Leave It to Beaver' Era"
(Photo: House Committee on Education and the Workforce Democrats / Flickr)

Alissa Bohling, Truthout | Interview

Ronald Reagan's "welfare queen" myth has been strenuously discredited, but another counterexample never hurts - especially when she's spent 20 years on Capitol Hill. Before she ran for office, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-California) spent years raising her three children on her own and with the support of public assistance. Her story, and her influential presence in Congress - as the former co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, an outspoken critic of war and a two-decade veteran in the House - are more relevant than ever as divisive rhetoric about a tax-drunk "entitlement society" pervades the GOP primary. Woolsey, set to retire at the end of this term, spoke with Truthout in late January.

...

Read Article / Comment (0) / Share

Grand, Old Psychos
Steve King, Truthout | News Analysis

I used to love Republican politics. I have always admired the Republican primary process for the way its leaders and frontrunners, unlike the Democratic primary candidates, seem to draw energy, support and money by being less politically correct than the next guy. It's a damn-the-torpedoes attitude that has all but disappeared from our sanitized and boring political language. The more passionate and less socially acceptable a candidate becomes outside of their party, the stronger they become inside the base.

Read / Comment (0) / Share

Why the "Liberal" Media Leaves Hawkish Foreign Policy Unchallenged
Gregory Harms, Truthout | Op-Ed

A recent article by foreign policy analyst Robert Naiman, examines The New York Times' current coverage of Iran's nuclear program. In it, he exposes a disappointing but unsurprising mishandling of the facts. References to the paper's shameful prewar reportage on Iraq and Saddam Hussein's regime are appropriate. But if the Times is indeed liberal, why the repeated adoption and promotion of misleading, hawkish assumptions?

Read / Comment (0) / Share