John Atcheson

John Atcheson

screen_shot_2017-07-26_at_9.09.47_pm.pngJohn Atcheson is author of the novel, A Being Darkly Wise, and he has just completed a book on the 2016 elections titled, WTF, America? How the US Went Off the Rails and How to Get It Back On Track, available from Amazon. Follow him on Twitter @john_atcheson

Articles by this author

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Monday, November 27, 2017
There’s a Strategic and Deadly Attack Aimed at the US Republic, But It’s Not the Russians
An all-out assault on our freedom began in earnest 46 years ago, when Lewis Powell issued a 34-page memo on August 23, 1971 in response to a request from the Chamber of Commerce. Their campaign was strategic, patient, inexorable, and fueled by billions of dollars. As Powell put it : Strength lies...
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Saturday, November 18, 2017
When Will Democrats Stop Being Losers?
Much was made of the “blue wave” some saw on November 7 th . Blue ripple is more like it. Don’t expect those results to translate into a 2018 landslide for Democrats, unless the Party figures out what it’s for , not simply what it’s against. Most of the Party leaders are only too eager to tell you...
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To comprehend the scope of corporate consolidation, imagine a day in the life of a typical American and ask: How long does it take for her to interact with a market that isn’t nearly monopolized? Views
Monday, November 13, 2017
Let's Just Admit It: Capitalism Doesn't Work
In almost every way you examine it, capitalism – at least the relatively unconstrained, free- market variety practiced here in the US and supported by both parties -- has been an abysmal failure. Let’s take a close look some of its worst failings. But first, it must be admitted that when it comes...
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Sunday, November 05, 2017
The Russians Did It!
The Russians did what? Pretty much anything you can think of. For example, a recent headline in the New York Times read: "How the Russians Got Americans to Turn Against One Another." Or consider the two-part Frontline series titled "Putin's Revenge," which outlines in excruciating detail how...
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"Given the ubiquity of this split, the real question isn’t simply how can 40 percent of Americans be so ignorant of reality, but rather, how is it that they are determining who is in charge?" Views
Wednesday, November 01, 2017
The Passionately Ignorant and The Passively Informed
Sixty percent of Americans understand that the Republican’s tax plan favors the rich. Some would celebrate that degree of awareness, but as Paul Krugman noted in a recent column, the question is why 40 percent of Americans don’t seem to know it. But this 60/40 split between the ignorant and the...
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In the past, they pretended to believe that the country was, in fact, center-right, but in a recent New York Times editorial, neoliberal and Clintonite, Doug Schoen, revealed the real reason Democrats won’t embrace progressivism is that they are dependent upon the uber-rich, Wall Street, and corporate campaign contributors. Views
Friday, October 27, 2017
Democrats – Still Drifting Toward Disaster
On Sunday night, Bernie Sanders confirmed he will run for the Senate as an Independent again in 2018, after running for the Presidency as a Democrat. Sanders, by the way, is the most popular politician in America. There’s a link between these two facts that the Democratic Party is choosing to...
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Thursday, October 19, 2017
How the Deranged Took Over America
It’s not news to most people that the US is no longer a true Democracy. Gilens and Page proved it in 2014, using hard data. More recently, the Economist’s Democracy Index , dropped the US down to a “flawed democracy,” in 2016, and when the firmly neoliberal Economist thinks you have issues with...
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There is a budget that closely mirrors what the people want: the People's Budget, released by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is closely aligned with preferences of the majority of Americans, and it does a better job at lowering the projected deficit though targeted tax increases on the rich and budget cuts in the military and a few other specific areas. Views
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
What the People Want vs. What Trump, Ryan and McConnell and Gang are Proposing
There’s an enormous disconnect between what people want their government to do, and what the Republican-dominated government is pushing. It’s worth examining the size of this disconnect on the issues that affect people the most. Climate change and the environment: The people vs. the Republicans...
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Saturday, October 07, 2017
Save Your Prayers and Pass Some Laws
OK, enough. The degree of crazy in our country is simply no longer tenable. "So, Congressmen and women, stop saying there's nothing we can do. Stop offering prayers as substitutes for action." The degree of meanness and divisiveness is no longer tenable. The degree of anti-science, anti-reason,...
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Thursday, September 28, 2017
What They Say vs. What They Mean: An Inside-the-Beltway Glossary
REPUBLICANS – Entries appear in the order with which they are used Tax Reform: Cut taxes for the rich, toss the middle class a few bones, while taking away their benefits and starving government so they can cut popular programs like social security “out of necessity.” Health Care: Wealth care – as...
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