File Under: The Rich Get Richer

Under the headline “Big companies are awash in cash as economy picks up,” The Los Angeles Times reported (March 24) that although many individuals, small businesses and even states have been devastated by the recession, many of the country’s biggest companies are “loaded with cash, thanks to deep cost-cutting that helped drive unemployment into double [...]

WellPoint: Profit at the Expense of Consumers

Under the headline “Lawmakers accuse WellPoint, parent company of Anthem Blue Cross, of profiteering”  in the Thursday, Feb. 25 Los Angeles Times, Richard Simon and Duke Helfand report that “Congressional Democrats on Wednesday accused the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of putting profits ahead of policyholders, saying the giant insurer padded its proposed rates [...]

More About Anthem Blue Cross Greed

Earlier this month we wrote a post about the despicable actions of Anthem Blue Cross in raising their rates for health coverage. See Healthcare Costs on the Rise. Why? The Los Angeles Times has been vigilant in their coverage of the healthcare giant, and two articles in the Feb. 23 Business Section hit the nail [...]

Water, Water, Every Where ….

Southern California has been inundated these past several weeks with rain storms; it’s something we’re not used: There’s flash floods, mud slides, overflowing storm drains and traffic jams. What’s really scary, though, is an advisory sent out by L.A. County’s environmental health division, advising people to stay out of the ocean because of the possibility [...]

Taylor Swift’s Performance Malfunction

What are we to make of the ongoing controversy over 20-year-old country singer Taylor Swift’s off-key performance at the Grammys last week? The Web world is abuzz with fans and detractors defending or denigrating the singer. MTV News even published an article titled “Why You Shouldn’t Hate On Taylor Swift” in response to the backlash. [...]

Healthcare Costs on the Rise. Why?

OK, everyone leery of government intervention in our health care system. Take a look at what the L.A. Times reported today under the headline: Anthem Blue Cross dramatically raising rates for Californians with individual health policies. Policyholders are incensed over rate hikes of as much as 39%, which they say come on top of similar [...]

The People Speak: Howard Zinn

With the death on January 27 of historian Howard Zinn (author of “A People’s History of the United States,” the first book to present American history through the eyes of working people rather than political and economic elites), we wanted to call to your attention the release of Zinn’s DVD “The People Speak” on February [...]

New Birthday for 2000 Year-Old Man

Shout! Factory on November 14 will team with comedians Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks for the release of “The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History,” compiling the best of the bits featuring Brooks playing the oldest man in the world, answering questions posed by Reiner about historical events and people. The pair started doing [...]

Save the Century Plaza Hotel

On June 23, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson attended a $500-a-plate Democratic Party fundraiser at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City.  A peaceful anti-Vietnam War demonstration assembled outside the hotel; I was one among approximately 10,000  protesters — representing groups ranging from Another Mother for Peace to Students for a Democratic Society to Trotsky [...]

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music

Hey ex-Hippies: It’s time to set your soul free again (“We are stardust, we are golden”). This year marks yet another benchmark for aging hipsters: the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Though I was unable to attend the event ( I did, however, attend a few other benchmark musical events, including the first L.A. concerts of [...]

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