A system that should endure?—In the Birmingham, Alabama, area, Joseph Sullivan, 16, is totally disabled, afflicted with muscular degeneration. Initially, he had Medicaid help. But his father died and, somehow, this put Joseph $13 over the Medicaid income limit. Along with home health aides, Medicaid was cut off. His mother struggles to care for him, but can’t. She’s 69 and has had two strokes. A lawyer is trying to get Medicaid and home care back for the family .

How do you define ‘homeland’?—“Arizona tribes claim they aren’t getting a full share of homeland security funding…. Nearly $4 billion has been allocated to state governments…but none has been given directly to tribes.”—News item.

Corporate Protection Agency—“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is failing to protect the public from tens of thousands of toxic compounds because it has not gathered data on the health risks of most industrial chemicals. About 80,000 chemicals are used by U.S. industries, and scientific studies suggest that many pose health threats, such as cancer.”—News item.

Sounds bleak—“As a political entity, Canada is a nation adrift.” This harsh assessment is by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. These are not petty shopkeepers. Together they have more than a million employees and combined assets of $2.5 trillion. This meeting of big-time, glum capitalists convened in early July as reported in the French-language paper La Presse.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home