Stories by Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the new book, "Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow." (Wiley, March 2008) He publishes the monthly "Hightower Lowdown," co-edited by Phillip Frazer. subscribe to Jim Hightower's feed

Bush's Push for a Secret Government

Posted on: Jul 21, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft are the Four Horsemen of Autocracy, passionate practitioners of secretive, executive government.

Bush Talks Loudly, Carries Small Stick

Posted on: Jul 10, 2002, Source: AlterNet

George Bush's speech on corporate resonsibility was political posturing at its most embarassing.

Medical Ties That Bind

Posted on: Jul 10, 2002, Source: AlterNet

A new survey of 100 researchers says that nine out of 10 admitted they had financial ties to the drug industry.

Just Another Corporate Greedhead

Posted on: Jul 7, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Martha Stewart and Ken Lay aren't the only ones who have sold off their own holdings before a company's stock price crashes. Try the twice-failed businessman George W. Bush.

Contaminated Computers

Posted on: Jul 7, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Very few consumers are aware that their computers are not only loaded with software and memory, but they also contain lead, mercury, polyvinyl chloride and other toxins.

Golf Tricks

Posted on: Jun 30, 2002, Source: AlterNet

The Professional Golf Association has teamed with a developer to build a water-sucking, water-contaminating "PGA Village" in Texas, which will sit underneath an underground aquifer.

Congress' Corrupt-Money Mambo

Posted on: Jun 30, 2002, Source: AlterNet

The Bush-backed, industry-written prescription drug bill is a sham to protect the profits of the pharmaceutical industry, rather than to meet the critical health needs of seniors.

The Senate Sells Out Workaday Families

Posted on: Jun 23, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Never have so few sold out so many for so little.

Happily Helping the Republican Party

Posted on: Jun 23, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Former Enron lobbyist and current chairman of the Republican National Committee is hoping that you'll take part in the official census of the Republican party.

Getting A Grip On Ceo Greed

Posted on: Jun 16, 2002, Source: AlterNet

To think that greed is simply greed misses the nuances of avarice.

Bush's Bureaucratic Shuffle

Posted on: Jun 16, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Why do I feel an urge to click my boot heels whenever Bush, Ashcroft & Gang bark out the phrase, "Homeland Security?"

A Professor Explains the Income Gap

Posted on: Jun 10, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Time for another Gooberhead Award [Beanie-cap Breakdown], presented periodically to someone in the news who has their tongue running 100-miles-per-hour...but forgot to put their brain in gear.

Women Stand Up to Nike

Posted on: Jun 10, 2002, Source: AlterNet

When it comes to the way workers are treated in the global economy, you can count on Nike to do the right thing. As long as it's forced to, that is.

Cadillac's New Hog

Posted on: Jun 3, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Cadillac has gone folksy. The car that's long been known for its snob appeal has come out with a pickup truck.

The Cold Side Of "Workfare"

Posted on: Jun 3, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Meet James Howard of Brooklyn, New York: 42, diabetic, blind in one eye, takes care of his disabled wife and their kids, a tenth-grade dropout, relegated to poverty jobs, a hard worker.

HIGHTOWER: The Subversion of VeriChip

Posted on: May 28, 2002, Source: AlterNet

A computer chip about the size of a dime has already been implanted into the upper backs of several people in our country. It's called VeriChip, and its future is very vague.

Reliant CEO Finds Religion

Posted on: May 28, 2002, Source: AlterNet

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been calling on energy trading corporations to confess, under oath, whether they have been doing any of the down-and-dirty deals that the devilish Enron got caught making.

Bush's Convoluted Concept of Freedom

Posted on: May 22, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Here's a terrific idea: Let's condemn Fidel Castro for not allowing enough freedom for Cuban citizens ... then let's punish him by curtailing the freedom of our own citizens.

George W. and the White House Troupe

Posted on: May 22, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Sometimes I think that the Bush Administration is conspiring to feed me good material. Their latest: Jimmy Carter's Cuba trip, prompting the White House to flail furiously at Castro.

Corporate Snooping on Consumers

Posted on: May 13, 2002, Source: AlterNet

You've heard of the Little Shop of Horrors, but now comes the Little Boutique of Retail Ethnography.

A Hidden Court and "Hidden Enemies"

Posted on: May 13, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Woody Guthrie once wrote about the two levels of thieves in our society: "Some'll rob you with a six gun, and some with a fountain pen."

Shrinking The Smithsonian's Grand Purpose

Posted on: May 6, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Lawrence Small may be perfectly named for the job he's doing.

Stolen Slogans

Posted on: May 6, 2002, Source: AlterNet

GOP leaders have gotten their tights in a twist because, they allege, the dastardly Democrats have stolen one of the Republican's favorite political slogans.

Kmarts' Rip-off

Posted on: Apr 29, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Attention Kmart shoppers, we've got a blue-light-special up on the top floor.

Barr Goes Bonkers

Posted on: Apr 29, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Being an idiot is no bar to being a member of congress, and as exhibit number one to prove this point, I offer the fatuous Bob Barr.

How Wal-Mart is Remaking our World

Posted on: Apr 25, 2002, Source: Hightower Lowdown

From union busting to Chinese sweatshops, there are a thousand reasons to worry about Wal-Mart.

Bush Trips Over Democracy In Venezuela

Posted on: Apr 22, 2002, Source: AlterNet

There's an old saying in Chicago politics: Before you dance on someone's grave, be sure he's dead.

Baseball's Bad Sports

Posted on: Apr 22, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Time for another report [Sports Theme] from the "Wide, Wide Wide, WILD World of Sports."

Is Money All That Matters In Our Democracy?

Posted on: Apr 15, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Today's Goober goes to Rep. Patrick Tiberi, a Republican congress critter from Ohio.

Greenspan Lost In Laissez-fair-world

Posted on: Apr 15, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Greenspan never lets reality intrude on his belief in laissez-faire ideology, so he sees no problem with the abusive power that corporate behemoths have amalgamated.

The Sport of Ball-Park Socialism

Posted on: Apr 8, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Let's go to the sports desk [Sports theme] for the Wide, Wide, Wide, WILD World of Sports!

Bush's Corporate Government

Posted on: Apr 8, 2002, Source: AlterNet

What is it with George W. and his gang of super-secretive White House authoritarians?

Another Enron Exec on the Public Payroll

Posted on: Apr 1, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Thomas White, the Secretary of the Army, seems to have pocketed $12 million in Enron stock sales through insider info. Why is he still on the public payroll?

Toys of Misery

Posted on: Apr 1, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Toy barons are afraid that someday youngsters might begin asking: Where are the factories that make my toys? How old are the workers? How do they live? Do they have toys?

Bush's Clown Routines

Posted on: Mar 25, 2002, Source: AlterNet

The plutocratic autocracy that is the Bush White House has been imperiously dismissive of America's Constitutional systems of checks and balances, attempting to govern by executive fiat.

Redefining Terrorism

Posted on: Mar 25, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Pay attention folks, because George W and the congress are quietly maneuvering our country into another war that has nothing to do with any terrorist threat to America.

The Cheney-Iraq Axis of Money

Posted on: Mar 18, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Did Dick Cheney, as vice president of Halliburton Oil, help rebuild Iraq's economic machine that now stands accused of sponsoring terrorism? Though he says no, the answer is yes.

Baseball on Speed

Posted on: Mar 18, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Major League Baseball has joined with an internet service to record, digitize and condense a typical three hour game to 30 minutes.

George's Taxtime Gotcha

Posted on: Mar 11, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Bush is about to take a hit, because millions of Americans are soon to fill out their income tax forms, and they will find that Bush's $300 "rebate" was just an advance withdrawl.

Dead-tired Doctors Endanger You

Posted on: Mar 11, 2002, Source: AlterNet

Newly minted doctors are often on the job for 100 or more hours a week, including shifts that run for 36 straight hours. No wonder 100,000 people die a year from medical errors.

Pages