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.

The Irony of Bush's Assault on ANWR

Posted on: Mar 9, 2005, Source: AlterNet

In a gusher of political irony, guess what? The oil giants have little interest in drilling the pristine reaches of ANWR!

The GOP's Fake Reporter

Posted on: Mar 4, 2005, Source: AlterNet

If the Bushites tell us extraordinary security measures are essential, how did a loose cannon like "Jeff Gannon" get to sashay around the White House so freely for two years?

Uncle Sam Wants You

Posted on: Mar 2, 2005, Source: AlterNet

While George himself rushed out to denounce the rumors of a draft, <i>Rolling Stone</i> magazine recently unearthed an internal Selective Service memo that reveals the lie.

Bad News for You is Good News for Them

Posted on: Feb 25, 2005, Source: AlterNet

By holding down your wages, corporations fatten their profits, stock prices rise, and Wall Street's high-rolling investors rejoice.

The Irony of Neo-Con Theory

Posted on: Feb 23, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The greatest embarrassment for neo-con theorists is that the recent elections in Iraq produced the exact opposite of what they assumed.

Who Are the Real Steroid Abusers?

Posted on: Feb 18, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Athletes are richly rewarded for finding an "edge" and doing what is necessary to get an advantage in order to "win, baby, win!"

Our New Shopping Wonderworld

Posted on: Feb 16, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Sadistic, high-tech fiends have now joined with a giant European retail chain to further depersonalize the shopping experience and make going to the mall as joyous as getting a root canal.

Bush's Covert Propaganda Machine

Posted on: Feb 11, 2005, Source: AlterNet

What we have here is Bush & Company routinely and cynically using your and my tax dollars to use the media to propagandize you and me. Where's the accountability for these corrupters?

The Real "Accountability Moment"

Posted on: Feb 9, 2005, Source: AlterNet

For real accountability, George might want to have a heart-to-heart with Dante Zappala, a man who lost his brother in Iraq during a search for non-existent WMDs.

The War Party

Posted on: Feb 4, 2005, Source: AlterNet

In the Wonderland of BushWorld, modesty is no virtue, and hubris is to be celebratedso party down, y'all!

Whacking Libraries

Posted on: Feb 2, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Public officials todayfrom George W. Bush to city council members are reaching for the budget axe to whack library funding, forcing branches to close, valuable services to be eliminated, and hours to be cut.

A Leadership Gap on The Trade Gap

Posted on: Jan 28, 2005, Source: AlterNet

In 2004, the American economy bought $600 billion more in products from foreign countries – especially China – than we sold to them. This is the exact opposite of a good business plan.

Jobs, Wages, Mergers, and You

Posted on: Jan 26, 2005, Source: AlterNet

We need economic growth, not economic consolidation. Corporate profits are way up, but instead of increasing wages, swaggering CEOs are diverting America's investment capital into buying out competitors.

The Glass Houses of Right-Wing Moralists

Posted on: Jan 21, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Money seems to be the most common moral corrupter of those on the far right who so loudly profess to be America's arbiters of proper behavior.

Star Wars Missile Misfires ... Again

Posted on: Jan 19, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The main thing that the Bushites' highly touted missile defense system can be counted on is to hit the federal budget.

Ripping Off Veterans

Posted on: Jan 14, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Sleazy financial coroporations prey on financially strapped vets who face some personal crisis and need quick cash. Only later do these desperate veterans realize that they've been robbed.

Bush's Junk Claim About Junk Lawsuits

Posted on: Jan 12, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Juries, Bush wailed, are handing out such massive judgments to patients who sue that entire hospitals, groups of doctors, and other medical businesses are shutting down. Problem is, it just ain't so.

Cell-Phone Nattering at 30,000 Feet

Posted on: Jan 7, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The airlines are now seeking regulatory approval for new technology that will let the noisy ones natter into their cell phones clear across the country.

Creeping Biometrics

Posted on: Jan 5, 2005, Source: AlterNet

A creeping (and increasingly creepy) intrusion industry is pushing aggressively into our everyday lives, bolstered by government laws and money.

A Soldier's Story

Posted on: Dec 31, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Why should a soldier who's made such an extreme sacrifice be treated so shabbily?

Social Security Works

Posted on: Dec 28, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Social Security is going broke! Hogwash. Without changing anything, Social Security is financially sound for the next 40 years.

The Political Jesus

Posted on: Dec 24, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Let's reflect a moment on the moral teaching of this man from Nazareth.

My Holiday Gift List

Posted on: Dec 22, 2004, Source: AlterNet

I'm sending Donnie Rumsfeld a six-month stint as a grunt in Iraq, assigned to drive one of those vehicles that he still hasn't outfitted with life-protecting armor.

Color-Coded Morality

Posted on: Dec 20, 2004, Source: AlterNet

If political pundits claim Red State family values are stronger and fundamentally more moral, then why does a Blue State have the lowest divorce rate in the nation?

Golden Parachutes at Merck

Posted on: Dec 15, 2004, Source: AlterNet

While top executives get a gleaming golden parachute, the other 30,000 employees are on their own – goodbye and good luck.

Let's Really Support Our Troops

Posted on: Dec 10, 2004, Source: AlterNet

"Support Our Troops" has to be more tangible than putting a yellow magnet on your car. That's rhetoric, not support.

The Morality of the Moralists

Posted on: Dec 8, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Ultra-right conservatives constantly preach about the moral failings of the rest of us – yet they keep getting caught with their own pants down, morally speaking.

George's Cozy Cocoon

Posted on: Dec 3, 2004, Source: AlterNet

"Being Bush" seems like a joyful, almost dreamlike experience.

Robbery By Bankruptcy

Posted on: Dec 1, 2004, Source: AlterNet

For the Bushites, the word reform means "deform," to monkeywrench the system so the rich get richer ... and the rest of us get schtooked.

Free Speech Online

Posted on: Nov 24, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Will George W's intention to stop frivolous lawsuits work the other way and keep pesky corporations from suing us oridinary Joes and Jills?

Mandate For Mugging?

Posted on: Nov 17, 2004, Source: AlterNet

A mandate? The Bushites barely got 51 percent of the vote, meaning 49 percent of the people voted to toss them out on their duffs.

Corporatizing Public Schools

Posted on: Nov 12, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Public school kids are taught a big lesson in life: Cash is more important than values.

A Nation of Cattle?

Posted on: Nov 10, 2004, Source: AlterNet

The possiblity of branding humans for our "convenience" could put a big smile on the face of Big Brother.

The Name Game

Posted on: Nov 5, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Petco Park Stadium doesn't prompt sports fans to go out and buy a bag of doggie bones. It's about CEO ego.

A Plan For CEO Pay

Posted on: Nov 3, 2004, Source: AlterNet

The boss hog is still wallowing in the big bucks, now taking an average of more than $11 million a year in personal pay.

"Conservatives" Push for More Big Brother

Posted on: Nov 1, 2004, Source: AlterNet

With the existence of a national ID card requirement, citizens would just have more trouble moving about freely on what we once hailed as the Land of the Free.

Good News on Iraq

Posted on: Oct 27, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Yellow smiley-face guys are our current propaganda tactic to spread good news about the conditions in Iraq.

Trumping Trump

Posted on: Oct 22, 2004, Source: AlterNet

From his own board members and creditors, the CEO is about to hear the trademark phrase he uses on his TV show: "You're fired!"

Who Needs American Workers?

Posted on: Oct 20, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Instead, you, too, could become an "American accent and culture trainer."

Fight For Your Freedom to Read

Posted on: Oct 18, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Under the Patriot Act, those pesky government noses are making their way into our books.

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