Michael Corcoran
E-Mail: corcoran.m@blastmagazine.com
Web Page: http://blastmagazine.com/news
Short bio: Blast staff writer Michael Corcoran is a journalist who focuses on business, media and public affairs. He has written for the Nation, the Boston Globe, Common Dreams, Alternet, Campus Progress and elsewhere.
Articles by Michael Corcoran:
July 16, 2009Given the failure of similar programs in states, single-payer should not be thrown aside for this battle.
For advocates of guaranteed truly universal healthcare the debate over Obama’s reform efforts have been rather disappointing.
Despite the fact that a clear majority of Americans prefer joining the rest of the developed world and having a comprehensive government plan [...]
The economic crisis has literally changed the rules of government. The executive branch has overseen an injection of trillions of public funds into the private sector — and without admitting it, has essentially conceded that American-style capitalism, which has been viewed as holy writ by economists, journalists, academics and politicians for 30 years, is not sustainable. There are still many unknowns about how Barack Obama will govern when he takes office later this month, but one thing is clear: Obama will have enormous power. [...]
December 12, 2008Santa Claus is feeling the sting from of the economic crisis and says if he does not get help from the the U.S. Government, Christmas, which accounts for about 25 percent of all retail spending, may not be able to survive.
November 27, 2008President Bush’s recent round of 14 presidential pardons brings his total up to 157. Â
The outgoing president still has almost two more months in office, but barring anything unforeseen, it is likely that Bush will end  up as one of the stingiest presidents in recent history when it comes to giving out pardons.Â
His predecessor, Bill Clinton, gave [...]
Not only did Turner hold a press conference to claim innocence and plead for public support, but Maureen Feeney, city council president, preempted that 2:30 p.m. press conference with one of her own.
November 22, 2008Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey collapsed during a speech Thursday night and was taken to the hospital after he failed to regain consciousness. Yesterday, he made a speech saying he was fine.
A statement issued by the Attorney General
“As you may have heard, I collapsed briefly last night at the conclusion of a speech. All tests [...]
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has issued a challenge to businesses: reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent over the next three years. And a prominent group of Massachusetts businesses said they will accept his challenge.
The Governor’s Clean Energy Challenge, developed by the New England Clean Energy Council and the Massachusetts High Technology Council in [...]
In my college days I used to walk from my North End apartment to the Emerson College campus, which, for the most part stretches around the corner of Boylston and Tremont, just south of Boston Common.
Each time I made that walk, I was startled by a wondrous juxtaposition. From the century-old colonial architecture scattered throughout [...]
When Howard Dean’s presidential campaign floundered in 2004, many thought his days as a major player in politics were over. Four years later, Dean is credited for having rejuvenated not only his own political reputation, but also for contributing to the Democrats recent takeover of Washington.
It was more than four years ago that [...]
President-elect Barack Obama will resign his U.S. Senate seat on Sunday to focus on his transition to the White House.
“It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate,” Obama said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
Obama’s seat will remain [...]
Last week, Blast News reported that some of Obama’s early advisers may prove disappointing for many who voted for him based on his plans for change.
Indeed, it appears the criticism may be starting to accumulate. Dean Baker, one of the few economists who predicted the housing bubble, wrote the following for The UK Guardian.
Those [...]
Former President Jimmy Carter, who has been spending the last few years trying to help forge a just peace in the Middle East, said Obama will “not wait for even a month after he is president to start working on the peace process, where as you know, the previous two presidents waited till the least [...]
November 12, 2008The U.S. Department of Justice released the following:
Three leading electronics manufacturers – LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. –have agreed to plead guilty and pay a total of $585 million in criminal fines for their roles in conspiracies to fix prices in the sale of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, [...]
Retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder for leaking information to informants that caused them to kill a potential witness more than two decades ago.
The jury ruled that Connolly leaked information to James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, which led to the murder of John B. Callahan, [...]
The speculation over who will serve in the Obama administration continues at a fever pitch. Some early media reports suggest that some of Obama’s picks may run counter to the “change” narrative that has dominated his campaign for two years.
The Associated Press is reporting that Rahm Emanuel has been asked to serve as Obama’s Chief [...]
Barack Obama’s blowout victory over John McCain may come as a disappointment for Republicans, but it certainly comes as no surprise.
Joe Trippi, who managed Howard Dean’s campaign in 2004 and John Edwards in 2008, made an astute observation on C-SPAN the other day when he suggested that GOP operatives knew damn well that John McCain [...]
A young country the United States has, sadly, had a horrific history of racism. Blacks could not vote until the 1960s; were human property until the 1860s; were not truly included in the creation of our country in the 1770s; and were kidnapped, chained onto ships and enslaved in the 1600s.
Today, an African American stands [...]
McCain will lose the election. The Ohio and New Mexico losses are death blows. There is no forseeable path to victory for McCain.
Now we watch the Senate race with great interest.
Unsurprisingly, the tiny state of Vermont (population 600,000) was called for Barack Obama first. The votes have not all been counted but pundits are already calling it a mammoth blowout.
It should come as no suprise that Vermont went this direction. The state. arguably the most tolerant and liberal in the nation, has a self-identified socialist [...]
The most intrugiuing early results may well be in the Kentucky Senate Race, where Republican Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, may lose a stunner to Bruce Lunsford.
McConnell has a “narrow advantage” in the race, but if he manages to lose, it will be a huge blow to Republicans and perhaps an ominous sign [...]
This month's cover
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