A Plan for the Democratic Party

A Plan for the Democratic Party

Until the votes are cast and counted, no one, no matter how smart or well-connected, can predict with certainty the outcome of the 2012 elections. And yet, Democrats and some Republicans are already forecasting that President Barack Obama will win re-election, and...
More Lucky than Brilliant

More Lucky than Brilliant

If you were born before 1950, you probably remember what happened in October 1962. If you were born after that fateful month, you’re lucky. Exactly half a century ago, the United States and the Soviet Union reached the brink of a deadly nuclear showdown during...
Empty Anti-Wall Street Rhetoric

Empty Anti-Wall Street Rhetoric

All those political campaign ads flooding our airwaves are hitting on dozens of different targets. One particularly: Wall Street. Between mid-April and mid-September, Ad Age reports, $1 out of every $10 spent on campaign ads has blasted Wall Street bankers. And these...
The Risky Business of Eating in America

The Risky Business of Eating in America

Long before human beings decoded the human genome or split the atom, they discovered that arsenic is very good at killing things. The ancient Romans prized it as a murder weapon because it could be mixed into food or drink without altering its color, taste, or smell....
Fracking Liars

Fracking Liars

As they drill for quick corporate profits deep inside our Earth, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, and other titans of the natural gas hydraulic fracturing industry are harming people’s health, the environment, and local economies across the country. They’re also...