The Hazards of Your Daily Commute

The Hazards of Your Daily Commute

Stuck in standstill traffic in downtown Baltimore, I catch this message emblazoned across the side of a city bus: “Did you know? This bus operates in ‘zero emissions’ mode on battery power up to 40 percent of the time.” Maybe I should be impressed or...
Your Dollars at Work — for the Rich

Your Dollars at Work — for the Rich

Conservative pundits and politicians routinely divide our U.S. economy into two totally distinct spheres. We have the noble private sector over here, they tell us, and the bumbling, bloated public sector over there. In reality, of course, we have just one economy,...
Saving Tax Dollars by Treading More Lightly

Saving Tax Dollars by Treading More Lightly

I can’t easily reduce my own footprint on the planet in some of the ways that I’d like. Sure, I can walk and take the bus instead of driving some of the time, and I can turn off the lights when I leave a room. What about the big stuff? I’m talking about retrofitting...
For Rent: The GOP’s No. 3

For Rent: The GOP’s No. 3

Representative Steve Scalise might not be for sale, but he is available for long-term lease. The lease is straightforward: Lobbyists pony up millions of corporate dollars to “keep and expand our [Republican] majority in Congress,” as Scalise puts it. Then...