Archive
The Problem with Dividing ‘Good Muslims’ from ‘Bad Muslims’
All right, America. We need to have a talk. The president recently returned from Saudi Arabia, where he gave his Muslim hosts a speech about the threats of "radical Islamist terrorism." Because Trump steered slightly clear of his usual vitriol toward Muslims — he's...
Rural Communities Have the Most to Lose With Health Care Repeal
For thirty years, I’ve helped people fight for health care. In one of my proudest moments, I worked with people in small towns across Idaho to expand Medicaid for children. So I’ve seen what people can accomplish when we demand that elected representatives do the...
Trump TV, Coming to a Market Near You
Donald Trump’s favorite local TV chain is about to get a lot bigger thanks to — wait for it — Donald Trump. Trump’s Federal Communications Commission is paving the way for Sinclair Broadcast Group — already the nation’s largest TV conglomerate — to take over Tribune,...
Trump’s Revealing Budget for Rural America
How we spend our money says a lot about what we value — and what we can do without. The Trump administration’s proposed budget, which it submitted to Congress in May, sends the alarming message that it can do without much of rural America. The surprisingly harsh...
The ‘Why’ Behind Bad Grades
The end of the school year has a tendency to bring crises to my attention. I'm a graduate teaching assistant, which means I have more face-to-face contact with the students than the professor I work for. I know their names and I know them as individuals. There are...
Making NAFTA Worse
Like rose blossoms, a politician's promises can be beautiful when they burst into full, glorious bloom — only to fade over time and, petal by petal, fall away. Take Donald Trump's glorious pledge last year to renegotiate the NAFTA trade deal and provide a "much...
Collective Amnesia Syndrome
In OtherWords: May 24, 2017
It's commencement address season, which means it's also the season for commencement protests. From the students who booed Betsy DeVos at Bethune-Cookman University to the ones who walked out of Mike Pence's talk at Notre Dame, many graduating young people are making...
Students Get the Last Word on Commencement
"Don’t let complexity stop you," Bill Gates once told graduating Harvard seniors. "Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives." These days, college students have no trouble transforming into activists to address big...
Pain as a Policy Choice
On average, our economy tanks every seven years or so. By now we should have a pretty good idea of why that tanking happens, how we can protect ourselves, and what the impact will be. Unfortunately, we don’t. Recessions remain a bit like death, inevitable yet near...
