Archive
Don’t Judge Sessions By His Cover
In OtherWords: January 11, 2017
In our first OtherWords package of 2017, Sarah Anderson celebrates some good news: Here in Washington, even while national leaders dug in their heels against paid sick time for families, local small business owners helped bring paid leave to the nation's capital. Also...
King’s Dream Still Isn’t Reality
Not long ago, I saw a comment on an online article about the rise in protests for black civil rights. "We gave you a president," wrote the commenter. "We gave you your damn Oscar. What more do you want?" Never mind the White House. What many black people still long...
Great News for People Who Get Sick
Getting time off when you’re sick, or need to care for a new child or ailing parent, shouldn’t be a luxury enjoyed only by those who are financially well off. Yet low-wage workers in the United States — the workers who need paid leave the most — typically have this...
A War on Regulations
The incoming Republican government is waging a war against regulations. "For every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated," Donald Trump promised after the November vote. Since then, Republicans in Congress have voted to give themselves broader...
Would Donald Tax a Fellow Trump?
Bring those jobs back home, Donald Trump bellowed to those greedy corporate executives who've shipped middle-class jobs out of country, or I'll slap you with a big tariff when you try to sell your foreign-made products here. Great stuff, Donnie — and to prove you mean...
A Fox in Every Chicken Coop
In OtherWords: December 28, 2016
Here at the end of the year, I hope you'll pardon me for a longer than usual intro note. (Don't worry, you can still skip ahead to the commentaries below.) If there was anything that defined 2016 — besides the passing of beloved celebrities and the rise of Donald...
Why I Answered the Call for Veterans to Go to Standing Rock
I lay among friends, huddled and cold in our sleeping bags. We listened to the lashing wind and the drums and prayer chants coming from the sacred fire, and we reflected on why we, four Iraq War veterans, were here. Police floodlights shone from the drill site of the...
No More Holiday Gifts for Repressive Regimes
While the world has been transfixed on the epic tragedy in Syria, another tragedy — a hidden one — has been consuming the children of Yemen. Battered by the twin evils of war and hunger, every 10 minutes a child in Yemen dies from malnutrition, diarrhea, or...
