Archive
Surveillance Isn’t Colorblind
During the 1960s, the FBI and NSA followed, wiretapped, and bugged Martin Luther King Jr. — all under the veil of proper legal process. Today, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security spy on Black Lives Matter activists under the guise of "counterterrorism" and...
Waste Not, Save More
On average, each person in the U.S. throws away five pounds of solid waste each day. While many eco–conscious citizens do their due diligence to recycle, compost, and reduce waste, others remain apathetic about preserving the environment. Wherever you might land on...
The Challenges of ‘Leaving No Trace’
I just got back from hiking 95 miles in the Sierras. (Yes, just like that Reese Witherspoon movie Wild, only far fewer miles.) I returned from my trip with something eating at me. Backpackers are supposed to "Leave No Trace." It's not just a nice concept, but a...
Trump Buddies Up to Putin
Please, people — stop denigrating Donald Trump as a foreign policy ignoramus. After all, he's a global real estate tycoon with special insights into U.S. adversaries, like Vladimir Putin of Russia. "I got to know him very well," The Donald has assured us voters. Only,...
Trump vs. Khan
In OtherWords: August 3, 2016
Like a lot of people, I was deeply moved when Khizr and Ghazala Khan mourned the loss of their son Humayan, a U.S. soldier who was killed in Iraq, in a speech at the Democratic convention. Humayan never would've been allowed into the country if Donald Trump had his...
My Mother, Stopped for Driving While Black
When the police pulled their guns on my mother, I reached for my phone and told her to be calm and do as they say. My parents and I had just been swarmed by police cars, sirens blaring, as we drove on I-64 through Virginia. Shock and fear consumed my family as we came...
The Sacrifice Muslim Soldier Khan Shouldn’t Have Had To Make
It was impossible not to be moved as Khizr and Ghazala Khan, two Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, stood before the Democratic National Convention and mourned their son Humayan, a U.S. soldier who'd been killed in Iraq. Humayan, his grieving father recalled, was "the...
My Food Identity Dilemma
Why do we eat what we eat? Many of us eat foods that are familiar, convenient, and that simply taste good, without thinking much about why we make the choices we do. For others — myself included — there's a constant struggle to determine what's healthy, both for...
Is Solar Energy Really Too Expensive?
In order for solar power to compete with other forms of energy, the conventional thinking goes, it needs to become way cheaper. Installing rooftop solar panels can be prohibitively expensive, after all, and it takes years before the resulting energy savings pay off....
