Archive
Will This Lord of the Manor Get Locked Up?
Don Blankenship had it all. The West Virginia coal baron had personal wealth, absolute control over his workers, and unmatched political power that extended through every branch of state government — and deep into the back rooms of Washington policymakers. In the...
How a Pipeline Becomes a Trophy
Even Republicans Agree: Money Isn’t Speech
In today's so-called “democratic” election process, Big Money doesn’t talk, it roars — usually drowning out the people's voice. Bizarrely, the Supreme Court decreed in its 2010 Citizens United ruling that money is a form of “free speech.” Thus, declared the learned...
In OtherWords: November 4, 2015
This week in OtherWords, Donald Kaul and Karen Dolan weigh in on the latest GOP presidential debate antics and Richard Kirsch points out that the people Paul Ryan cares deeply about are actually corporations. Do you want to make sure you don’t miss the latest from...
Paul Ryan vs. the People
Paul Ryan paints himself as a champion of "the people" over "Washington." But the "people" the new House speaker defends are corporations. And the "Washington" he attacks is the one that does deliver for real people. For the past five years, Ryan has authored the...
Racial Slurs Have No Place in Football
The leaves are changing. The scent of pumpkin spice lattes is in the air. In short, it’s football season. And like millions of my fellow Americans, I love football. But I'm also American Indian. So for me, football season also means hearing a racial slur all the time....
Away with the Clowns
Is it me or are the GOP presidential debates getting more circus-like each time? The recent CNBC "Your Money, Your Vote" debate began with this beauty pageant question: "What’s your greatest weakness?" Who asks a bunch of narcissists that question and expects a real...
Please Don’t Shoot the Moderators
We were treated to a classic man-bites-dog moment at the latest Republican presidential debate. There the moderators were, CNBC’s finest, lying in ambush with their carefully crafted “when did you stop beating your wife” questions at the ready. But as soon as they...
Big Oil Can’t Go On Like This
Ensuring that our planet remains hospitable requires leaving about three-quarters of all oil, gas, and coal deposits underground or beneath the sea floor. And forgoing all those fossil fuels to avert a climate catastrophe means that loads of companies need to change...
The CIA Is an Ethics-Free Zone
I joined the CIA in January 1990. The CIA was vastly different back then from the agency that emerged in the days after the 9/11 attacks. And it was a far cry from the flawed and confused organization it is today. One reason for those flaws — and for the convulsions...
