Archive
Coke’s PR Scam Explodes
If your car's battery terminals are corroded, just open a can of Coca-Cola. Coke will dissolve corrosion, making your battery connections spiffy clean in a jiffy. Ironically, however, Coca-Cola can't seem to clean up its own corrosive corruption structure. By hook or...
Seeing No Evil, Chicago Edition
For Sale: Obscene Monuments to Mammon
The uber-rich like to collect trophies as proof of their unsurpassed uberness. These aren’t like the tacky brass trophy you won in a bowling tournament. No, no — global ultra-billionaires compete ferociously with each other in their extreme wealth games to have the...
In OtherWords: December 9, 2015
Whether we're taking stock of the trumped-up war on Christmas or putting the torrent of inhospitality toward Syrian refugees who are fleeing turmoil into perspective, OtherWords stands up for what’s right. Thanks to your support, week in and week out we offer an...
Have Yourself Some Anti-Refugee Hysteria
As holiday shoppers empty their wallets to buy presents for family and friends, there’s been an outbreak of miserliness among our politicians — directed at some of the world’s most helpless people. At least 30 Republican governors, and one Democrat, are vowing to bar...
Working Until It’s Time for Your Grave
“My plan is just to work until I die.” That’s how my mom sums up her retirement prospects. She’s worked more than 40 hours a week as a legal secretary in north Florida for as long as I can remember. When my brother and I were kids, we went to her office every Saturday...
What the GOP’s Putting Under Corporate America’s Tree
Given the commitment House Republicans profess to balancing the federal budget, you'd think tax breaks for profitable businesses would be a low priority. But this holiday season, they’re set to vote for a two-year, $96 billion package of tax breaks — 80 percent of...
Turning the USA into the OK Corral
People say this is a do-nothing Congress. That’s unfair. Why, the sirens in San Bernardino had hardly gone silent before lawmakers were clamoring about a bill that might address the confluence of mental health problems and potential gun buyers. And if that draconian...
What the Red Cup Controversy Really Says about Christmas in America
I happened to be visiting the first-ever Starbucks in Seattle a few weeks ago when a mini-controversy erupted: There were no Christmas trees or snowflakes on this season's holiday Starbucks coffee cups. The horror! Facebook exploded with comments, as did Twitter. Even...
Don’t Be a Fossil-Foolish Investor
Investors who choose to steer clear of oil, gas, and coal are protecting their portfolios in the short term and the long run. Who has divested lately? The fast-growing list includes the University of California, insurance giant Allianz, the German city of Munster, and...
