Archive
How the Government Made Me a Dissident
I sometimes say the government turned me into a dissident — after I spent 14 years at the CIA and two more at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I only say it half-jokingly. While I’m proud of winning this year’s PEN Center’s First Amendment award, I never...
Bombs Won’t Cut It
When Paris suffered attacks that killed 17 last January — at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket — it responded with great class. Parisians filled the streets, locked arm-in-arm in solidarity against terrorism. Leaders from throughout Europe...
Why Justin Trudeau Makes Me Jealous of Canada
Asked why half the members of his cabinet are women, Justin Trudeau replied with three words that spoke volumes: “Because it’s 2015.” The nurturing father of three kids under 10 is a master of effortless statements that spread inclusiveness and tolerance. Four Sikhs...
They’ve Got the Red Cup Blues
'Tis the season to bicker about Starbucks coffee cups. Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit like a chill in the air, Christmas songs in every store, and anger about a phony "War on Christmas." Clearly, love for one another, world peace, and the Christian faith...
Stop Shopping, Start Living
Imagine if retailers held a nationwide super-spectacular sales day — and no one came. I don't mean customers. Picture sales staff, cashiers, and even managers not showing up to open the doors for the usual frenzy of mass, crass, crazy consumerism. Maybe it’s silly —...
Climate Change in Paris
The Prison-Industrial Complex Takes Another Hit
"Too many people are behind bars that don't belong there," declared a group demanding that America do away with its throw-'em-all-in-jail mass imprisonment policies. For nearly 50 years, politicians and prosecutors have pushed a no-mercy, "tough on crime" mantra....
John Kiriakou Wins Big Honor
When the OtherWords editorial service began running John Kiriakou’s column in May, it became an instant hit. His opinion pieces on whistleblowing, national security, mass incarceration, and other vital issues now run in dozens of newspapers and websites, thanks to his...
In OtherWords: November 11, 2015
This week in OtherWords, I size up President Obama's disorienting climate leadership and Sarah Anderson weighs in on the nation's retirement divide. Do you want to make sure you don’t miss the latest from OtherWords? Please subscribe to our free weekly newsletter or...
The Golden Years Gap
Flo, the Progressive insurance pitch woman in the white uniform and headband, is relentlessly perky. She won't be when she learns about the double standard that lets her CEO sock away millions more for retirement than she can. Whereas the Flos of the working world...
