Archive
A Thumping Cruz-a-palooza
Senator Ted Cruz’s recent announcement of his presidential candidacy was a real Cruz-a-palooza. It was part Ronald Reagan, part Elmer Gantry, part John Lennon, and part Jerry Falwell — yet it was totally Ted Cruz, full of blather and bloat. Cruz thumped the word...
Cruzing to Coverage
A Quiet Corporate Coup on Capitol Hill
Being a Congress critter isn’t the cushy job many people assume. After all, they must draft laws, organize hearings, write speeches, round up votes, and do all sorts of other things. Oh, wait… my mistake. Members have staff to do all that, including telling the...
In OtherWords: March 25, 2015
This week in OtherWords, Rebecca Ruggles talks about how fossil fuels harm public health and I unpack Florida's climate gag rule. Do you want to make sure you don’t miss the latest from OtherWords? Please subscribe to our free weekly newsletter or follow us on...
Shining a Light on Corporate ‘Dark Money’
If 2014 was the "Year of Dark Money" in elections, then 2016 is likely to be the "Year of Way, Way More Dark Money" — that is, unless something big changes soon. One of the most troubling aspects of the explosion of big money in politics in recent years is the rapid...
Household Debt Is a National Crisis
Years after Toni Potter’s husband passed away from pancreatic cancer, debt collectors in her state of Washington were still relentlessly hounding her about his hospital bills. Andrea Anderson, a young student in Oregon, has been saddled with $150,000 in college loans...
The Hazards of Your Daily Commute
Stuck in standstill traffic in downtown Baltimore, I catch this message emblazoned across the side of a city bus: "Did you know? This bus operates in ‘zero emissions’ mode on battery power up to 40 percent of the time." Maybe I should be impressed or encouraged....
Your Dollars at Work — for the Rich
Conservative pundits and politicians routinely divide our U.S. economy into two totally distinct spheres. We have the noble private sector over here, they tell us, and the bumbling, bloated public sector over there. In reality, of course, we have just one economy,...
Talk Climate to Me
Guffaws punctuated a Florida legislative hearing the other day. Lawmakers and onlookers chuckled as Florida Division of Emergency chief Bryan Koon tied his tongue in knots to avoid saying “climate change” while talking about — well, climate change. Reveling in this...
Saving Tax Dollars by Treading More Lightly
I can’t easily reduce my own footprint on the planet in some of the ways that I’d like. Sure, I can walk and take the bus instead of driving some of the time, and I can turn off the lights when I leave a room. What about the big stuff? I’m talking about retrofitting...
