Archive
A 21st Century Challenge
Eugene Lim was on his way to hitting rock bottom. After graduating from Chicago’s Shimer College in 2011, he'd spent two years trying to find a permanent job. And he was increasingly blaming himself for his plight. "I thought I was poor through some fault of my own,"...
Coal’s Collateral Damage
Coal’s death throes are drawing closer, especially in Appalachia. Nearly three-quarters of the coal extracted from West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky these days is being mined at a loss. The number of coal companies declaring bankruptcy or edging toward it is...
How Can We Serve Our Public Servants?
Back in my 20s, I had a modest dream: By my 40s, I hoped, I'd be able to pay off my student debt. I’d even give some of my hard-earned money to my mom and rent a nice apartment. Maybe I'd get a dog, too. And I wanted to do it while making a difference for...
Kraft’s Mac and Cheese: Less Toxic, Still Bad
Kraft made news the other day with this announcement: Beginning next year, its macaroni and cheese will no longer contain artificial preservatives or colors. That’s nice. One of the favorite foods of American kids will more closely resemble something that actually...
Wall Street Banks on Buying the Democrats’ Love
Wall Street arrogance seems to be accelerating even faster than our infinite cosmos is expanding. It's not enough that the greed and illegal acts of giant financial conglomerates crashed our economy, nor that they demanded and got a full taxpayer bailout. It's not...
Mountaintop Decapitation
The Great Fountain-Pen Robbery
Even the word "greed" isn’t negative enough to characterize the all-out assault on workers by today's corporate elite. From offshoring jobs to busting unions, and from slashing wages to looting pensions, avaricious executives and wealthy investors are taking...
In OtherWords: April 22, 2015
This week in OtherWords, I debunk an argument against fossil fuel divestment by pointing out that it can boost financial gains and Khalil Bendib chimes in with a related dinosaur cartoon. Do you want to make sure you don’t miss the latest from OtherWords?...
Sister Rice Goes After the Bomb
Last March, Sister Megan Rice stood before a federal court in Cincinnati. Along with her companions Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed, the 85-year-old Catholic nun was appealing a serious conviction. Their charge? Sabotaging the "national defense." Sabotage, which...
Loaded Language
I couldn’t find a hotel room in Nashville when I visited for my brother’s wedding. Maybe that was for the best. I had a longer commute to the clearing in the woods where the wedding would happen the next day, but at least I kept a safe distance from the NRA’s...
