Archive
Remembering the Greediest Americans this Holiday Season
Peace on Earth, good will toward men. We honor these noble values every holiday season — and some people actually work to advance them all year long. Other folks, by contrast, mock these values. They spend their days chasing after ever grander stashes of personal...
Your Holiday Guide to Avoiding Slave Labor
Pope Francis got into the holiday spirit this year by calling on shoppers not to buy products made by modern-day slaves. This is, of course, excellent advice. Odds are, most of us — whether Catholic or not — would love to take it. But how? Most products don't come...
Chris Christie’s Pork Barrel Politics
As the weather turns colder in this month of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the Winter Solstice, our hearts grow warmer and our thoughts turn to kindness and goodwill toward all. Unless, of course, you're Chris Christie. The governor of New Jersey is a mighty big...
The Frack Oil Salesman
The Spooks Are Haunted
The spooks are spooked. Not by anything that foreign enemies might do to America — but by what our CIA and its political overseers did to America. By "America," I mean the essence of our country: our ideals and the moral values we hold up as a beacon to the world....
In OtherWords: Special Delivery
OtherWords shares unconventional perspectives with readers across the nation — and we couldn’t do it without you. Thanks to our strong networks of editors and supporters, we can help people look at the day’s great debates from new angles — especially folks who live in...
How to Honor the Kids Who Died at Sandy Hook
Confronted by a hostile Republican Congress, President Barack Obama has chosen to flex his political muscles on a range of pressing issues. He increased the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. He struck a climate deal with China. He's protected as many...
Neighbors Don’t Let Neighbors Frack
All my life, I’ve been a good citizen. I vote. I volunteer. I know my neighbors. Moreover, I take care of my property. I garden. I make jams and jellies to give away for Christmas. In short, I fulfill my obligations as a rural homeowner. Still, there's one additional...
Torturing Obama’s Legacy
An old bumper sticker offered a stinging response to the Bush-Cheney regime's enthusiasm for waterboarding: "Impeach Bush," it urged. "Torture Cheney." Bush and Cheney escaped unscathed. The Senate has just released an astonishing report detailing the depths of their...
The Season for Mindless Consumerism
'Tis the season for mindless consumerism. I love giving gifts when they're from the heart. But I hate giving or receiving presents if they're things nobody needs, given out of a sense of obligation. Here’s a story that illustrates what I mean. Back in college, a...
