Archive
Scrubbing the Air of Smog
I can only imagine the fear that must grip a parent when his or her child suffers an asthma attack. And I can scarcely fathom how much time and energy they spend doing everything they can to avoid triggers for these potentially deadly attacks. A major asthma trigger...
Pipeline to Nowhere
When Maria van der Hoeven summed up the 20-year outlook for global energy investment in London last year, she identified a couple of daunting challenges. The amount of money required by 2035 is a staggering $48 trillion, the International Energy Agency chief and...
The War on Hen-Pecking
Chickens had plenty to celebrate on New Year’s Day. Supposedly. After a long wait, California’s 2008 ballot measure to improve conditions for laying hens finally went into effect. Instead of living in cramped cages that give each bird less room than a sheet of paper,...
Obama Strengthens His Backbone
Republican lawmakers are setting the stage for a disastrous two years in Congress marked by manufactured crisis after crisis and ignoring the needs of working families. Fortunately, President Barack Obama is showing some much-needed backbone by refusing to cave to the...
Finally, Some Common Sense on Cannabis
Until recent years, marijuana prohibitionists have been able to intimidate most reform-minded politicians by simply threatening to brand them as "soft on drugs." But finally, thanks to determined activists and broad support from the general public, politicians are...
Who Polices the Pay Police?
One difference between top executives and worker bees is that those at the top can lower the pay of those down below while simultaneously raising their own. If you wonder what's causing America's rapidly widening income gap, there it is. Technically, CEOs do not set...
A Muslim Cartoonist Draws Lessons from the Charlie Hebdo Massacre
As a political cartoonist who happens to be both American and Muslim, I often find myself at the intersection of media curiosity: Muslim, with all the stereotypical notions attached to that, but also a freedom-loving artist and a humorist. I'm not just the butt of...
Ink, Blood, and Tears
In OtherWords: January 7, 2015
This week in OtherWords, Isaiah Poole talks about how the Fight for $15 will ramp up in 2015 and Jim Hightower tackles the corporate hyping of college football. As this new year begins, I would like to offer my deepest thanks to everyone who made a year-end...
Your Smartphone Could Be Poisoning Children
Kim Gunoo is a 15-year-old South Korean boy who has lived with perpetual diarrhea since birth. His first seven months were spent in and out of the hospital, where four major surgeries resulted in the full removal of his large intestine. Ever since, Gunoo has required...