Archive
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...
These Boots Were Made for Waiting
Heads are finally rolling because of the Department of Veterans Affairs' assorted waitlist scandals. Some 1,000 or more workers may lose their jobs over chronic bottlenecks and fake waitlists, VA chief Robert McDonald disclosed shortly before Veterans Day. Then,...
‘Tis the Season to Over-Consume
The Haves vs the Have-It-Alls
In the spirit of holiday harmony and goodwill toward all, I say it's time for you working stiffs to extend your hands in a gesture of solidarity with America's millionaires. Why? Because we now share a common cause: inequality. You don't hear much about it, but...
For Retail Workers, Time Is Money
In late November, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a Retail Workers' Bill of Rights — the first law of its kind in the nation. The focus of the new law might surprise you. A bill of rights for workers is probably about wages, right? Think again. This new...
In OtherWords: Expanding Our Reach
Today, OtherWords commentaries and cartoons are appearing in about 325 newspapers with at least 7 million readers. We couldn’t have achieved this foothold without support from people like you and a handful of generous foundations. We aim to expand our reach in 2015 to...
An Overdue Fix to Overtime
There are a lot of ways that businesses are squeezing worker pay. Here’s a big one. On the one hand, millions of Americans are stuck in low-paying part-time jobs that don't offer them enough hours. On the other, millions more are now routinely forced to work over 40...
Fueling Corporate Welfare
Getting something for nothing is a pretty sweet deal — at least if you’re the one getting something. Not so much if you’re the one receiving nothing in exchange. Oil and gas companies are extracting gas from federal lands and paying nothing for much of it, according...
America’s ‘Post-Racial’ Lie
Shortly before Michael Brown’s fateful encounter with Ferguson cop Darren Wilson, I was appointed as a teaching assistant in a class on race and ethnicity. I'm white. I didn't go to grad school to study race — I study agriculture. When it comes to race, I'm clueless....
