Archive
Your Server Isn’t on the Menu
At a popular sit-down restaurant in Independence, Missouri, Allison waits tables for $3.60 an hour — the going rate for servers at her restaurant. Advocates of raising the federal hourly tipped minimum wage of $2.13 up to the standard minimum wage — currently pegged...
A Prescription for Better Health
Here's a typical scene in any American checkup: The doctor walks in to find the patient sitting on the table. "Well, your cholesterol is too high," the doctor tells the patient. "I can prescribe something for it, but the real solution will be diet and exercise." The...
Afghanistan’s Poppy Output Hits New Highs
I have breaking news from the frontlines of the war. No, not the new war in Iraq. That really is Iraq War III for us — our nation's third trip there in just 25 years. Maybe the third try will be the charm, though I really don't think there's anything charming about...
The Unbearable Politeness of Being Gus Speth
James Gustave Speth garnishes reflections on his many accomplishments with self-deprecating humor. And the man who helped establish two influential environmental organizations, piloted a United Nations agency, and served in the Carter White House wants you to know he...
When Corporate Foxes Mind Internet Coops
The Military-Industrial Complex Blasts Its Way into the Civilian Market
Don't look now, but the overbearing power of America's military-industrial complex has probably snuck into your town. The multibillion-dollar global armament giants have discovered a hot new growth market here at home: police forces. The people of Ferguson learned...
In OtherWords: October 29, 2014
This week in OtherWords, Bob Lord explains what's wrong with Mitt Romney's monster-sized IRA and Raul A. Reyes zeroes in on something that's amiss in Kansas. Do you want to make sure you don’t miss the latest from OtherWords? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter or...
Taking Anti-Immigrant Fervor Too Far
What's the matter with Kansas? A decade ago, a best-selling book of that title examined how Kansas veered rightward after a long history as a left-wing hotbed. It looks like Kansas may be shifting course again. Not only does the state have one of the country's most...
What Would the Founders Do?
The soldiers who fought the Revolutionary War were our first veterans, the only cohort of U.S. warriors who took up arms to create rather than defend a country. If they lost, it meant treason. Having won, the nation treated them with a special reverence, right?...
A Free Fruit-for-All
I got back from the airport just in time for the last half hour of Cider Fest, one of the Bloomington Community Orchard's large public events. This publicly owned and volunteer-run organic orchard occupies a single acre. Entering its fifth year, it has become an...
