Archive
Violating International Law in Gaza
As Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip rages on, ceasefires come and go. Most last just long enough for Palestinians to dig out the dead from beneath their collapsed houses, get the injured to overcrowded and under-resourced hospitals, and seek enough food and water to...
Obama’s Mythical Retreat from Military Force
Here's a thought: The Iraq War boosters who enthusiastically promoted the idea that a violent invasion would deliver a stable democracy should keep their opinions about the next U.S. war to themselves. For many pundits and (mostly) Republican politicians, the Obama...
The NFL’s Drugs vs Thugs Double Standard
The NFL's stance on illegal drugs is clear. If you're caught possessing or using them, you've automatically earned yourself a suspension. Consider Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington's case. He lost his entire 2014 salary of $2.9 million plus a few other...
Making the World Safe for Trust Fund Babies
Real wages have stagnated for decades. Homeownership rates are down. College debt is weighing down young people entering the workforce. Millions of low-wage workers eke by on a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. As the American Dream slips away for millions of people in...
A Prickly Question
California's harsh new measure to deal with long-term drought is making waves. Residents caught wasting by washing sidewalks with their garden hose and committing similar reckless acts are incurring fines of up to $500. Is that fair? Or will the fine be perceived as...
Hard Times Too Pervasive for Republicans to Ignore
Must formerly rich people shed all their status symbols? It's a widely held presumption, Darlena Cunha explained. "I had so internalized the message of what poor people should or should not have that I felt ashamed to be there, with that car," she wrote in a...
Perry Imperils His Own Roadshow
Gosh, the 2016 primaries are a long way off, but look out: Here comes Texas Governor Rick Perry — riding his state's taxpayer dollars into another GOP presidential bid. Technically, he's not campaigning. Yet he's popping up from New York to California, holding press...
Take Your Loot with You
Astoundingly Legal Corporate Tax Thievery
Did you scramble to get your taxes done this year at the last minute? Yeah, me too. I really didn't mind paying what I owe — but I hate having to pay the taxes owed by the likes of JPMorgan Chase, ExxonMobil, and Amazon. They're just a few of the astonishingly...
This Week in OtherWords: July 23, 2014
This week in OtherWords, Mitchell Zimmerman looks at how U.S. policies stoked the Central American violence that's sending thousands of children across the border in search of refuge and I explain why Hillary Clinton's Honduran blunders should curb her unbeatability...