Archive
When Public Servants Demonize the Poor
For years I'd wondered about the identity of a gaggle of anonymous commenters on Blog for Arizona, the website to which I frequently contribute. These guys weighed in a lot and were very eager to burnish the reputation of Arizona School Superintendent, John...
Brazilian Order and Progress
Every four years, Brazilians wrap themselves in their cheerful green, yellow, and blue flag emblazoned with the Portuguese words "ordem e progresso." The slogan, which translates as "order and progress," stretches across a puddle of stars. It's not just the people,...
A Climate of Extra Credit
Naturally, the World Cup is drawing attention to Brazil, the host nation and the tournament's leading contender. But shortly before the soccer tournament began, two studies highlighted by National Geographic also called attention to South America's biggest country....
Bracing for an Attack by Veterans
From 1776 forward, Americans have opposed having soldiers do police work on our soil. But in recent years, Pentagon chiefs have teamed up with police chiefs to circumvent that prohibition. How? By militarizing police departments. Through the little-known "military...
Curbing Carbon Pollution at the Source
Putting a Pitchfork in It
Lloyd Blankfein is very concerned about income inequality. With his face reflecting both worry and perplexity, he recently called inequality "very destabilizing." Blankfein's concern doesn't come from the perspective of one experiencing inequality from the bottom of...
This Week in OtherWords: June 18, 2014
This week in OtherWords, Sam Pizzigati and Jeff Vogel call on the NSA to follow the money, Jim Hightower chuckles over the NRA's brush with sanity, and Richard J. Eskow explains why Eric Cantor's defeat should be a teachable moment for Democrats. Do you want to make...
Blame Cantor, Not Immigration
Talk about being kicked to the curb. A little-known, under-financed tea party challenger crushed seven-term Congressman and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in an unusual primary loss. As Washington insiders struggled to make sense of the Virginia Republican's...
What Democrats Can Learn from Cantor’s Loss
David Brat, the man who unexpectedly defeated Eric Cantor in a recent Republican primary, is an ideologue. That should be a source of encouragement for candidates on the populist left — but not for the reasons you might think. Brat is a professor whose college chair...
The Golden Rule’s Resurgence
Back in the 1950s, the U.S. military made the Marshall Islands the primary site for its nuclear weapons testing. As you might expect, those tests in the middle of the Pacific Ocean wreaked havoc on the environment and human health. In 1958, a Quaker-inspired voyage of...