Archive
Chill the Drills in America’s Arctic
America’s Arctic is a place like no other. Its unique conditions — extreme weather, long periods of darkness, and its remoteness from infrastructure, make it both extremely harsh and fragile. Here, sea ice meets the northern edge of the continent, and animals...
The Trillion-Dollar Question
You have to consult Dictionary.com for the definition of “trillionaire.” Webster’s doesn’t yet recognize trillionaire as a word. But it will. If you’re under 60, America's first trillionaire will likely appear in your lifetime. And the recent budget deal in Congress...
NAFTA’s 20 Years of Unfulfilled Promises
Twenty years after it took effect, NAFTA has failed the vast majority of Mexicans. Of course, hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs have vanished since automotive and tech companies moved their production across the border in search of much lower wages. This was supposed...
This Low-Carb Diet Is Good for You and the Planet
2014. A new year. The time to make resolutions. It's when we all join gyms, sign up for dating sites, and start new diets — only to quit them a few weeks later. If you're into resolutions, I've got one for you to consider: In 2014, try a low-carb diet. Not a...
Geithner Gets a Perch on Wall Street
Timmy Geithner has landed. After President Barack Obama's first-term Treasury Secretary resigned early this year, I lost track of him. But in November, Geithner reappeared, having spun himself through Washington's revolving door – whoosh, whoosh, whoosh – and flung...
Winning and Losing the ‘Great Game’ at the Same Time
Back in 1898 when George Curzon coined the term, "the Great Game" while he served as viceroy of India, the United States was just putting on its imperial uniform. Countries are "pieces on a chessboard upon which is being played out a great game for the domination of...
How to Become a Billionaire
Holy Words of Mass Destruction
Here's a twist on Christmas that would make Jesus weep. First, a right-wing faction in the United States is wringing its hands over a hokey cultural "crisis" cooked up by the faction itself, namely that liberals, atheists, humanists, and — God forbid — Marxists are...
She Knew I Would Make It
After Peter O'Toole died in December, The New York Times gave him a worthy sendoff. The marvelous English actor's obituary, which began on the front page, ran several thousand words. At the conclusion of its online version the Times ran this addendum: "An earlier...
This Week in OtherWords: December 18, 2013
This week in OtherWords, Sam Pizzigati introduces the two greediest women of 2013 and William A. Collins and I weigh in on the government's penchant for spying on everyone. We're also reprising a classic column on the generosity the federal government has shown to...
