Archive
Colorado’s Fracking Disaster
As the people of Colorado are presently learning, it's horrendous enough to suffer the ravages of a natural disaster, but it's doubly horrific to then be faced with a more devastating unnatural disaster. First came the epic floods that recently ripped through the...
The Latest Trend in Trade Secrets
As our jobs And pay degrade, Moguls smirk And tout “Free Trade” It's no wonder President Barack Obama refuses to let Americans see those two new trade deals he's negotiating. Neither the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nor the Transatlantic Trade and Investment...
USS Inequality
Saluting Nixon
There are some things I thought I'd never hear myself say. One of them is "Hip-hip hooray for Nixon!" That would give me a tongue cramp if I tried to say it about Tricky Dick, but this burst of praise goes out to the governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon. Facing Republican...
How Do We Overcome Our Numbness?
The flag positioned at half-mast was the only indication that anything had happened at all. American University was lush with early-autumn excitement and the quad was full of beginning-of-the-semester, carefree energy. There were no panicked email alerts, no worried...
This Week in OtherWords: September 18, 2013
This week in OtherWords, Saru Jayaraman calls on Congress to raise the "sub-minimum" wage paid to servers and other tipped workers after a 22-year freeze and Donald Kaul illustrates the irresponsibility of GOP lawmakers who would have our government stop paying its...
Remembering Saul Landau, 1936-2013
By divine intervention, Saul Landau entered my life 12 years ago and taught me how to write, film, and live with dignity. We instantly bonded over having fathers from the "old country" — his father from Ukraine, mine from Syria — and being Semites with prominent...
Operation Secret Loopholes
The federal budget expresses our nation's values and priorities in numbers. It's a blueprint for how our elected officials plan to make money and how they plan to spend it. What happens in Washington, D.C. has a profound local impact. About 80 percent of all federal...
Reasons to Steer Clear from a Syrian Attack
My wife Sanaa is from Syria. Her family, most of whom are who are Alawite farmers, still lives there. As a former U.S. senator of Middle Eastern descent, I oppose any kind of U.S. attack on Syria and hope that Congress does too in its upcoming vote on the matter. As...
Raise the Sub-Minimum Wage
As the fast food workers' minimum wage campaign gains momentum, another group of workers is expanding the fight to address one of the least-known economic outrages. You may not realize it, but the measly $7.25 an hour McDonald's and other fast-food giants pay their...
