Archive
Battle of the Studies
Before I went to college, my high school advisors strongly encouraged me to choose a "practical" major. Science, technology, engineering, math — any of these fields would lead to a promising career. I rebelled. I chose to study international affairs and history....
DOMA’s Demise
I arrived at the Supreme Court a half hour before decision time, only to wade into a sea of rainbow, red, white, and blue. The last time I was here was in March. Bundled into my coat and scarf, I joined a demonstration outside the court as opening arguments were heard...
This Week in OtherWords: June 26, 2013
This week in OtherWords, Julian Bond calls on Congress to fix the mistakes the Supreme Court made in its ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act. Given that our cartoonist Khalil Bendib had so masterfully illustrated the many ways that voting rights were under attack...
The Modern Movement for Civil Rights
The racial picture in America has improved remarkably in my lifetime, so much so that a black man has been elected and re-elected President of the United States — an unthinkable development just a few years ago. But paradoxically, Barack Obama's victory in 2008...
Michigan’s Snappy Innovation
The Farm Bill's recent defeat in the House of Representatives opens up a second chance to get food policy right — including the food aid we give struggling individuals and families. A Michigan and Ohio program could provide some inspiration. The legislation would have...
Today’s Mad Men
I remember when I first started watching Mad Men. Like most of America, I got hooked. How could I not? The glitz and glamour of 1960s Manhattan was irresistible. But from the very first episode, I knew there was something deeply wrong with this world — the...
Giving a Big Story the Cold Shoulder
It's summer — time for barbecues, family vacations, and July 4th fireworks. Unfortunately, summer has also become a time for wildfires, drought, triple-digit heat waves, catastrophic storms, and other deadly reminders of the impact climate change has on our planet....
Where Would We Be Without Social Security?
Nearly every single American is intimately connected with the earned benefits of Social Security and Medicare — as either a contributor, a recipient, or both. In fact, a recent national poll indicated nearly 90 percent of us favor taking strong measures to preserve...
An Endangered Species Up in Arms
As many of you already have intuited, I don't know everything. Nobody does, I suppose. More importantly, I don't know everything about anything. I'm what used to be called "a generalist," someone whose knowledge in any direction is a mile wide and a quarter-inch deep....
Runaway CEO Pay Gets a Free Pass
Only 10 percent of Americans now have confidence in Congress, Gallup informs us. No other major American institution has ever had an approval rating this low. But public confidence in Congress would probably sink even lower if average Americans knew more about what...
