Archive
It Can’t Happen Here
After paying a staggering $1,500 to a recruitment agency in her home country of Thailand, "Wen" was excited to come to the United States to be an au pair. Like all au pairs, she would live with a host family and provide childcare. This guest worker program is supposed...
One Step at a Time
"Be prepared" is the motto of the Boy Scouts of America. Surely its national leaders remembered those words as they prepped for backlash from a recent decision to admit openly gay Scouts while maintaining a ban on gay adults. As a result of the policy change, some...
Smaller Arsenals Beat Bigger Ones
After years of leaving his nuclear weapons policy on the back burner, President Barack Obama called last month for major reductions in U.S. and Russian strategic stockpiles. Obama made these remarks outside Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, nine days and 50 years after...
Taking Embarrassing to a New Level
Virtually every president gets on a roll at some time during his administration, generally early on. And while he's on that roll, every day is a wedding. He gets bills passed, international relations go his way, and people love him. It seems he can't make a bad move....
Predistribute the Wealth
Sometimes we need new words to grasp new ideas. Frances O’Grady, Britain’s highest-ranking labor leader, has coined one of these handy new words: predistribution. Why does O’Grady, the general secretary of the UK’s Trades Union Congress, want us talking...
A Deadly Power Surge
Jacki Schilke was suffering from symptoms ranging from rashes, pain, and lightheadedness to dental problems and urinating blood. The formerly healthy, 53-year-old cattle rancher's body was under assault from a list of toxic chemicals as long as your arm. But Schilke's...
North Carolina Rips More Holes in Its Safety Net
Something profoundly awful has seeped into the top strata of American society: Our nation's corporate and political elites have developed immunity to shame. It has become morally acceptable for those in lofty circles to enrich themselves while turning their backs on...
Syrian Dead End
We're at it again. After months of commendable restraint, President Barack Obama has decided to send weapons to the besieged Syrian rebels. This is either a bid to overthrow a friend of Iran or a ploy to capture Syria's oil. Or both. Sound familiar? It should. Back in...
Washington Goes AWOL
The People ‘Hijack’ Democracy in Austin
Who should make medical decisions about pregnancies? Women? Their doctors? Their ministers? The macho Republican autocrats and theocrats who control the Texas state government say they are the ones to decide such deeply personal matters. How embarrassing for these...
