Archive
The Army Goes Off the Grid
Do you know about "net zero"? That's the wonky phrase attached to an elegant idea: converting communities to total renewable energy, complete recycling, and a culture of conservation to bring humankind's carbon footprint into a sustainable balance with a healthy...
Where the Money Is
As foreclosures Trim our ranks, The biggest scoundrels Are still the banks. The nation's big banks are making big profits again. Whew! I was a little worried there for a minute. During America's recent financial meltdown we actually lost a few biggies, and plenty more...
Sacrificing Social Security
This Week in OtherWords: April 10, 2013
This week in OtherWords, David Elliot highlights some of the hidden costs of the nation's supersized military might and Raul A. Reyes applauds the Associated Press style book update that may herald the end of "illegal" people in the mainstream media. If you're an...
On Tax Day, Consider the Hidden Costs of War
April 15 isn't just Tax Day. It's also known as the Global Day of Action on Military Spending. People around the world mark the occasion by protesting the vast resources allocated to militaries, often at the cost of human needs. According to a new report issued by the...
Nixing the I-Word
The Associated Press recently announced a major change in the way it describes people with an unlawful presence in the United States. The AP Stylebook, which spells out the standards most media outlets use, no longer sanctions the terms "illegal" and "illegal...
The Left and Right Agree: It’s Time to Break Up the Banks
Moments of consensus between left and right don't come frequently in Washington, and we should heed them when they occur. Right now, that means breaking up the banks. Until recently, the idea that the biggest banks have gotten too big and ought to be divided was...
Supremely Confused about Marriage Equality
Confusion reigned supreme in the nation's highest court last month as it heard arguments on two same-sex marriage cases. Confronted with the possibility of endorsing the right of men to marry men and women, women, the Justices resembled nothing so much as a group of...
Shouldn’t We Base Our Tax Policy on More than Hunches?
In January, Congress raised the top marginal tax rate on income over $450,000 from 35 to 39.6 percent. But even with this boost, that top federal rate is still less than half of what it was back in the Eisenhower years. Given the growth of the nation's debt, we need...
Big Ag’s Legal Engineering
As this spring began, another branch in the biotech giant Monsanto's sweep around any meaningful regulation of its products burst into bloom. Monsanto and its fellow "Big Six" pesticide and biotech companies — Syngenta, Dupont, Bayer, BASF, and Dow Chemical — pulled...
