Archive
The Dropped Ball
Millions of Americans watched the ball drop on New Year's Eve. The glitzy one in Times Square symbolized joy and hope for the New Year. Just a few hundred miles to the south, Congress dropped another ball — one that no doubt sent champagne glasses clinking among the...
Safety Net Under Siege
Peace of mind. That's what Medicare and Medicaid mean for nearly one in every three Americans. Almost 50 million Americans have paid into, and are beneficiaries of Medicare, our national health insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities. And almost 50...
A Newsworthy Investment
Let us address the declining fortunes of today's mainstream mass media. (Yes, I can hear your pained screams of "Nooooo…we don't want to!" However, we really must, because it's not about them, but us — about our ability to be at least quasi-informed about...
The Magic of Privatizing Public Schools
The Public School Business
As the latest round of data culled from tests taken by schoolchildren around the world showed yet again, kids in Finland, South Korea, and other countries are outscoring our kids. Overall, we're ranked No. 17. Our schoolchildren perform worse overall than they should...
This Week in OtherWords: Donald Kaul on our Fiscal Impasse
This week in OtherWords, columnist Donald Kaul puts our leaders’ failure to reach a budget deal before Christmas into a broader context, William A. Collins addresses Connecticut's recent tragedy from the perspective of a local, Jill Richardson proposes a New Year's...
University Research, Sold Out
In 1862, the federal government created the land-grant university system to produce critical agricultural research. Since then, America has relied on these schools to inform and guide independent scientific advances in areas like food production and energy...
Sabotaging the Conversation about Guns
Does NRA stand for “No Rational Argument”? In response to the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the gun group's CEO called for an armed cop in every school and a national database to track the mentally ill. Wayne LaPierre's widely broadcast proposal...
Argo and the Roots of U.S.-Iran Tensions
The box-office hit Argo brings back long-faded memories of the Iran hostage crisis for many Americans. News in November 1979 that U.S. diplomats had been taken hostage in Tehran shocked the United States. Students stormed the U.S. embassy, blindfolding 52 Americans...
Mass-Murder Nation
We're all still mourning with the families and loved ones of those so frightfully killed in Newtown, Connecticut. But as grief is joined by reflection on how this could happen — again — I believe we do a disservice those close to the victims as well as ourselves...
