Archive
A Congressional Report Card for the 99 Percent
Lots of Americans today are watching how members of Congress go about their business. Environmentalists and electrical workers alike keep track of key congressional votes. So do retailers and farmers. Even poker players are following how members of Congress rate on the issues that hit home.
Romney Passes the Torch to Taxpayers
One of the mysteries of life in these curious times is that millions of Americans are enjoying the benefits of government — but are either unaware of it or in denial.
The Politics of Inequality
Why John Roberts Upheld the Affordable Care Act
Many Republicans expressed shock, even betrayal, when Chief Justice John Roberts himself turned out to be the Supreme Court’s turncoat Republican who upheld the Affordable Care Act. Pundits had predicted that Kennedy could make that move. Not me.
This Week in OtherWords: September 24-Oct. 2, 2012
This week, OtherWords is running an op-ed by Raul A. Reyes that sums up Mitt Romney’s lackluster efforts to win over Latino voters and a commentary by Dashka Slater about the disappearance of the kinds of jobs that traditionally provided low-income Americans with economic mobility.
The Islamophobe Fringe
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is a convicted conman. He knows almost nothing about Islam and even less about filmmaking. And yet, thanks to the power of the Internet and the tense relationship between the West and Islam, Nakoula has generated a major international scandal with Innocence of Muslims, his lowbrow, low-budget movie.
Romney’s Losing Bid to Win the Latino Vote
It’s hypocritical for Romney to blame the DREAM Act’s failure on Obama when Romney himself has vowed to veto it. No wonder National Public Radio noted a “polite if tepid” applause from the Chamber’s members during the Republican nominee’s speech.
Armed with Irony
If irony is a crucial ingredient for comedy, the House of Representatives can be a laugh riot. Lately, there’s been some serious silliness about sequestration and Pentagon spending.
A Vanishing Act for Good Jobs
Ashley Brown wants to be a bank teller. When I met her this past spring, the 26-year old single mother was cold-calling banks and credit unions, looking for one that might hire her. So far, she’d had one interview and a lot of unfriendly brush-offs. No offers.
The ‘Self-Made’ Hallucination of America’s Rich
Let’s cut Mitt Romney some slack. Not every off-the-cuff comment he made at that now infamous, secretly taped $50,000-a-plate fundraiser in Boca Raton reveals an utterly shocking personal failing. Take, for instance, Mitt’s remark that he has “inherited nothing.”
