Archive
We Won the War on Poverty, then Lost the Peace
When President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a war on poverty in January 1964, the poverty rate was over 19 percent. By 1972 it had fallen to less than 12 percent, and it stayed there for most of the 1970s.
Anyone who says we lost the war on poverty is flat out ignoring these numbers. We won the war on poverty. What we lost was the peace.
The Drought Lottery
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are planning to shamelessly take advantage of the devastating drought and stick taxpayers with a bloated, wasteful Farm Bill. This trillion dollar bill won’t fix the drought, but it will put taxpayers in a fix.
Virtually, Anything Goes with Online Education
The sounds of September: school bells ringing, looseleaf binders snapping open and shut, sneakers squeaking on gymnasium floors. Next to apple pie, what could possibly be more American than these familiar sounds and the local public schools where we hear them?
Ann Romney’s Unedited Convention Speech Leaked
To be fair, Ann Romney’s original draft was written at a much higher level than the speech she wound up delivering. I found a copy of her draft edited by Romney’s campaign managers. Here’s an excerpt.
Radioactive Ties
Not only does corporate political money shout, scream, bellow, and bay in our elections, but afterwards it quietly slips into the back rooms of power to talk softly about payback.
Just Another Corporate Profit Center
U.S. media outlets tend to report Haiti strictly as a land of tragedy. Its hapless citizens seem endlessly beset with earthquakes, floods, cholera, hunger, and bad government. Unfortunately, our press isn’t making that up.
Military Pork Shield
This Week in OtherWords: September 3-9, 2012
Craig Aaron warns that AT&T is about to charge consumers more for less service.
The Six Stages of Climate Grief
Now that the hottest summer on record is drawing to a close, are we any closer to admitting that climate change is upon us? And if not, why not?
AT&T’s Upside-Down World
From electricity to earmuffs, once you buy a product or service from a company, it shouldn’t be any of its business how you choose to use it. Your power company doesn’t say you can’t use the energy-saving features on your new refrigerator unless you buy more electricity. And your grocer doesn’t make you buy an extra loaf of bread if you stop purchasing potato chips.
