Archive
A Bitter Taste of Racial Discrimination
I don’t know how the corn is doing this year, but Washington is producing a bumper crop of irony for America’s black farmers.
Compassionate Conservatives
There’s Still Big Money in War
Dwight Eisenhower got it straight all right, but he didn’t know the half of it. He prophetically warned us about the “Military-Industrial Complex,” though Blackwater and KBR hadn’t even been invented yet. You’ve heard of them–they’re the contractors who service our armies of occupation so that we don’t need to hire so many soldiers. Sort of mercenary supply companies. Naturally, they lobby for more conflicts.
Dying Patients Deserve Better
Remember the hullabaloo over so-called “death panels,” last summer? Faced with screeching right-wing opportunists who tried to kill healthcare reform by accusing the Obama administration of being out to snuff out our grandparents, the folks responsible for writing the legislation excised a sensible provision that would have made it easier to stop wasting money on the exorbitant, painful, and often futile tests and procedures that tend to make the last months of Americans’ lives miserable.
The Lineup: Week of August 2-8, 2010
Here’s what you’ll find in the latest OtherWords editorial package, which features an op-ed and a cartoon on the WikiLeaks controversy. In his weekly column, Donald Kaul worries about what American politicians are doing to future generations. Get all this and more in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do.
Evidence of a Failed Mission
WikiLeaks’ Afghan War Diary, a trove of 91,370 previously secret documents, is an important first history of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Of course, mistakes will be found–but these are reports of military leaders to others in the military. This is where they tell the truth. It’s significant that the Obama administration has not tried to claim the reports are inaccurate. Instead, they’re claiming that disclosing the reports somehow endangers U.S. troops, while at the same time disparaging the documents as having no new information.
No Message on the Bottle
There’s plenty to look at on bottled water labels: claims of purity, images of mountain springs, and fine print on filtering processes. The problem is, amidst all the clutter, consumers can seldom find information to verify the marketing claims being made.
Multinational Shell Game Hurts Local Business
As a small business owner, I pay my taxes and give charitable contributions to ensure that my community is a healthy and vibrant place. My company is dedicated to making technology, communications, and the Internet in line with federal disability laws and accessible to everyone–including wounded veterans and people with all types of disabilities. The success of my business is tied to my community’s health.
Last Call for Ethanol
Like a sailor on a late night bender, corn ethanol boosters are trying to cajole another drink from the subsidy tap before the lights come on. Some members of Congress seem all too ready to give in, costing taxpayers billions in the process. But in light of the yawning budget deficit and the failed promise, ethanol should be forced to make its own way in the marketplace.
Our Grandchildren Deserve Better Politicians
We live in grim times, which is why you have to take your laughs where you can get them. For example, in Washington, where Republican congresspeople keep talking about their concern for their grandchildren as an excuse for voting against…well, practically everything: economic stimulus packages, financial reform, immigration reform, etc.
