Rights and Democracy
Blocking the Vote
When she heard that the GOP had nailed a Senate majority, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska grabbed a chair, lifted it over her head and shouted "I'm the chair, maaaaaaan!" The presumptive next chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's victory dance...
Statue of Free Enterprise
How Shy People Stole Our Elections
A big surprise from this year's elections is that American politics has become dominated by the least likely of participants: shy people. That's strange, since running for office is an ego game, attracting those comfortable with self-promotion. But the hot new trend...
Don’t Worry, Get Stoned
Want to know the real winner of the 2014 mid-term elections? Weed! The nation's capital will soon have fun-filled "flower" fests in its lovely parks. Gardens will be green with the grasshopper with no legs. Kitchens will be filled the seductive smell of "space...
Stand Up and Fight
Debacle. Bloodbath. Drubbing. Call it what you will. For Democrats, this was an ugly Election Day. But there's no mandate for right-wing policies in its aftermath. Arkansas voters chose to raise the minimum wage while electing a senator who opposes doing so. Colorado...
In OtherWords: November 5, 2014
This week in OtherWords, Robert L. Borosage gives Democrats some advice in the wake of their lackluster performance in the mid-term elections and Jill Richardson suggests that doctors should prescribe fruits and veggies for more of their patients. Do you want to make...
Can You Hear Us Now?
On a recent Monday night in Brooklyn, five empty chairs stood on stage — one for each member of the Federal Communications Commission. A crowd had amassed in the room for a public hearing to send this message to the agency: Don't hurt the open Internet. But the...
When Corporate Foxes Mind Internet Coops
Taking Anti-Immigrant Fervor Too Far
What's the matter with Kansas? A decade ago, a best-selling book of that title examined how Kansas veered rightward after a long history as a left-wing hotbed. It looks like Kansas may be shifting course again. Not only does the state have one of the country's most...
A Difficult Season
My brother would have turned 29 the other day. Thus begins the season of difficult anniversaries. Six years ago, my baby bro turned 23. It was 2008, a week before Barack Obama's first presidential election. Hope and change were in the air. I had a new job and a new...
