Rights / Democracy - OtherWords

Tied to the Tracks

If life were an old-fashioned movie serial we’d be at the scene where Barack Obama is tied to railroad tracks while an oncoming train sounds in the distance.

Four Hundred Thousand Reasons to Vote

by Terry O'Neill

Alan Simpson, the co-chair of President Obama’s task force on deficit reduction, insulted those who depend on Social Security–many of them older women, children, and people with disabilities–by referring to the program as “a milk cow with 310 million tits.” Earlier, Simpson described the millions who depend on Social Security benefits as “lesser people.”

A Radical Agenda in Troubled Times

by Marge Baker

It hasn’t been an easy two years. In 2008, Americans flatly rejected a party that had created a devastating recession, sent our troops off to two seemingly unending wars, and refused to find solutions to crises in our immigration and health care systems. Two years later, we’ve seen some progress. Our troops are out of Iraq, Wall Street has been forced to end some of its most dangerous practices, and millions more Americans have health insurance. Other important reforms have been stalled by obstructionists in the U.S. Senate. The economic hard times, and the frustration, still linger.

From Death Row to Elusive Freedom

by Ron Keine

Frankly, every time I awaken from this nightmare of finding myself back on death row, I’m embarrassed. I have been out for a long time. I should be over it by now. But every time I get lost in a book or daydream, when I wake up in the morning, or look up from a crossword puzzle or read a newspaper, the feeling creeps up on me. I’m back on death row. And I am not alone.

Remembering Ron Walters

by Marc Morial

In an era in which political commentary is so often characterized by shallow sound-bites and shrill hyperbole, Dr. Ronald Walters’ scholarly insights helped shape nearly every advancement of black political empowerment of the last century.

‘Conservatism’ Has Turned Into ‘Crackpotism’

by Jim Hightower

I’m at a loss for words, so I need your help.

Sorry, You’re Under Surveillance

by William A. Collins

For governments keen on muzzling and thwarting opposition, terrorism is a God-sent cover. A nation subject to terrorist attack can get away with deception, surveillance, secret arrests, harassment, entrapment, censorship, spying, stealing, and grievous infringements on travel. Nothing to it…you just cite national security.