Rights and Democracy
The Price of Admission
Gosh, I feel so much safer now that teenage ticket takers at the Regal chain of movie theaters have been directed by corporate chieftains to search the purses of their female customers.
The One Percent Supreme Court: A Conversation with the Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel
Martha Burk interviews Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation magazine and a Washington Post columnist. They talked about the poisoning of politics by the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, and what can be done about it.
Baseball Escapism
Seated in the upper deck at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, during a Giants-Rockies game, you wouldn’t know millions of Americans are underwater and unemployed, or that the 2012 elections were less than two months away. The large man seated next to me cups his hand over his mouth to scream, “Colorado, you suck” and other such sagacious slogans as the game creeps on, and the sun sets over San Francisco Bay.
The Latest Battle in the War on Voting
The Republican Party claims to be the party of small government — with the obvious exceptions of denying marriage equality and reproductive rights. But there is another kind of big government that the party has overwhelmingly, enthusiastically gotten behind: expensive and intrusive attempts to make it harder for Americans to vote.
Disabled on the Job, Fired without Severance or Benefits
Jorge Parra, a welder at General Motors’ South American Colmotores subsidiary, performed manual labor at an assembly plant near Bogotá until he was disabled. The Colombian underwent three surgeries and now walks with a cane and has several screws in his spine. GM fired him when he could no longer work due to his repetitive strain injuries. He wound up with no medical benefits or severance pay.
Chicago and the Psychology of Teacher Bashing
Last year, state lawmakers in Illinois did their best to make a Chicago teacher strike impossible. They passed a new law that required at least 75 percent of the city’s teachers to OK any walkout in advance.
Joe Walsh’s Greatest Hits
When you hear the name Joe Walsh, you may think of the Eagles guitarist. But Joe Walsh is also the name of a tea-partying Republican lawmaker from Illinois. That Joe Walsh has released several of his own hits — really, really offensive hits.
Ryan Runs Into the Truth
To borrow from President Lyndon Johnson’s colorful analysis of a Nixon speech, “I may not know much, but I know chicken [droppings] from chicken salad.”
Illegal Interns
It’s time we ditched the term “internship.” The word’s greatest value to employers resides in its vagueness.
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?
