Marching to Save Our Schools

Marching to Save Our Schools

I was born and raised in Washington, DC before the miracle of air-conditioning. I know well that July is a beast in that city. Yet I will return to Washington, DC on July 30 to participate in the Save Our Schools march and rally. Why? Because I don’t want to...
Casino Crops

Casino Crops

Thanks to decades of deregulated agriculture, markets for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and other farm commodities have become high-stakes casinos. If family farmers are to be stewards of the land and safe, nutritious local supplies of food are what we want, then we...
Justice Department Gives Torturers a Pass

Justice Department Gives Torturers a Pass

The Romans had an expression for it: “Nulla poena sine lege,” no punishment without a law. But people sometimes forget that the opposite is also true: Without punishment for offenders, a law itself can die. The Justice Department recently announced that,...
A Strategy for Coping with Unemployment

A Strategy for Coping with Unemployment

The jobless rate rose to 9.2 percent in June, which means yet more Americans are waking up to the disorienting experience of having no job to report to. How are they coping? “These are hard times for a lot of people,” says Wendee Crofoot, who is unemployed...
Washington’s Physics Problem in Iraq

Washington’s Physics Problem in Iraq

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, says its chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, has a “physics problem.” According to a 2008 accord between the United States and Iraq, the U.S. military is to be evacuated from Mesopotamia — down to the last tank mechanic and...