Perspectives
Seeger’s true politics
Folk singer Pete Seeger, who died at age 94 last month, provided a soundtrack for every progressive crusade of our time, from labor unions to civil rights, from world peace to environmentalism. He wrote, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” “If I Had A Hammer” and “...
Sometimes, the government comes in handy
Americans have a love/hate relationship with government, condemning those wasteful and corrupt government bureaucrats in the abstract while praising many public services in the concrete like the fire department, schools or parks...
Amendments 60, 61 and 101 would be disastrous
Natalie Menten, the voice behind the uber-libertarian movement to pass Amendments 60 and 61, as well as Proposition 101, has accused the groups working to stop those measures of using overblown scare tactics and deception to win support...
Tycoons and their taxes
Corporate fat cats are prowling the halls of Congress and scratching up all the furniture. These tycoons are peddling the old line that if they get tax cuts and subsidies, they will create jobs for us. That hasn’t worked yet. They say ordinary Americans should “lower...
Winds of change in the Middle East
On Feb. 11, 1979, Islamic revolutionaries took power in Tehran. On Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden and his al- Qaida terrorists launched their attacks on New York and Washington, killing nearly 3,000 Americans. On Feb. 11, 2011, Hosni Mubarak resigned as president of...
Zombie conservatives at the schoolhouse door
Last week, the president delivered an education speech that fell somewhat short of the standard set by Lenin in his address at the Finland Station, launching the Bolshevik Revolution. In fact, Barack Obama told Americas schoolchildren to work hard, respect their ...
Obama, like past leaders, a slow starter
Happy first anniversary, Barack Obama. Although happy is probably the wrong word...
Continue saying no to nukes
Climate change is the biggest challenge human beings have ever faced. We don’t have much time to deal with it. Unfortunately, political transformation is usually a slow process...
The consequences of a wildlife comeback
Amidst the horrors of fracking and climate change, America has a mostly unnoticed environmental success story. In his fascinating new book Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds, Jim Sterba — veteran reporter ...
Journalistic stings go mainstream
Here’s a problem of professional ethics right out of today’s headlines: If a news organization prohibits its own staff from using certain reporting techniques — say, deception — should it publish information that somebody else gathered using those forbidden ...
A challenge to end childhood hunger
Improving access to quality education is the single greatest investment we can make in our country, but for children to succeed in the classroom, we must first make sure their basic needs are met...
