Perspectives
A baby step out of the shadows
Outside a 300,000-squarefoot building in a run-down Aurora neighborhood on Aug. 5, a lively, ethnically diverse crowd of some 80 people marched, sang and chanted...
FCC breaks Obama’s promise on net neutrality
On Dec. 21, the FCC passed new rules — written by corporations — that will end net neutrality. For the first time in history, the U.S. government approved corporate censorship of the Internet, putting the future of online free speech at risk. Unbelievably, the person...
Stand up for Walmart workers
Courageous Walmart workers have been striking and committing civil disobedience around the country...
Limit corporate welfare
Tea party politicians are denounced for their dangerous antics, but their doomsday warnings about profligate government spending are the conventional wisdom of the so-called “moderates” of big business, the mainstream media and too many politicians of both parties (...
The silent jobless
Jobs are slowly coming back, but that’s small comfort to more than 13 million Americans who remain unemployed. For every current job opening, four people are still looking for a job. Many others have given up even trying to find work...
The death penalty: Are we getting it right?
The idea of Georgia inmate Troy Davis lying on a gurney in an agonizing wait for nine justices hundreds of miles away to resolve in a single-sentence statement that he should in fact die — even if innocent — should be enough to give pause to the most ardent ...
For kids’ health, Ronald McDonald and Joe Camel both deserve the...
As part of an effort to snuff out youth smoking, selling candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes is now illegal in the United States...
A more egalitarian economy
It’s easy to get depressed. Every social advance that progressives have won is in danger. There is a growing despair over the inability of traditional politics to address the immense economic/environmental/political crises and the deep crevasse between the rich and ...
Is your boss ripping you off?
A virtually unnoticed crime wave is under way. The perps are our most respected citizens. The crime is wage theft. This happens when you aren’t paid the minimum wage or overtime, are forced to work off the clock, denied meal breaks, have your tips pocketed by the ...
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 ...
Facing a crossroads
Woody Allen once said that “more than any time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.” Our reliance upon fossil fuels has ...
