A new online business, called SkillShare, wants us get over the idea that a college education is the only legitimate path to a career. What’s the point of going to college and taking on mass quantities of debt, only to graduate to a job that requires the skills and knowledge you had when you finished…
The People’s Budget is an alternative budget put forward by the co-chairs of the 80-member Congressional Progressive Caucus. In contrast to the Ryan and Obama budget plans, it is humane, responsible, and sensible, reflecting the true values of the American people and the real needs of our struggling economy. The far-Right, Ayn Rand inspired plan…
When our dependable Ford finally kicked the bucket a couple months ago, my husband and I went on a harried hunt for something that would meet our needs. The clock is ticking when you live in the suburbs without public transit or a vehicle and you need to get to work. Like anyone who has…
On April 17, 60 Minutes aired a report questioning the veracity of Greg Mortenson’s story and accomplishments. Steve Kroft’s report seemed to be balanced. The Mortenson camp belatedly challenged the facts, and it becomes a he said-he said story. Some people didn’t even stop at the red light at the intersection of Hope and Disappointment.…
Some people were duped by a recent April Fool’s hoax showing a map of an improbable merger between the City of St. Louis and exurban St. Charles County. The map may have been a joke, but the issue that sparked the hoax is not. Not in St. Louis, and not in other urban areas, either.…
Jeff Greenfield’s historical novel, Then Everything Changed, is a collection of actual facts and plausible alternatives to facts. Without divulging too much about the book, the first of his three “what might have beens” involved Lyndon Johnson becoming president in 1960. Johnson knew that he was considered somewhat of a southern country bumpkin by many…
1. In a recent New Yorker article about actress Anna Faris, Tad Friend cites a test for gender bias in movies. The test, outlined by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in a 1985 Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip (Bechdel credits her friend Liz Wallace for the original idea), asks three simple questions: Does a movie…
This is the opening line of Matt Taibbi’s latest article in Rolling Stone titled “The Real Wives of Wall Street.” He has penned yet another brilliant piece exposing how the wealthy and the federal government have stacked the deck against American working families. Thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders, who demanded that the Federal Reserve reveal…
Once again, Arizona is leading the way—backwards. On April 14, 2011, the Arizona legislature passed HB 2177, a “birther” bill that would require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to produce documents proving they are natural-born citizens. Among documents considered legit, in addition to birth certificates,are: an early baptismal certificate, circumcision certificate, hospital birth record, postpartum medical…
Walter Mondale. Are you excited yet? Many Americans will not recognize his name. He served as Jimmy Carter’s Vice-President from 1977-1981 and was the Democratic nominee for president in in 1984. You might say that he is charisma challenged. But as best we can tell, there’s no correlation between charisma and intelligence. Walter Mondale had,…