fresh voices from the front lines of change

Democracy

Health

Climate

Housing

Education

Rural

Archive

David Brooks and Lou Dobbs Are Both Losing

David Brooks, Lou Dobbs, and their massive egos may not realize this, but we do not have to choose between their flawed economic visions for American and the world. But their little Pinstripe Catfight this week does help illustrate the weaknesses in both their...

There They Go Again

The Republican CNN/YouTube debate lasted over two hours Wednesday night. But once more, we learned nothing about what the candidates would do about the economic straits we are in. Not a word about the housing crisis—the rising tide of foreclosures, plummeting housing...

Psst! What About the Damn Economy?

Do we have to wait for soup lines in Shaker Heights before we have a serious debate on the economy? In the last two Democratic debates, not one question was directed at what to do about the economy. Iraq, health care, the politics of parsing, pearls or diamonds...

Warning: Real Questions For Candidates Ahead

Normally, having lots of candidate debates is good for democracy, giving voters ample opportunity to see ideas tested, assertions fact-checked, and proposals detailed. But while this presidential primary season has offered plenty of debates, all too often media...

Immigration And American Values

One of the black holes in our national discourse is the right’s revival of old-style nativism in its approach to the current immigration debate -- replete with its scapegoating, demonization, and conspiracy theories, all in the pursuit of an eliminationist policy of...

Yes Nancy, You Have One Toy Tester

On Saturday, the Washington Post solicited reaction from the Consumer Product Safety Commission about our tragic and shocking new video -- showing Barbie contracting lead poisoning from Ken and demanding the resignation of acting head Nancy Nord. And the misleading...

"Drunken Hookup Barbie" Calls for Nord's Resignation

ABCNews.com today spotlighted our "Toxic Toys" video featuring the tragic tale of Ken and Barbie, which calls for the resignation of acting Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Nancy Nord. ABC headlines its piece "Drunken Hookup Barbie Demands Bush Official's...

The "Invisible Hand" Goes Toy Shopping

This weekend was our son's fifth birthday, and we tried something different for his birthday party this year: no toys. Instead we had a book exchange. Each kid brought a book and left with one, and our son opened the presents we bought for him once we got back home....

Find The Missing Word

Today, acting Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Nancy Nord issued a press release titled, "CPSC Delivers the ABC’s of Toy Safety," which includes "CPSC's Top Safe Shopping Tips." But these tips leave out an important word. Kids, see if you can identify the missing...

The Poor. The Struggling. The Hedge Fund Managers.

On Saturday’s weekly presidential radio address, George Bush admonished “Congress” for not yet passing legislation temporarily fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The decades-old law was initially designed to prevent the ultra-rich from shirking their tax...

Pin It on Pinterest