In recent weeks, many comparisons have been made between the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements, with some pundits emphasizing the differences and others the similarities. Editorial cartoonists like Chip Bok are uniquely positioned to stimulate reflection and analysis by means of their humor and their focus on critical details. This cartoon was …
Continue reading “Wrong Protest, Lady”: Chip Bok’s Editorial Cartoon
When President Obama proposed raising taxes for Americans whose income exceeds one million dollars per year, House Speaker John Boehner denounced the proposal as “class warfare.” Many conservatives echoed the allegation. The term “class warfare” has become the flashpoint of public discourse this season among editors, bloggers, columnists, and others; on September 23, the phrase …
Continue reading Deploying Sgt. Jeeves: Pat Oliphant’s Editorial Cartoon
Very likely, wherever you are reading this, there is a can or bottle of liquid refreshment within arms’ reach. Without looking, do you know if high-fructose corn syrup is on the list of ingredients? What if you do see it on the nutritional label? This article will get you thinking. The author, Anna Lappé, has …
Continue reading Sweet and Corny: Anna Lappé on High-Fructose Corn Syrup
Did you “like” or rate something online today? Do you ever get tired of being asked to review products, restaurants, movies, and so on? In this essay from Wired, Chris Colin assesses assessments and reviews reviews. Colin is author of What Really Happened to the Class of ’93 and is a frequent contributor to the …
Continue reading Seeing Stars: Chris Colin, “Rate This Article”
Civil rights and baseball? Think Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1947. But what about civil rights and baseball today? Dave Zirin thinks there’s plenty going on and plenty to talk about. Zirin writes for Sports Illustrated, has a weekly sports-related satellite radio program, and is sports editor for The Nation, where this column first appeared …
Continue reading Bud Selig’s Base on Balls: Dave Zirin on Baseball’s Civil Rights Game
Are you easily distracted while read…Oh, wait, is that my phone beeping?…Sorry, now, where were we? Oh, yes, distraction and reading. Johann Hari is as enamored with technology as anyone else, but he argues that we need books in order stay connected to our true selves. Hari is an award-winning British journalist and columnist who …
Continue reading A Sturdy Case for the Book: Johann Hari on Surviving the Age of Distraction
Summer has arrived, and the produce aisles and farmers’ markets are brimming with fresh items. Is there anything new and different where you shop or dine? Have you tried a taste? New York-based author Riddhi Shah writes about food-related issues for Salon, The Atlantic, the Huffington Post, and other periodicals. In this 2010 Slate article, …
Continue reading Faddy Food in the U.S.A.: Riddhi Shah, “Why Is America So Fixed on Food Fads?”
How would you like to have 27 paid holidays every year along with six weeks’ paid vacation? What changes would you be willing to make in your life in order to enjoy such benefits? Social commentator and poet Katha Pollitt sets her insightful gaze to Europe in this essay that appeared in September 2010 in …
Continue reading Greener Grass, More Paid Holidays: Katha Pollitt, “It’s better over there”
Do you shop for the lowest prices on the items you buy? What do your shopping habits have to do with the statue of a former first lady in a New York City park? This May 2011 article from the blog Manhattan User’s Guide (MUG) focuses on a monument to Eleanor Roosevelt in Manhattan and …
Continue reading Shopping with Eleanor: Eleanor Roosevelt on WalMart
Lisa Miller, award-winning journalist, is a religion editor for Newsweek, where she has worked since 2000. Her 2010 book, Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife, is a history and personal memoir on the idea of life after death. In this article, she tackles a more down-to-earth situation: access to adequate nutrition in a nation …
Continue reading Hungering for Equality: Lisa Miller on Food and Class in the U.S.
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