IPS Blog

In this week's OtherWords editorial package, Raul A. Reyes points out the dangers of "self-deportation," Mitt Romney's plan for resolving the nation's immigration challenges, and Jason Salzman points out the pitfalls of the apparent GOP frontrunner's aversion to speaking directly to the media. Get all this and more in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. If you haven't signed up yet, please do.

1. Coal Smoke and Planetary Fever / Daphne Wysham
   As the climate changes, a deadly disease is on the rise.
2. Go Deport Yourself / Raul A. Reyes
   Romney's "self-deportation" policy is no joke.
3. Dodging the Media on the Campaign Trail / Jason Salzman
   Mitt Romney's Colorado tour illustrates how shallow coverage becomes when candidates evade the scrutiny of real journalists.
4. Legislating Under the Influence / David Elliot
   Conservatives who want jobless Americans seeking unemployment benefits to submit to mandatory drug testing have a hidden motive.
5. The Fight over Reproductive Rights / Donald Kaul
   Liberals aren't trying to make anyone use birth control
6. Inside Rick Santorum's Head / Jim Hightower
   For him, the right to privacy doesn't exist.
7. Get Ready for War with Iran / William A. Collins
   All this imperial conniving is giving the Republican presidential candidates, except the isolationist Ron Paul, plenty to yammer about.
8. Pee for Food / Khalil Bendib

In this week's OtherWords editorial package, Salvatore Babones makes the case for boosting Social Security benefits instead of cutting them and Bartlett Naylor calls on the government to fulfill a commitment to curb reckless behavior on Wall Street. Get all this and more in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. If you haven't signed up yet, please do.

1. The Real Social Security Crisis / Salvatore Babones
   It may be difficult to face facts in an election year, but the fact is that Social Security retirement benefits are just too low.
2. Black Women Make History Too / Martha Burk
   Coretta Scott King was MLK's equal partner.
3. Risky Business / Bartlett Naylor
   Astronomic compensation remains the norm on Wall Street.
4. Politics, Perpetrators, and the Plight of Women / Allyson Neville-Morgan
   Angelina Jolie's "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is an important reminder that the international community can't forgo its responsibility to respond to genocide.
5. Un-Presidential Primaries / Donald Kaul
   Despite the Santorum speed bump, it seems certain now that Mitt Romney will be the eventual nominee.
6. The Chief Twinkie Goes Ding Dong / Jim Hightower
   After sinking into bankruptcy, Hostess Brands is trying to squeeze its workers without disrupting its junk food sales.
7. Racist Double Whammy / William A. Collins
   African Americans are disproportionately impacted by the Great Recession and the Great Disenfranchisement.
8. American Roulette / Khalil Bendib

This week, OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul and New Priorities Network coordinator Mike Prokosch make the case for deep military spending cuts and Tiffany Williams reality-checks "The Help." On our blog, Lacy MacAuley explains why the Occupy movement "has the potential to change everything." Get all this and more in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. If you haven't signed up yet, please do.

1. Those Bad Old Days Are Still with Us / Tiffany Williams
   "The Help" is drawing attention to today's domestic workers.
2. Fracking Perils / Daphne Wysham
   The ongoing bonanza in the U.S. hydraulic fracturing industry marks a dangerous misstep on the road to U.S. energy independence.
3. Distorting Civil Rights History / Marc Morial
   New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has insulted the generations of men and women who put their lives on the line for equal rights.
4. Playing with Fire / Mike Prokosch
   Instead of firing teachers, closing libraries and senior centers, and cutting bus routes, let's put the Pentagon on a diet.
5. Profiting from the Pentagon / Donald Kaul
   A two-war strategy is like a two-car garage -- you'll own two cars sooner or later.
6. Save the Babies / Jim Hightower
   GOP lawmakers are howling to overturn the EPA's mercury regulations.
7. Whistle-Blowing Takes Guts / William A. Collins
   Bringing war crimes, diplomatic treachery, and animal abuse to light is dangerous.
8. Planned Parenthood / Khalil Bendib

In this week's campaign finance special edition, OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul unveils his new Super PAC and Jim Hightower gives Newt Gingrich's Super PAC a more accurate name. Peter Hart casts a spotlight on the big-money effort underway to bypass the electoral system altogether, and Timothy Karr says the broadcast media should balance its quadrennial avalanche of election-year ads with solid coverage of the candidates and their issues. Khalil Bendib's cartoon lampoons the role big money is playing in the 2012 elections. Get all this and more in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. If you haven't signed up yet, please do.

1. Immobility Nation / Salvatore Babones
2. The 1 Percent Candidate / Peter Hart
3. The Hottest TV Drama in 2012 / Timothy Karr
4. The Risky Business of Post-War Contracting / Beth Schulman
5. Destroy Our Future / Donald Kaul
6. Buying Our Future / Jim Hightower
7. Overthrow Wall Street / William A. Collins
8. USS Super PAC / Khalil Bendib

In this week's OtherWords editorial package, Donald Kaul explains why it was hard to notice the official end of the Iraq War, and Jim Hightower describes the Drug War's losing battle in Afghanistan. Get all this and more in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. If you haven't signed up yet, please do.

We also have a special feature this week: OtherWords contributor Martha Burk posted an interview with Roe v. Wade lawyer Sarah Weddington to our blog. Check it out.

1. Wealthy Tax Cheats / Sam Pizzigati
2. Cheering Obama's Wise Tar Sands Choice / Bill McKibben and Michael Brune
3. Climate Insurance / Julia Olmstead
4. Dollar Democracy / Tim Butterworth
5. A Zero on the Home Front's Richter Scale / Donald Kaul
6. Afghanistan's Poppy War / Jim Hightower
7. Fukushima Is So Yesterday / William A. Collins
8. Endless War / Khalil Bendib