This week’s OtherWords editorial package features Sam Pizzigati‘s first column, in which he explains why wealth inequality is officially holding steady while income inequality is growing increasingly skewed. Jim Hightower skewers Mitt Romney’s financial shenanigans, and William A. Collins puts the nation’s penchant for guns in perspective.
As Donald Kaul and I explained last week, he’s either taking a break from writing or recently retired, depending on how things go with his recuperation from a recent heart attack. Thanks for all your kind, and sometimes funny, words of support, many of which are highlighted in my recent letters-to-the-editor blog posts. At least 110 emails and a dozen snail-mailed cards and letters have arrived so far, and Don tells me that he’s feeling much better already.
This uptick in correspondence revealed an unfortunate and longstanding glitch in the otherwords@ips-dc.org email account. If you sent anything to that account before Tuesday, July 25th, it probably vanished. I didn’t receive it, and since it didn’t bounce, there was no way for the sender to know.
I can’t begin to describe how sorry I am about this snafu. I know it will be hard for anyone who tried to reach out to me and got no response — possibly on multiple occasions — to believe that this was going on for more than two years. But it was. I deeply apologize for all the misunderstandings this may have caused. So, if you emailed a note for or about Donald Kaul before 4:30 p.m. on July 25, please send it again. And if you emailed me an inquiry that never got answered, please do try again.
As always, I encourage you to subscribe to our weekly newsletter and visit our blog. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do.
- Smoldering Planet / Saul Landau
Colorado’s wildfires and the record heat waves should sober up some climate change doubters. - Plain Old Murder / Chris Toensing
The Pakistani government loudly protests that many of the casualties of drone strikes are civilian. - Your Labor Rights or Your Life / Jessye Weinstein
A hostile labor environment in a country like Colombia, connected through a trade agreement to the U.S., has repercussions for workers at home as well. - Cleaning Up Campaign Finance / Michael B. Keegan
Citizens United is here to stay unless we show it the door. - Marching Toward Greater Inequality / Sam Pizzigati
The world’s super rich, according to a new report, are squirreling away phenomenal quantities of their cash in secret tax havens. - How Mitt Got His / Jim Hightower
Romney keeps playing hide-and-seek with his booty. - One Nation, Under the Gun / William A. Collins
Why do so many Americans believe that to properly protect ourselves today, we need guns? - Unmanly Drones / Khalil Bendib (cartoon)
Unmanly Drones, an OtherWords cartoon by Khalil Bendib