Behind the ‘religious freedom’ attacks on gay rights lurks a broad attack on civil rights The most problematic aspect of the “religious freedom” legislation that has been proposed so far is how vague its language is and how broadly it can be applied. Indeed, each of the bills so far applies “religious freedom” not just…
Primary elections offer 1st major test of voter ID laws In elections that begin this week, voters in 10 states will be required to present photo identification before casting ballots—the first major test of voter ID laws after years of legal challenges arguing that the measures are designed to suppress voting. The first election is March…
Only aggressive action will save the American labor movement Law is being used to defeat unions. Strikes are banned, boycotts are illegal, and organizing is made difficult. Public and private employers simply refuse to negotiate with workers and their organizations. Traditionally labor union leadership, faced with decertification, costly fines, and imprisonment, has been hesitant to…
North Carolina’s civil war: The South’s prettiest, ugliest, most forward-thinking, most backward-minded, most divided state They arrived, like their forefathers did a half century earlier, in buses, with small signs taped to the windows for the North Carolina cities they represented: Fayetteville, Asheville, Charlotte, Newton, Weldon, Wilmington. There were visitors too, with signs that said not…
Assessing the American Dream: The myth of mobility Since at least the days of Horatio Alger, a cornerstone of American thinking has been the hope of social mobility—the idea that, as Lawrence Samuel put it in a history of the American dream, anyone can, “through dedication and with a can-do spirit, climb the ladder of…
Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon’s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers When I first did research on Walmart’s workplace practices in the early 2000s, I came away convinced that Walmart was the most egregiously ruthless corporation in America. However, ten years later, there is a strong challenger for this dubious distinction—Amazon Corporation. Amazon equals Walmart in the…
How ‘microtargeting’ works in political advertising What you watch, read, buy, and listen to online can tell political campaigns whether it’s worth their time and money to woo your vote. Gwen Ifill talks to Ken Goldstein of the University of San Francisco and Eitan Hersh of Yale University to learn more about how our digital…
The vampire squid strikes again: The mega banks’ most devious scam yet Call it the loophole that destroyed the world. It’s 1999, the tail end of the Clinton years. While the rest of America obsesses over Monica Lewinsky, Columbine, and Mark McGwire’s biceps, Congress is feverishly drafting what could yet prove to be one of…
How privatization perverts education Profit-seeking in the banking and health care industries has victimized Americans. Now it’s beginning to happen in education, with our children as the products. There are good reasons—powerful reasons—to stop the privatization efforts before the winner-take-all free market creates a new vehicle for inequality. At the very least, we need the good…
Congressional Republicans focus on calming their divided ranks After a tumultuous week of party infighting and leadership stumbles, congressional Republicans are focused on calming their divided ranks in the months ahead, mostly by touting proposals that have wide backing within the GOP and shelving any big-ticket legislation for the rest of the year. Comprehensive immigration reform,…