Category: Analysis
Mine waste dams threaten the environment, even when they don’t fail
“These ecosystem modifications directly affect organisms on land and in the water downstream. Every decision to allow a mine to proceed with a tailings storage facility indelibly transforms rivers and their ecosystems for hundreds to thousands…
A broken promise to teachers and nonprofits workers
Trump wants to cancel student loan forgiveness for public servants. But what if you’ve already taken the loans? By Jill Richardson | February 19, 2020 Before sharing my opinions about Trump’s recent proposal to cut student…
There’s no Duck-and-Cover with automated warfare
Kansas City I can still remember my third grade teacher walking us through the duck-and-cover exercise and announcing as we prepared to march to the corner single file that she would be standing on the…
Sanders takes Nevada Democrat’s Caucus, 3 wins in a row
This is a breaking story and will continue to be updated. updated 9 AM By Mac England For the first time in memory a contender in a Democrat Presidential Nominating race has won the first three…
Something Democrats and Republicans have in common: Exaggerated stereotypes about both parties
Misconceptions abound on both sides of the aisle. Victor Moussa/Shutterstock.com Douglas J. Ahler, Florida State University With animosity between party supporters already at an all-time high, buckle up for what promises to be one of the…
Prosecutor disavows Barr bigfooting of Stone sentencing.
Yesterday the Meteor published a story about Roger Stone being sentenced to 40 months in prison. Below, Rachel Maddow breaks down Justice Department prosecutor John D. Crabb’s declarations to Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Roger Stone…
Is your city making you fat? How urban planning can address the obesity epidemic
Editors note: With thoughtful planning Flagstaff could turn our continued growth into a health boon for the community. The Ohio City Farm in Cleveland provides low-cost land, shared facilities and technical assistance to support entrepreneurial farmers….
Why Trump’s post-impeachment actions are about vengeance, not retribution
“Since the end of his Senate impeachment trial, President Donald Trump has carried out a concerted campaign against his Democratic political opponents as well as members of his administration who cooperated with them.” Austin Sarat, Amherst…
The Billionaire and Right-Wing’s racist lies about Redlining
New Orleans With the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency leading the way to gut the Community Reinvestment Act along with some other federal regulators, the last thing we should be doing is having to…
TurboTax and others charged at least 14 million Americans for tax prep that should have been free, audit finds
Tax software companies made around $1 billion in revenue by charging people who were eligible to file for free. by Paul Kiel and Justin Elliott Feb. 5, 3:18 p.m. EST More than 14 million taxpayers paid…
To boost bottom lines, Single-Payer may be just what these restaurateurs ordered
Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News February 6, 2020 Providence, R.I. — Last winter, James Mark was a 2018 James Beard Award finalist. A few months later, both GQ and Bon Appétit ranked Big King, his newest…
How Trump’s proposed benefits changes will create hardship for rural people with disabilities
“Additional reviews would cost $1.8 billion to administer while saving $2 billion in terminated benefits.” Rural Americans are more likely than urban Americans to experience disability. Natee K Jindakum/Shutterstock.com By Lillie Greiman, The University of Montana…
Report: ‘No Evidence That Fracking Can Operate Without Threatening Public Health’
More than 1,500 scientific studies on the health and climate impacts of fracking prove its dangerous effect on communities, wildlife and nature. By Tara Lohan, The Revelator In 2010 when I first started writing about hydraulic…
Pedestrians and bicyclists now account for one in five traffic deaths
By Hillel Aron / FairWarning February 7, 2020 Policymakers have eagerly promoted walking and bicycle riding as a way to get healthy exercise while reducing traffic congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions. But those activities are…
Sociologist Jeremy Slack on the Horrors that Await Immigrants Deported from the U.S.
Slack led a massive research effort to learn what happens to those whom immigration authorities deport and dump all along the Mexican border. By Lise Olsen, Feb 4, 2020, As an 18-year-old freshman at the University…
Choking on the Doughnut Hole: Medicare Part D disasters
Little Rock Driving through Mississippi back and forth on my regular route from New Orleans to Greenville to Little Rock and then back again, when I hit the long rural stretches since we belong to the…
E-cig flavors may be more than alluring; they could cause damage themselves
E-cigarette vapor also contains nicotine, heavy metals and formaldehyde, as pungent as they are harmful. Mixing in delectable flavorings disguises their unpleasantness, much like the cherry additive that camouflages the otherwise medicinal taste of children’s cough…
Reporting Recipe: How to identify suspicious campaign finance records
This week’s episode of “Trump, Inc.” reveals how watchdogs discovered contributions eventually traced to key figures in the Ukraine scandal. Here’s how regular people can do the same on their own. by Ilya Marritz and Matt…
Reading the tea leaves in the Iowa disaster
New Orleans The best thing to come out of the Iowa caucus disaster is the delay, which continues even now, because it prevents preemptive determination of a winner until the full totals are known, rather…
More from Jeff Biggers: Forget Iowa’s stupid app: Democrats can’t ignore the dismal turnout if they hope to win
My caucus in Iowa City had 60 fewer people than four years ago. Tepid turnout will re-elect Trump for sure JEFF BIGGERS FEBRUARY 5, 2020 We arrived at 6:25 p.m. on Monday night at our caucus…
Trump is right – the Democrats are a hot mess
Greenville It’s like the line about a broken clock is still right two times a day. President Trump is right that the Democrats look like the gang that can’t shoot straight and might not be competent enough…
Iowa caucuses did one thing right: Require paper ballots
“…Amid everything they did wrong, the Iowa Democratic Party did one thing right: It required that votes be counted on paper, and then tallied electronically. To those of us who study cybersecurity carefully, that’s crucial.” …
What’s the matter with Iowa?
New Orleans I’m not one of the political junkies that stays up late on the night of the Iowa caucus to see the results. Forty years ago, ACORN organized at the Iowa caucuses. I’ve followed them…
Learning from King’s last campaign
Before he died, Martin Luther King, Jr. joined a campaign to unify working people of all races. Today, nothing could be more powerful. Before he died, Martin Luther King, Jr. joined a campaign to unify working…
