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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

House 'Under Water'? Do Like the Banks Do and Just Walk Away

By Scott Thill, AlterNet
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Banks aren't taking possession of houses after foreclosure, creating a "shadow inventory" that may derail the recovery.

Is Obama Squandering Our Best Chance for Better Health Care?

By William Greider, The Nation
Health and Wellness: After a brilliant beginning, Obama seems to be abandoning his principles on health care by hedging on a public option.

20 Foods That Make You Smarter

By Sara Ost, EcoSalon
Here are some healthy, environmentally friendly ways to kick-start your brain.

Is There Any Point in Fighting to Stave off Industrial Apocalypse?

By George Monbiot, Paul Kingsnorth, The Guardian
Environment: The collapse of civilization will bring us a saner world, argues Paul Kingsnorth. No, writes George Monbiot -- we can't let billions perish.

Is It Okay to Fire People Who Smoke or Are Obese?

By Tony Newman, AlterNet
DrugReporter: First the employers came for the smokers. Now they're talking about not hiring obese people. Your personal struggle or lifestyle choice may be next.

Did Obama Screw Up by Not Offering a Plan for Health Reform?

By Marie Cocco, Washington Post Writers Group
Health and Wellness: The president's hands-off approach to reform has backfired, as overhaul of the health care system falls prey to wrangling in Congress.

Keep Up Pressure for a Public Option

By Byard Duncan, AlterNet
Take Action: As the debate continues to heat up, pressure from you will make all the difference. Stand up for a public option today.

Former Agent: Gun-Toters Creating 'Atmosphere of Danger' for Obama

By David Edwards, Daniel Tencer, Raw Story
Politics: 12 people armed with guns showing up at a recent Obama townhall is something that the Secret Service hasn't typically encountered — until now.

Revolt on Goose Island: The Chicago Factory Takeover, and What it Says About the Economic Crisis

By Kari Lydersen, Melville House Publishing
Rights and Liberties: When Chicago's Republic Windows & Doors suddenly closed, workers occupied the factory and fought for their labor rights.

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

The Fiji Phenomenon: It's a Human Rights and Environmental Nightmare, So Why Is It the #1 Imported Bottled Water in the US?

By Anna Lenzer, Mother Jones
Water: How did a plastic water bottle, imported from a military dictatorship thousands of miles away, become the epitome of cool?

Can Brutal and Racist Cops Change to Become More 'Sensitive'?

By Liliana Segura, AlterNet
Rights and Liberties: The Boston policeman who called Gates a "banana-eating jungle monkey" had taken racial-sensitivity training classes. It's not clear they work.

It's Now or Never for a Public Option: Why We Need to Take a Stand Against the Insurance Industry's Greed

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Health and Wellness: We are at a crucial moment in the health care debate -- Obama needs pressure from all of us to keep the public option as part of his agenda.

Is Whole Foods Sustainable or Just a High-Priced Hoax? I Took a Job There to Find Out

By Jill Richardson, Ig Publishing
Environment: Was Whole Foods truly sustainable, or was it just a high-priced version of the same food one could find in a conventional supermarket?

Whoa, 'District 9' Is a Really Good Sci-Fi Action Flick

By Eileen Jones, eXiled Online
Movie Mix: There are a couple of strokes of genius in District 9 that renew hopes for the future of genre film.

How the Tattoo Industry's Decline in Baghdad Reveals That Life Is Better in Iraq Without the U.S. Around

By Patrick Cockburn, CounterPunch
World: The American military withdrawal is stabilizing Iraq to a degree the neocons who got us into this war could never admit to.

Anti-Choice Zealots Make Bank Promoting the "Personhood" of Zygotes

By Wendy Norris, RH Reality Check
Reproductive Justice and Gender: The 'egg-as-person' crusade is driving big money to anti-choice groups.

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Why Are Cops Tasering Grandmothers, Pregnant Women and Kids?

By Scott Thill, AlterNet
Rights and Liberties: Police officers are brutalizing innocent civilians with accelerating lunacy. How did this happen? How can we make it stop?

Rachel Maddow Slams Dick Armey for Stirring Up Hate in Town Halls

By Staff, MSNBC
Media and Technology: On Sunday's Meet the Press, Rachel Maddow took on Dick Armey for his role in the violent town hall protests.

Crunch Time for the Public Option

By John Nichols, The Nation
Without a public option, there is no real reform.

Joe the Plumber on Pelosi: I Would "Beat the Livin' Tar" Out of Her

By Adele Stan, AlterNet
Rights and Liberties: At an Americans for Prosperity conference, Joe the Plumber said he wasn't advocating violence, however...

Why Does Popular Culture Treat Prison Rape As a Joke?

By Anna Clark, AlterNet
Reproductive Justice and Gender: Our attitudes towards sexual abuse in prison leads to a culture of permissiveness that destroys lives.

11 Dirty Little Secrets Your Grocery Store Is Hiding

By Tina McCarthy, EcoSalon
Health and Wellness: How can you beat them at their own game? Here's what you need to know.

Warriors for Christ: Is Promise Keepers Making a Comeback?

By J. Terry Todd, Religion Dispatches
Reproductive Justice and Gender: Promise Keepers has repackaged its muscular Christianity and evangelical nationalism for a post-9/11 world.

Our Last Chance to Preserve Life On Earth Is Slipping Away

By Larry Schweiger, Fulcrum Publishing
Media and Technology: Shallow news coverage causes most Americans to underestimate the urgency of the threat of global warming.

How Viagra Promised a Sexual Revolution But Delivered a Bad Joke

By Meika Loe, National Sexuality Resource Center
Sex and Relationships: The little blue pill was supposed to transform our attitudes towards aging and sexuality. It merely reinforced bad cultural stereotypes about older men.

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

15 Horrifying Reasons to Never Let Anyone You Love Near a McDonald's

By Sarah Irani, EcoSalon
Environment: Erectile dysfunction, the truth behind the "special sauce," and a burger from 1996. Keep reading if you dare.

Why the Right's 'Astroturfing' Propaganda Is Textbook Psychopathic

By Byard Duncan, AlterNet
Politics: Faux grassroots firms are exhibiting all the tell-tale signs.

Put Down That Coors: Why We Should Be Boycoting Big Beer

By Benjamin Dangl, CounterPunch
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: One reason to boycott large breweries is the union busting, right wing culture that dominates some of the biggest breweries in America.

Burning Questions for the Authors of 'Marijuana Is Safer'

By Paul Armentano, Steve Fox, AlterNet
DrugReporter: The authors of a new book on misconceptions about marijuana respond to the torrent of comments on an excerpt published on AlterNet.

Lou Dobbs Tours Single-Payer Systems Abroad and Realizes, Holy Crap They're Good

By Leslie Savan, The Nation
Media and Technology: Has CNN's government-out-of-my-face bloviator actually had a change of heart when it comes to Obama's health plan?

No Matter What Lies the Right Wing Screams, the Brits Love Their Health Care System

By Denis Campbell, The Guardian
Health and Wellness: Republicans and right-wing pundits in the US have tried to scare us about Britain's public health system -- because it works.

The Sky Isn't Falling: It Turns Out Gay Marriage Has Not Destroyed the Institution for Heteros

By M. V. Lee Badgett, NYU Press
Sex and Relationships: A new book shreds the conservative talking points.

Goodbye Pools, Lawns and a Whole Lot More: Why Life in the Southwest as We Know it Will Be History

By Alex Steffen, Worldchanging
Water: Water in the very near future will be neither cheap nor plentiful, and much of the Southwest is destined for real trouble.

Friday, August 14th, 2009

'Mad Men's' Don Draper: TV's Latest Sex Icon

By Vanessa Richmond, AlterNet
Sex and Relationships: He's an outlaw. He can be cruel. And surprisingly, his part is written by women.

10 Awesome Things That Would Happen If Health Reform Passes

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Politics: Forget the fearmongering scare tactics of the right, here's how your life will actually be better.

Right-Wing Militias Haven't Always Been Racist -- But That May Be Changing

By Larry Keller, Southern Poverty Law Center
Rights and Liberties: There are growing signs that militias are on the rise again. This time, many of their partisans are angry at Blacks and Latinos.

Why You Should Boycott Whole Foods

By Russell Mokhiber, CounterPunch
Health and Wellness: The company's CEO has just launched a major campaign to defeat a single payer national health insurance system.

An Evolutionary Biologist Visits the "Creationism Museum"

By PZ Myers, Pharyngula
PEEK: Where guards are ready with tasers to suppress criticism of the museum's loony ideas.

Orgasmic Organics: 20 Healthy Ways to Rev Up Your Sex Life

By Sarah Irani, EcoSalon
Sex and Relationships: Put down the Viagra. Here are 20 delicious, healthy aphrodisiacs.

What John Hughes' Death Means for America

By David Sirota, Creators Syndicate
Politics: The hope/despair tightrope, established in Hughes' films, is especially pertinent in today's political climate.

Climate Disobedience Is on the Rise and It's Not Just for Radical Activists Anymore

By Mark Engler, Tomdispatch.com
Environment: An emerging movement is determined to use direct action to combat the depredations of climate change and they've got some big names on board.

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

7 Ways We Can Fight Back Against the Rising Fascist Threat

By Sara Robinson, Campaign for America's Future
Politics: Why the right-wing extremism must be stopped in its tracks or else we face the threat of outright violence and goon rule.

With a Billion People Living on Less Than $1 a Day, Is Buying Luxury Shoes Ethical?

By Astra Taylor, The New Press
Media and Technology: Ethicist Peter Singer argues that it's pretty black and white when it comes to making choices about where you spend your money.

If Right-Wingers Get Their Way, 22,000 Americans Will Continue to Be Killed by Lack of Health Care Each Year

By Mark Ames, AlterNet
Politics: This is a battle against people who want to protect a system that has killed more Americans than WW II -- not a debate tournament.

Hightower: Starbucks' Bizarre Branding Strategy -- Hide Its Name, Pretend to Be 'Authentic' Local Coffee Shop

By Jim Hightower, Creators Syndicate
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Starbucks is now striving to be the anti-Starbucks, dressing up as funky neighborhood coffeehouses with a cool vibe.

In Illinois, Another Workers' Rebellion Flares Up Against 'Banksters' Greed

By Kari Lydersen, AlterNet
Rights and Liberties: In Illinois, a dozen union members blocked a road outside Wells Fargo’s local headquarters -- the latest in a wave of direct actions by workers.

Eating Meat Isn't Bad for the Planet, It's Our System of Raising the Animals That's Wrong

By Eliot Coleman, Grist.org
Environment: Sadly too many have been fooled -- the culprit is not meat eating but rather the excesses of corporate/industrial agriculture.

Is Obama's Plan for Tackling Hunger Just Another Chance for Big Ag and Biotech to Cash In?

By Jill Richardson, AlterNet
Environment: There's good reason to fear that Obama's new global food security effort may do more harm than good for the world's hungry.

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

The Tragedy of Our 'Disappeared' Veterans

By Penny Coleman, AlterNet
World: How the justice system has been manipulated to put astonishing numbers of vets with PTSD and other psychiatric injuries behind bars.

Vitaminwater's Empty Calories Are at the Heart of What's Wrong with the Beverage Industry

By Andrea Whitfill, AlterNet
Water: Vitaminwater tells its customers to "hydrate responsibly." That means not drinking 125-calorie sugar rushes like ... Vitaminwater.

Gun-Nut Outside Obama Townhall Linked to GOP 'Stop ObamaCare' Effort

By Adele M. Stan, AlterNet
Rights and Liberties: Strapped with a loaded gun, William Kostric carried a message from the GOP's "break Obama" campaign.

The Threat Is Real: Why Right-Wing Rage at Townhall Meetings Could Quickly Turn Deadly

By Frank Schaeffer, AlterNet
Rights and Liberties: The insurance industry has agitated the far right to prevent health reform, but they don't know whom they're messing with.

How the White House's Deal With Big Pharma Undermines Democracy

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog
Politics: When an industry gets secret concessions in return for a promise to lend its support to a key piece of legislation, we're in big trouble.

Rush Limbaugh's "Nazi" Rhetoric: Where's the Outrage?

By Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America
Media and Technology: Why are so many corporate news outlets silent about Limbaugh's offensive Hitler comparisons?

When My Husband Became a Woman, I Realized I Was a Sexist

By Helen Boyd, On The Issues Magazine
Sex and Relationships: When my husband transitioned, it made me face all of the terrible gender stereotypes I carry around.