Essays Archive - Page 41 of 131

Lowe’s Loses, Taxpayers Win

It’s good that the judges told Lowe’s to take a hike, but these cases are just going to keep coming

July 19, 2021 • by Pat Garofalo

_____ A Wisconsin appeals court recently rejected big-box retailer Lowe’s attempt to lower its property tax rate in the town of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Lowe’s tried to employ what’s known as “dark store theory” to cut its property valuation nearly in half, from $13.6 million to $7.1 million. As I’ve explained previously, dark ...

Columnists

Facts About the Covid Vaccinations Are Totally Political, Because All Facts Are Totally Political

We need a new consensus

July 14, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ As you know, Dr. Anthony Fauci is the White House chief pandemic advisor. He appeared on the Sunday morning talk shows as part of the administration’s renewed effort to achieve its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the US population. But his appearance seemed to do more than that. It ...

Facts About the Covid Vaccinations Are Totally Political, Because All Facts Are Totally Political

History

Politicians Should Get the History Right—Particularly Their Own History

If Democrats want to be trustworthy they must account for, not hide, how they have changed over time

July 14, 2021 • by Janet Golden and Richard Harris

_____ The Democratic Party’s successful struggle to reject its ugly history of racism and sexism is a source of pride, and justifiably so. So you can imagine how gobsmacked we were upon reading the official history of the national Democratic Party on its own website. Such distortion and historical misrepresentations! According to ...

Politicians Should Get the History Right—Particularly Their Own History

Columnists

“What Can I Do to Help?”—Said No Software Solution Ever

Re-hiring human beings for clerical, secretarial, and other traditional pink-collar work would create good jobs and make our offices more attuned to human needs

July 14, 2021 • by Claire Potter

_____ Is there anyone working for a large organization who doesn’t dread the announcement of a new “technology solution?” There’s a hard truth lurking behind every cheerful email about a new platform with a perky name and great graphics. That truth is: more work that used to be done by a ...

“What Can I Do to Help?”—Said No Software Solution Ever

The Internet

Social Media Has Changed Academic Culture—For the Worse

July 14, 2021 • by Arlene Stein

_____ “Been feeling pretty glum about academia recently,” a colleague tweeted recently. “Can be so toxic.” University faculty don’t have to worry about a lot of workplace hazards: for example, the physical costs of toiling in a factory, and or the risks of being exposed to COVID-19 on the job, like front-line ...

Social Media Has Changed Academic Culture—For the Worse

Columnists

The Great Jobs Bait and Switch

July 14, 2021 • by Pat Garofalo

_____ When a corporation and local officials publicly announce an economic development deal, they both reap a bunch of benefits, most importantly positive press. Both the firm and the elected leaders get their names in the paper or on the local TV news, next to statements about new jobs and dollars ...

Activism

Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest One Year Later

The city’s deep history of radical activism – and how it became a national symbol of anarchy

July 14, 2021 • by Pamela Ballinger

_____ A little over one year ago, on July 1, 2020, then-White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany proclaimed with fanfare that “Seattle has been liberated from the anarchists.” At the time, many Seattleites shrugged off this bizarre declaration that seemed so at odds with the city they inhabited – and with the ...

Columnists

A “Proud Capitalist,” Joe Biden is Championing Competition

Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism; it’s exploitation

July 13, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ Last week, as President Joe Biden signed “An Executive Order Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” he echoed the language of his predecessors. “[C]ompetition keeps the economy moving and keeps it growing,” he said. “Fair competition is why capitalism has been the world’s greatest force for prosperity and growth…. But ...

A “Proud Capitalist,” Joe Biden is Championing Competition

Media

Watching Afghanistan

On television and the Afghan culture wars

July 12, 2021 • by Jeannette Estruth and Wazhmah Osman

_____ Media scholar Wazhmah Osman’s book, Television and the Afghan Culture Wars: Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists (University of Illinois Press, 2021) analyzes the impact of international funding and cross-border media flows on the national politics of Afghanistan. Her research is rooted in feminist media ethnographies that focus ...

Democracy

On the Sociology of “Doing as If”

For Jeffrey Goldfarb

July 8, 2021 • by Daniel Dayan

_____ I taught with Jeff Goldfarb for many years, mostly at the New School, but also at Sciences Po, in Paris. Sometimes, as part of a curriculum, and some times for the mere pleasure of debating. It was a pleasure we pursued almost uninterruptedly for more than I0 years, inviting ourselves to each ...

Columnists

The Very Serious Debate Club

On Josh Barro and his ilk

July 7, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ Josh Barro is a columnist for Business Insider. He’s a member of what I’ll call the Very Serious Debate Club. The VSDC constitutes, and I’m guessing here, probably half of the pundit corps in this country. These are men, and they are usually men but not always, who don’t have ...

Columnists

How Trump’s Big Lie Fuels Voter Suppression and Republican Authoritarianism

In American history, the attempt to overturn our election procedures for one man, based on a conspiracy theory, is unprecedented

July 7, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ Six months ago this week, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, intending to stop the counting of the certified ballots that would make Joseph R. Biden president and Kamala Harris vice president. This attack was unprecedented. It broke our nation’s long history of the peaceful transfer of power. You know the story ...

Essays

Lowe’s Loses, Taxpayers Win

It’s good that the judges told Lowe’s to take a hike, but these cases are just going to keep coming

Facts About the Covid Vaccinations Are Totally Political, Because All Facts Are Totally Political

We need a new consensus

Politicians Should Get the History Right—Particularly Their Own History

If Democrats want to be trustworthy they must account for, not hide, how they have changed over time

“What Can I Do to Help?”—Said No Software Solution Ever

Re-hiring human beings for clerical, secretarial, and other traditional pink-collar work would create good jobs and make our offices more attuned to human needs

The Great Jobs Bait and Switch

Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest One Year Later

The city’s deep history of radical activism – and how it became a national symbol of anarchy

A “Proud Capitalist,” Joe Biden is Championing Competition

Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism; it’s exploitation

Watching Afghanistan

On television and the Afghan culture wars

On the Sociology of “Doing as If”

For Jeffrey Goldfarb

The Very Serious Debate Club

On Josh Barro and his ilk

How Trump’s Big Lie Fuels Voter Suppression and Republican Authoritarianism

In American history, the attempt to overturn our election procedures for one man, based on a conspiracy theory, is unprecedented

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