By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency issued a mixed report Thursday on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” for methane gas on drinking water. The agency’s draft assessment, put together at the behest of Congress, shows that while hydraulic fracturing activities in the U.S. are carried out…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The conservative Republican base is shrinking, as old racists die off. According to the latest Gallup Poll data on the subject, the percentage of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who are conservative on both social and economic issues rises steadily with age. “An analysis of aggregated surveys conducted since…
By Robert Reich – One big reason America was far more equal in the 1950s and 1960s than now is unions were stronger then. That gave workers bargaining power to get a fair share of the economy’s gains – and unions helped improve wages and working conditions for everyone. But as union membership has weakened…
Photos by Jane Cappe – There’s an ancient Native American legend of dubious history about a Great Spirit which allegedly made the world and gathered the morning stars together on the shores of a quiet, silver lake bordered with blue mountains, the most beautiful place on Earth. Hovering above the quiet waters and lighting the…
“Oh-skan-ohn-doh in Oneida.” – Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – BIG MEADOWS, Va. – Finally. It’s 1:47 on a Sunday afternoon. Me and my loyal dog Jefferson are taking a break in the camper van, aided by a little afternoon air conditioning — and an April shower on the mountain in May. It’s been…
By Glynn Wilson – BIG MEADOWS, Va. — It started out Sunday afternoon Memorial weekend as a trip to the lodge for a few minutes of WiFi. On the way back to the campground, however, it became a “Bear Jam,” the term on the mountain for a traffic jam caused by a bear sighting. In…
Eschew Obfuscation – By Michael Douglass – What I hate about Americans is our notion of what is presidential. Tall, calm and graying at the temples. Bill Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan etc., all very presidential. The cult of political celebrity. Whatever. Bernie Sanders is not presidential but I’d like to have a…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Virg. — It’s an incredible feeling sitting here at 3,500 feet above sea level on the hill looking out over the Big Meadows campground, watching a spring shower roll through the mountains. I can’t think of a spot east of the Mississippi where I…
Secret Vistas by Glynn Wilson PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. — America is rich in secret vistas — little-known places that touch the heart and stir the spirit. Like quiet Gulf of Mexico beaches in the off season. Deserted Appalachian hiking trails and glistening streams thick with trout. Hidden forests with trees dating back to…
By Glynn Wilson – PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. — It may not be as monumental a fight as Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite, but the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is in the process of planning the removal of Bloede’s Dam on the Patapsco River in the Avalon Area of Patapsco Valley State Park to…
By Robert Reich – Have we learned nothing from thirty years of failed trickle-down economics? By now we should know that when big corporations, Wall Street, and the wealthy get special goodies, the rest of us get shafted. The Reagan and George W. Bush tax cuts of 1981, 2001, and 2003, respectively, were sold to…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. – As the sun went down on Sunday, May 3, I was walking my dog Jefferson around the outer loop of the campground along the ridge top and noticed the full moon coming up over the horizon. It was so orange it looked…
Education Matters – By Larry Lee – It was just a little snippet of news. Just a few hundred words. And while few Alabamians probably saw it, it should have made headlines on the front page of every state newspaper and been the lead story on every TV news cast. Because it was another glaring…
By Pippa Abston – Well. I heard from a very credible source yesterday that our state legislators are not playing chicken with the budget this time. You know, it seems like every year they expect us to display panic and beg them to fund essential programs — it is so predictable it is almost like…
Eschew Obfuscation – By Michael Douglass – International trade deals are always notorious in the rear view mirror of globalization. Bill Clinton’s legacy will forever be jaundiced by two things, a blow job and NAFTA. That blow job didn’t usher in the atrophy of the American middle class. So exactly why is this president deliberately…
By Robert Reich – These days it’s not unusual for someone on the way to work to receive a text message from her employer saying she’s not needed right then. Although she’s already found someone to pick up her kid from school and arranged for childcare, the work is no longer available and she won’t…
Eschew Obfuscation – By Michael Douglass – Over the last 25 years Republicans have gone from disingenuous jerks to complete assholes. From occasional forays into dirty politics and smear tactics to a no holds barred enterprise of fear, hate and racism. From a tacit deployment of bigotry, to a stentorian campaign of disenfranchising minorities and…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Five years ago this month, I was peacefully photographing birds in Birmingham Alabama when I heard the news that British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig had exploded and was on fire and leaking tons of raw crude into my favorite sea. By the time I got my…
By Frank Newport – PRINCETON, N.J. — Most Americans believe that managing government effectively is an important requirement for a good president, and in recent years, sitting presidents’ ratings on this trait have closely matched their overall job approval ratings. For example, 44 percent of Americans say that President Barack Obama is an effective manager…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – If you’ve been sitting around the house waiting on spring and thinking about getting outdoors to camp and hike or just sit by the fire under the trees and listen to the birds sing, this is a good week to do it. It’s National Park Week, and camping is “fee free” from…
