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Posts published in “Features”

Bernie Sanders: Independent in Name Only

Take this as a national parable. Once upon a time–in the early eighties, actually–there was a progressive coalition in Vermont designed to become a third force in politics. One of its prime spokesmen was Bernie…

Deadbeat Daddy

Seventeen years ago I swore on my wife’s grave that I would keep our family together and watch our two baby boys graduate high school as good men. It sure hasn't been a walk in…

Toxic Stew

One of the saddest aspects of pesticide research is reading literature about the experiments performed on lab animals. Millions of animals are slaughtered every month so the toxicity of chemical compounds can be tested; and…

The Case for Vouchers

School’s open again, this time with higher standards. Yep, we’re going to raise academic requirements despite the non-existence of a constituency to back them up when we do. We pretend a lot. Support for disciplined…

Nader’s Press Snub

Remember the papers eight years ago? A charming maniac entered the Presidential race as a third-party candidate in October. Over the final month of the campaign, The New York Times mentioned Ross Perot in nearly…

Inside the County Jail

Cell Block D, Mendocino County Jail, Ukiah — My home for the past 40 days is a barren, white metal room, compartmented into four cells of five inmates each surrounding a small dayroom in the…

Narcissism as Politics

Not far from Stafford there's a thousand-year-old tree, once slated for destruction, that will now live on for centuries. Except for a pitifully small “buffer zone,” the primeval forest surrounding it will vanish while this…

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