Thanks to an epic organizing campaign by the United Farm Workers (UFW), which began in the 1960s and faced violent opposition, California became a farm labor paradise, relatively speaking. Its farmworkers have the right to form unions without overt meddling from bosses, and can expect time-and-a-half overtime pay—rights denied to peers in most states, thanks […]
Author: Tom Philpott
New York City’s Hasidic Schools Demonstrate the Folly of State-Funded Religious Education
As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues his program of diverting public education funds to charter schools run by Christian conservative ideologues, New York City can offer a cautionary tale of what can go wrong with such government-subsidized religious schooling. In a blockbuster piece, New York Times reporters Eliza Shapiro and Brian Rosenthal shine a light […]
CNN Pundit: Biden Should Invite Trump to Attend the Queen’s Funeral With Him
When the Queen of England died on Sept. 8, CNN did what it usually does in response to such milestones: It hauled out pundits to blather endlessly while saying nothing of substance. But even by these modest standards, Jeff Zeleny, the network’s chief national affairs correspondent, posited a scenario that stands out for its vapidity. […]
It’s Been 21 Years and Politicians Still Say the Same Things About 9/11
Twenty-one years ago today, hijackers directed two passenger airlines into the World Trade Center’s twin towers and another into Pentagon. A fourth flight, like headed toward the US Capitol, crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. The series of events, which killed 2,977 people, shocked a nation that had not experienced such mass carnage on […]
No, Student Debt Relief Won’t Stoke Inflation
On Wednesday, President Biden announced his much-anticipated plan to lighten the $1.6 trillion student debt burden that hangs over 45 million borrowers. Under Biden’s executive order, people making less than $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples) will see their debt load cut by $10,000. For borrowers who received Pell Grants—a program designed to make college accessible […]
Conservative Courts and the Filibuster Are Blocking Heat Protections for Farmworkers
In the fertile plains of Washington State’s Yakima Valley, maximum summer temperatures typically approach 90° F, meaning sweaty, potentially dangerous work for the people who harvest the region’s bounty: 77 percent of US-grown hops, a huge portion of our apples, and plenty of pears and cherries as well. But for the last two years, fierce heat […]
Drought-Parched California Burns While Prospects for Federal Climate Action Dim
Over the past six months, prospects for serious federal action on climate change have dimmed. Sen. Joe Manchin (D.-W.V.), a literal coal baron, wields de facto veto power over federal legislation, and he has repeatedly used it to whittle down and ultimately kill President Joe Biden’s once-ambitious climate agenda. Reeling in the polls, Biden himself […]
Liz Cheney: “We Will Contemplate a Subpoena” of Ginni Thomas If She Won’t Willingly Testify
Ginni Thomas is a right-wing activist and superfan of former president Donald Trump—and the wife of Clarence Thomas, the intellectual lodestar of the current US Supreme Court. After Trump failed to win reelection in Nov. 2020, she sent a flurry of text messages to Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, promoting false conspiracy theories and […]
Here are the Dumbest Moments of Turning Point USA’s Confab in Florida
Turning Point USA has emerged as the conservative movement’s MAGA Youth wing—an institution fixated on spreading the right wing gospel among high school and college students, with particular focus on a certain former president/reality TV host. At the group’s annual Student Action Summit in Tampa Bay this weekend, MAGAland’s most prominent pols, PR hacks, and […]
Tucker Carlson Says He Knows Why Sri Lanka Fell. Don’t Believe Him.
In mid-July, the Sri Lanka government fell, with former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa bolting the country on a pre-dawn flight while protesters frolicked in the pool of his lavish mansion. The island nation of 22 million people, once one of the most prosperous in South Asia, had plunged into a severe economic crisis, characterized by empty […]