The revelation that the National Security Agency (NSA) has engaged in an information gathering operation affecting millions of Americans should have been shocking. This appears to be a blatant case of the federal government trampling on established rule of law in its quest to fight terrorism.
And yet most people with whom I speak […]

The internet is in danger. No, not in the same way the fake emails from Nina Totenberg say National Public Radio is in trouble. And no, the internet isn’t in danger of coming under control of the government so you have to pay postage on emails. Rather, ginormous telecommunications corporations are doing what they do […]

Not Your Solider is a coalition of groups big and small that believes that we, particularly youth, have the power to stop the war in Iraq.
NYS has brought us an amazing flash animation counter-recruitment production called Punk Ass Crusade.
This tool draws connections between Vietnam - including clips from the new […]

In case you missed it (as I did), Jane Jacobs died on April 25, 2006, 10 days shy of her 90th birthday. As the Int’l Herald Tribune put it: ’she reshaped the way people viewed cities.’ And, according to the Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh): ’she wrote the book on urban planning.’
To those congratulatory […]

Our nation has been on a crusade against intoxicating substances since the nineteenth century. Etched into our national character seems to be a Prohibitionist itch that cannot be satisfied, no matter how often we scratch it.
Before progressing further, let me make a confession - I do not drink, smoke, or use drugs, […]

a memo to the morons:
While you’re gulping down your $2 “Party-ritas,” gorging on chips and salsa, and reveling in the Cinco De Mayo festivities at the multicultural mecca known as Applebees, please take a moment to bask in the irony.
Rarely does it get this rich. Remember last week when you told your co-worker […]