Opinion

Thank you, Nicole and Jeff Rank for standing your ground — and standing up for all of us. This young couple from Charleston, W. Va., was arrested on the grounds of the state Capitol during a July 4 appearance by President George W. Bush [see Hightower, “Is this America?” Aug. 5]. They came to see […]

I bring you tidings of great joy! At last our Congress critters have done something to lift people up from the economic doldrums we’re in. They’ve raised wages in America! You’re not silly enough to think for a moment that Congress would raise your wages, are you? No, no, Nanette — for the past several […]

You can’t tell me 3 o’clock bars are all bad. There’s one with a big fluorescent placard out front that offers a blunt lesson in democracy: “SAT NIGHT FREE WITH VOTER REGISTRATION CARD,” the sign reads. “VOTE OR GET SCREWED.” Don’t know if the sign has anything to do with it, but on this Saturday […]

With the election looming, President George W. Bush is back to claiming that he’s a “compassionate conservative.” As evidence, he cites his centerpiece education law, the No Child Left Behind Act. This is supposed to be a “tough love” reform, compelling all public-school students to pass standardized tests. If the kids fail the federal government’s […]

The weekend was full of neighborhood moments. Friday evening we walked from our house a couple of blocks, past children skipping rope on the sidewalk, for walleye sandwiches at Suzie-Q’s. We ran into several neighbors and friends, as we always do there. On Saturday I played uncle to a 3-year-old at the park across the […]

Did you take full and proper notice of the political coming-out of President George W. Bush’s twin daughters? Jenna and Barbara Bush, the 22-year-old twins, have long been kept away from the political glare, but they’re now adults who have just graduated from college, and both have been brought into the limelight by the Bush […]

Nobody who knew Tom Teague can believe he’s dead. It happened last Saturday, on his 61st birthday, as he napped. At this point, though, his departure is merely physical. Spiritually, Tom had so much momentum going that his presence will linger for some time. His writing — straightforward, spare, and efficient — has fed Illinois […]

See whether this sounds familiar: A sour and rabidly partisan Vietnam vet named John O’Neill is plucked from obscurity by the Republican White House to be used as an attack dog against John Kerry. O’Neill creates a hokey “citizens” group to pound Kerry over his war service. But the assault I’m describing is not this […]

Two St. Louis men were arrested last month after being seen operating video cameras in the vicinity of City Water, Light and Power’s coal-fired generating station. Turns out they were filming ducks on Lake Springfield, but hey, you can’t be too careful these days, right? You can be too careful about some things and not […]

If you want to know what percentage of city employees are white and what percentage are minority, all you have to do is call the city personnel office and talk to assistant director Lori Bluhm. She’ll tell you that 87 percent of employees are white. Ask about their sex, and she’ll tell you that 38 […]

Wal-Mart has a problem. People all across America and the world are learning that it’s a beast of a corporation that — among other things — pays poverty wages, engages in massive sexual discrimination, exploits sweatshop labor, bullies its suppliers, muscles local competitors out of business, and tries to buy its way into cities that […]