OtherWords

OtherWords is a free, non-profit editorial service published by the Institute for Policy Studies. Each week, OtherWords distributes a batch of publication-ready op-eds, along with a cartoon, to thousands of readers — including hundreds of editors of small and medium-sized newspapers. Each year, these op-eds appear thousands of times in local newspapers throughout the country, as well as in a growing number of online outlets. We believe that strong social movements need informed citizens, and that people learn best from conversations in their own communities — neighbor-to-neighbor. But between a consolidated, corporate-controlled mass media and a deafening social media echo chamber, it’s gotten harder than ever to have these conversations, especially in smaller communities with few local media options.

Through OtherWords, we’re able to provide millions of readers in America’s heartland with intelligent commentary on a range of progressive causes — on climate, inequality, war and peace, the movements for race and gender justice, and beyond. Through the trusted local papers that use our service, we reach readers in red, blue, and purple states alike with well-written, timely commentaries on the national issues that affect their lives. To read our work or get information about publishing it in your community, check out OtherWords.org.

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Latest Work

Fired for Organizing a Union

Companies dump workers for union activity all the time, and they often get away with it.

So You Think You Can be President?

Likening Social Security to a Ponzi scheme was the least crazy thing Perry said during the recent debate among Republican presidential candidates.

DuPont’s Herbicide Goes Rogue

The company’s landscaping weed-killer turned out to be a tree-killer.

Don’t Tread on My Guns

More than 30,000 Americans die from gunshots each a year, but gun control efforts are sinking.

Enough War Already

Bring home the troops, military advisers, counter-terrorism experts, and the euphemisms.

The Lineup: Week of Sept. 5-11, 2011

Three op-eds reflect on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

CEOs Rewarded for Corporate Tax Dodging

Shareholders should reward CEOs for building better products or delivering better services, not for accounting gymnastics that game their tax bills down.

9/11 is No Excuse for Bashing Muslims

Violent jihadists don’t represent Islam any more than the Anders Breiviks of the world represent Christianity.

10 Years of 9/11 Wars is Enough

Media caution and skepticism are in short supply.

Al-Qaeda Lost the Battle Long Ago

The terrorist network’s resort to dramatic spectacle was at once a brilliant tactic and a desperate effort to revive its own fortunes.

Apple’s Steve Jobs: Not Quite Henry Ford

Above all, he brought an elegant sense of aesthetics to an industry that was, up to then, innocent of it.

Michigan Locals Fight for Democracy

Gov. Rick Snyder is now being sued by his own astonished citizenry.

Big Tobacco Targets the Young and the Poor

The industry is now marketing nicotine-laced candy.

High-Wire CEO

It is easier for a CEO to enter a tax haven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

Fracking the IRS

CEOs are routinely rewarded for tax-dodging gymnastics.

A Tip for Joe the Machinist: Watch Your Back

A Labor Day reflection: Corporate America no longer even pays lip service to the importance of encouraging hard work and skill.

Endless War Isn’t the Answer to 9/11

Washington’s reaction to 9/11 damaged our country as much as the attacks themselves.

People-Powered Media

Community radio is about to undergo an unprecedented expansion.

The Government Can and Should Help Create Jobs Now

To pay for a jobs program to save our economy, millionaires and billionaires should start paying their fair share of taxes.

The Rich are Raking it in, so Where are the Jobs?

It’s a grim joke to speak of Labor Day as a celebration of labor.