This Week in OtherWords: April 24, 2013

This week in OtherWords, Jill Richardson looks at the Texas factory explosion in the context of whether we should be using so much nitrogen fertilizer in the first place and William A. Collins and I review recent progress toward ending the prohibition on pot.

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1. A Reasonable Food Fight / Ryan Alexander
   President Obama’s efforts to overhaul the nation’s global food aid system are sensible.
2. Our Biggest Terrorist Threat / Marc Morial
   Senate inaction on guns was inexcusable in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing.
3. Shameless Bipartisanship / Richard Long
   Two once-prominent politicians who disgraced themselves in sex scandals are angling for a return to public life.
4. Saber-Rattling on the Korean Peninsula / Justin Bresolin
   Aggressive posturing only increases the likelihood of a dangerous miscalculation.
5. Stopping the Senseless Carnage / Donald Kaul
   Could we just cut back on warfare a little?
6. Tracking CEO Pay / Sam Pizzigati
   The most important executive compensation indicator is the gap between what CEOs and their workers are paid.
7. The Price of Our Fertilizer Addiction / Jill Richardson
   Compared to the lifetime of grieving ahead for the people of West, Texas, a few years of reduced crop yields is a small price to pay for converting from “conventional” to organic farming.
8. Making Poverty a Crime / Jim Hightower
   Jailing indigents for debts costs the courts way more than the fines they owe and violates the Constitution.
9. The Pot Prohibition Runs Its Course / Emily Schwartz Greco and William A. Collins
   Now that most Americans support the legalization of marijuana, some Republicans back the right of states to stop banning it.
10. Holy Smokes / Khalil Bendib