This week in OtherWords, Donald Kaul and Mitchell Zimmerman weigh in on the specter of U.S. military action against Syria and Sanho Tree unpacks the political ramifications of the Justice Department’s new approach to states that legalize pot for recreational use.

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1. The Political Side Effects of Tolerating Legal Pot / Sanho Tree
   Attorney General Eric Holder has placed a ticking time bomb on the GOP’s doorstep that could detonate during the 2016 presidential elections.
2. Good Governance Must Start With the Courts / Marge Baker
   What we need from Congress is meaningful governance, not mindless and partisan gridlock.
3. Deadly Double Standards / Mitchell Zimmerman
   The American people, like the Brits, can stop a Western war with Syria before it starts.
4. Another View of the Capitol / Isaiah J. Poole
   Now isn’t the time to cut the supports the economy needs to grow again.
5. Exporting Unrest to Colombia / Jeanine Legato
   The South American country’s recently enacted free-trade deal with the United States is devastating for its farmers.
6. There We Go Again / Donald Kaul
   Any U.S. war with Syria will turn out badly.
7. The Political Calculations behind Growing Inequality / Sam Pizzigati
   A gusher of campaign cash is driving our politicians to comfort the already comfortable.
8. California’s Smarter Stewards / Jill Richardson
   Native Americans mastered caring for this land long before the first European even knew it existed.
9. Our Bullish Sock Market / Jim Hightower
   The drive to pay workers less and less is leaving Americans unable to buy much besides essentials.
10. The Nuclear Industry’s Meltdown / Emily Schwartz Greco and William A. Collins
    The former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says every single reactor in the nation should be shut down, starting with the riskiest.
11. Obama’s Bloody Red Line / Khalil BendibEmily Schwartz Greco is the managing editor of OtherWords, a non-profit national editorial service run by the Institute for Policy Studies. OtherWords.org
    

    Obama’s Bloody Red Line, an OtherWords cartoon by Khalil Bendib