Op-Ed

August 14, 2023 – The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law a year ago this week. It is widely seen as the crown jewel of the “industrial policy” agenda of the Biden administration. While no piece of legislation is perfect, the full potential of the IRA to deliver a radically better future is […]

July 27, 2023 – As John Mellencamp sings: “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” True. And here’s an equally true twist on that aphorism: “If you stand for everything, you won’t amount to anything.” In a remarkable achievement, a newly formed political organization calling itself “No Labels” has managed to fall […]

Voters and politicians are reshaping America’s marijuana laws for the better. The possession and use of cannabis is now legal for medical purposes in 38 states and legal for adult recreational use in 23 of those.  Unfortunately, antiquated and discriminatory drug testing policies often haven’t kept up with these changes. It’s reasonable for employers to expect sobriety on […]

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opill, a progestin-only birth control pill, for over-the-counter use for people of all ages. Opill will be the first birth control pill offered over-the-counter in the U.S. In May, an FDA advisory committee unanimously recommended the birth control pill be made available without a […]

July 5, 2023 – “The greatest statement of equality is in the Declaration of Independence, written by a slaveholder.”—Ruth Bader Ginsburg This quote by the late Supreme Court justice should inspire us to critically examine the notions of independence, freedom and equality this week and every week.  This is the second Fourth of July since Roe v. […]

Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement in response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis:  “In America, everyone should have equal access to goods and services, regardless of who they love, who they are, how they worship, or what they […]

June 29, 2023 – When you think of Americans whose music has made a lasting difference, you might think of Scott Joplin, Woody Guthrie, Maybelle Carter, Harry Belafonte … or Roger Payne. Who? I came across Payne in a June obituary reporting that he’d died at age 88.  Yes, I occasionally scan the obits, not out […]

June 29, 2023 – In response to the Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action on college campuses, the Center for Constitutional Rights issued the following statement: This loss, while devastating, is unsurprising. The Roberts Court has arguably been the most hostile to racial justice and Black civil rights since the post-Reconstruction Plessy Court, which […]

June 27, 2023 – You’re read­ing The Brief­ing, Michael Wald­­­­­man’s weekly news­­­­­­­­­let­ter. Click here to receive it every week in your inbox. Sanity prevailed today at the U.S. Supreme Court. In Moore v. Harper, six justices issued a near total rejection of the “independent state legislature theory” — a bogus and ahistorical reading of the Constitution that would have […]

June 22, 2023 – Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade one year ago, abortion has been banned or is unavailable in 14 states and many others have enacted restrictions. Beyond even the loss of access to abortion care, these new laws have had a wide range of negative impacts on obstetric and gynecological care. Pregnant […]

June 12, 2023 – United States Congress members are introducing legislation today to help address the longstanding problem of child labor on US farms. Their move, on World Day Against Child Labor, comes as the US grapples with a rise in child labor. I’ve interviewed many children involved in hazardous child labor on US farms over the last […]

Washington D.C. May 30, 2023— Following weeks of negotiations to avoid reaching the debt “ceiling” of federal spending, US leaders released a debt ceiling bill on Sunday that majorly limits environmental and social programs and fast-tracks the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.  Jeff Ordower, 350.org’s North America Director, responded: This debt ceiling bill is […]

May 9, 2023 – “He raped me whether I screamed or not.” So testified E. Jean Carroll in the civil case she has filed against Donald Trump for defamation and battery about why she didn’t cry out while being raped by him.  What Carroll and others may not realize is that the “cry out” rule […]

May 9, 2023 – Recent reports indicate that the debt limit “X-date” could come as early as June 1. On this X-date, the U.S. Treasury will no longer have enough cash in its accounts at the Federal Reserve to meet all the legal spending obligations legislated by Congress. These obligations include paying holders of U.S. Treasury […]

April 25, 2023 – LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights. Information access is also a human right. And yet, both are under attack by religious extremists. Libraries, and the people who work in them, deserve our support more than ever.  Did you know that there were 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022? […]

A family with a baby, waiting outside in the cold overnight. A pregnant woman, enduring the elements for multiple days. An Afghan who worked for the U.S. Army as a translator, hoping for food and water. Asylum seekers who traveled from as far as Africa and Asia, looking for protection. These are some of the approximately […]

The biggest threat to Americans today isn’t from a foreign power. It’s from a long-running war on the poor by out of touch politicians and their Wall Street backers. The latest attack on working Americans even has a name: “The Unwinding.” If that sounds like the title of a horror movie to you, you’re not […]

April 18, 2023 – On Monday, prosecutors in Clay County, Missouri charged 84-year-old Andrew Lester in the near-fatal shooting of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black child who accidentally rang Lester’s doorbell while trying to pick up his younger siblings. According to law enforcement, preliminary evidence shows that Lester fired on the teen through a glass […]

There’s no question that parenting has gotten harder in this country. Gun violence is now the leading killer of children in this country, a brutal fact made clearer with each new school shooting. Child care is out of reach for many parents, while the rising cost of college clouds the future for their kids. For many reasons, […]

WASHINGTON D.C. April 14, 2023 — Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an administrative stay allowing mifepristone’s FDA approval to remain unchanged until Wednesday, April 19 while the Court considers the Department of Justice and Danco’s applications for relief in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration […]