‘These workers face serious perils’
‘In monster snowstorms or blistering heat, workers need protection’
Terri Gerstein at The Hill
As “climate change causes ever more dangerous storms, workers need protection in extreme weather of all kinds,” says Terri Gerstein. “Very low and very high temperatures both present serious dangers,” but in “most of the U.S., however, there are no specific rules requiring employers to take basic and common-sense measures to keep workers safe. This needs to change.” With the “Trump administration’s hostile approach toward worker safety, state and local governments will have to take the lead.”
‘The real revolution is not giving up on democracy — or on each other’
Kerry Sautner at The Philadelphia Inquirer
This is “not a season for rose-tinted nostalgia, nor is it a time to ignore the difficulties of the past year,” says Kerry Sautner. The “challenges we have faced have been real and impossible to dismiss,” but “cynicism is not a solution, and disengagement is not patriotism.” American democracy is a “glorious, unfinished experiment,” but it “does not sustain itself. It requires constant care, tension, participation, and belief.” Not “giving up on democracy looks like staying in the game.”
‘Three things to remember if US bombs Iran’
Ted Snider at The American Conservative
There are “three things to remember if the U.S. goes to war with Iran: It was never about nuclear weapons, it was never about helping the Iranian people, and Iran was genuinely negotiating a diplomatic solution,” says Ted Snider. Iran “reportedly indicated a willingness to compromise,” and there is a “clear diplomatic path to peace with Iran.” If that “path is not taken, it will not be because Iran was unwilling to negotiate and compromise.”
‘There is no military solution to Mexico’s cartel problem’
Antonio De Loera-Brust at Foreign Policy
Mexico “killed El Mencho at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s orders,” but in “taking action against a major cartel leader, Sheinbaum is walking a tightrope,” says Antonio De Loera-Burst. The White House “welcomed Mexico’s attack” on El Mencho and “was quick to claim its share of the credit for El Mencho’s elimination,” but the “benefit to ordinary Mexicans is far less clear.” As “long as money can be made selling drugs, eliminating one cartel boss merely means ensuring his replacement.”