On Martin Luther King Day this year [2016], I was surprised to see the trash and recycling trucks clanking down my street in suburban
Author: Gloria Shur Bilchik
Gloria Shur Bilchik is a freelance writer and community volunteer in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the editor of Occasional Planet. She views the preservation of democratic values and progressive programs as vital to making the US a humane, livable place for her children and grandchildren.
The NFL’s abusive relationship with cities and fans: St. Louis edition
Stan Kroenke’s recent verbal abuse of St. Louis may, at long last, have awakened this town to the sick relationship it has had with
It’s 2016: What happened to all those dire, Obama-geddon predictions?
Now that it’s 2016, it’s time to fact-check some of the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it predictions that President Obama’s critics made before his 2012 re-election. In an
Caliphate: Why can’t we just talk about the possibility?
What if a [limited] Islamic caliphate became a reality? How awful would that be? I don’t know, and I’m having trouble figuring out how
Missouri law would apply abortion restrictions to gun purchases
A Missouri state representative has pre-filed a bill that would make it as difficult to buy a gun as it is to get an
Spotlight: How real investigative reporting is done–and why isn’t there more of it?
There are no car chases, explosions, zombies or love scenes in the recently released movie, “Spotlight.” But a lot of important things happen. The
Ban Syrian refugees from gun-lax TX, says NRA-backed TX lawmaker
Tony Dale, a Republican State Representative to the Texas legislature, wants to ban Syrian refugees from his state because it’s too easy for them
Trump calls MU leaders weak, but look at what happened at Trump U.
After student protests at the University of Missouri resulted in the resignation of Tim Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri system, Donald Trump
Democracy watch, Nov. 2015: Two steps forward [ME, WA], one huge step back [NJ]
This November, people who care about enhancing democratic principles have a few things to feel good about. But, in the toxic political environment that
What does the Republican say: Marco Rubio edition
AlerNet reports that, at a town hall meeting at St. Anselm College today [Nov. 4 2015], Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio was asked to