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Alex Pareene on the GOP’s scandal fetish

Tue, 28 May 2013 20:50:00 +0000

In this video produced by 92nd Street Y, Salon’s Alex Pareene breaks down the Republican Party's ongoing attempt to trap President Obama in "scandals" -- and how it so often picks the wrong ones.

Elizabeth Warren Q&A: Students “deserve the same break that big banks get”

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:26:00 +0000

“The U.S. government invests in big banks by giving them a great deal on their interest rates,” freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in an interview with Salon on Wednesday afternoon (the transcript of which is below). “We should make at least the same investment in our students.”

Warren was discussing the first bill she has introduced in the Senate, a plan released on Wednesday to address the crisis of outstanding student debt – which topped $1 trillion this year, with over 37 million Americans owing thousands of dollars in higher education costs that could take decades to pay back.

Student debt is now the second-highest form of debt in America – behind only mortgage debt – with the number of borrowers and the average balance increasing 70 percent since 2004. Research from the New York Federal Reserve Board indicates that this has begun to have an impact on the broader economy, with young people burdened by student debt more reluctant to take out auto or home loans. And without congressional action, this will get worse: on July 1, interest rates on federally subsidized Stafford student loans will double, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. This will effectively raise costs for 8 million student borrowers by $1,000.

Read our salon: Should the U.S. intervene in Syria?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:08:00 +0000

Reports that Syria may have engaged in the use of chemical weapons have sparked debate as to whether such activity crosses a "red line" and warrants U.S. intervention. As politicians across the world prescribe courses of action -- Israel and England have just weighed in -- we asked two experts with divergent views to discuss the issue with us — and you.

Lina Khatib, the Head of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University has argued for U.S. intervention. Daniel Serwer, Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, has called for evaluating the issue in a broader context. At 11:15 a.m. ET, they’ll engage in a back-and-forth right here in a real-time Salon. Submit your own thoughts in the comments section, and we’ll do our best to bring you in on the discussion, too.

Salon staff writer Alex Seitz-Wald on “360″

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:35:00 +0000

On Monday evening, staff writer Alex Seitz-Wald joined Anderson Cooper to discuss former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's investigation into supposed ties between the U.S. government and the Muslim Brotherhood. "These claims are just completely outrageous," Seitz-Wald said. "There's absolutely nothing to back them up."