Talking about other countries as "shitholes" can facilitate violence against them.

This is not limited to the military interventions described in the article. Economic aggression can be facilitated too.

If you think of a country as covered with shit, you shouldn't neglect to ask whose shit it is. Don't assume the local people produced it, though some of them probably helped. In many cases, it's the shit of former colonial powers at the bottom layers, with US shit piled on top of that.

In some countries, Chinese shit is now being packed on top.

Large companies tend to be nastier than individuals as rental landlords. When they send your rent sky high, there isn't even anyone to negotiate with.

One of the roots of the housing shortage is in the zoning laws that limit how much housing can be built on a plot of land. We can't make housing inexpensive while keeping it low density.

Another root is the death of small towns and rural America. There are few jobs now outside cities. Retired people may remain but sometimes find it hard to get to a place to buy food. Younger people have to move to where work is, and there isn't enough housing there.

Making agriculture less efficient would make for more jobs in rural places. Many Americans would like to live in them. Making cattle ranching less efficient could also help Americans eat less meat, which they need to do, for their own health and for the health of the ecosphere.

US citizens: call on Congress to pass the DREAM Act, thus offering child-immigrants a path towards US citizenship.

US citizens: phone the White House at 202-456-1414 and urge the bully to veto the massive surveillance bill. He was against it before — he might perhaps veto it now.

The EU and Greenpeace are pushing for a very large protected area of ocean near the Antarctic Peninsula.

This will be a significant step, but we need many more such steps. Overall, we should protect around 30% of the ocean.