If You Believed the “37 Dead in Marijuana Overdose” Hoax, You Should Be Ashamed
Published: mic (January 4, 2014) You may have already seen this headline all over social media: "Marijuana Overdoses Kill 37 in Colorado On First Day of Legalization" Already Twitter and Facebook feeds are abuzz with this news item, as right-wingers purr with delight at the opportunity to tweak their left-wing and libertarian friends with proclamations of "I told you so!" Upon further...
Listen To Kanye and 6 Other Resolutions Obama Needs To Regain His Mojo
Published: mic (December 31, 2013) In the final press conference before 2014, President Obama refused to acknowledge that 2013 was the worst year of his presidency. While it wouldn't be realistic to expect a president to admit that he's dropped the proverbial ball, one can only hope that Obama isn't buying his own spin. If he truly wants 2014 to be the "breakthrough year" that he promised, he...
Watch the North Pole Lose More Than Half Its Ice in 40 Seconds
Published: mic (December 23, 2013) Millions of people have been tricked into believing a terrible myth that's endangering Santa Claus' very livelihood. Those doing the tricking stand to make a lot of money from this fiction and promote it in the most devious and unscrupulous ways imaginable. I refer, of course, to the movement that denies global warming, and see nothing wrong with rapidly...
Netflix Mitt Romney Documentary Shows Never-Before Seen Human Side
Published: mic (December 19, 2013) The official trailer for Mitt, a new documentary chronicling former Governor Mitt Romney's six-year campaign for the American presidency, is utterly tantalizing. It is a rare, up-close look at the erstwhile candidate in his natural habitat of campaign rallies, debate stages, and awkward photo ops. In it, the Mitt displays an astounding amount of surprise upon...
Brian Boitano Gay: Queue the South Park Ballad!
Published: mic (December 19, 2013) By coming out as gay shortly after being appointed to the U.S. delegation to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, male figure skating champion Brian Boitano is not only standing up to the oppressive homophobic policies enforced today by host country Russia. He is also putting Trey Parker and Matt Stone to shame. Think about it: If you're like me, South Park:...
10 Reasons Christmas Kicks Ass — By a Jew
Published: mic (December 16, 2013) In the name of full disclosure: I am Jewish, and I love Christmas. It's pretty hard not to. How can you not feel all warm and fuzzy inside during a holiday that encourages people to spend time with their loved ones, embrace a whole canon of fascinating holiday folk lore, and create beautiful works of art? That's why I always find it so strange to hear that...
Forget TIME Magazine — Pope Francis is This Liberal Infidel’s Person Of the Year
Published: mic (December 11, 2013) Even as Pope Francis is honored as TIME Magazine's Person of the Year on Wednesday, we should remember how conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News editor Adam Shaw have denounced the perceived liberal love for the new pontiff. While the individual leftists who have praised specific papal policies can speak for themselves, I figured it was time for a much...
If Nelson Mandela Was a “Terrorist” As Some Claim, Then So Was George Washington
Published: mic (December 9, 2013) Back in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan, Dick Cheney, and other paladins of the American right labeled Nelson Mandela a terrorist. While mainstream conservatives tend to renounce this characterization today, it still has currency in more ideologically zealous circles. Indeed, some people on Twitter are already tweeting away reiterations of the infamous "terrorist"...
Why Conservatives Will Deeply Regret Coining the Term “Obamacare”
Published: mic (December 4, 2013) One day, in the not too distant future, conservatives will deeply regret their decision to use "Obamacare" as an epithet for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This isn't to say that the tactic isn't working right now. Although polls have consistently shown that an overwhelming majority of Americans supports the ACA's key provisions of the ACA, those same studies...
The Anti-Obamacare Ads Have Been Nothing But Fear-Mongering Drivel
Published: mic (December 4, 2013) I'm not sure which prospect is more frightening: That Obamacare's opponents are deliberately lying or that they believe their own bullshit. This isn't to say that the Affordable Care Act hasn't had its hiccups. Certainly there is no excuse for the technical incompetence that has plagued the website since its launch or for the president's dishonesty regarding...
Dating With Asperger’s
Published: mic (December 4, 2013), Salon (December 6, 2013), Good Men Project (January 22, 2015) Dating with high-functioning autism isn’t easy, but it can be done. ___ There are two things you should know about me: 1. I have autism. 2. I am fascinated by dating culture. There is more of a connection between these two things than you might think. After all, there are few places in society where...
15 Crazy Things More Likely to Happen Than a Bill Making It Through This Congress
Published: mic (December 5, 2013) It's all but official. The 113th Congress is the least productive federal legislature in American history, passing only 2% of all the bills that were introduced, an all-time low. How rare was it for legislation to pass Congress this year? So rare, that the following 15 rare things have happened with greater frequency than a bill getting through. 1. Giving birth...
Kalief Browder Spent 3 Years in Jail and No One Knows Why
Published: mic (December 2, 2013) We need to keep Kalief Browder in the news. Back in May 2010, Browder was walking home from a party in the Bronx when a strange man suddenly accused him of being a thief. Before he knew it, he was under arrest and facing criminal charges. Because his family couldn't afford his $10,000 bail, Browder was forced to wait in jail until his trial. More than two years...
Black Friday Shopping: Why People Act Like Lunatics
Published: mic (November 28, 2013) As Americans plan on observing Black Friday, it's worth taking a few minutes to observe the origin of this infamous "holiday." Although the term "Black Friday" was initially coined in reference to an economic panic caused by financiers Jay Fiske and Stephen Gould on September 24, 1869, it was first used to refer to the shopping day immediately following...
Why Millennials Should Avoid Getting Sucked Into Black Friday
Published: mic (November 27, 2013) According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, nearly one in four Americans are willing to shop on Thanksgiving. Indeed, of the 33 million shoppers expected to hit the streets tomorrow, the one anticipated to turn out in the largest numbers are those between the ages of 18 and 36 - i.e., millennials. This is a disgrace. When the legendary...
‘Family Guy’ Killed Brian, and Here’s Why That Was Brilliant
Published: mic (November 25, 2013) For those of you who didn't catch last night's episode of Family Guy, stop reading now. Major spoilers follow. For those of you who did watch, you were probably as surprised as I was to see the show kill off one of its main characters, Brian — the Griffin family's pretentious but tormented intellectual talking dog. The internet is abuzz with reactions to his...
JFK Conspiracy Theories: Should We Pay Attention?
Published: mic (November 22, 2013) Is conspiracy theorizing a problem? As America recognizes the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination, the conspiracy theories continue to abound. Among the most prevalent are: - That he was murdered by the CIA as revenge for his post-Bay of Pigs personnel shake-up and/or his alleged plan to de-escalate the Vietnam War. - That he was murdered by...