Tom Coburn and Republican Senators Repeatedly Opposed Disaster Relief Funds
Published: mic (May 21, 2013) Update: Since this article was written, Senator Coburn announced that he would be insistent that any aid to the Oklahoma tornado victims must be offset by additional spending cuts elsewhere — predictably putting partisan politics ahead of helping his constituents. Read more here. It's always immensely satisfying to read an article that makes its point simply by...
Ted Cruz 2016: Presidential Run Would Put Birthers in a Bind
Published: mic (May 18, 2013), The Morning Call (May 20, 2013) From a strictly political standpoint, the past month has been pretty good for Sen. Ted Cruz. First the Tea Party darling further endeared himself to grassroots rightists by claiming that he had privately told the Republican senators who supported the gun-buyer background check bill to "not be a bunch of squishes." Now he is in the...
‘All My Children,’ ‘One Life to Live’ Return 2 Years After Cancellation — Online
Published: mic (May 1, 2013) If you thought NBC's inept mishandling of the Tonight Show franchise was the mother of all network debacles, take a look at this recent story about ABC from the Los Angeles Times: On Thursday, production company Prospect Park Networks filed a $25-million breach of contract lawsuit against the Walt Disney Co-owned broadcast network. The suit, filed in Los Angeles...
Boston Marathon Bombing Was Plagued By Media Irresponsibility
Published: mic (April 20, 2013) Now that the world knows that the Boston Marathon bombers were Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, let's take a moment to reflect on who was NOT responsible. It wasn't that Saudi Arabian guy who was blamed on the first day. It wasn't the tall skinny guy in the blue shirt whose picture was plastered all over the New York Post, nor was it his friend. Most important of...
Pennsylvania Desperately Needs Rick Santorum Right Now
Published: mic (April 15, 2013) Here are eight words that I doubt have ever come from the pen of a liberal columnist: "Where is Rick Santorum when we need him?" This thought comes to mind as soon as one looks at PA HB683, a new bill introduced in Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania that would outlaw whistleblowing on factory farm cruelty. Sponsored by Representative Gary Haluska (D-Cambria) as...
Justin Bieber’s Anne Frank House Controversy: In Defense of Stupidity
Published: mic (April 15, 2013) Let me get three things off my chest before I start this article: 1. I have absolutely no opinion whatsoever on Justin Bieber. 2. I find it a tad creepy that so many people above the age of sixteen actually DO have an opinion on Justin Bieber. 3. I think society needs to find better ways of using its time than tormenting celebrities over their personal foibles....
Right-Wing Terrorism Was Enabled and Ignored By Conservative Pundits, GOP
Published: The Morning Call (April 15, 2013), mic (April 16, 2013) Editor's note: This article was written before the Boston Marathon bombings, and is not intended to be a response to that incident. All commentary in this article is on pre-Boston incidents alone and is not intended to indicate anything concerning the ongoing Boston Marathon investigation. How much longer is America willing to...
Google Doodle: Cesar Chavez Picked Over Easter, But It’s Not a “Snub” to Christians
Published: mic (March 31, 2013) The Internet is aroar right now. Why? Because even though it's Easter, Google decided to honor Cesar Chavez instead of Jesus Christ in its banner today. A quote from Henry Cabot Lodge comes to mind: "The facility of saying something is counterbalanced by the difficulty of saying anything worth hearing." Unfortunately, we live in an era in which the trivial...
Colorado Passes Domestic Violence Gun Ban Law
Published: mic (March 30, 2013) One might hope that a law which keeps guns out of the hands of perpetrators of domestic violence would receive bipartisan support. One would think. As reported by the Huffington Post, "a Colorado bill that prohibits convicted domestic violence offenders from possessing firearms passed in the House Judiciary Committee on a 7-4 party line vote, with all Democrats...
Jay Leno: History Ph.D Student Watches ‘Tonight Show’ and Laments
Published: mic (March 25, 2013) Although it's being rumored that NBC is planning on replacing Tonight Show host Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon, Leno is still outranking his late night competitors at present. That said, I can't help but wonder who those people are, since it amazes me that no one has picked up on this hilarious (and sobering) incident. On the February 26 episode, Leno did his weekly...
There’s Nothing More Pathetic Than a Pennsylvania Bigot in 2013
Published: mic (March 23, 2013), The Express Times (March 23, 2013) From neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan to the Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers, there is nothing more inherently pathetic than a bigot in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This isn't to say that bigots aren't a pitiful sight as a general rule. As the philosopher Eric Hoffer noted in his classic monograph on mass movements and...
Mississippi Anti-Bloomberg Law: Complete Hypocrisy
Published: mic (March 21, 2013) I was reluctant to use the same Thomas Jefferson quote twice in less than two weeks, but because the governor of Mississippi missed his golden opportunity to mention it, I simply had to post it again: "The error seems not sufficiently eradicated, that the operations of the mind, as well as the acts of the body, are subject to the coercion of the laws. But our...
Obama Has Failed to Live Up to Previous Statements About Marijuana Decriminalization
Published: mic (March 10, 2013) The marijuana editorial you are about to read begins with a recent speech by Ron Paul and ends with a tongue-lashing penned more than a century ago by a presidential prostitute. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Last Friday, former Congressman Paul (R-Texas) spoke to a gathering of prominent Canadian conservatives to declare that "the drug war needs to be...
Hugo Chavez’s Real Legacy is One of Vicious Anti-Semitism Against the Jews of Venezuela
Published: mic (March 10, 2013) To anyone who may doubt the appalling nature of the late Hugo Chavez's mistreatment of his nation's Jewish community, it's worth noting that communist dictators are generally a pretty vile bunch. As such, it should go without saying that when one Marxist authoritarian feels compelled to call out another one on a humanitarian flaw, decent people everywhere should...
5 Underrated Songs That Blow Today’s Pop Music Out of the Water
Published: mic (March 4, 2013) When I think of the cookie-cutter music so often churned out today — the visceral club beats of a Nicki Minaj or Kesha, the vapid tween-targeted sugar pop of Justin Bieber or the Jonas Brothers — I can't help but remember a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville, back when the legendary French sociologist went on his famous tour of America in the 1830s: "It would be to...
Gay Rights 2013: Why This Year is Going to Be Pivotal
Published: mic (February 4, 2013), The Morning Call (February 4, 2013) When Barack Obama mentioned the Stonewall protests in his inaugural address last week, he did more than place gay rights in the same breath as the struggles for women’s equality (his mention of the Seneca Falls convention) and desegregation (his mention of the Selma marches). He also, knowingly or otherwise, foreshadowed the...
“Gay Dog” in Tennessee Might be Killed Because Owner Doesn’t Want Him
Published: mic (January 31, 2013) A dog in Tennessee is going to lose his life today because of suspicions that he is gay. As explained by Examiner.com, "According to the prior owner, the dog was seen 'hunched over,' another male dog, therefore, in this owner's mind, the dog must be gay." One could respond to this by pointing out that dogs "hump" each other as a way of asserting dominance, thus...