Max Hell Frog Warrior: What A Web Review of a Z List Movie Tells Us About Internet Freedom
Published: PolicyMic (September 25, 2012) The events of the past couple days have compelled me to defend the rights of artists. Before I do that, however, I need to provide some background information on the peculiarities of this particular situation, and explain why an internet critic's review of a martial arts cult film indicates that the internet community must start really talking about what...
Obama vs. Romney: Mitt Romney 47 Percent Gaffe Proves He is Too Conservative to Be President
Published: PolicyMic (September 23, 2012) Conventional political wisdom states that, to become president, you must first acquire your party's nomination by pandering to its radical base. After that, you win the general election by moving back to the ideological center. Keep that axiom in mind as you're reading this editorial. Back in February, Mitt Romney earned the derision of political...
Romney 47 Percent Hot Mic Comments: This Proves Just How Wrong He Is For The American Presidency
Published: PolicyMic (September 18, 2012) Secret video recordings of comments made by Mitt Romney at a private fundraiser are so appalling that it's hard to figure out where to even begin analyzing them. I guess the best way is to look at the three main parts. First there is the Republican presidential nominee's declaration that 47% of the American people will vote for Barack Obama no matter...
Barack Obama Must Ask $2,000 Question
Published: The Morning Call (September 6, 2012), PolicyMic (September 6, 2012) More than a month ago, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center revealed that Mitt Romney's proposed tax cuts for the affluent will require him to increase taxes on middle-class families by an average of $2,000 a year. Since then, President Obama has put a calculator on his campaign website to help ordinary citizens...
Who Won the Debate Tonight: Romney is Winner for the Media, Big Loser is Moderator Jim Lehrer
Published: PolicyMic (October 3, 2012) Editor's Note: This represents instant analysis of the presidential debate on Wednesday night. For the author's thoughts in the hour immediately before the debate began, see here. [To see who won the third and final presidential debate, see here] Here are my first impressions about the first debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on Wednesday evening:...
Why Media Has Responsibility to Cover RNC Racism”
Published: PolicyMic (August 29, 2012) If you want to refute the widely-disseminated myth of the media having an anti-Republican bias in this election, one need not look any further than this recent incident at the Republican National Convention: The controversy should have been over the type of partisan parliamentary maneuvers that normally define such major political gatherings, as Ron Paul...
The Digitization of a Historic New Orleans Newspaper
Published: PolicyMic (August 29, 2012) (co-authored with Cady McClain) Editor's Note: This article is written by Matthew Rozsa and Cady McClain When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans seven years ago, 80% of the Crescent City was buried under water, spanning an area approximately eight times the size of Manhattan. Katrina caused “the largest diaspora in the history of the United States,” driving...
A Feminist Interpretation of Catwoman
Published: PolicyMic (August 28, 2012) (co-authored with Cady McClain) When news began to leak that an actress who once played Catwoman had criticized The Dark Knight Rises, which includes the latest incarnation of that character, the blogosphere was naturally all aflutter. Fortunately, Julie Newmar – whose turn with the whip came during the 1960s TV series – quickly corrected those...
Why Tom Head and Todd Akin Contribute to the Dumbing of America
Published: PolicyMic (August 24, 2012) It is true that a nation which practices censorship cannot remain free. To this axiom, though, I would add that a society which doesn't respond to inflammatory stupidity with universal contempt cannot remain safe for reasoned discussion, as recent political discussion clearly demonstrates. Over the last week, the Republican Party has provided us with two...
Mitt Romney Selection of Paul Ryan Declaration of War Against Middle Class
Published: PolicyMic (August 11, 2012) Early this morning, The Huffington Post broke the story that Mitt Romney had selected Paul Ryan to be his vice presidential running mate. In his article, Jon Ward commented that "Ryan is a bold pick who will energize the Republican Party, but putting him on the ticket is fraught with risk and instantly puts Ryan's budget plan front and center in the 2012...
What Voters Should Know About Romney’s Middle-Class Tax Hikes
Published: PolicyMic (August 3, 2012) According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, Mitt Romney's proposed tax cuts for the affluent will require him to increase taxes on middle-class families by $2,000 a year. Just in case you missed that the first time: If you are a wage-earner for a middle-class family, Romney would raise your taxes by $2,000. In fact, if you are among the 95% of Americans...
Sarah Palin’s Flawed Condemnation of Pro-Gay Rights Chick-Fil-A Boycotters
Published PolicyMic (August 1, 2012) Did you know that Colonel Sanders, the iconic fast food magnate who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken, helped bankroll the third-party presidential campaign of notorious segregationist George Wallace? Of course, this was hardly well-known during the 1968 election, when it mattered most. Sure, a trio of British reporters later chronicled Sanders's contributions...
ABC News Wrongs Tea Party in Coverage of ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Shooting
Published: PolicyMic (July 21, 2012) Someone at ABC News needs to be fired. In my article on Mitt Romney's Bain scandal last week, I chided the media for being "pathetic" in its determination to take sides rather than objectively report the facts and demand answers from those in power. One week later, the irresponsibility of our mainstream news outlets has again reared its ugly head, this time...
Mitt Romney Bain Scandal: Everything You Need To Know
Published PolicyMic (July 15, 2012) For those of you unfamiliar with the emerging scandal involving Mitt Romney and Bain Capital, I have broken down the debacle into five convenient sets of bullet points: Romney's Actions: - In a federal disclosure form filed on August 12, 2011, Mitt Romney wrote that he had retired as CEO of Bain Capital to run the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics on February 11,...
Why Ron Paul Should Denounce Anti-Mormon Pastor
Published: PolicyMic (July 14, 2012) When I read that a California pastor had declared "God wants Ron Paul to be President," I wasn't particularly surprised. For all of the thoughtful and intellectually engaging Paul supporters out there, batches can always be found who believe that the Texas Congressman's presidential ambitions have been sanctified by an infallible higher doctrine. While the...
The Political Ramifications of Jesse Jackson Jr.’s Psychological Disorder
Published: The Morning Call (July 13, 2012), PolicyMic (July 13, 2012) To what extent does the public have the right to know about the mental health of its politicians? This is what we should be asking ourselves after the revelation that Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is receiving "intensive medical treatment at a residential treatment facility for a mood disorder." Although his doctor...
Why Mitt Romney Should Not Choose Tim Pawlenty As His Running Mate
Published: PolicyMic (July 11, 2012) In 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign due to revelations that he had accepted bribes as Governor of Maryland. Why is this important nearly forty years later? Simple: If Mitt Romney chooses Tim Pawlenty as his running mate, we may have another Agnew on our hands. Before he became Governor of Minnesota, Pawlenty spent two years on the board...