Published: Daily Dot (December 17, 2014) One of the greatest achievements in human history. Barbara Walters wasn’t technically incorrect when she used this phrase to declare Amal Clooney as the most fascinating person of 2014. After all, Walters' choice was a lawyer who has waged many important battles for human rights. Yet as Walters made clear in her segment, her tribute to the woman formerly...
Civil Liberties
7 ways the CIA torture report made the White House look really, really bad
Dec 11, 2014 | Civil Liberties, Foreign Policy, Military-Industrial Complex/Security State, Original Source Salon.com, President Obama
How I Respond To The Court That Just Struck Down A Historic Cyberbullying Law
Jul 3, 2014 | Bullying, Civil Liberties, Internet Culture, Liskula Cohen, mic, Supreme Court and Other Judicial Issues
Published: Mic (July 3, 2014) co-author: Liskula Cohen On Tuesday, New York’s highest court struck down an Albany County law that would have made it a crime to “cyber-bully.” As a trailblazer in fighting for the rights of cyberbullying victims, you might think that I’d oppose the court’s decision. Unfortunately, the judicial system did what was necessary – overturn a badly-written law that did a...
Evidence is in: Gay marriage doesn’t hurt children
Jun 23, 2014 | Civil Liberties, Gay Rights and Other LGBTQIA Issues, mic, Science and Technology
Published: Grand Forks Herald (June 23, 2014) BETHLEHEM, Pa. — When I read Ronald Fischer’s recent column opposing gay marriage, I couldn’t help but think of a line in the Sherlock Holmes story, “A Scandal in Bohemia”: “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” It is clear that Fischer...
Rand Paul and Libertarians Are Looking More and More Like the Future Of the Republican Party
Mar 9, 2014 | Civil Liberties, Conservativism, Foreign Policy, Libertarianism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (March 9, 2014) The annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has held its annual straw poll. For the second year in a row, the winner was Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. What does his victory mean? What does it tell us about the future of the Republican Party? Here are the four things you need to know: 1. This is a great day for Rand Paul. This is the fourth year out...
What The Research Really Says About Gay Parents and Kids
Feb 25, 2014 | Civil Liberties, Gay Rights and Other LGBTQIA Issues, mic, Science and Technology
Published: mic (February 25, 2014) To determine the fate of Michigan's constitutional ban on gay marriage, a federal court in Detroit is holding hearings on whether having same-sex parents is harmful to children. It's a tricky question (for some), but here's the truth. The Heritage Foundation held meetings to discuss "the need for new studies and research to back up claims that same-sex marriage...
Rand Paul’s Republican Revolution Should Be a Wake-Up Call For Democrats
Feb 19, 2014 | Civil Liberties, Democrats, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), Foreign Policy, Liberalism, Libertarianism, mic, Millennials, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (February 19, 2014) The news. In a recent interview with Politico, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) discussed how the Republican Party could attract minority voters by focusing on a new slate of issues. These included reforming the war on drugs, opposing indefinite detention of detainees at military bases, and shifting the immigration debate away from border security and toward...
Freakout Over Gay Marriage in Utah Resurrects Ghosts From America’s Past
Jan 7, 2014 | Civil Liberties, Gay Rights and Other LGBTQIA Issues, History, mic
Published: mic (January 7, 2014) In light of the Supreme Court's recent decision to temporarily halt gay marriages in Utah, it's time to take a closer look at some of the most common anti-LGBT arguments. After all, the Mormon Church been conspicuously active in anti-gay marriage movements (most notably by passing Proposition 8 in California,) while Utah has long been ranked as one of America's...
Why All Americans Must Unite Behind Rand Paul’s Anti-NSA Lawsuit
Jan 4, 2014 | Civil Liberties, Foreign Policy, Liberalism, Libertarianism, mic, Military-Industrial Complex/Security State, Political Ideologies
Published: mic (January 4, 2014) Liberals, conservatives, and libertarians unite! If ever there was a time for us to see past our differences in the name of a common cause, that time is now. As Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced last night, a movement is afoot for a class action lawsuit against the federal government over the National Security Agency's decision to spy on millions of American...
What ‘Ender’s Game’ Teaches Us About ENDA and Homophobia
Nov 3, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Civil Liberties, Gay Rights and Other LGBTQIA Issues, General Advice, mic
Published: mic (November 3, 2013) It is perhaps fortuitous that Ender's Game is being released as the Senate is preparing to vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Not only does this offer me this fantastic opportunity at punny wordplay, but it draws attention to how America's present social debate is severely inhibited by stigmas — both against homosexuals and against those who...