Dec 4, 2013 | Conservativism, Elections, Elections - Other, Gender and Sexism, Health Care Reform, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, President Obama, Republicans
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...
Nov 25, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Gender and Sexism, mic
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...
Jul 11, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Gender and Sexism, General Advice, mic
Published: mic (July 11, 2013) Sometimes it's necessary to feel ashamed of yourself. This unpleasant epiphany came to me when I came across a Dustin Hoffman interview in which the Academy Award-winning actor discussed his experience preparing for the 1982 cross-dressing comedy Tootsie. As he described the studio's attempts to make him look like a convincing woman, he recalled his shock at being...
Jun 24, 2013 | Criminal Justice/Prison-Industrial Complex, Gender and Sexism, mic, Science and Technology
Published: mic (June 24, 2013) Anyone with a passing interest in the politics of 2012 will recall the drivel spewed by the likes of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock on so-called "scientific" facts about rape. Ironically, though, there IS recent scientific work that has provided us with valuable information on rape, most notably in the areas of ascertaining the credibility of victim reports and...
Mar 30, 2013 | Criminal Justice/Prison-Industrial Complex, Gender and Sexism, Gun Control, mic
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...
Mar 21, 2013 | Abortion, Civil Liberties, Gay Rights and Other LGBTQIA Issues, Gender and Sexism, Health & Wellness (Physical), mic
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...
Aug 28, 2012 | Arts and Entertainment, Gender and Sexism, mic
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...
Aug 24, 2012 | Abortion, Conservativism, Elections, Elections - Other, Extremism, Gender and Sexism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
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...
Jun 17, 2012 | Gender and Sexism, Health & Wellness (Physical), Love and Dating, mic
Published: PolicyMic (June 17, 2012) I like to eat, and I don't like to move. That is why, roughly one year ago, I was sixty pounds heavier than I am today. For this, I have no one and nothing to blame but myself. In a nation plagued by a worsening obesity epidemic, excuses have become as common as credit card debt, which is why I make a conscious effort to avoid joining the chorus of people...
Mar 22, 2012 | Abortion, Conservativism, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2012), Gender and Sexism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Religion and Religious Issues, Republicans
Published: PolicyMic (March 22, 2012) Is it fair to claim that the Republican Party is waging a "war on women?" Let's look at the facts. Although the phrase in question only regained its political fashionability within the last few months, the sad truth is that the Republican Party's hostility to women's rights traces back much longer than that. The days when Senator Margaret Chase Smith...