Nov 29, 2015 | Class Issues, Economic Policy, History, mic
Published: Alternet (November 29, 2015), Salon (November 27, 2015) If you’re a Democrat (or, for that matter, a progressive of any stripe) the chances are you’ve heard conservatives evoke the founding fathers when dismissing your beliefs on economic issues. The term “socialist” has become such a toxic epithet in our political culture that the two chief candidates for the Democratic presidential...
Nov 28, 2015 | Class Issues, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), mic
Published: Salon (November 28, 2015), The Daily Dot (November 11, 2015) Earlier this week, the Nation declared its support for an online petition urging President Obama to declare Election Day 2016 a national holiday. In doing so, they have joined forces with presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has already introduced a bill to do the same thing. Not surprisingly, the movement...
Nov 20, 2015 | Foreign Policy, Immigration, mic, Race and Racism, Religion and Religious Issues, Terrorism, World Affairs
Published: Salon (November 20, 2015), The Daily Dot (November 18, 2015) As the world reels from the last Friday's terrorist attack in Paris, millions of people have taken to Twitter to share their grief and outrage... and many echoed Donald Trump's call to "bomb the shit" out of them. The desire to immediately strike back at ISIS with overwhelming force is understandable. It took under 48 hours...
Nov 11, 2015 | Civil Liberties, Education, Internet Culture, mic
Published: The Huffington Post (November 11, 2015), The Good Men Project (November 10, 2015) This is an editorial for my fellow liberals. Because progressive ideas on political and social issues often challenge conventional assumptions, liberalism as an ideology depends on freedom of speech for survival. It isn't enough that the state be prohibited from suppressing dissenting political opinions;...
Nov 5, 2015 | Criminal Justice/Prison-Industrial Complex, Marijuana Legalization and the War on Drugs, mic
Published: The Daily Dot (November 5, 2015) This week, Ireland took a bold step in ending the war on drugs: The nationannounced this week that—as part of a broader program to decriminalize not only cannabis but cocaine and heroin—the country will create specially designated rooms in Dublin where addicts can safely and legally inject themselves with small amounts of their drugs. This plan...
Nov 3, 2015 | Democrats, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), History, mic, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: The Good Men Project (November 3, 2015) Politics is usually pretty weird, but the presidential election shaping up right now is definitely an outlier even by American standards. There has to be a deeper significance in the fact that such an unusual election is occurring right now, but in lieu of being able to come up with one, I'm instead going to briefly dissect the reasons why I...
Oct 26, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, mic, Science and Technology
Published: Salon (October 26, 2015) As the new biopic “Steve Jobs” continues to receive rave reviews, it seems appropriate to stop and take a look at its predecessor — the “Citizen Kane” of made-for-TV movies, “Pirates of Silicon Valley.” I’m not simply comparing this film to “Citizen Kane” as a way of drawing attention to its quality. Much like Orson Welles’ 1941 magnum opus based loosely on...
Oct 24, 2015 | mic, Religion and Religious Issues
Published: The Good Men Project (October 24, 2015) It's somewhat amazing that, despite having written more than 400 articles in the past four years, I've never really touched on my religious beliefs. My Asperger's Syndrome and depression, romantic relationships and childhood traumas, even my Jewish background (from a heritage standpoint)... All these sensitive and personal matters have been...
Oct 21, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, Elections - Presidential (2016), Immigration, mic, Race and Racism
Published: The Daily Dot (October 21, 2015) Donald Trump is a racist blowhard who shouldn’t step foot anywhere near theWhite House—but that doesn’t mean he also shouldn’t be allowed on TV. The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda recently denounced Republicanpresidential candidate Donald Trump’s forthcoming appearance on Saturday Night Live. Referring to his “bigoted comments” about undocumented...
Oct 20, 2015 | Elections - Presidential (2016), History, mic, Vice President Biden
Published: The Good Men Project (October 20, 2015) As America prepares for Joe Biden’s decision on whether or not to run for president next year, it is perhaps appropriate to reflect on the impact his choice will have on the office he currently holds – the vice presidency of the United States. In one sense, Biden’s legacy as vice president is already secure. While scaling back the excesses that...