Jun 23, 2013 | Civil Liberties, mic, Military-Industrial Complex/Security State
Published: mic (June 23, 2013) As Edward Snowden continues his flight from the grasping arms of the federal government, President Obama finds himself in the most unenviable position that can face an ostensibly idealistic politician. He looks like a hypocrite. When I made this observation in a panel discussion last week on HuffPost Live, moderator Josh Zepps correctly pointed out that I was in...
Jun 19, 2013 | Civil Liberties, mic, Military-Industrial Complex/Security State
Published: mic (June 19, 2013) Is Edward Snowden a hero? There is an anecdote, perhaps apocryphal, that best answers that question. It comes from the early years of the Franklin Roosevelt administration, back when the newly-elected president was meeting with labor leaders to address their concerns about the plight of the working class. After pleading their case and sensing that their one-man...
Jun 17, 2013 | Elections, Elections - Other, mic, Political Parties, Race and Racism, Republicans
Published: mic (June 17, 2013) First the good news: Champions of civil liberties should celebrate the Supreme Court's ruling Monday overturning an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote. By empowering county registrars to "reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship," the "proof of citizenship" provision of...
Jun 16, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Class Issues, mic, World Affairs
Published: mic (June 16, 2013) co-author Tillie Adelson There is a phenomenon about celebrities that we have decided to dub the "Bono effect" or more currently the “Angelina Jolie effect.” In summary, it refers to the tendency of the rich and famous to engage in conspicuous charitable and/or philanthropic endeavors for reasons that smack more of self-aggrandizement than genuine nobility of...
Jun 10, 2013 | Civil Liberties, Foreign Policy, Liberalism, mic, Military-Industrial Complex/Security State, Other Media, Political Ideologies, President Obama
Published: mic (June 18, 2013), Live Interview with Huffington Post (June 19, 2013) Our commander-in-chief had a lot to say during Monday night's interview with Charlie Rose, but CNN aptly summed it up in four words: "I'm no Dick Cheney." If I may, Mr. President, I'd like to respond to that claim with a question I bet all of your supporters (many of them now erstwhile supporters) are asking:...
Jun 8, 2013 | Gun Control, History, mic, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (June 8, 2013) In light of the recent ricin attacks on Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, it is time for us to acknowledge an unavoidable reality: When the slippery slope fallacy is applied to politics, the consequences can be dangerous. As defined by the Nizkor Project (an organization dedicated to debunking Holocaust denial), a slippery slope...
May 29, 2013 | Conservativism, Extremism, Gun Control, Liberalism, mic, Political Ideologies
Published: mic (May 29, 2013) When an issue is as superheated as gun control, one can almost instinctively predict the reaction to news stories such as this one: "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has received an anonymous threatening letter that preliminary tests indicated contained the presence of the poison ricin, law enforcement officials told NBC News. A similar letter, which early...
May 27, 2013 | Criminal Justice/Prison-Industrial Complex, mic, Race and Racism
Published: mic (May 27, 2013) After facing a wave of controversy for their decision to release Trayvon Martin's private cell phone records to the public, George Zimmerman's attorneys are defending themselves by claiming they merely wish to demonstrate that Martin was "hostile." In their own words, their sole goal is to "assist the jury in understanding why Trayvon Martin chose to hide then...
May 25, 2013 | Jewish Experiences, mic, Vice President Biden
Published: mic (May 25, 2013) While Joe Biden is notorious for his gaffes, his recent comments in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month should not be designated as such ... despite the outcry from some critics claiming otherwise. First, let's take a look at what he said: “The truth is that Jewish heritage, Jewish culture, Jewish values are such an essential part of who we are that it’s fair to...
May 23, 2013 | Class Issues, Democrats, Economic Policy, Liberalism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Race and Racism
Published: mic (May 23, 2013) There are days that call for history lessons, and while most liberals don't realize it, we should definitely insist on May 22 being one of them. After all, it was 49 years ago yesterday that President Lyndon Baines Johnson intoned these words at a speech delivered to a graduating class at the University of Michigan: "For a century we labored to settle and to subdue...