Jun 8, 2016 | Centrism, Class Issues, Democrats, Economic Policy, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), Liberalism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties
Published: Quartz (June 7, 2016) Heading into California primary today, Donald Trump is catching up toHillary Clinton in the general election polls. According to political analysis from statisticians like Nate Silver, the reluctance of some Bernie Sanders supporters to back an alternate Democratic candidate is part of the reason for Trump’s boost. Sanders’ backers tend to identify as...
Jun 2, 2016 | Civil Liberties, Criminal Justice/Prison-Industrial Complex, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), Marijuana Legalization and the War on Drugs, mic
Published: Salon (June 1, 2016) A recent survey found that Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who was just nominated to be the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate, does surprisingly well against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Although his 10 percent is nothing compared to Clinton’s 38 percent and Trump’s 35 percent, it’s enough to...
May 26, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), History, mic, Race and Racism
Published: Salon (May 23, 2016) When HBO announced in 2014 that it was going to release a cinematic adaptation of “All the Way,” Robert Schenkkan’s Tony Award-winning play about President Lyndon Johnson’s successful mission to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it’s unlikely they knew how prescient their film would be. The politics of the 1964 election are uncannily similar to those of 2016:...
May 19, 2016 | Climate Change and Other Environmental Issues, Economic Policy, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), Foreign Policy, mic, Science and Technology, Terrorism, World Affairs
Published: The Good Men Project (May 19, 2016) America is in a "boy who cried wolf" situation right now. We've grown so accustomed to comparing our presidents with tyrants, or insisting that a candidate's ascent to power will result in calamity, that even those of us who see an actual wolf in our midst aren't being taken seriously. The people voting for Donald Trump are well aware of our...
May 7, 2016 | History, mic, Satirical Essays
Published: The Good Men Project (May 7, 2016) Did you know that America was almost called Vespucia? I'm not referring to the United States, by the way. More than five hundred years, the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci determined that the continent "discovered" by Christopher Columbus in 1492 was not, in fact, Asia. This simple realization was apparently enough to warrant naming two continents...
May 6, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Civil Liberties, mic
Published: Salon (May 6, 2016) “If we can’t accept limitations, we’re boundaryless, we’re no better than the bad guys.” So says Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) in “Captain America: Civil War,” perhaps one of the most politically nuanced films ever released as a tentpole in a blockbuster franchise. This is a movie with a distinct social message, one that merits detailed analysis, but in order for that...
May 4, 2016 | Democrats, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), Liberalism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties
Published: Quartz (May 3, 2016) Staring down the DC press corps on Sunday (May 1), Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders vowed to make Hillary Clinton’s path to the party’s presidential nomination as challenging as possible. “It is virtually impossible for secretary Clinton to reach a majority of convention delegates by June 14 with pledged delegates alone,” Sandersexplained to...
Apr 26, 2016 | Conservativism, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), Extremism, Gender and Sexism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Race and Racism, Republicans
Published: Salon (April 26, 2016) There is an element of the Shakespearean to the Donald Trump campaign. Comedy and tragedy are often inextricably linked in melodrama, and as Trump rambles and bloviates his way through the American presidential election process (and perhaps, one fears, to the presidency itself), an intriguing narrative arc is taking shape. It began almost exactly five years ago,...
Apr 24, 2016 | mic, Science and Technology
Published: The Daily Dot (April 24, 2016) Some of my fondest childhood memories were set in libraries. I still recall wandering through stacks of books, my eyes glancing from title to title in the hope that they would land on some previously-undiscovered treasure. Sometimes I would take a step into the past by setting up a roll of microfilm and letting it whir through the scanner until it landed...
Apr 21, 2016 | Foreign Policy, History, mic, Race and Racism
Published: Salon (April 21, 2016) It’s official: Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew has announced that abolitionist Harriet Tubman will replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. And, while Jackson will still reportedly remain on the reverse side of the bill, the move is nonetheless a momentous one. Naturally there are many people who will complain about this decision, but since Tubman’s...