Rights and Democracy
No, Affirmative Action Isn’t Keeping White Students Down
There's a saying: "When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." I thought of that when I heard about the Trump administration's recent moves against affirmative action. According to The New York Times, the Department of Justice, led by...
White Supremacy Carries More Than a Tiki Torch
Our president has no trouble naming his enemies — CNN, Rosie O’Donnell, Nordstrom, immigrants, Muslims, the all-women version of Ghostbusters, etc. etc. But when it comes to violent white supremacists, his passive streak is impossible to miss. When neo-Nazis and...
It’s Not About ‘White Culture’
"I came to this march for the message that white European culture has a right to be here just like every other culture," a white nationalist protester in Charlottesville told Newsweek. But, he claimed, he's "not an angry racist." White nationalists often use this...
Racists Look Emboldened. They’re Actually Terrified.
The act of terrorism that killed one person and injured others in Charlottesville, Virginia was horrific. There will be more days like these. Angry, cowardly, fear-mongering white supremacists have been emboldened by a president they see as the last great hope for the...
Trump’s ‘Election Integrity’ Commission Harkens Back to Jim Crow
One October morning in Richmond, Virginia, 32-year old Joseph Cox watched his friends and neighbors go to the polls for the first time. The fight to get to that moment had been long, bloody, and vicious. But as a black man newly eligible to vote after a lifetime of...
Talking About a Revolution
It’s long been clear that if we want to avoid catastrophic climate disruption on a scale that threatens human civilization, we need to leave vast amounts of fossil fuels in the ground. Environmental writer Bill McKibben pointed out the math in a crucial 2012...
Turning Churches into Super PACs
You know what's wrong with American politics? It's that there just aren't enough ways for giant corporations and mega-rich political donors to funnel their big bucks into our elections and buy our government. At least that's what Donald Trump, the Republican Party,...
Whose Turn?
You Can Vote Every Day — With Your Dollars
All shopping is not created equal — we all have our preferred soaps and phone brands. I’d rather walk a bit further to my favorite grocery store than the closer one at the end of the block. Sometimes these choices are based on convenience, familiarity, quality, or...
Governors Are Stiffing Workers — and Democracy
The governors of many states are boldly stepping forward these days to stop grassroots democracy. Yes, noting that local citizens and officials have been passing local laws to govern themselves, a flock of right-wing governors are asserting an autocratic power called...
