Rights and Democracy
Students Get the Last Word on Commencement
"Don’t let complexity stop you," Bill Gates once told graduating Harvard seniors. "Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives." These days, college students have no trouble transforming into activists to address big...
What We Can Learn from War Memorials
In Dryden, New York, a proposed solar farm recently caused a stir. Thousands of solar panels — enough to power 7,500 homes — are scheduled to be installed near a rural cemetery in the town. Some opponents complain that it’s disrespectful to the veterans buried there....
Using Lunch to Punish the Poor
One of the lucky things about being rich is that you automatically become handsome, your jokes are hilarious, and politicians treat you with fawning deference. On the other hand, the unlucky thing about being poor is that … well, you're poor. And society generally...
Loose Lips
The Hidden Bombshell in the Comey-Trump Story
How can you tell an authoritarian when you see one? We know the 20th century hallmarks — brown shirts, street rallies, and the like. But there’s an autocratic attitude, some historians suggest, that can easily be traced across the centuries. To put it simply, New York...
Have You Seen George W.’s Paintings? They’re Missing Something.
George W. Bush has been on something of a public relations tour recently, showcasing paintings he's done since leaving office. The tour seems designed to rebuild his image as a tortured artist wrestling with his demons — a flawed but morally introspective tragic...
Billionaires Lay Siege to State Governments
It’s easy to become mesmerized by The Donald Show in this year's political circus. But a lot of the real action is in the outer rings, where the Koch brothers, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and their corporate cohorts have laid siege to our state...
Cement Shoes
American Justice Now Feels Laughable
Heard any good jokes lately? Desiree Fairooz did. But laughing at it got her thrown in jail. That's right: Fairooz was just convicted for laughing during the confirmation hearing of now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2017. She'd attended the hearing, in her...
Fighting An Unfair System
The gap between the rich and poor has been growing for decades. Some claim this growing gap is the natural result of smart, hard workers getting what they deserve (fabulous wealth) and lazy, mediocre workers getting what they deserve, too (poverty). This framing is...
