Rights and Democracy
This Man May Be Trump’s Most Dangerous Cabinet Pick
President-elect Donald Trump recently picked Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as his nominee for U.S. attorney general, a position that leads the Department of Justice and serves as the top law enforcement officer for the country. But even a cursory look at Sessions’...
Draining the Swamp: A How-To Guide
When President-elect Donald Trump talked about "draining the swamp," it evoked the way Bernie Sanders talks about how the system is rigged. Many Americans believe — with good reason — that powerful corporate lobbyists, elites, and other moneyed interests control the...
Conflict of Interest? Of Course Not.
On the Ground in Standing Rock
Beyond the protests, police crackdowns, and pipeline drama, what's it really like at Standing Rock, North Dakota? This October, I went to see for myself. Like many other Native and non-Native visitors, I went to support the Standing Rock Sioux's effort to keep the...
Why We Still Need Feminism
From his campaign rhetoric to his transition appointments, our next president has placed himself squarely in a conservative movement calling itself the "alt-right." That movement, the Los Angeles Times reports, "generally embraces and promotes white nationalism,...
Fakery Is Reality for Our Next President
All hail Augusts Trumpus — the American Putin, whom none can criticize! All hail the All Knowing One, who reveals "realities" that aren't there and finds "facts" that mere mortals can't detect. Once again, the Amazing Donald has demonstrated his phantasmagoric power...
Crocodile Tears
Get an IUD While You Can
As soon as the presidential election results were announced, alarm bells went off for anyone who cares about reproductive rights. Lawmakers around the country have been moving for years to restrict abortion rights. But for millions of women who've taken proactive...
Self-Defense for Whom?
In every state in the country, the right to self-defense is considered a mitigating factor in criminal prosecutions. If you use violence to defend yourself in an extreme situation, most Americans believe, the law should treat you gently. But not everyone gets to enjoy...
What Trump Could Learn from Alexander Hamilton
By now you've probably heard that Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by fellow theater-goers at a performance of the musical Hamilton, an unlikely hip-hop sensation that tells the story of Alexander Hamilton and other founding fathers. Then, at the end of the...
