Rights and Democracy
The Sanders Sensation
When I crossed paths with a Democratic campaign consultant in Austin last March, I suggested he come to the local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall to hear Bernie Sanders speak. The Vermont senator, I added, was pondering a presidential run. “You...
I’m Skipping the Oscars
For two years in a row, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences — the organization behind the Oscars — failed to nominate a single actor or actress of color in the lead and supporting acting categories. Not one. Meanwhile, though women earned...
Somebody Will Win
The Iowa caucuses are upon us. Hooray, whoopee, and two cheers. The contests mark the official beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign, which already feels like it’s been going on for two years (because it has). Some polls say that Donald Trump is going to be the...
An Assault on Justice
Two federal prison guards in Florida recently agreed to plead guilty for beating a prisoner and then covering it up. One officer faces up to three years in a federal prison, while the other is looking at a year. The Justice Department issued a press release that cast...
Oscar, in Black and White
You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught
We all remember the teachers who most influenced us. Life lessons learned in the classroom stay with you for decades. I was lucky to have several great teachers, but my fifth grade teacher stands out the most. Nancy Livingston taught for 25 years in Princeton, New...
Let’s Put Prison Sentences on Probation
You may have heard there's a growing political movement against mass incarceration. Someone should clue in the judges. In the past 30 years, federal judges have turned to imprisonment — as opposed to probation — as the punishment of choice for even minor crimes,...
Sanders Proves the Pundits Wrong
The problem with applying conventional wisdom to political campaigns is that it can suddenly be upended by an unconventional campaign. National media pundits have been riveted by Donald Trump's flagrantly narcissistic run for the Republican presidential nomination....
Usurping the Bush and Clinton Dynasties
Throwing My Fez in the Ring
Most presidential candidates, with the glaring exception of Donald Trump, say Islam is no enemy of the United States. I agree wholeheartedly. And how could there be a better way to prove that point than for a Muslim cartoonist to lead this great nation? That’s why I’m...
