Rights and Democracy
The Insult Generator
It’s apology season on the campaign trail. After months of botched damage control, Hillary Clinton did what she needed to do when her bureaucratic scandal first erupted. The leading Democratic presidential candidate said she was sorry she didn’t use an official...
The GOP Agenda (Or Lack Thereof)
To hear Republican presidential candidates tell it, you’d think the most important issue facing the nation is Hillary Clinton’s old emails. Not climate change, not the growing gap between the filthy rich and the deserving poor, and not our crumbling roads, declining...
The Debate Dividing the GOP
White Supremacy Is Alive and All Too Well
A New York Times obituary for Julian Bond, the civil rights icon who passed away this August, described the late leader as a “persistent opponent of the stubborn remnants of white supremacy.” Remnants? Hardly. Notwithstanding the hard-won gains of the 1960s, race...
Georgia’s Educational Neglect
I worked as a substitute teacher in a Newton, Massachusetts middle school a few months ago. I taught a wide range of kids, including some with behavior-related disabilities. A few of these children needed in-class aides and extra academic support, but they met their...
Hurricane Francis
Battles are raging over whether local government officials have a religious right to refuse to marry same-sex couples. And the federal government may shut down over a dispute concerning funding for Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion reproductive health services. As if...
Fiorina’s Dubious Cheerleader
You know your presidential campaign is in a heap of hurt when you need Tom Perkins to defend your "abilities, intellect, and talent." But there Perkins was in The New York Times recently, having bought a full-page ad attesting to the presidential worthiness of Carly...
When Unions and Civil Rights Activists Worked Together
Rick Smith hosts a daily radio talk show based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which bills itself as the place "where working people come to talk." Smith makes it his business to know the pulse of the labor movement. But he admits to one area where his knowledge was...
Creating a Constituency for the News
There’s a crisis in journalism. Rapidly changing consumer habits have slashed demand for the print editions of newspapers and magazines, squeezed advertising dollars, and made thousands of media jobs vanish. The news industry’s downturn has created another crisis:...
Julian Bond Never Stopped Agitating
The late civil rights activist Julian Bond, who passed away this month, lived his life as a tireless champion of the oppressed and maligned, a battle-worn warrior for civil rights, equality, and social justice. Bond fought the good fight, and at the still-youthful age...
