Rights and Democracy
Fomenting the Fear of Foreigners
Gosh, has it been two whole years since Republican leaders vowed to reach out to Latino voters with "a more welcoming, inclusive message" and "positive solutions on immigration"? My how time flies when you're having elections. The GOP's "outreach" was on full display...
Obama’s Immigration Action Doesn’t Go Far Enough
Inocencio Vernal has picked broccoli, sweet potatoes, corn, and celery in U.S. farms for more than 25 years. This holiday season, you might end up feasting on the fruits of his labor. Yet Vernal, like 53 percent of farmworkers, is undocumented. This means that he...
Big Media’s Crummy Advice for Democrats
Before anyone even knew just how badly the Democrats would get trounced in the 2014 midterm elections, some pundits were already sending the party a message: Be more like the Republicans. Now they don't put it that way, exactly. The professional campaign watchers like...
The Elephant in the Room
Obama Pardons Two Republican Turkeys
Thanksgiving — a time of grace and family sharing — will get an extra bit of grace from the White House this year. Just as the president has done for the last 25 years, Barack Obama will grant clemency to two turkeys that otherwise could've become the main entrée for...
Obama Jumps into the Net Neutrality Debate
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama added his voice to the nearly 4 million people who have urged the Federal Communications Commission to preserve the open Internet and protect free speech online. The president’s statement was a clear, concise directive on how...
The Night the Cold War Ended
It was November 9, 1989. I was at the library at Northwestern University, putting the final touches on my first book — which happened to be about Soviet foreign policy. In a mad rush to beat my deadline, I dashed out and dropped the manuscript in the FedEx box just...
Taking Stock of the Money Midterms
The 2014 midterm elections sure looked like a blowout for the Republican Party. But leave it to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to call the real winner: big money. "Incredible night for money in politics!" gushed one of the show's satirical correspondents. Indeed, in...
Who Killed Gilberto Soto?
On a November night 25 years ago, six priests — along with their housekeeper and her daughter — were murdered in cold blood by Salvadoran army officers who had invaded their residence at the Jesuit-run Central American University. This month, priests, activists, and...
How Did We Get Here?
Dick Tuck, the legendary political prankster and wit, once ran for local office in San Francisco and lost. His concession speech, in its entirety: "The people have spoken — the bastards." Now, you know me — I wouldn’t say anything like that about the recent elections....
