Rights and Democracy
Ted Nugent Falls off His Rocker
Ted Nugent, the old rocker from the Seventies, is now just plain old. And off his rocker. A political novelty act for the far right and a front man for the National Rifle Association, Nugent regularly spews venomous, vulgar, race-laced, abusive hate speech about...
Lobbying for Tollbooths and Speed Bumps on Our Information Superhighway
Back in the infancy of the Internet Age, our hippest policy wonks orated endlessly about the emerging “information superhighway.” But that mouthful of a moniker would soon fall out of fashion. Anyone today who talks about the “information superhighway” comes across as...
Arizona Swims against the Tide of Growing Equality
The choice for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer was clear: “religious freedom” or the 2015 Super Bowl. Just when it looked as if social conservatives would force the state into taking a giant leap backward in the fight for LGBT equality, Brewer vetoed a blatantly anti-gay...
Crossing a Fine Line
Olympic ski champion Bode Miller's impressive bronze showing in the men's super-G was overshadowed by the interview with him afterward. The race was an historic one for the 36-year-old skier, who became the oldest Alpine medalist in the history of the Olympics. But...
The Senator from Oz Fights Crazy with Crazy
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy assessed the odd things she was experiencing and said to her little dog, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Lately, Sen. Pat Roberts has gained a new understanding of what Dorothy meant. The Kansas Republican has been in...
Throwing a Wrench in the Engine for Innovation
My parents are both small business owners, so I often look at current events through the lens of local economies and entrepreneurs. When a federal appeals court recently struck down the Net Neutrality rules, I was immediately concerned about the impact on businesses...
The Ultimate Captive Market
Now here's a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose situation: Three of the contracts Arizona signed with private companies to house its prisoners require 100 percent occupancy. That's right: If the state fails to send along enough jailbirds to fill all the beds, it pays a...
America the Beautiful for the 21st Century
During this year's Super Bowl, Coca-Cola debuted a 60-second commercial paying tribute to the diversity of our nation. Coke's "It's Beautiful" ad featured expansive scenes of the country and shots of a wide variety of real people. Some of them were enjoying a Coke. It...
Utah’s Progressive Innovation
Utah hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since LBJ's landslide 50 years ago, but the Beehive State now stands at the cutting edge of one progressive policy. It's on course to wipe out chronic homelessness, those without shelter for more than a year,...
Winning Elections by Hook or by Crook
The chance to win Seems so remote, When the Man decides Who gets to vote. Political operatives are running websites with smiling photos of Democratic candidates as part of a fundraising campaign. But there's a catch: They're asking for money to defeat these...
