Rights and Democracy
Thou Shalt Not Tolerate Inequality
Sometimes you don't have to say anything "new" to make news. Consider the "apostolic exhortation" the Vatican recently released. This statement from Pope Francis, observers note, didn't really break new theological ground. But the Pope's exhortation, his first since...
Just Say No to the Drug War
Old habits die hard. Take the War on Drugs. Please. Yes, its momentum has sagged a bit now, what with the Pew Research Center finding that a majority of Americans believe marijuana should be legal. But don't hold your breath waiting for new national laws. There's way...
Pope Francis Riles Wall Street
This Conservative Fad Stinks
Tenacity can be an admirable trait in a leader — except when it's stupid. Stupid tenacity has afflicted several right-wing governors and lawmakers who grabbed hold of a bad idea that, in practice, has proven to be even worse than expected. The bad idea was to whup the...
Finally, Hollywood Discovers the Drama in Everyday Poverty
I love movies, but they're usually about people I have nothing in common with. The new film Sunlight Jr. starring Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon so accurately portrays the difficult yet mundane lives of a working poor family in Florida that I was struck with a mix of...
The Other Government Shutdown
What do you do when a faction of the U.S. Senate simply refuses to do a critical part of its job? That's the dilemma that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faced in mid-November when the Senate's Republican minority tried once again to stall the work of government by...
The United States of Bullying
When 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick jumped to her death from an abandoned concrete plant tower in early September after intense bullying by two other girls, it made headlines around the world. While some teen-on-teen bullying was once accepted as a rite of passage, we...
Grand Bargain or Raw Deal?
Following the government shutdown drama, politicians in Washington appear hopelessly divided, according to conventional wisdom. Fair enough. But there's at least one area where many politicians from both of the major parties agree — and many of the TV talking heads...
ENDA and the Golden Rule
You probably don't think twice about sharing a photo of your loved ones at work or talking with coworkers about vacation plans with your family. But for some Americans, these simple acts put their jobs and livelihoods at risk. Here’s why. Though eight out of 10...
Reading between the Links
As an aspiring writer and avid reader, I never miss the annual Library of Congress National Book Festival on the National Mall. This year, the best part was seeing one of my favorite authors, Margaret Atwood. Atwood, author of The Blind Assassin, The Handmaid's Tale,...
