Congress, It's Time to End Voting Discrimination
One year ago, a majority of Supreme Court justices weakened the federal government's ability to prevent voter discrimination. In a sweeping decision, they decimated the Voting Rights Act, which has...
View ArticleAfter Six Month Lull Obama's Drone Assassination Campaign in Pakistan Is Back On
Since the CIA's robotic assassination campaign began in earnest in 2008, the skies over Pakistan's wild tribal zones known as the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Agencies) which have given...
View ArticleAfghanistan Taken Hostage by Its Politicians
I don't know how much longer the people of my country Afghanistan will tolerate what is being done to them under the elaborate pretense of "democracy," "freedom to choose" their leaders and the...
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Intended Consequences of Iraq War
"You break it you own it," warned General Powell to President George W. Bush before the invasion of Iraq. Well, the previous administration, in its hubris of Shock and Awe, decided to break Iraq. The...
View ArticleThe Writing's on the Wall (and Web): Time to Act on Climate
News about climate change, both negative and positive, has been dominating the media recently, putting a spotlight on the need for immediate action by Congress. Today, I awoke to NPR broadcasting...
View ArticleRangel's Base Is Still Rock Solid
State Senator Adriano Espaillat has learned a hard lesson. He may have come razor close twice before, but it has to be a bitter pill of why it's so tough to beat an incumbent. The District may have...
View ArticleVacant Walmart May House Children of Illegal Immigrants
In a stunning news release from Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today, it was revealed a vacant Walmart in an upstate New York suburb is being considered by the federal government to house children...
View ArticleRaise Your Hand If You Understand Immigration Law: Take Two
Back in February, I wrote about the complexity of immigration law, and described how a federal court conflated immigration provisions in an important case. Now it turns out that immigration law stumps...
View ArticleUrbanism at a Crossroads
New Urbanism, with its focus on building walkable neighborhoods and reestablishing population density in the urban core and its ability to inspire generations of citizen planners, is among the most...
View ArticleSlipperiness Behind Aereo Ruling: Solving Riddles of Legislative Intent and...
Forget -- just for a second, if it is possible -- about tallying up all of the supposed winners and losers in Wednesday's divided U.S. Supreme Court decision in American Broadcasting Cos. vs. Aereo,...
View ArticleFirst Amendment Ignorance: Survey Reveals Land of the Free and Uninformed
Are we an ignorant nation -- aside, of course, from knowing all things Kardashian, Bieber and Cyrus? OK, "ignorant" may be too harsh a word, but how else do we label the twin facts that only 14 percent...
View ArticlePyrrhic Victory
For a Republican Party that has openly admitted its strategy is based on obstructionism, a congressional victory in November could well be a pyrrhic one. Since President Obama has been in office,...
View ArticleThe Urgent Humanitarian Crisis Doesn't Begin or End at the Border
The moral panic regarding the children in detention along the border is not helping, its hurting. Over the past two weeks, media attention on the unaccompanied minors has swelled, with particular...
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Torture in US Prisons: What 'OITNB' Hasn't Told You
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is observed each year on June 26, the day in 1984 when the United Nations Convention Against Torture was signed. This treaty, which the United States...
View ArticleOur Chance to Get 29 Million Children Into School
Co-authored by Benedicto Kondowe The two of us live nine time zones and what may seem like a world apart -- western Malawi and the Pacific Northwest of the United States -- but we both know firsthand...
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Let's Call 'Open Carry' Gun Gangs What They Are
On Monday, the Houston chapter of Open Carry Texas had originally planned an armed march into the Fifth Ward, a predominantly African-American community. The group canceled the event because, they say,...
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PA: Keep Domestic Partner Benefits Until We Have Statewide Non-discrimination...
Allegheny County in Southwestern Pennsylvania has announced plans to eliminate domestic partner benefits for employees, effective July 31, 2014. Same-sex couples who receive benefits have until that...
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U.S. Gas Exports Flow Through DC Lobbying's Revolving Door
Even as President Obama pursues an aggressive new public effort to fight global warming by regulating U.S. power plants, his administration is quietly advancing an energy policy -- exporting America's...
View ArticleEveryone's a Winner! The Kids vs. Bad Teachers Lawsuit Hits the Road
Well that certainly didn't take long. Just two weeks after California's kids celebrated their victory vs. bad teachers, the kids vs. tenure lawsuits are hitting the road. And that's great news, reader....
View ArticleDetroit's Water Cutoffs: Counterproductive and Coldhearted
Imagine a week without running water. Imagine not only the physical thirst but also the inability to bathe, to cook, or to clean. Imagine the hardships this scenario would present for a family with...
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