Why We Are So Easily Manipulated by the Politics of Fear
Be afraid. Be VERY afraid! Of Ebola. Of ISIS. Of immigrants threatening to bring both threats across a porous border that can't be protected by a president who can't even protect his own house. Be...
View ArticleWe Demand a Shot at the American Dream
It's been a rough four years for the women, men and children living on the margins in this country. Those margins have gotten a lot more pronounced and swallowed up a lot more folks in states run by...
View ArticleWhy Is Judge Rakoff a Lone Wolf?
Judge Jed S. Rakoff is clearly at the cutting edge. When he speaks ex cathedra from the federal bench in the Southern District of New York, he gives the litigants before him his sometimes provocative...
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Creon's Fatal Flaw
Hubris Syndrome is an acquired personality change that can occur in powerful leaders. Because the people who develop it hold power, the effects of their hubris can be widespread and, in some cases,...
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It's All About the Sticker: I Voted Today!
Admit it, all you really want is the sticker. Yea, yea, yea, it's nice to do our civic duty and all, but nothing beats the feeling you get when at the end of the process, you're handed the "I VOTED...
View ArticleBreak the Cycle of Mass Incarceration
When politicians want to show their constituents that they're concerned about their safety and well-being, they'll say that they're "tough on crime." It's an easy enough position to take. Nobody likes...
View ArticleVote Suppressors At It Again: A Response to Hans van Spakovsky
Co-authored by Josh Bone, Campaign Legal Center Legal Fellow Every two years, in the run-up to national elections, the usual suspects begin to beat the drum about the supposed scourge of voter fraud....
View ArticleWhy Hogan Is Better for Blue Maryland Than Brown: A Real Choice
In so many races across the country, voters head to the polls with a false choice. Democratic and Republican candidates on the ballot, who campaign on their differences but in reality they're basically...
View ArticleCast Your Vote for American Values
Money is pouring into this year's mid-term election -- mostly from the pockets of right-wing billionaires. The total is projected to top $4 billion. Thirteen states have annual budgets of $4 billion or...
View ArticleThe Day After Tomorrow: What Congress Needs to Accomplish This Year
Tomorrow, the election will be over, and while the next Congress is still two months away, we have a massive amount of work that remains for us before the end of the year. During this period, I will...
View ArticleLatino Voters Have the Power
"Who's got the power? We've got the power!" Over the years, I've taken part in my share of chants before, but never one led by one of my heroes and civil rights icon, Dolores Huerta, in a room packed...
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Antibiotics in Our Food: Chemical Warfare We Cannot Win
Given current concern about the Ebola virus, it's surprising that the public isn't more alarmed about "superbugs." Superbugs are infectious bacteria that have mutated to adapt to antibiotics that were...
View ArticleOn Election Day, Let's Remember Tax Evasion by Our Country's Rich
As Americans head to the polls I'd like to draw your attention to a running theme in my new book, The Liar's Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of how One Building Broke the World's Toughest Tycoons, an...
View ArticleThe Pentagon's Arguments for Runaway Arms Trading Are Indefensible
The Pentagon's weapons trafficking arm -- the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) -- announced last week that it brokered $34 billion in arms deals in fiscal year 2014, one of the highest totals...
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Amid Levantine Quagmires, Business Not Quite As Usual
On Thursday, October 30, the Council on Foreign Relations hosted an Israel-US Business Forum at its vaunted estate in the Upper East Side, filled during a long afternoon with dozens of participants...
View Article5 Important Points About the Bill Maher-UC Berkeley Controversy
As you probably already know, the University of California, Berkeley, is embroiled in a commencement speaker controversy. Students are protesting UC Berkeley's invitation to evangelical atheist and...
View ArticleEmancipation... Liberation... Anticipation... A Woman President?
I couldn't help myself but to feel the pulse of excitement while watching the flick Makers: Women Who Make America, a movie about the "breakout" of the housewives to careerwives, highlighting Women's...
View ArticleJerry Brown's Final (Gubernatorial) Campaign Ends Quietly and Confidently
In his Zen-inflected drive for a record fourth term as Governor of California, Jerry Brown had a deceptively simple approach. He would run for governor by being governor. As a result, Brown, who has a...
View ArticleWhy Millennials Need To Take Back the Midterms
"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt On November 4,...
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