Crimea, Anschluss and the Enduring Quest for Autonomy
The upcoming Crimea referendum is both ordinary and extraordinary.Ordinary because more than 100 times since World War II geographically concentrated ethnic or linguistic groups have voted on the...
View ArticleAfter a Decade of War Abroad, a More Militarized Police Force at Home
On Sunday morning in East Williamsburg, NY, a joint Department of Homeland Security and NYPD raid of a drug ring was executed. The raid wasn't the big story though; rather it was the tactics used by...
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Arrest, Hang, Repeat: Executions in Iran
One night last month, the flashing lights and sounds of a mass rush of emails, texts and social hits woke me from my sleep. The volume alarmed me. In recent years, I have come to know that a flood of...
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We Need a 'Do Not Track' List
Over a decade ago, the federal government did something which made people's lives better. A law was passed by a Republican House and a Republican Senate and signed by a Republican president, and it has...
View ArticleA Conservative's Lament
In 2004, Republican Congressman Bob Inglis of South Carolina won 85 percent of the primary vote in the most conservative district of arguably the most conservative state in the union. Six years later,...
View ArticleThe Problem With Banning the Burqa
When I was recently invited to speak at a debate at Ireland's University College of Cork on banning the burqa, I was a bit hesitant to accept the call to participate. I, for one, am not a woman, nor am...
View ArticleThe Brilliance Behind President Obama's Feature on 'Between Two Ferns'
I, like many others, really enjoyed the fake interview released recently by the comedic company Funny or Die between President Barack Obama and Zach Galifianakis. The interview occurred on the web...
View ArticleThe Christian Right's 'Religious Freedom Law' Scam
Let us consider the question of religious freedom, since it is such a timely and relevant topic these days. I'm a big believer in the Constitution's First Amendment and am very much in favor of the...
View ArticleYes, It Is About Race
We're in the midst of a series of high-profile trials of white Americans who fatally shot unarmed African Americans, which we are constantly told are not about race. Not only is this a losing strategy...
View ArticleBig Waves Trump Big Data
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." This saying is attributed to Freud (though we don't really know if he said it) and it expresses the idea that oftentimes we overanalyze some simple things. Though...
View ArticleNo Laughing Matter
President Barack Obama appeared on the Zach Galifianakis internet comedy show, Between Two Ferns, on March 11, ostensibly to promote his signature health care reform legislation to millions of mostly...
View ArticleAmerica's Working Class Has No Lobby
It's a broad generalization, and reeks of cynicism, but it's true: Many (most?) good things get done not as the result of being conspicuously seen as the "right" thing to do, but as the result of...
View ArticleR-E-S-P-E-C-T
Vladimir Putin's miscalculation in the Crimea is a blunder of incalculable proportions and in time will be seen for exactly what it is, an overzealous power grab orchestrated with all the deftness of a...
View ArticleBill to Overhaul Medical Marijuana Regulations Passes Senate in Washington
The Senate in the state of Washington has approved legislation that would basically revamp the current medical marijuana program regulations. Senate Bill 5887, which passed by a vote of 34 to 15, is...
View ArticleThe Bridge Scandal and the Fifth Amendment
New Jersey's legislative panel investigating the Chris Christie bridge scandal wants documents. The panel wants emails, texts, notes, diaries -- anything that Bridget Anne Kelly or Bill Stepien have...
View ArticleThe Crisis In Ukraine: Western Ideals, Russian Interests
Seemingly lost amidst the confused outrage emanating from more hawkish quarters of America's political class is a relatively straightforward explanation for Russian President Vladimir Putin's behavior...
View ArticleTo Make Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians, Stop the Finger Pointing
Secretary of State John Kerry, and now President Barack Obama, are digging in to push the Israelis and Palestinians to settle on the United States' framework agreement. At this point in time, however,...
View ArticleThe Right to Be Wrong
I have been fighting the Catholic Church since I first argued with a nun at St. Catherine Labouré Elementary School in Wheaton, Maryland in 1962. I don't recall being smacked with a ruler, but Sister...
View ArticleI Spy
It seems to me what the nine hundred ninety four dupes needed was a new deal. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain Gracious. That's all one can say. It is simply a question of whose...
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Maura Healey Talks Historic Campaign for Attorney General in Massachusetts...
This week I talked with attorney Maura Healey, who's making a historic bid for attorney general in Massachusetts as the first openly gay candidate for the job. Maura served as Attorney General Martha...
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