In a recent piece, I suggested that we needed a new, more complete definition of racism. My logic was that many right-wing conservatives were spouting prejudicial remarks, but getting away with it because they were not mouthing simple, old-fashioned epithets. Rather, they were using the new, slightly more subtle forms...

If you're disabled, and you can't find a parking spot, it may not be because the number of crips in your area has increased. Instead, there is plenty of evidence that placard fraud, the illegal use of handicapped parking permits, is on a steep upward slope.

There are two forms...

In an earlier piece on this blog ("Obama, America, and Race," September 23, 2009), I argued that one of the problems progressives face in making their arguments, was that the country has not revised its definition of "racism." Instead of dealing with modern versions of hate, the term remains...

Back in April of this year, I did my first post here, calling for more work on stem cells. A buddy of mine, Allen Rucker, author of one of the best books ever written on disabilities, posted a link on his blog. One commentator wrote in to oppose this...

There's a shortage of seasonal flu vaccine, but nobody seems to be taking notice.

I started to become aware of this in Southern California. My university, which usually has more than enough, was out. The reason given: the companies making it are busy cranking out swine flu vaccine, so there...

A number of prominent Americans, from former president Jimmy Carter to various news commentators, have charged President Obama's critics with racism. Many of these folks have reacted with anger, claiming that they are nothing of the sort. Few of the president's attackers, for example, have used the "n-word". In a...

I'm going to say something nice about libertarians. The fact is, libertarians actually believe in the free market. Unlike pro-business conservatives. And by the way, what does this have to do with the most controversial issue in America, namely the future of health care in this country?

First,...

Rep. Mike Castle, a conservative Republican, faced a hostile crowd. Not from a pack of liberals, but from a rapid audience that fervently believed that Barack Obama did not have a United States birth certificate, and thus held office illegally (the document is widely available; evidence does not matter to...

Today we had a tragedy at the Holocaust Museum in Washington: a neo-Nazi showed up with a gun, and killed a guard before he was subdued. With great sadness, I predict that we may see more of this kind of behavior in the next few years.

Why such a dismal...

A number of mainstream publications, including the New York Times, are reporting on the problems the Sotomayor nomination poses for the Republican Party. If the GOP stays mum, they might endanger their standing with conservative voters. If they oppose the woman who will probably become the first Hispanic Supreme Court...

President Obama and his administration just took bold steps to save the Chrysler Corporation and its iconic name brand. Along the way, 35,000 American jobs -- crucial in this era when businesses seem to be failing at far too rapid a pace -- were preserved as part of a...

Do you know what airsoft is? It's an action game similar to paintball; you dress up in army uniforms and use very realistic looking guns that fire quarter-inch BBs. So accoutered, teams get to run all over the countryside, trying to devise tactics and shooting at each other. Basically,...