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American Politics

Orthodoxy and Change

Gary Hart | Posted 05.16.2013 | Politics
Gary Hart

Underlying all the media focus on the cardinals' selection of a new pope, and the predictable focus on personality over meaning, was a much greater struggle between tradition and reform, conservatism and progress. That struggle mirrors politics in America and most western democracies.

Drones: What Are We Doing to Ourselves?

Ethan Casey | Posted 04.27.2013 | Politics
Ethan Casey

I don't have much to say about drones that isn't being said, except that -- as my late grandmother, may she rest in peace, would have put it -- they're just plain wrong.

Oh, Where Have You Gone, Mr. Roosevelt? Our Nation Turns Its Angry Eyes to You

Jon Knokey | Posted 04.06.2013 | Politics
Jon Knokey

The partisan political environment in America provides opportunity for the next generation of American leaders. Don't believe it? Just ask Theodore Roosevelt.

Meeting Medicare Again, for the First Time

Brian Kahn | Posted 04.02.2013 | Politics
Brian Kahn

I sat down at the computer with quiet anxiety. I've never warmed to the cold, iridescent screen, somehow removed from the flesh and blood life I have ...

A Brief Thought on "American Duty"

Meredith Hutchison | Posted 03.27.2013 | Politics
Meredith Hutchison

It is my right to exercise free speech and it is the government's duty to uphold that right. So, what are my minimum duties as an American to my government, my nation, and my fellow citizens, and how do I know those are my duties?

Social Security: What Is At Stake? Why Now?

Robert E. Prasch | Posted 02.27.2013 | Politics
Robert E. Prasch

For the second time in little over a year, the Obama Administration has made a pre-emptive offer to change the formula for adjusting Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment formula as part of a "Grand Bargain." What is at stake?

American Politics: I'm With Crazy

Bob Burnett | Posted 02.13.2013 | Politics
Bob Burnett

Why do Republicans say and do things that make no sense? For a decade I've assumed the Republican Party had four wings: the sincere, saintly, sinister, and stupid.

Campaigning on the Cheap: An Independent Path Forward

Abel Collins | Posted 01.26.2013 | Politics
Abel Collins

Some think we should let the Democrats and Republicans continue their ruinous policies of selling out the American people to Big Business. I can't in good conscience let that happen, so let me explain why 2014 will be the year we see at least one Independent in the House.

Gaza and the Need for Muslim Activism in America

Ethan Casey | Posted 01.20.2013 | Politics
Ethan Casey

To my Muslim friends, I respectfully suggest that life will improve for Muslims in Palestine and Pakistan, and for all of us in America, the day that thousands of American Muslim families show up at Disney World all wearing green t-shirts.

Panic to Relief to Passion: Why We Won and What It Means

Barton Kunstler, Ph.D. | Posted 01.07.2013 | Politics
Barton Kunstler, Ph.D.

President Obama won because for the first time Democratic voters felt the same driving passion that has been motivating the Republican right since Reagan's first win in 1980: pure fear and disgust at where the country would be headed if (in this case) Romney and Ryan won.

Secular America Wins!

Jacques Berlinerblau | Posted 01.07.2013 | Religion
Jacques Berlinerblau

After last night's election, secular Americans can do things they haven't done in years: They can celebrate. They can feel a smidgen optimistic about the future of their country. And they can stop prattling on about repatriating to Canada.

In Praise of Newspaper Endorsements

John T. Woolley | Posted 01.02.2013 | Politics
John T. Woolley

The "smart" view of newspaper endorsements is that they are an ineffectual relic of a bygone era. But we should welcome and promote editorial endorsements.

How This Parent Will Strive to Disagree Better

Bruce Reyes-Chow | Posted 12.26.2012 | Parents
Bruce Reyes-Chow

I wonder if most parents would be proud if their children interacted the same way at school during passionate disagreements about playground life as their parents do during passionate disagreements about politics?

Stop the Tug-of-War Over Women. We're Too Smart for That.

Alecia DeCoudreaux | Posted 12.16.2012 | College
Alecia DeCoudreaux

We are not content with only one Year of the Woman. We want women to participate in governing every day of every year.

An American Politics Without Vision

Curtis Gans | Posted 12.14.2012 | Politics
Curtis Gans

There are clear choices in the 2012 election, but precious little vision. Our political dialogue is about debt, deficits, taxes and emotionally felt peripheral issues. We don't talk any more about what would constitute a good and just society and how to achieve it.

INFOGRAPHIC: How To Travel Like A President

FlipKey | Posted 12.11.2012 | Travel
FlipKey

If you're a frequent flier, then you may have noted the ease with which both President Obama and Governor Romney move along the campaign trail.

The Presidential Debate Was Good Theater, But...

Jeffrey P. Colin | Posted 12.05.2012 | Politics
Jeffrey P. Colin

Those who do not see any personal benefit to paying taxes to help those in need frequently also have lots of money to invest in political outcomes. Does anyone honestly believe that the numerous groups of poor have the resources to change this reality?

Social Media and the Presidential Debates

2morrowknight | Posted 12.03.2012 | Technology
2morrowknight

Social media will be to this election what television was to the 1960 victory of John Kennedy, and what radio was to the multiple victories in the '30s and '40s of Franklin Roosevelt.

Snooki, Romney, and Reason

Zach Udko | Posted 11.24.2012 | Politics
Zach Udko

Buried underneath the heap of controversy caused by that pesky 47% video sits an equally revealing tidbit from last week's news cycle: Mitt Romney prefers Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi to Alana "Honey Boo Boo Child" Thompson.

Dazed and Confused

Victor Lopez | Posted 10.27.2012 | Politics
Victor Lopez

As a gay Hispanic male who was a ward of the court as a child, would I receive a fair shake under a Romney administration?

Patience Wrongs

Steven Weber | Posted 10.21.2012 | Politics
Steven Weber

Right-wing extremism is all about patience. That is, until it makes its move and then it is sudden and explosive.

Paul Ryan and the Fight for America's Soul: It Starts in Wisconsin

Ethan Casey | Posted 10.13.2012 | Politics
Ethan Casey

Like Wisconsin, America at large is bitterly at odds with itself. A starting point for recovering our national community is to acknowledge that we all, whichever side we're on, face the same question: What kind of country do we want to live in?

The Romney Campaign's Situational Demagoguery

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 09.24.2012 | Media
Joseph A. Palermo

Worse than Swift Boating and worse than Willie Horton, Mitt Romney is running the most craven, dishonest, and hypocritical campaign we've seen in contemporary American politics.

Where Will the Leadership Come From?

Ethan Casey | Posted 08.27.2012 | Politics
Ethan Casey

Anyone who knows Pakistan knows that it's simplistic to chant (like the sheep in Animal Farm), "Civilians good, military ba-a-a-ad." But it's also true that a military takeover is not only far from out of the question, but likely only to make things worse. So where can we look for leadership?

Ego-Inflated Nation

Sofia Crutchfield | Posted 08.13.2012 | Teen
Sofia Crutchfield

Politicians are us: They are the symbols of America, the essence of our societal disposition. And they are polluted by egocentrism.