At first glance, Congress seems more than big enough. There’s 535 members: 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives. The House seems especially large. 435 people anywhere is a crowd. But what if I said congress is too small and that we should have a hundred or so more? Often when […]
Much of America is built on myths and hyperbole. Some self-proclaimed “patriots” say America is the greatest country in the world, while deliberately ignoring our mistakes in domestic and foreign policy both past and present. I often hear that the framers of the constitution bequeathed to us with the greatest form of government ever conceived […]
Joe Biden gave a hopeful inaugural speech. He spoke of national healing, compassion, action, unity: For without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward. His call […]
Last week Kevin McCarthy—doing his best impersonation of a snake—slithered back to Donald Trump at his golf resort in Palm Beach with his hands extended. Instead of sticking to or even building off his floor speech indicating Trump was at least partly to blame for the storming of the US Capitol on January 6th, Kevin […]
The people spoke: Joe Biden is President-Elect. We faced the most corrupt, unfit, demagogic and illiberal president of our lifetime—and won. People are dancing in the streets with catharsis and joy, and they should be. But one thing dismayed me after election week. We heard the refrain “democracy is on the ballot” all through the campaign. It […]
Every other day, I’ve taken part in anxious phone calls with friends and relatives who want to talk to me about the presidential race; they don’t want to get their hopes up. Democrats are scared to utter any words of confidence or phrases like “I’m feeling food about Election Day.” I understand everyone’s anxiety; I […]
Over the course of our story, humanity has been addicted to difference. Far too often, distinctions in race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or social and economic class have been the justification for the cruelest and most wicked acts in history. Thankfully, there have been men and women across the generations who have beaten back the […]
House Democrats passed their next coronavirus stimulus package over 2 months ago. The Republican Senate got around to it last week. If that was all I knew about the negotiations between them and the Trump White House that would be enough. But of course, there’s more: the Republican Party’s proposal is wanting and emphasizes issues […]
If you’ve scrolled through a news feed over the last month, you’ve undoubtedly seen stories and op-eds about the growing statue wars. Throughout America and the world, statues – of mostly white men – are being reexamined by a younger and more diverse generation. People are questioning whether George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or even Abraham […]
For months now, Americans have taken to the streets to protest the police killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many others. They’ve marched for better policing and defunding of police departments to reinvest that money into health and social services. And police departments have responded with extreme violence – using pepper spray, […]