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Lilly Ledbetter Fought the Bastards -- And Won for All of Us
Forget the cartoonish "Great Man" version of American history. Nearly all social progress in our country has been spurred by unheralded "nobodies" who felt a sting of injustice and resolved to right the wrong.
Lilly Ledbetter, who recently died at 86, was one such trailblazing rebel. It's worth remembering her gutsy stand for "paycheck ...Read more
Chicken Dance: Dodging Harris and Hiding Medical Records, Donald Trump Bobs, Weaves and Sways
Anyone undecided on whether or not Donald Trump is all there cognitively got quite the lifeline recently at a Trump rally outside Philadelphia when what started as a town hall turned into a new television special: Donald Trump Dancing With Himself. Midway through an event in which South Dakota Gov. and famed puppy executioner Kristi Noem was ...Read more
Trump Simply Likes to Scam Little People
With the election upon us, many voters are focused on Donald Trump's unravelling mental state and his radical plans to kill off the democracy. But there should be space to recall his scams victimizing ordinary people and his joy in pulling them off. That speaks to character.
Trump's latest fishy deal involves a crypto operation. But let's ...Read more
Donald Trump’s 'Day of Love' Was Far From Lovely
I was delighted but, alas, not all that excited by the platform of policies that Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled to court Black male voters this week.
Her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” offers a big package...Read more
Trump’s Penis Envy: Why Winning the Presidency is More Important to Him than Preserving Democracy
On Saturday, Trump opened his speech at the airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, with 12 minutes of reminiscences about the golfer Arnold Palmer, who grew up in Latrobe and for whom its airport is named.
As The New York Times reported, “His monologue culminated in lewd remarks about the size of Mr. Palmer’s penis.”
What historians may term ...Read more
Why the Fight for Trans Rights Never Gets Easier -- or Less Vital
In the spring of 1999, young people across the country began to prepare for that singular teenage right of passage: prom. For Diamond Stylz, this time included not just finding the right dress and corsage but fighting for her right to attend prom at all. School administrators had told the then-17-year-old Stylz just two days before prom that ...Read more
Trump, Spreader of Conspiracy Theories, Needs to Get Out of the Way
While following news coverage of the horrific and deadly path of Hurricane Helene across North Carolina, I was given pause by the ironic name of a large county which received some of the worst destruction: Buncombe.
American political history buffs will recognize this as a catchword for meaningless speech. “The usual story” of the origin of...Read more
Ways the Media Introduces Bias to the Immigration Debate
For more than two years, the immigration debate has revolved around one issue: "the border."
Despite the fact that issues related to the border are vast and complex, the entire U.S. immigration system -- flaws and all -- has been boiled down to grainy images of barbed wire atop a border wall and videos of families and others seeking safety ...Read more
Called Upon to Lie for Trump, JD Vance Stumbled
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it is said. And in Washington, so is stealing credit.
Is there a better example than Republican lawmakers praising themselves for “saving” the federal health-care law that they fought long and hard to defeat, repeal and otherwise sabotage?
Now we can count both former President Donald Trump and ...Read more
The Supreme Court Case on Trans Health Care, Explained
Since 2021, 24 states have banned hormone therapy for transgender youth with gender dysphoria. Leading medical experts and organizations -- such as the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics -- oppose these restrictions, which have already forced thousands of families across ...Read more
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s Guilt Hinges on How the Women Will be Judged: Survivors or Willing Participants?
For years, a barely worn blazer has hung in my closet. It features a graceful cut and fabric woven with the colors of the sea, offset by a white silken lining. The garment exemplifies a certain freshness, a vibrancy, a bit of luxury. The designer’s label: SEAN by Sean Combs.
Yes, that brand was the one that went up in flames recently with the...Read more
How Border Policing Harms Undocumented People Seeking Abortion Care
For many of Texas' 3 million border residents, going through federal interior checkpoints -- where Border Patrol agents are permitted to screen vehicles for suspected noncitizens and can ask passengers about their citizenship and travel plans -- can be an intimidating but predictable part of daily life. But for undocumented or mixed-status ...Read more
Welcome to the World of MAGA Machismo, Where Muscles Trump Brains
Ladies and gentleman, here is your United States Senate, then and now:
Sen. Daniel Webster on March 7, 1850: “It is fortunate that there is a Senate of the United States (with) a just sense of its own dignity, and its own high responsibilities, and a body to which the country looks with confidence for wise, moderate, patriotic, and healing ...Read more
A totally fixable budget impasse involving a potential presidential candidate
For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, Pennsylvania’s three-week-old budget impasse is the ultimate, binge-worthy summer drama.
There are great storylines, with real-world implications with fascinating characters in leading roles. And, like any addictive warm-weather series, the chances are pretty good that politics-watchers ...Read more
Trump and his lawyers think he can get away with anything. It's outlandish.
WASHINGTON -- "The king can do no wrong." That is the ancient legal maxim used to explain why a sovereign should not be held to account for misdeeds. President Trump and his lawyers are now making arguments that make this legal doctrine look wimpy. Their vision boils down to: The king can do whatever wrong he damn pleases, and there's nothing ...Read more