Electoral democracy is a game dominated by diminished expectations. Year after year, we settle for candidates and feel relieved when disaster is averted by the election of a slightly less disastrous, yet still disastrous candidate.
Affirmative Action Keeps Things Interesting
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The Supreme Court may soon rule in favor of an applicant to the University of Texas who claims she was rejected due to race-based affirmative action quotas. While it’s obviously unfair to discriminate against, say, a poor white student, we’re ignoring the broader issue: why is college tuition so expensive in the United States that it’s a scarce resource fought over between people of different races?
Death to the Extremists
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U.S. government officials are gearing up against what they call Islamic “extremism,” declaring extremism and “radicalism” enemies of the state while ignoring the extremism of their own policies.
An Awkward Conversation at the Recruiting Office
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According to the Pentagon, 1,367 soldiers lost all or part of their genitals in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2013. Bet that’s not something they tell you at the recruiting center.
ISIS, Full-Fledged Nation-State
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The Islamic State wants to be a full-service nation-state. What would ISIS look like if it governed like a legitimate nation-state like the United States? Let’s take a look.
Moderate Republicans, For What They’re Worth
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Most of the mainstream Republican Party presidential candidates advocate extreme positions on immigration, including mass deportations. They deny the reality of climate change science and evolution. They think torture is fine, oppose gay marriage, and remain silent about the murder of abortionists. Amid this shift to the right, some “moderate” Republicans say they’re still a legitimate voice within the party. But does it matter?
In Trouble? Look for a Cop and Run the Other Way
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A Chicago policeman has been charged with first-degree murder for shooting a 17-year-old child over a year ago. Is it any wonder that black people avoid cops as much as possible?
Take It Seriously
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“Mainstream” Republican presidential candidates complain that Donald Trump refuses to pretend to be serious.
It Isn’t Violence If The State Does It
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Another black man has been killed by police and the media is celebrating the fact that there wasn’t any violence on the part of protesters.
We’re Not Barbarian (Americans)!
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People in the West wonder where the Islamic State will strike next after the Paris attacks. Some commentators wonder aloud whether ISIS would strike a hospital, ignoring the irony that the U.S. blew up a hospital in Afghanistan recently.
