It isn't often that I give advice that I think is good for the Republican Party. But there is little question that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary defeat should serve as a warning to the GOP. If they don't pass comprehensive immigration reform soon, there is more trouble ahead for the party. Passing comprehensive immigration reform now would, in fact, be good for the Republican Party -- and the country. The issue of immigration reform is not going away. The longer it remains unresolved, the easier it is for the party's extremist wing to use the issue to whip up nativist sentiment against its leaders. Immigration used to be a wedge issue in the Democratic Party. No longer. Now it is a wedge issue within the Republican Party and between the GOP and ordinary Americans.
This is the America of the 21st century, a country divided along lines of morality, where wealth equates to power and the gap between those who have and those who don't is increasing. I will continue to speak up for those who aren't able to speak up for themselves.
A generation is being victimized by the twin burdens of student debt and youth unemployment. But our nation's leaders still seem more concerned about the plight of bankers and bank servicers than they do about the plight of bankers' victims.
The US has been at war nearly nonstop since the Vietnam War began. That's more than half a century of experience with war, American-style, and yet few in our world bother to draw the obvious conclusions.
The summer before his death, I asked him what he loved about sunset. He said: "If you've had a rotten day, sunset reminds you that another day is ahead. If you've had a great day, sunset reminds you to soak it in. Either way, it's a win."
In the ALEC otherworld, actual economics do not count. It's all about a business-friendly environment. Hello, Third World.
The Millers' involvement in Bunkerville should be a glaring red flag to every American who cares about the democratic principles of government established by our Constitution. It should also be a wake-up call to our government.
Instead of victory, we have humiliation. Defeat. And a sweet, sweet vindication that the Republican strategy of stoking up faux-populism, of just saying no, of never proposing a solution to any problem, has blown up so spectacularly because in their gorgeously gerrymandered districts, people -- voters -- have bought the line.
It's increasingly clear that entrusting decisions involving medical science to the DEA is akin to leaving the fox in charge of the henhouse. And what's most striking is how little scrutiny the DEA has faced from Congress or other federal overseers.
You can't convince me that I'm immediately complicit in a sexist system for loving makeup, and wearing booty shorts or itty-bitty crop tops.
On too many occasions, politics and vested interests have trumped the solid scientific evidence we need to help make decisions at the state and federal level. Here, from the Got Science desk, is a roundup of the month's top five reasons it's high time to stand up for science.
The NRA's notion that we are a much safer country now that residents of every state can apply for a concealed carry guns falls flat on its face, even when we look at the data that the NRA uses to prove its own case.
Maybe there is some risk in overzealously documenting our lives. There are certainly times to put that camera away and join in the fun. But these findings suggest that there may also be risk in failing to create mementos. The seemingly dull and quotidian details of our everyday lives may be the emotional treasures of the future.
At the end of the day, Free The Nipple has only one clear-cut mission: to bring "America The Beautiful" the "Land Of The Free" into the 21st century.
The expected right-wing electoral bogeymen had begun to diminish. Obamacare was working, climate change was everywhere, gay marriage was yesterday's fight. Something new was needed. The Tea Party, we fearlessly predict, will turn to "amnesty" and try to broaden the argument.
For more insight into what is (and is not) football, and why so many people care so very much, here are some titles to guide you through the coming month of games.
A few days ago I was walking near my apartment when a swarm of young men and women whooshed by me. They were all wearing long robes and holding their mortarboard hats fast to their heads, as they rushed in the direction of our neighborhood school.
"Hurry!" I heard one say to the others, laughing. "We can't be late for our own graduation!"
New York as it stands today is antithetical to many of the ideals that drive people to move there.
I cannot fathom why the UK government is not denouncing the Sri Lankan government's atrocities. Why are they not demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice? Why are they deporting survivors of torture and rape back to Sri Lanka, and endangering their lives?
Recently, a video about a transgender child in California went viral. Sadly, like every other conversation about transgender children, the comments section was often unkind. Scanning the comments, I saw the same poorly thought-out ideas keep popping up. I think it's time to put these misconceptions to bed.
As Secretary of State, she visited 112 countries, and travelled one million miles. The book will appeal to Clinton supporters, and her many critics will harshly trash it.
Too many people worship guns instead of God. Still, Jesus and the disciples were stronger then all the Roman Empire two thousand years ago. The Cross lobby will still prevail against the gun lobby.
I cannot alter everything, and I cannot bend to every whim. There just has to be limits.
Growing up, if I wanted to play catch, I often had to play it alone. Sometimes I'd even aim at a tree for lack of person with a glove at the other end of the yard.
Her friends will tell you, "She's a fantastic friend. Always there for you when you need her." Strangely enough, they don't seem to know what kind of deeper issues she might have.
As if it weren't enough that some of the Republican Party's leaders were breaking with the party on this issue, now their loudest talking point is being undermined by the very people the Republican Party pretends to speak for in its opposition to raising the minimum wage: businesses and large corporations.
Not too long ago in our recent past there used to be TV shows -- entertainment, we called it -- and we also had the news. More serious, not worthy of high ratings -- informative, you might say. Now we have entertaining news, not entertainment news like Entertainment Tonight, but a soap opera version of the news.
The point here is that something as subtle and powerful as human emotion is coming "digitally online." It's being digitized and understood and monitored and commercialized. And you should know about it.
While styling themselves as defenders of the constitution and protectors of individual rights, hardline GOPers, in practice, protect their own power and position by violating the Constitution and denying individuals their rights. Just take North Carolina for example.
"Every card is a person. But you can only reach a finite number of people; love will multiply with more hands." He was right.
Since I am almost 40 now -- God, I love saying that -- I finally know what beauty is. To me, beauty is the beach near my house, puttering around my kitchen, the laughter of a good friend, my dogs' stinky fur, Amma's inability to say the letter R, Tish's sensitive heart, Chase's darkening summer skin against his ultra white teeth, Craig playing hide and seek by himself, the steeple of my beloved church, a hot chai tea, and the banyan trees in my front yard. Today I will FILL UP WITH THIS BEAUTY.