Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series was a great wizard, by all accounts. He was the only wizard that Voldemort (the bad guy) ever feared, and he was well-respected by his enemies, allies, and pupils. Read More…
How Left is Too Left?
My grandfather got sick a few weeks ago, so my family and I spent a lot of time in the hospital. While we were there, as so often happens, there was another family that we saw pretty regularly. We didn’t interact with them too much, but they were friendly. They seemed like a good, southern, Christian family. Read More…
2019 – Onward to Crazy
We keep talking about the United States of America and Americans as being “better than this.”
“This isn’t us,” we say. “This is America – we don’t tolerate these things.”
But we do. Read More…
Spider-Man’s Civic Responsibility
I finally watched Spider-Man: Homecoming the other day, which I think was the only Marvel movie I hadn’t already seen.
For those of you who don’t know, we actually meet the latest iteration of Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (which came out before Spider-Man: Homecoming). Read More…
What a Flipped House Actually Means
Balance. So many things in life come back to balance. While the extremes are always far more exciting, inspiring conviction, passion, and action, they are not sustainable. Read More…
Conflating Military Might and Colin Kaepernick
My older brother is a lieutenant in the US Navy.
For as long as I’ve known my brother, he’s always been obsessed with the military. He was always going on about fighter jets and helicopters, wartime carriers and submarines. He’d tell me stories about military strategy and how we won this battle and that, and I’d listen, but sometimes only half paying attention. Read More…
The Numbers Tell Their Own Story: Risk of Police-Involved Death by Race
Guest post by Dr. Farah Kudrath. Farah is an MD, MPH with a background in journalism. She is currently studying preventive medicine at Emory University.
The disproportionate use of lethal force against black people in the US is a divisive issue—and we aren’t exactly hurting for divisive issues these days. Read More…
McCain and the Aisle
We all know by now that Senator John McCain has passed away over the weekend. Every living US President has offered condolences to his family, including (finally) President Trump. His colleagues have issued statements of support for a man who many of them considered to be a friend, and the news cycle has been dominated by tales of his heroism and courage. His legacy as a world-class “maverick” is forever imprinted on the hearts of Americans. Read More…
Bannon and Omarosa: Freedom of Speech at Its Best (and Worst)
The task of keeping up with the news is enough to stress anyone out, especially when the people being discussed, profiled, and interviewed are difficult and sometimes depressing to listen to. Unfortunately, we’re left to grapple with whether it’s better to be blissfully ill-informed and ignorant or terrified and aware. Read More…
“Or Even Worse, [Words] Can Teach Hate”
What’s interesting about the whole ordeal at the US-Mexico border is not only how it came to be, but the messaging that got us to this point. If it wasn’t so terrifying, I’d be impressed. Most people polled in the country are opposed to the way these Central Americans are being treated at our border, but 55% of Republicans support the policy of family separation, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll. Read More…