The manner in which the legal system has functioned in response to America's growing awareness of the brutality against black lives has served to weaken my trust in the law and how it is practiced. And if it has done that for me, imagine the impact on people who did not start with a reservoir of trust, but whose family background and experience has taught them to be fearful and suspicious of the law and those police officers who represent it. I pray in this crucial time of fragmentation and hopelessness that those who care for the legal profession might take this moment to seriously consider how these non-indictments continue to happen, what can be done, and ultimately what and whom the courts, lawyers and the law are meant to serve.
Fighting climate change is a moral imperative. And yet, just as protecting our children from the widening dangers of climate chaos is a challenge, it's also an opportunity. It's the economic play of our lifetime.
A new year faces us. Who the hell are we and what have we become if we accept this kind of tragedy as unavoidable? What are our resolves?
It is often said that a man's character is his fate. But the presidency magnifies character far beyond the man himself. For four years, George Bush's character was America's fate. This good man was our good fortune.
If we in Europe call humanity one of our fundamental values, then we cannot leave the people who are turning to us for help to freeze in the field.
Sometimes, figuratively speaking, all the money in the world can't change a political outcome. This very idea runs counter to all the dire warnings about money's corruptive influence on American politics, of course, but it makes it no less true -- at least in certain situations.
Much has been written about the anger of white men, and in some ways, their anger is given support and the systems in place which have caused and supported white supremacy lend a sympathetic ear, for the most part. But what about the anger of black people?
Fifteen years ago, the Democrats' heir apparent sought to succeed a termed out president, but was faced with a challenge on the left from a popular senator and persistent net negative approval ratings. Sound familiar?
I am amazed Lemmy lived as long as he did. In 1985, I would see him at the Marquee club or in a nearby pub with an endless parade of cigarettes in one hand, double shots of Jack in another, pumping coins into a slot machine. He lived 30 years longer than I ever imagined.
Science will, in fact, determine our entire future. Do science and technology therefore deserve a presidential debate all to themselves?
Women's achievements are constantly overlooked by mainstream media. We're usually much more updated on the happenings of celebrities.
Most people don't spend their days enmeshed in policy issues; they have jobs and lives. They rely on the media to let them know what is important. Unfortunately, this has generally not meant much coverage of global warming.
Diversity in nursing matters more than it ever has. A good nurse is not the sum of his or her test scores, high school grades and extra-curriculars. And while lessons come from classroom work and practice, they're also developed through plain, ordinary lived experience.
I was shaken out of my holiday bliss when I received a call from a concerned constituent about a group of seventeen aspiring Americans being detained at a for-profit prison, GEO, located in Aurora, CO, just outside of my district.
The live stage read was truly historic because it was not only the first time in Hollywood history that a screenplay written by QT was shared with the public before it was made into a film but it was also shared before he was able to even finish it due to a scandalous script leak.
This is not a problem that will be solved by doing LGBT sensitivity trainings and hanging rainbow flags in warehouse shelters; we need to be advocates for smaller, more humane models of shelter where LGBT youth will be safer.
This story has been circulating pretty steadily, but if you teach juniors (or have one in your home) you need to be paying attention, because all indications are that when the new SAT rolls out in a few months, high school juniors should avoid it.
Shamsia Hassani barely speaks above a whisper when she tells the story of holding her mother's hand as the opera house crumbled around her after being bombed by the Taliban.
The correct solutions for our country are progressive ones, not centrist, Third Way half-measures. But we need to avoid breeding cynicism by spreading the idea that electing Democrats will produce the same results as electing Republicans.
Race-based police use of lethal force against black persons may be the smoldering fuse of a ticking time bomb.
I need you to give my daughters a chance to have a full spectrum of dolls in their room that is more reflective of their reality, so that they can also springboard their imagination.
Why am I heartbroken? I didn't end a relationship or lose someone I love. I didn't find out the person I like cheated on me or is in love with someone else. So why on Earth do I feel so sad about going home? It took a few glasses of wine, but I think now I know why.
A friend of mine who is traveling in London sent me a text message of a photo she had taken of 12-foot-high, white marble statue of an armless pregnant woman with truncated legs set atop a giant pedestal in Trafalgar Square. The caption read: "Thalidomide?"
Sure, they're more work than cats. Sure, they make bigger messes (and bigger poops). Sure, they eat more. But they also have bigger hearts. They just want to love and be loved. And really, what is easier than that in this life? What other species wants love and only love, nothing in return?
We are living longer than ever. Progress has lifted billions out of poverty and hunger. The overall rate at which humans are killing other humans is at an all-time low. But the rationalists who cite these statistical realities and poo poo our paranoia are too, well, rational.
Bereaved parents aren't completely honest with you. However, if we could be truly honest and vulnerable, here's what we would tell you:
It is arguable that among the most salient signs that a society has a viable social contract between seculars and religious is the porousness of the markets for its arts and entertainments.
Criminal justice reform continued to build momentum this year within the inner sanctum of the Beltway and across the nation in a handful of states. It emerged as a significant issue in the presidential campaign, and looks likely to stay front and center into 2016.
An unfortunate incident occurred here in Austin, Texas over the weekend that carries an important message for all users of ultra-smart phones and similar devices.
These ads represent a level of interest and concern that could be (pardon my pun) a real game-changer when it comes to the national discussion about guns.
The United Nations top official on human rights recently told the U.N. Security Council that the U.S.-supported, Saudi Arabian-led coalition of Sunni nations fighting Shi'ite Houthi rebels in Yemen bore a disproportionate responsibility for attacks on civilians.