This week, the expanded House Republican majority marked the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade by comically failing to pass a 20 week abortion contained in the so-called "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act." Still, there's nothing funny about the GOP's anti-abortion crusade at both the federal and state level. While a majority […]

OnEvery year on January 16th, the United States marks Religious Freedom Day. Coming as it does in the immediate wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, the timing could not be better for Americans to commemorate this day, as President Obama declared, "with events and activities that teach us about this critical foundation of […]

After days of tense anticipation, the residents of Ferguson, Missouri learned that a grand jury would not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown. But in advance of that announcement, former Baptist Minister and Arkansas Governor turned Fox News star and 2016 White House hopeful Mike Huckabee has poured […]

So it's come to this. In the wake of last week's Parliament shooting in Ottawa and the hatchet attack on police officers in New York, some in the GOP and its amen corner are calling for draconian measures against American Muslims and their places of worship. "We have to go all-out with surveillance," New York […]

As the Washington Post among others reported Monday, Google is testing a new service "that provides live video chat advice to searchers looking for information on some medical conditions." The feature, uncovered by a Reddit user who noticed his Android phone suggested "Talk with a doctor now" when he did a search about "knee pain," […]

Until her current Oregon Senate run this year, millionaire neurosurgeon Monica Wehby's political career consisted of appearing in anti-Obamacare ads and pushing a ballot measure to limit medical malpractice awards. Now, Dr. Wehby is calling for upper class tax cuts, a balanced budget amendment and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the same Republican […]

Over the past couple of weeks, two media storylines have been developing on parallel. President Obama, conventional wisdom regurgitators assure us, has failed to deliver on his vision of a "post-racial" America. They are stunned--stunned!--that the President branded by his foes as a Kenyan-born Muslim might have lamentably concluded that his presence in Ferguson, Missouri […]

With tensions still running very high in Ferguson, Missouri, Governor Jay Nixon ordered National Guard units to the area in an effort to restore calm--and confidence--in the community. It would be hard for the Guardsmen to do worse than the local police, whose heavy-handed, confrontational tactics and shocking insensitivity only served to incite conflict. And […]

These things happened in the United States this year. An unarmed man was killed by police, supposedly for stealing some cigars. Those who took to the streets simply seeking truth, among them some looters, were denounced by some conservatives and an entire news network as "thugs" and "lynch mobs." Just months earlier, a Nevada tax […]

Over just the last few weeks, three unarmed African-American men have been killed by police. After the Michael Brown was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri, President Obama urged all Americans to "remember this young man through reflection and understanding" and to "comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not […]