Politics

A recent video by the creationist camp uses peanut butter jars to "prove" that evolutionary arguments are false...here's to make sure we're even speaking the same language. Read More

It has been shocking and bewildering to watch the behavior of some of the top banking CEOs in recent months, punctuated by the appearance of four of these executives before Congress last month. Some questions immediately pop into my mind. Do they follow the news? Have they no conscience? Do they not have public-relations people on retainer? The answer to all three is, apparently, no because it is clear that they are so far out of touch with reality that they are the equivalent of the Merry Pranksters of the 1960s tripping on acid. (though some could argue that this comparison is an insult to the Merry Pranksters). Read More

The parnoid conspiracy theories found in the Tea-Party movement can be understood as an attempt to find meaning and agency in a world in which they feel helpless and devalued.  This sense of meaning and agency currently is provided by the right-wing media machine that blames government and Obama.  In order to defeat the Right, progressives need to better understand the psychological sources of right wing paranoia and try to speak to their legitimate components with a different, more humane narrative. Read More

The experts approached the teachers at the Oak School with an offer that seemed too good to be true: our new diagnostic test will identify the hidden gems in each of your classrooms. We'll find those students who haven't stood out intellectually to date, but stand perched on the precipice of a mental growth spurt, they vowed. The name of their diagnostic test was no less impressive than the results it promised: "The Harvard Test of Inflected Acquisition." And it seemed to work wonders... Read More

A decade ago I asked a successful author friend of mine for advice on writing. I had tapped into a mother lode of theories that had me bursting with ideas. I never aimed to be a writer, but what else can you do with all of these things to say? After some desultory career years, I thrilled to have a clear focus. I could write! Read More

Democrats want to focus on increasing the access to health care insurance, while Republicans want to focus on cutting insurance premium and care delivery costs. Read More

At the close of the Winter Olympics 2010, I offer my top three picks for the most legendary games of international sports. Read More

The need for a meaningful public healthcare option is becoming clearer by the hour as cash-strapped California tries to stem crippling rate hikes of 39 percent. Read More

People elected to office take every opportunity to live the high life off of other people's money, to hide their and their aides' and colleagues' conduct, and then to protect themselves and their own from paying the piper. Read More